20/10/02 10.30 a.m. Family Service Hebrews 3:1-6

3 1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

PRAY

Like volunteers to come and construct a building using Duplo.

As they do this use OHP to show pile of Lego. Some pieces may look identical but as the next OHP shows they may appear similar, but there are subtle differences. There is a whole web site devoted to the different lego pieces.

Sometimes lego can be used to make small things cf OHP, and sometimes slightly bigger things. There are places called Legoland where there are enormous constructions, cf OHP.

See how volunteers are getting on.

In today's reading we are continuing to look at Hebrews. Again we read of the superiority of the New Covenant that Jesus brings in as opposed to the Old Covenant that was given to Moses. Jesus is described as the builder of the house and a faithful son watching over that house. The house represents God's people, and we are going to think about what that means today.

I mentioned that some lego pieces look similar to one another, but are different. The lego buildings that we saw, especially the one in Legoland would have been made with thousands of different pieces. Different sizes, shapes, colours, functions, even textures.

God's building, the church, is made up of different people. Different sizes, shapes, colours, functions, sex, age, and so on...

You've heard the expression that once someone was made they threw away the mould. Well this is true of everyone, we are all different. In appearance, personality, and the gifts we are given by God. Yet, we are all made in the image of God. We are all equally loved by God. Those who make up his house have been transformed into the likeness of Jesus.

How should we react to these differences ?

We can rejoice in them. We can not only thank God for making me me, but also thank God for making you you! There should be no place for jealousy because God has given something to someone else, and there should be no room for pride because God has gifted us with something.

God is the builder and we should rejoice in his imagination and creativity in making us all different.

In his book FOLK PSALMS OF FAITH, Ray Stedman tells of an experience H.A. Ironside had in a crowded restaurant. Just as Ironside was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited his to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, "Do you have a headache?" Ironside replied, "No, I don't." The other man asked, "Well, is there something wrong with your food?" Ironside replied, "No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat."

The man said, "Oh, you're one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don't have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!"

Ironside said, "Yes, you're just like my dog. That's what he does too!"

We are called to thank God for everything that he gives us. Our life, our food, drink, possessions, family, friends, the gift of salvation and the talents, time and energy we have to serve him.

In Romans 12 Paul writes 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship.

We are to offer ourselves again and again to God as living sacrifices. Living through his spirit who has rescued us from sin and death. Sacrifices because we are totally and wholeheartedly committed to him.

C.T. Studd, the famous English cricketer and member of the English cricket team, gave away his vast wealth and became a missionary over a century ago. His slogan was, "If Jesus Christ be God, and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.

And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

I mentioned the importance of persevering when we looked at Chapter 1 two weeks ago. A commentary of mine says "Failure to persevere reveals that a person is actually not a child of God, whereas perseverance is the hallmark of his children." We can do this when we, verse 1, "fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess."

Let us focus on who Jesus is, God and man. What he has done, died and rose again for us. Look forward to the certain hope of eternity that is ours if we persevere. Let us live lives as part of his building, rejoicing, thanking, and serving.