1 John 1:5-10

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Questions to consider:

• How is God like light?
• What are the four false assumptions that John warns against?
• What are the contrasting truths?
• What then is the basis of fellowship? How is the fellowship between individuals related to the fellowship of each one with God (it may be helpful to look back to the first few verses of this chapter)?

Possibilities for prayer:

Images of light and darkness occur throughout the book of 1 John and can be rather helpful in understanding who God is. As humans, we tend to associate light with safety and security and darkness with fear and danger. God represents light--and Jesus gives us the ability to be in the “light” through the forgiveness of our sins (the darkness in our lives). God provides us this safety and security through fellowship with Him. Let’s thank God for the ability to experience the light, despite our tendency toward sin and darkness, for the welcome that God extends to us to fellowship with Him.

1 John 1:1-4

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

Questions to consider:

• Why do you think John is writing this letter (it might help to first read the whole thing through, as though you have just received it)?
• What evidence do you have for Jesus’ becoming man? Why is the issue important?
• What do you have in common with other Christians?

Possibilities for prayer:

Do you feel as though you are in fellowship with the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ? What does that (or could that) look like in your life? It seems that John’s hope in writing this letter is that those who read it might encounter God and fellowship with Him. Today, let’s ask for the ability to have greater fellowship with God--that we might know God more deeply and intimately, and that, as John writes, our joy may be complete.

Hebrews 13:17-25

17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22 Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.
23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.
25 Grace be with you all.

Questions to consider:

• What is you responsibility to those in “spiritual” authority? Why?
• How does the author regard intercessory prayer?
• How does the benediction summarize the teaching of the letter concerning what God has done for the Hebrews and will do in them?
• Rephrase verse 21 as God’s personal promise to you.
• What is your response to this letter as we reach its end.

Possibilities for prayer:

It can sometimes be difficult to submit to the authority of people above us. But as the author of Hebrews says, the person in authority has much responsibility and often bears a heavy burden. Let’s ask God to make us people that make the work of those in authority a joy. Let’s ask for a spirit of humility, of collaboration, in order to benefit not only those in authority above us but also to bring glory to God.

Hebrews 13:9-16

9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. 10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Questions to consider:

• Relate verse 8 to verse 9.
• What truths, does the author claim, are opposed to the strange teachings?
• To what extent do you identify with Christ? Why?
• What is your response to abuse and intellectual opposition?
• What are the suitable sacrifices and offerings to God? In what ways will you “make” them today?

Possibilities for prayer:

The understanding of “sacrifices” as doing good and sharing with others is one that may have been unfamiliar for the Hebrews. Sacrifices to God involved the ritual killing and offering of animals in order to atone for sins. But here, we are asked not to make sacrifices of burnt offerings but of choosing to live lives that reflect pieces of the character of God. Today, let’s thank God for the ability to offer these “new” sacrifices instead of the old ones, and ask for the courage to live the type of lives that God is calling us into.

Hebrews 13:1-8

1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; 
 never will I forsake you.”
6 So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. 
 What can mere mortals do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Questions to consider:

• What characteristics of the new kingdom are given here?
• What attitudes toward God should result from an understanding of the privileges of the new covenant?
• List the actions and qualities which the author urges.
• With which of the above do you have problems? Why?

Possibilities for prayer:

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

Do you remember the story of Lot from the book of Genesis, who showed hospitality to strangers in his town, only to eventually discover that those strangers were actually angels. It seems that this story serves as an indication of the way in which we need to think carefully about the way we treat strangers who come into our lives. It is an encouragement to be hospitable to all people, those we know as well as those we don’t. Today, let’s pray for hearts of hospitality--that we might actually “entertain angels” without even knowing it.

Hebrews 12:25-29

25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Questions to consider:

• Who are "they" in this section?
• How is God’s dealing with "them" a warning to the Hebrews?
• How does the author show the superiority of the new revelation here?

Possibilities for prayer:

The goal to worship God acceptably--with reverence and awe-- seems to be one that has been around for awhile. Worship seems to be a space in which people are more easily able to encounter God, which is a great thing. But sometimes it can be easy to forget that when we are worshiping, we are worshiping the GOD of the UNIVERSE, which is a pretty serious thing, and rightly deserves reverence and awe. Today, let’s ask God to show us what reverence and awe in worship looks like, and try to act that out in our times of worship.

Hebrews 12:14-24

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.


Questions to consider:

• List the commands the author gives and the reasons for each.
• How does your relationship to God affect your attitude toward others?
• Under what circumstances have people in the past approached God? What have been their reactions?
• Where do people meet God now?
• What is your response?

Possibilities for prayer:

What does it mean to live in peace with everyone? That seems like a pretty large challenge...since “everyone” is a pretty large group of people. Peace is a word that is thrown around fairly regularly, and has maybe lost some of its power and intensity. Of course, there are different ways of interpreting the word. Many would suggest that peace is the absence of conflict, but what if God is calling us to something more than simply an absence, but rather a presence-- the presence of contentment, of tranquility. So today, let’s pray about how we can make peace an active thing and ask God what can we do in our lives to bring peace and live in peace, with everyone.