It has been many years since I have composed a sermon from the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews. So, I had to do a little contextual research regarding this epistle to get my own bearings for Sunday. And I thought it would be helpful for you to have some context in preparation for Sunday's sermon, as well.

As one of the earliest books contained in the New Testament, the author composed a letter to the Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem who were experiencing adversity from within and from without. From without, this fledgling group of disciples lived in an environment which was simultaneously hedonistic, pagan and religiously hostile towards them. This small group of adherents to "The Way," as the early Christians were known, lived amidst a culture that was antithetical to the Gospel to which they clung.

 

They lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero, whose contempt for and persecution of Christians is well known. And if this were not enough, the Hebrew faith community from which these Christians were drawn considered these adherents to the risen Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah to be apostate. And from within, the Christian community's faith was being tested on just how it should best resist the pressures and temptations exerted upon them, and which threatened their unity. In a word, these Christians were experiencing "adversity" from within and without as individual followers of Jesus, and as a community of faith.

 

This Sunday, I'll attempt to draw parallels that I hope you and I may find helpful as we also find our way, individually and as a faithful community, through the adversities we face every day.