Because we are part of this one family of faith, our calling is to believe that God exists and to rely on His promises for the future – even though we don’t know when or how God is going to fulfill those promises. In other words, the way we obtain a good testimony is not by divining the consequences of our actions but by acting in faith.

What gives our future hopes substance and grounding?

When should we have a fearful expectation of judgment? What are the elements of an apostate life?

Paul’s focus in Hebrews is worship, but is he addressing private or public worship? What does the imagery of “entering the Holiest” teach us about the type of worship we are to pursue? Is corporate worship an absolute necessity?

The old covenant sacrifices were a temporary solution put in place to solve the problem of our sin and rebellion against God. God put them in place until the fullness of time would come and our problem could really be solved. And that fullness of time came in Christ. He solved the problem that those sacrifices could only mask.

The difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is the difference between a battle fought and a battle won.

In Hebrews 9, Paul continues his comparison of the Old and New Covenants. Using the actions of the priest on the Day of Atonement, he describes the two major deficiencies of the Old Covenant.

The relationship between the Old and New Covenants parallels the relationship between an actual historical event and a stage play or film scripted to remember it. In the Old Covenant, the tabernacle and Temple were the stages, the furniture the props, the priests the actors. But what made their work unique is that they weren’t portraying something that had happened already but something that was going to happen. God in His wisdom was giving them a preview of the great event that would transform human history.

On this Easter Sunday, we explore the importance and centrality of the Resurrection as presented in Hebrews.