JESUS: OUR ONLY HOPE

JESUS: OUR ONLY HOPE GROWTH GROUP RESOURCES FOR STUDYING HEBREWS CITY CHURCH CAMBRIDGE AUTUMN 014 CONTENTS Introduction... Schedule... Introduction to Hebrews... 4 Preparing to Lead the Bible Studies... 6 Growth Group Bible Study 1... 8 Growth Group Bible Study... 9 Growth Group Bible Study... 10 Growth Group Bible Study 4... 11 Growth Group Bible Study 5... 1 Growth Group Bible Study 6... 1 Growth Group Bible Study 7... 14 INTRODUCTION Normally, we provide GG notes most weeks and leave individual GGs and clusters to decide for themselves when they will use the notes and when they will take a break for cluster meetings, using the Deeper Discipleship cards, outreach, socials, etc. However, this autumn we will be studying the magnificent book of Hebrews together in a preaching series called Jesus Our Only Hope. We will not cover every passage on Sundays, but leave some of them to be studied in GGs (like we did in Amos). Therefore, it would be helpful if you could do all the GG Notes next term as scheduled, and plan your other cluster/gg activities for the free weeks where possible. It will also mean that your studies will need a bit more prep than usual, but I hope you find studying God s word together a rewarding and fruitful challenge. Do talk to me or your cluster leader if you have any questions/concerns. All the GG Notes for the term are in this document, along with a schedule giving you an overview of which passage comes when, brief introduction to the book of Hebrews, and some suggestions about how to prepare to lead the studies. You can download this document from www.citychurchcambridge.org.uk/ggnotes. Simeon Dry

SCHEDULE Date Sunday Sermon GG notes the following week Sun 14 Sep 014 Sun 1 Sep Sun 8 Sep Hebrews 1:1-:4: Jesus: God s Ultimate Messenger Hebrews :1-19: Be Faithful to the End! Hebrews 4:14-5:10: Jesus: Our Access to God s Help GG Bible Study 1: Hebrews :5-18: Jesus: Knows what it s Like GG Bible Study : Hebrews 4:1-1: Don t Miss God s Rest! Encounter Week Sun 05 Oct Hebrews 5:11-6:1: Keep Pressing On! FREE Sun 1 Oct Vision GG Bible Study : Hebrews 6:1-0: Jesus: Makes us Secure (This study could be done a week earlier if desired.) Sun 19 Oct Hebrews 7:1-8: Jesus: Our Ultimate Priest FREE Sun 6 Oct (Half Term) Sun 0 Nov (Half Term) Sun 09 Nov Hebrews 8:1-1: Jesus: God s Ultimate Promise Hebrews 9:1-14: Jesus: The Conscience- Cleaner Hebrews 10:1-18: Jesus: The only Sacrifice we Need FREE GG Bible Study 4: Hebrews 9:15-8: Jesus: The Sin-Remover GG Bible Study 5: Hebrews 10:19-5: Stand Firm Together! (This study could be delayed a week if desired.) Sun 16 Nov Guest Speaker FREE Sun Nov Hebrews 11:1-40 (Part I): Visionary Faith! Encounter Week Sun 0 Nov Sun 07 Dec Sun 14 Dec Hebrews 10:6-9: Don t Throw Away your Trust! Hebrews 11:1-40: (Part II): Parents full of Faith! Hebrews 1:14-9: Make Every Effort! FREE GG Bible Study 6: Hebrews 1:1-1: Don t Give Up! (This study could be done a week earlier if desired.) GG Bible Study 7: Hebrews 1:1-5: Be Good to Each Other (You could do this study in January if you have Christmas GG/Cluster activities this week.) Sun 1 Dec Christmas FREE Sun 8 Dec Christmas FREE

