2. Do You Value the Church? Not the building or the property, but the institution and its people?

3. The Hebrew Christians to whom the epistle was written didn’t really ‘value’ their relationship in and with Christ. And because of this failure, they were in danger of losing their salvation, cf. Heb.2:1,3. So, the whole epistle is an explanation of the ‘superiority’ of everything in Christ Jesus! If they could understand the inherent value of what they had in Christ, and appreciate it, then they would be safeguarded from potential apostasy, Heb.13:20-21. The same is true for us! As we’ve learned in our Wednesday evening Adult study of Hebrews,

4. What is meant by ‘value’ or ‘valuing’? For our purposes, ‘value’ has two primary components: 1)Inherent worth- which is intrinsically based; and, 2)Perceived worth- which is personally based. Therefore, ‘valuing’ is my understanding and appreciating something’s inherent worth so that it becomes ‘valuable’ to me! Matt.13:44-46 well illustrates these principles. First,

5. What is the inherent value of the Church? To answer this question, consider: The planning invested in it, Eph.1:3ff The time taken to bring it to fruition, Heb.9:26; Gal.4:4 The price paid for it, Acts 20:28; Rev.5:9; 14:3-4 The purposes for it: 1)Manifest God’s wisdom, Eph.3:10 2)Be the ground and support of truth, 1Tim.3:15 3)Training & support, Eph.4:11-16; Heb.12-13; 10:24ff; 12:12-13. With those things in mind,

6. What is the perceived value of the Church? Obviously, that depends upon: Our understanding of its inherent worth- which has hopefully now improved; Perceived worth- being ‘subjective,’ this one obviously has variables: 1)We ‘value’ that in which we invest: time, effort, resources, commitment. 1 out 168 hours? Showing up? Left-overs vs. sacrifice? “they/them” vs. “we/us”? And now, We ‘value’ that in which we’ve invested ourselves and our resources.

7. What is the perceived value of the Church? Obviously, that depends upon: Our understanding of its inherent worth- which has hopefully now improved; Perceived worth- being ‘subjective,’ this one obviously has variables: 1)We ‘value’ that in which we invest: time, effort, resources, commitment. 2)We also ‘value’ that in which we have made deposits: our families (physical & spiritual) future well being, Matt.6:19ff. And now, We ‘value’ that in which we’ve deposited our most prized possessions.

8. Do you value the Church? If so, you: Understand its inherent worth; And it has come to have personal worth because you have been: 1)Investing your time, effort, resources, and commitment to it; and, 2)Depositing your most prized possessions- your soul, and those of your family. So, If not, the inverse of all these things is also true. The good news is you can change!