Reflecting on Christ as our advocate
Here's some fodder for reflection and journalling based on last week's sermon text.
Hebrews 7:18-27 | The Advocate
:: What did you find most challenging, helpful, or troubling in the sermon (or the text)?
:: On Sunday, Josh mentioned that this passage can be hard to understand because of the cultural distance between the 1st century and our world today. Back then, everyone was trying to draw near to God through priests and temples. This is not the case today.
But one of the primary roles of a priest was to act as an advocate for the people, bringing their gifts and requests before God. In our culture, we do have advocates – those who speak up for us, or act on our behalf. Advocates are people who cheer us on, or people who speak up to defend us. Lawyers serve this purpose in a legal setting. Reflect on a time when someone acted as an advocate for you (cheering you on, speaking on your behalf, or defending you)?
:: The Bible says we need an advocate because we have been accused of some heinous crimes. Read Psalm 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23. What are these verses trying to say?
:: C.S. Lewis says there are two things we can say for sure about human beings: 1. All people have this curious idea that we ought to behave in a certain way, and 2. They do not in fact behave that way. This makes us uneasy, and so we seek to justify ourselves. This plays out for people in different ways.
- Some people are people pleasers, hungry for validation from everyone around them.
- Some have to be right, justifying themselves by proving to everyone that they know what they're talking about.
- Some carry around a burden of guilt.
Which of these do you tend toward?
::How is Jesus described as an advocate/priest in Hebrews 7? Focus especially on verses 23-27. List everything Jesus does on your behalf. Talk about the significance of each of these things.
:: On Sunday Josh said that trusting in Jesus as our high priest (advocate) frees us to live with confidence, boldness, humility, and generosity. How is Christ’s high priestly work related to each of these things? (in other words, how does seeing Christ as my high priest make me confident, bold, humble, and generous etc.)
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