INTRODUCTION TO HEBREWS WHO WROTE IT? The book of Hebrews is a kind of letter written to some of the early Christians. We don t know who wrote it, although there are various guesses out there! WHO WAS IT WRITTEN T O? The main ideas of Hebrews are a) Jesus is better than the old covenant, which was only a shadow of the things to come; and b) it is very important that Christians do not fall away, even though they suffer for the gospel. Based on these two big ideas, we can guess that the original recipients of the letter were probably Jewish Christians (or Gentiles who d previously been God-fearers affiliated with a Jewish synagogue) who were facing persecution and tempted to revert to Judaism to avoid suffering. Of course, there were probably other influences and issues going on at the same time! It may be that the original recipients were in Rome. The writer aims to persuade them not to go back to Judaism by showing that the old covenant cannot save them, and by showing them the serious consequences of abandoning Christ. HOW IS IT STRUCTURED? Rather than following a linear step-by-step structure, the writer to the Hebrews presents a variety of angles on his main themes, often revisiting ideas more than once. It is more like a sermon than an essay. Therefore, on the next page is a summary of the book which shows the themes as a web of interconnected ideas, rather than a step-by-step logical argument. 4

PREPARING TO LEAD THE BIBLE STUDIES OPTION 1: PREPARING FROM THE NOTES You will find below a ready-made Bible study for each of the passages, in the normal GG Notes format. Thanks to my team of writers for all their hard work on these! Even if you plan to follow the notes closely, it s worth spending a bit of time preparing beforehand. Here are some suggestions for how you might do so: 1. Pray; ask for God s help; ask Him to speak to you through the passage. Come to the study with the expectation that God will speak to everyone in the group through it, and that they will be changed in some way as a result. Help the group to have this expectation too!. Read the passage several times.. Look at the aim for each part of the discussion. Work out why each question on the notes is there, so that you re not just asking it because it s on the sheet, but because you think it ll be helpful. 4. For each question, write down roughly what answer you re looking for. This will help you during the discussion to know when you can move on to the next question. 5. There may be more questions than you have time for. Which are the most important ones? Which will you skip if need be? Which do the Holy Spirit want your group to focus on this week? Make sure there s always time for questions which help people apply what God s saying to their lives. OPTION : WRITING Y OUR OWN QUESTIONS If you have plenty of time and want a challenge, you might like to have a go at writing your own Bible Study questions. Why not team up with someone else in your GG and plan together? Here is a suggestion of how to go about preparing: 1. Pray; ask for God s help; ask Him to speak to you through the passage. Come to the study with the expectation that God will speak to everyone in the group through it, and that they will be changed somehow as a result. Help the group to have this expectation too!. Look at the introduction to Hebrews in this document (p4).. Read the passage through several times (in the NIV/ESV or similar). 4. Decide how you think the passage is structured. Can it be divided up at all? 5. Spend some time looking carefully for details that will help you figure out what the big idea(s) of the passage are, for example any repeated words/ideas or logic words (e.g. therefore). 6. Make a list of the things you don t understand about the passage. Can you use other passages in the Bible or a study Bible/commentary to help you answer the most significant ones? 7. To make sure you don t get the wrong idea, you now need to work out what the passage meant to the original readers/hearers. Put yourself in their shoes. What would they have understood it to be about? Sum up these in about 1- points of one sentence each. 8. Now, if necessary, tweak these points so that they reflect what the passage means to us. These are the Big Ideas you want your group to grasp through the study. Make a note of them. PTO 6

9. Write your discussion questions. Think about how you will write questions that will stimulate discussion not so simple that they just get a one-word answer, but not so complicated that people are confused! You will need at least three different types of questions: a. Observation questions ( What does it say? ) that help the group get familiar with the passage (bear in mind that if you ve done all of the above, you are much more familiar with the passage than the group will be, so they need a chance to catch up and see what you ve seen). b. Understanding questions ( What does it mean? ) that help the group discover for themselves the Big Ideas you have identified. c. Application questions ( What do I do? ) that challenge people to change or develop specific aspects of their life and relationship with God as a result of studying this passage. 10. Compare your questions with the study in this document to see if there are any big ideas you ve missed, or good questions you want to incorporate in your study. 11. Think about how you will involve everyone in the group, not just the more confident or vocal people. Discussing things in pairs is a great way to do this, as is asking quieter people to read Bible passages. 7

