Hebrews 12:1-3-- Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Some things are just meant to be taken in a larger context. Sure, The Dark Knight and The Bourne Ultimatum are awesome movies on their own; but you get a lot more when you view (or at least consider) each as part of its respective trilogy. The same could be said for individual episodes of LOST, books in the Narnia series, and for my 2+ faithful readers (thanks, Mom and Dad), maybe even this blog post.

Unfortunately, I think we often fail to respect this principle, and one instance of this is the reading of Hebrews 12:1-3.

Hebrews 11:1-31-- Longing for a Better Country

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-31

Hebrews 11. The "Hall of Faith". Seriously, there are probably statues of these people in heaven.

But for all the times you've read this beloved chapter, have you ever wondered why it's there?

Hebrews 3-- If Indeed We Hold

Scripture: Hebrews 3

Hebrews 3 continues the argument from Hebrews 1 and 2: Jesus is greater than the iconic figures of God's revelation in times past, and thus we must reckon all the more seriously with His word.

Now, if you're like me, your attention span lasts somewhere between "literally no time has elapsed" and "the time it takes for someone to jump in and correct a misuse of the word literally". In fact, for some of us, that joke was too long to hold our attention. So, it can be tough when the author of Hebrews starts his letter by drawing out an argument for three whole chapters (and counting).