Preaching on Sunday

Preaching again on Sunday. And again in a couple of weeks. This week's sermon has been different in terms of preparation from the others. Firstly, we have been following a theme this month. The book of Hebrews. An amazing book. Each of the regular preachers at church has been looking at a different section. This week, I get to preach on Hebrews 12. It is a tough passage (more on it shortly) but I am looking forward to it. Secondly, there has been less time to prepare. I had to wait until last Sunday to see what I was preaching on. I thought it would be difficult but I have fundamentally finished it. I will read it through tomorrow, maybe make a few changes but I think it is done. Some parts of the passage leaped out at me. I know it talks about discipline and that is a hard topic to talk about but that is only because God loves us. he is the ultimate parent. It also talks about the differences between Sinai and Sion. We are citizens of Sion already. Any joy in our worship and in our prayer is a reflection of our position in the throne-room of the Lord Almighty. But, how can we, mere mortals and sinful ones at that, possibly enter the throne-room? That's the message of Hebrews. We can't but we can. We can because of the sacrifice of Jesus. His death and resurrection have opened the way. His new role as the Great High Priest lets us into the Holy of Holies. This is a really powerful passage and I hope to write more on it later.