GROWTH GROUP BIBLE STUDY 1 Date: w/c 15 September 014 Title: Jesus: Knows what it's Like Passage: Hebrews v5-18 Notes by: Chris Green 1 Welcome to this week s GG Briefing Notes! Thanks for leading this discussion in your group. Do pray that God uses it to help everyone in your group become more like Jesus. We have suggested below some things to aim for in your discussion. Please don t just read this sheet out to the group! Decide before you start how you ll work towards each aim. Which of our questions will you use (you may not need all of them) or can you think of better ones? What kind of answers will you be hoping to get from each question? As you ask questions, keep the aim in mind, and only give hints if you have to. Don t forget to make sure everyone in the group is involved. To see how Psalm 8 speaks of Jesus. Optional recap: what was the main message of Daniel s sermon on Sunday? Ask someone to read Hebrews v5-18. Read v5-9 again. What does this quotation (in v6-8) from Psalm 8 say about mankind? What problem is described in v8? How does this quotation from Psalm 8 speak of Jesus? 4 There is a lot of amazing stuff in today s passage. You might want to move quite quickly through v5-9 so you have time to major on the encouragements later in the passage. To understand how Jesus is a forerunner for a new people. Ask someone to read v10-1 again. Why did God see it as fitting that Jesus was 'perfected' through suffering? Was Jesus not perfect until He went to the cross? Jesus wasn't imperfect before the cross but rather 'untested'. In being made perfect, Jesus didn t change from being disobedient to being obedient to the Father. Rather, He moved from being obedient in challenging circumstances to being obedient in exceedingly challenging circumstances! To see Jesus amazing defeat of death and High Priesthood. Ask someone to read v14-18 again. How has Christ's death defeated the power of the devil? What does it mean that Jesus is our High Priest? Why did Jesus have to be human to be our High Priest? (Discuss in pairs then feed back.) Propitiation = appeasing the anger of a justly offended party. It's a fantastically meaty word as long as focus is on Jesus! To be encouraged by our great salvation! In s and s: What struggles and sufferings do you face that discourage you? What encouragements does this passage have for us when we suffer & struggle? (You could look back over the whole passage, or focus on v17-18). How do these encouragements make us robust when threats and sufferings come? How does this passage offer freedom/encouragement when we/others are confronted with the process and moment of death? 8

GROWTH GROUP BIBLE STUDY Date: w/c September 014 Title: Don t Miss God s Rest! Passage: Hebrews 4 v1-1 Notes by: Luke Smith 1 Welcome to this week s GG Briefing Notes! Thanks for leading this discussion in your group. Do pray that God uses it to help everyone in your group become more like Jesus. We have suggested below some things to aim for in your discussion. Please don t just read this sheet out to the group! Decide before you start how you ll work towards each aim. Which of our questions will you use (you may not need all of them) or can you think of better ones? What kind of answers will you be hoping to get from each question? As you ask questions, keep the aim in mind, and only give hints if you have to. Don t forget to make sure everyone in the group is involved. To recap Hebrews chapter. What was the main message of Simeon s sermon on Sunday on Hebrews? Ask someone to read Hebrews v1-14 as a reminder if necessary. Which bit of Israel s history did the writer use in chapter to make this point? Ask someone to read Hebrews v15-19 as a reminder if necessary. 4 Hebrews is about how we must not give up following Jesus. It uses the Israelites grumbling in the wilderness and refusal to enter the Promised Land as an example of how unbelief can stop people following God. To understand what the author of Hebrews means by the rest God has promised. Today we will be studying Hebrews 4 v1-1. Ask someone to read it. In s and s: look through the passage and make a list of all the references to rest. In each case, what do you think the writer means by rest? Don t worry if it s not clear yet. Feed back to the group if there s time. What are the two Old Testament ideas that get called rest in this passage? What is this rest figurative of? Looking at v6-10, how does the author show that this rest is still available to the readers of Hebrews? Hebrews 4 refers to the rest of entering the Promised Land, and God s Sabbath rest. The author has been using the Israelites entering the Promised Land as an example of salvation, and quotes Psalm 95, which suggests that this rest was still relevant for the readers today, centuries later. To consider what it means for us to enter that rest. What does the author say we must do to enter rest? Is it a one-off or ongoing thing? Faith is important! ( v19; 4 v). This was written to Jews being persecuted, who were being tempted to go back to Judaism and abandon faith in Jesus. It s about an initial decision to put faith in Jesus, which is proven genuine by ongoing commitment to him. To pray for rest and peace for each other. God has promised rest. While this is primarily about our salvation, rest and peace is very important for us as believers. Are there any situations you are facing in which you are worried/anxious/stressed? Share these and pray. Find specific scriptures which speak to these particular situations. 9

