We are back in Hebrews tonight with the roll call of faith in Hebrews 11. Fr. Gabriel is sick and will not be with us tonight, so please be prepared to discuss the reading. Within this reading, the writer bids his audience to be faithful to God’s promises and he holds up sixteen specific examples of faithful perseverance in the Hebrew Scriptures. As you read through each of these examples think through these three things:
· How does each person cited demonstrate their faith in the assurance of things hoped for?
· How does each person prefigure Jesus? For example, Able offers the perfect sacrifice and Enoch escapes death and is assumed into heaven.
· How does each person fit within the story of redemption that ends in Jesus Christ? For example, Jesus is biologically descended from Rahab (Matt 1:5) and we, the church, are spiritually descended from Abraham (Gal. 4).
Dinner is at 6. The menu is turkey vegetable soup. Hope to see you here. (And please remember that this Sunday is our Christmas drop-in from 5-8.)
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation 14:12