Sermon Response Guide
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 8:1-13 ESV
1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Key Points
-
Jesus is our high priest who is:
- Seated at the right hand of the Father
- The perfect and final sacrifice for our sin
- Interceding for us before the Father
-
Jesus offers us a new covenant that is built on better promises.
- Rather than writing the law on stone tablets, God writes the new covenant on our hearts – that we will not only know what God desires, but we will desire it, too.
Memory Verse
Ask God to write this word on your heart this week:
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” - Hebrews 8:10 ESV
Questions for Reflection
Take time to reflect and respond to these questions on your own in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or with trusted friends or family members:
1: From what you have gathered from the Old Testament, how would you describe the roles and responsibilities of a priest before the coming of Christ?
- What does Jesus do as our high priest now?
- What hope do we have in knowing Jesus as our forever high priest?
2: What is the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant?
- What role does grace play in both covenants?
- Why is the new covenant that Jesus initiates considered a better covenant?
3: What promises of God do you find most challenging to believe?
- Why do you think you struggle to believe God’s promises?
4: Has there ever been a time when you felt like God broke a promise to you?
- Why do you think you felt that way?
- What did you do in the face of that pain and doubt to continue holding fast to Jesus?
5: How have you seen God transform your desires to better reflect his own?
6: What is the primary truth God revealed to you today?
- How will you respond?
- Who do you know who you can encourage with the truth this week?
Pray
Lord, thank you for coming to live with us and for us. Thank you for dying on the cross for us. Thank you for defeating death for us. Thank you for giving us a new hope and for transforming our desires in light of that hope. As you continually carry us in intercession before the Father, teach us to do the same for those you place upon our hearts to lift up to you in prayer.