GROWTH GROUP BIBLE STUDY Date: w/c 1 October 014 Title: Jesus: Makes us Secure Passage: Hebrews 6 v1-0 Notes by: Dave Morris 1 4 Welcome to this week s GG Briefing Notes! Thanks for leading this discussion in your group. Do pray that God uses it to help everyone in your group become more like Jesus. We have suggested below some things to aim for in your discussion. Please don t just read this sheet out to the group! Decide before you start how you ll work towards each aim. Which of our questions will you use (you may not need all of them) or can you think of better ones? What kind of answers will you be hoping to get from each question? As you ask questions, keep the aim in mind, and only give hints if you have to. Don t forget to make sure everyone in the group is involved. To understand the Old Testament background to this passage and the main point the writer is making. Ask someone to read Hebrews 6 v1-0. Our passage refers to a promise made to Abraham. Can someone summarise the story of Genesis? (It'll probably help to let everyone look at it, if necessary get someone to read it out.) Why was Isaac important to Abraham? Abraham acts out of faith by being willing to sacrifice Isaac. How does God respond to this faith? Why does the writer of Hebrews stress the importance of the double whammy of God making a promise and swearing an oath? God responded to Abraham s faith by saving Isaac & swearing an oath to give Abraham many descendants. God had already said He planned to do these things for Abraham (e.g. Genesis 1 v1-), but He gives Abraham (and us) strong encouragement by adding an oath to the promise He d already made. To explore what God s promise to Abraham means (OPTIONAL). Ask someone to read Genesis v15-18. How is God's promise to Abraham relevant to us today? Has God fulfilled his promise? Is he still fulfilling it? See Galatians v7-9. To see why God s faithfulness is important. Who can briefly summarise Hebrews 6 v11-1? What s the link between v11-1 and our passage in v1-0? Why did the Hebrews need to know that God will definitely keep His promises? See v1 & 18. Why do we need to know that God will definitely keep His promises? To remember the promises God has made to us. What promises has God made to all Christians through the Bible? In s and s: Look together at God s promises in Romans 8, especially v1, 6, 10, 1-14, 1-9 (or any other passages that God brings to mind as you prepare). Has God made any specific promises to you prophetically? Why not pray and prophesy over anyone who doesn't feel they have specific, personal promises from God? 10

GROWTH GROUP BIBLE STUDY 4 Date: w/c 0 November 014 Title: Jesus: The Sin-Remover Passage: Hebrews 9 v15-8 Notes by: Dan Gould 1 Welcome to this week s GG Briefing Notes! Thanks for leading this discussion in your group. Do pray that God uses it to help everyone in your group become more like Jesus. We have suggested below some things to aim for in your discussion. Please don t just read this sheet out to the group! Decide before you start how you ll work towards each aim. Which of our questions will you use (you may not need all of them) or can you think of better ones? What kind of answers will you be hoping to get from each question? As you ask questions, keep the aim in mind, and only give hints if you have to. Don t forget to make sure everyone in the group is involved. To introduce today s topic by thinking about sin and salvation. Discuss in s: Do you ever feel you re not good enough to be a Christian? Do you ever think that you might not make it into heaven? Does the thought that you will one day face judgment ( Cor. 5 v10) worry you? To understand the new covenant and Christ s necessary role in it. Ask someone to read Hebrews 9 v15-8. What is meant by the new covenant? (v15) (See Jeremiah 1 v1-4 for help.) What does it mean that Christ is the mediator of this new covenant? (v15) What does it mean that He died as a ransom? (v15) Why does the author link the new covenant with a will? (v16-17) What was the role of blood and animal sacrifices in the Old Testament rituals? How is that linked to Christ s death? What does it mean that the old covenant tabernacle and vessels were copies of the heavenly things? (v) In v4-7 the author uses imagery from the high priests rituals during the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). In what ways is Christ s sacrifice better than the old covenant s high priestly sacrifices? What reasons does this passage give that Jesus really had to die? A mediator is someone who goes between or reconciles two parties. Christ is the go-between for God and man, reconciling us by his sacrifice. A ransom is the redemption of a prisoner/slave for a price. The reasons Christ had to die highlighted in this passage are: 1. A covenant (or will ) demands a death;. Forgiveness demands blood (a sacrifice, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6 v));. Judgement demands a victim or a substitute. From the beginning God said that the punishment for sin would be death (Genesis v17). Not because he is a vengeful God, but because for Him to be perfect in justice he cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Thus by His very being God must punish sin. The cross was the only eternal solution. To think about the sacrifice Christ made and what it means for us. What blessings do we enjoy that old covenant believers didn t have? How can we grasp the price Jesus paid for our sins? How does this passage help us to be completely assured of our salvation? Prayer: Thank Jesus for the cross! Pray for any who have feelings of condemnation or doubts about salvation. Pray for friends and loved ones who don t yet know Jesus. 11

