1. Headlines from Hebrews Wk 1 Wk 1 Jesus at the centre Wk 2 Wk 2 From heaven to earth Wk 3 Wk 3 Persevering through difficulty Wk 4 Wk 4 Faith triumphant Wk 5 Wk 5 Running a good race Wk 6 Wk 6 Our constant companion

2. Headlines from Hebrews Our Constant Companion! Hebrews 13:1-14

3. 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. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are ill-treated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honoured 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.

4. 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 for ever.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. What does it mean to say Jesus is with us today?

8. 1. He is with us inside the church Because the church is Jesus’ idea…

9. 1. He is with us inside the church Because the church is Jesus’ idea… As we show love for one another in simple acts of kindness v1

10. 1. He is with us inside the church Because the church is Jesus’ idea… As we show love for one another in simple acts of kindness v1 As we share the trouble of others – especially those suffering for their faith v3

11. 1. He is with us inside the church Because the church is inclusive… It is actually for those who don’t feel they belong anywhere else v13 Jesus suffered as an ‘outcast’ from the main stream religion of his day v12

12. We are all his children, so our task is to gather in the lost children of God… How? 2. He is with us outside the church

13. Look behind the mask of strangers v2 Can we see each other? Ask: ‘What is the Lord doing here’? He is always working! (John 5:17) The serving of angels is to be our encouragement v2 2. He is with us outside the church

14. 1.He is with us inside the church 2.He is with us outside the church

15. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever v8 His voice… His peace… His direction… His assurance… He will see us through our greatest challenge… 3. He is with us individually

16. 1.He is with us inside the church 2.He is with us outside the church 3.He is with us individually

17. What threatens his presence? Sexual sin – ‘pure’ means we are to be celibate before marriage; constant after marriage v4 The lure of money and material things v5 Strange teachings v9 Religious legalism v9-12

18. I John 1:8-9 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. I John 1:8-9

19. God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’ v5-6 (Deut. 31:6, Psalm 118:6,7) Words that strengthen us

20. He is our constant companion

21. We are never alone

22. Next week… Pentecost Sunday