Red Flag Faith
Day 1
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 5:11-14
The writer of Hebrews takes a pretty sharp turn that comes across a bit more blunt than most of us tend to enjoy reading. The writer is frustrated because of the desire to teach more complicated things, but not feeling that the audience is ready for that. The reason that the audience is not ready, is stated in the next chapter as being because they have become hung up on the basic, elementary principles of God. He even goes as far as to say that some of them really need to be teaching others at this time. This is an idea that we tend to leave up to those that are in the top few percent in our culture. But here, the writer seems to push back on that idea encouraging more people to move into a role of instructing others.
So many people are intimidated by the Bible and struggle understanding it. Most of us feel like it is not our job or calling to teach others. The reality is that most of us also feel unequipped and under prepared to be able to teach others. So is the writer out of touch with our reality or are we out of touch with their reality? Are we watered down, or were they really even more basic in their understanding of the Bible? Those are all questions we need to think through as we consider this texts teaching.
Are you satisfied with your level of understanding of God’s word or do you feel you lag a bit behind?
What do you think creates this idea in your mind?
What are some ways that you can grow in your understanding and learning this week?
Day 2
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 6:1-3
In the sermon, we talked about how there are 4 traps that we should watch out for. The first trap we discussed was the “trap of laziness.” That’s the impression we get in these verses that we just read. For me, the interesting thing is seeing the list of ideas that the writer is counting as the “elementary principles” that we should have established and need to be moving on from. The writer lists repentance from dead works, instructions about washing, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. There are a few things in that list that I would count deeper than elementary principles.
It is like watching my kids work at schooling. There are times that I am listening in on a lesson and wondering if this might not be a bit advanced for their age and the system is failing them. Most of the time I base that off of the reality that I don’t fully understand the thing they are trying to understand. So if I can’t get it, do they really need it or are they able to handle it even? Obviously, we need to think through these type of things with our understanding of God’s word as well.
Which of things the writer lists here do you think is a bit out of your league of understanding fully?
Why do you think that the writer included those things as elementary principles?
What does this list of things that are counted elementary tell you about your understanding of God’s word and what you need to learn more about?
Day 3
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 6:7-8
Remember the great toilet paper debacle of 2020? That was a crazy time to live through that no one really saw coming. I read of truckloads of illegal toilet paper getting confiscated and all sorts of other things that I never thought would be a reality. Right before it all hit, we have bought a big bundle of toilet paper and were very well-stocked in our home. So when the mass hysteria hit, we were not concerned like the rest of the world. We were living in abundance and never really felt the squeeze of lack.
Abundance is a good place to be, but it has its disadvantages as well. Strangely enough, we had never lived through a toilet paper shortage before and therefore none of us really knew what that would be like because we didn’t know that we needed to know. Now that we have experienced it, I feel that the next one won’t be as bad and won’t create as much panic.
Abundance is what we desire, but abundance also creates all sort of problems for us. Our abundance of free, available teaching has made it really easy to know and understand the Bible if we truly desire it, but the abundance seems to have also taken a way a bit of the desire.
Why do you find yourself avoiding time in God’s word each day?
How has the abundance of books, bibles, teachings, and online content affected your growth as a disciple?
How do you feel it has impacted you negatively?
Day 4
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 6:9-11
In the sermon on Sunday, trap number 3 was the trap of isolation. In Acts, the very start of the church as we know it was built on the back and ideas of gathering and being together. Acts tell sus of the church sharing possessions, meals, prayer, and so many other things. For me personally, this time of quarantine has really highlighted heavily the need and benefit of gathering together and being around other people, something that social media and our current culture has seemed to lessen. I think as we read through the rest of Hebrews, we will start to see this even more.
Clearly, God does not want us to be alone or go through this all alone. He longs for us to be a part of what He is gathering in community, because communities are so important in God’s plan. He longs for us to be reconciled to Himself, to others, and to exist together in a world where we are not separated by those things that push us apart, which is sin. You need to realize your desire to isolate and to connect that to the idea of sin as taught in the Bible. It is not that isolation is necessarily a sin, but that the draw to isolate from others is a direct or indirect symptom of sin.
How do you see this desire to isolate in your life?
Has this traditionally been a healthy or unhealthy thing for you? Why?
What evidences do you find in the Bible that God wants us to be together in a community?
Day 5
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 6:12-20
The last trap that we discussed on Sunday was the trap of individualism. It is a lot like the trap of isolation, but is different. The idea is that we become private people that wall out others in a hope that they do not get to see the real us or we don’t get to be challenged or accountable to others.
How else would you describe the idea of the trap of individualism?
What can you do to battle against this trap?
What do you see happening in your life right now that is a sign of this?