GROWTH GROUP BIBLE STUDY 5 Date: w/c 10 November 014 Title: Stand Firm Together! Passage: Hebrews 10 v19-5 Notes by: David Thresher 1 Welcome to this week s GG Briefing Notes! Thanks for leading this discussion in your group. Do pray that God uses it to help everyone in your group become more like Jesus. We have suggested below some things to aim for in your discussion. Please don t just read this sheet out to the group! Decide before you start how you ll work towards each aim. Which of our questions will you use (you may not need all of them) or can you think of better ones? What kind of answers will you be hoping to get from each question? As you ask questions, keep the aim in mind, and only give hints if you have to. Don t forget to make sure everyone in the group is involved. To look at our reasons for confidence in approaching God. Ask someone to read Hebrews 10 v19-5. Three similar words appear in the passage here: confidence (v19), assurance (v) and hope (v). What reasons does the passage give us for having this confidence, assurance, and hope? (Discuss in pairs then feed back.) Why is each of these reasons important? Where have we seen each of these ideas explained earlier in Hebrews? Remind each other of specific passages. This passage takes the themes discussed so far in Hebrews and explores how we are to respond as a result. As such, it summarizes these themes: the superiority of Jesus, as high priest, and the new covenant, made possible by His death. To look at how we are called to live in light of Jesus' supremacy. The words, 'therefore', 'since' and 'for' show us that Jesus' supremacy should affect the way we live. In which specific ways does the passage call us to act? (Discuss in pairs then feed back.) How do the reasons we have for confidence before God help us in living this way? What part does God play (v19-) and what part do we play (v-5) in seeing our lives and behaviour change? How can we encourage each another to live this way? (v5) Verse speaks of having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." (NIV) Make sure that it's clear that these speak of what is done for us in Christ (perhaps through baptism), not something we need to try to change in ourselves. To explore practically how meeting together can help us to spur one another on towards love and good deeds. (NIV) As a Growth Group, how might we encourage one another in showing love to others and doing good works? Are there good works that you have on your heart to do? How might the group support you in this? Are there good works that you can do together as a Growth Group? Be realistic and graceful, not adding burdens where people are already busy, but, if there are specific things that the group would like to do, make plans to put them into action! What will you do next? When? When will you review together how you're doing? 1