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 5:11-14
The writer of Hebrews takes a pretty sharp turn that comes across a bit more blunt than most of us tend to enjoy reading. The writer is frustrated because of the desire to teach more complicated things, but not feeling that the audience is ready for that. The reason that the audience is not ready, is stated in the next chapter as being because they have become hung up on the basic, elementary principles of God. He even goes as far as to say that some of them really need to be teaching others at this time. This is an idea that we tend to leave up to those that are in the top few percent in our culture. But here, the writer seems to push back on that idea encouraging more people to move into a role of instructing others.
So many people are intimidated by the Bible and struggle understanding it. Most of us feel like it is not our job or calling to teach others. The reality is that most of us also feel unequipped and under prepared to be able to teach others. So is the writer out of touch with our reality or are we out of touch with their reality? Are we watered down, or were they really even more basic in their understanding of the Bible? Those are all questions we need to think through as we consider this texts teaching.
Are you satisfied with your level of understanding of God’s word or do you feel you lag a bit behind?
What do you think creates this idea in your mind?
What are some ways that you can grow in your understanding and learning this week?
Day 2
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 6:1-3
In the sermon, we talked about how there are 4 traps that we should watch out for. The first trap we discussed was the “trap of laziness.” That’s the impression we get in these verses that we just read. For me, the interesting thing is seeing the list of ideas that the writer is counting as the “elementary principles” that we should have established and need to be moving on from. The writer lists repentance from dead works, instructions about washing, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. There are a few things in that list that I would count deeper than elementary principles.
It is like watching my kids work at schooling. There are times that I am listening in on a lesson and wondering if this might not be a bit advanced for their age and the system is failing them. Most of the time I base that off of the reality that I don’t fully understand the thing they are trying to understand. So if I can’t get it, do they really need it or are they able to handle it even? Obviously, we need to think through these type of things with our understanding of God’s word as well.
Which of things the writer lists here do you think is a bit out of your league of understanding fully?
Why do you think that the writer included those things as elementary principles?
What does this list of things that are counted elementary tell you about your understanding of God’s word and what you need to learn more about?
Day 3
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 6:7-8
Remember the great toilet paper debacle of 2020? That was a crazy time to live through that no one really saw coming. I read of truckloads of illegal toilet paper getting confiscated and all sorts of other things that I never thought would be a reality. Right before it all hit, we have bought a big bundle of toilet paper and were very well-stocked in our home. So when the mass hysteria hit, we were not concerned like the rest of the world. We were living in abundance and never really felt the squeeze of lack.
Abundance is a good place to be, but it has its disadvantages as well. Strangely enough, we had never lived through a toilet paper shortage before and therefore none of us really knew what that would be like because we didn’t know that we needed to know. Now that we have experienced it, I feel that the next one won’t be as bad and won’t create as much panic.
Abundance is what we desire, but abundance also creates all sort of problems for us. Our abundance of free, available teaching has made it really easy to know and understand the Bible if we truly desire it, but the abundance seems to have also taken a way a bit of the desire.
Why do you find yourself avoiding time in God’s word each day?
How has the abundance of books, bibles, teachings, and online content affected your growth as a disciple?
How do you feel it has impacted you negatively?
Day 4
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 6:9-11
In the sermon on Sunday, trap number 3 was the trap of isolation. In Acts, the very start of the church as we know it was built on the back and ideas of gathering and being together. Acts tell sus of the church sharing possessions, meals, prayer, and so many other things. For me personally, this time of quarantine has really highlighted heavily the need and benefit of gathering together and being around other people, something that social media and our current culture has seemed to lessen. I think as we read through the rest of Hebrews, we will start to see this even more.
Clearly, God does not want us to be alone or go through this all alone. He longs for us to be a part of what He is gathering in community, because communities are so important in God’s plan. He longs for us to be reconciled to Himself, to others, and to exist together in a world where we are not separated by those things that push us apart, which is sin. You need to realize your desire to isolate and to connect that to the idea of sin as taught in the Bible. It is not that isolation is necessarily a sin, but that the draw to isolate from others is a direct or indirect symptom of sin.
How do you see this desire to isolate in your life?
Has this traditionally been a healthy or unhealthy thing for you? Why?
What evidences do you find in the Bible that God wants us to be together in a community?
Day 5
What is God drawing you toward this week in your process of discipleship? What has He been showing you lately?
Remind yourself of the key point, or ideas that you took away from the sermon this week as you thought through the Take It Home section.
Sermon Sentence: A true faith moves forward in it's understanding and discovery of God and His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Read Hebrews 6:12-20
The last trap that we discussed on Sunday was the trap of individualism. It is a lot like the trap of isolation, but is different. The idea is that we become private people that wall out others in a hope that they do not get to see the real us or we don’t get to be challenged or accountable to others.
How else would you describe the idea of the trap of individualism?
What can you do to battle against this trap?
What do you see happening in your life right now that is a sign of this?
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