GROWTH GROUP BIBLE STUDY 6 Date: w/c 08 December 014 Title: Don't Give Up! Passage: Hebrews 1 v1-1 Notes by: Graham Seed 1 Welcome to this week s GG Briefing Notes! Thanks for leading this discussion in your group. Do pray that God uses it to help everyone in your group become more like Jesus. We have suggested below some things to aim for in your discussion. Please don t just read this sheet out to the group! Decide before you start how you ll work towards each aim. Which of our questions will you use (you may not need all of them) or can you think of better ones? What kind of answers will you be hoping to get from each question? As you ask questions, keep the aim in mind, and only give hints if you have to. Don t forget to make sure everyone in the group is involved. To explore the theme of encouragement in hardships. What is the greatest hardship that you face in following Jesus? Can anyone recap what Hebrews 11 is about? Ask someone to read Hebrews 1 v1. The therefore links this verse to chapter 11. What s the connection? Ask someone to read Hebrews 1 v1-1. The Hebrews were tempted to leave Christianity and return to Judaism because of struggles (v4), hardships (v7), persecution and suffering (see also Hebrews 10 v-4). Read the first seven verses of the passage again. In what ways does the writer encourage them to keep going through their suffering? How can Jesus' experience (in v-) be compared to the Hebrews' experience? The great cloud of witnesses (NIV) = all the amazing Old Testament people (chapter 11) who did much through faith and yet hadn't received the promise, the something better (Jesus) (v40). To explore the idea of God's discipline. Ask someone to read v5-11 again. A large part of this passage is devoted to God's discipline (v5-11). According to the passage, why is God's discipline a major encouragement to keep going? (Discuss in pairs then feedback.) What will the results of the discipline be if the Hebrews persevere through their hardships? To encourage each other to persevere through difficulties. How can we genuinely be encouraging others to keep going in the Christian faith through hardships? What do you think v1 is saying about this? Can you think of examples in your past when you were encouraged to keep going with God through hardships? What results did you see? What does it mean in practice to keep going by fixing our eyes on Jesus and His perseverance through suffering? (v-) Can you put that into practice right now? Verse 1 encourages Christians to keep going in the outworking of their faith, so that the 'lame' who waver in their faith will be encouraged by the good conduct they see these Christians demonstrating. Be sensitive to those in your group who are currently going through a time of hardship and suffering. 1

GROWTH GROUP BIBLE STUDY 7 Date: w/c 15 December 014 Title: Be Good to Each Other Passage: Hebrews 1 v1-5 Notes by: Mercy Danga 1 Welcome to this week s GG Briefing Notes! Thanks for leading this discussion in your group. Do pray that God uses it to help everyone in your group become more like Jesus. We have suggested below some things to aim for in your discussion. Please don t just read this sheet out to the group! Decide before you start how you ll work towards each aim. Which of our questions will you use (you may not need all of them) or can you think of better ones? What kind of answers will you be hoping to get from each question? As you ask questions, keep the aim in mind, and only give hints if you have to. Don t forget to make sure everyone in the group is involved. To think about some practical instructions for following Jesus. Ask someone to read Hebrews 1 v1-5. In pairs, make a list of the practical instructions on how to behave towards Christians and non-christians in v1-. Think of a practical example of what each one might look like for you. Feed back to the group. Ask someone to read v4-6. In pairs: As Christians in what ways could money and other things affects us in our relationship with Christ? Feed back to the group. Ask someone to read Matthew 6 v19-1. How do these verses help us obey Hebrews 1 v5? What are the differences between the way God and our society view marriage? Marriage is a divine institution because God himself originated it. God speaks of the marriage relationship as a covenant. To reflect on what it means to follow Jesus through difficult times. Ask someone to read v7-17. The persecuted Jewish Christians needed to declare their loyalty to Christ above any other loyalty, to choose to follow the Messiah whatever suffering that might entail. How does the writer encourage them to do that in v1-14? No believer can cope with adversity unless Christ fills his horizons, sharpens his priorities and dominates his experience. In City Church how can we encourage people in critical and adverse times? Exhortations to perseverance are grounded in a fresh understanding of the significance of Jesus and his sacrifice. v11: the Old Testament priests got to eat most sacrifices, but not the sin offering on the Day of Atonement it was burned outside the camp. By contrast, all Christians get to benefit (in communion?) from Jesus sin offering of Himself (v10+1). To think about what Christian maturity involves. In pairs: Based on this chapter, what would you say Christian maturity looks like? Feed back to the group. How does our loyalty to Jesus Christ affect our actions? What do you think the sacrifice of praise (v15) today would include? Why do you think we are to invest in the leaders who have invested in us? What does it mean for God to equip you with everything good? (v1 NIV) How can making Christ sufficient and superior affect our relationships with each other in City Church Cambridge? 14