Post
# 149 -- Week # 43 – Come, Follow Me for Sunday School -- November 4–10 -- Hebrews 1–6 -- Jesus
Christ, “the Author of Eternal Salvation”
Dear
Family and Friends
I certainly hope and pray that this ‘creeping
crud’ that I have had, going on two weeks now hasn’t gotten ahold on any of
you. I got my flu shot at the beginning of fall and I have not been sick at all
--- until now☹ this cold or whatever it is, is hard on a body. I
have a horrible cough that I can’t seem to shake off, but it is getting better,
I think😊 at least my throat is feeling better, it doesn’t
feel like I am swallowing glass now! I know, that sounds awful, but I can’t
think of any other way to describe it – though honestly, I have never swallowed
glass!
I have
been sleeping whenever I can and as long as I can – which, in and of itself is
odd for me. I struggle to get to sleep or I struggle to stay asleep once I have
gone to sleep☹ this is my normal, but lately all I seem to do is
sleep and work! Last weekend I slept all day long on Saturday and therefore I
did not get anything accomplished that I had needed to do. I am thinking that
the sleep is maybe what I really needed to do, so that I could make it through
this week of work😊
Usually
whenever I get sick, there have been sick kids in my class or sick ones at
home, but not so this time. I was the one that seemed to find it – all by
myself. I know that because of having cancer my immune defenses are weakened,
but so far, I have been able to fight off what has come. This one has hit me a
little bit harder though, I will be the first to admit it. The sinus pressure
and headaches have been a trouble for me to battle each day and this cough☹ ah,
well, this too shall pass😊 right?
This
upcoming weekend I have to be well enough to go to my Son’s wedding. My ‘baby’
is getting married😊 I am so excited for him and his bride-to-be! They
are an amazing couple. I hope that all of my children and my grandchildren can
make it here for his wedding. This will be only the second formal wedding of my
children that we have had. If my memory serves me well my oldest son and my
oldest daughter were married by our Bishop and my middle son was married by the
judge while I was at work, so I was not at his wedding at all☹ He and
his wife seem to be happy and doing well – though no grandchildren yet😊
The lesson for this week covers the first six
chapters of the book of Hebrews. In studying these chapters I was reminded of
things that I gave up when I chose to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I
changed my way of life. It was hard to do, and it took a lot of faith and trust
in the Lord. It took a lot of prayers, and yes, a lot of hard work and
repentance to make the necessary changes.
I did not
have a specific religion that I belonged to and my family did not attend church
at all. I had not been taught about Jesus Christ in my home. I was not brought
up being taught a certain way that I should live and believe, by my family for
generations and generations. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for
the Hebrews of their day to make the changes necessary to accept the teachings
of Jesus.
They had
been following and living the law of Moses for so many generations of time,
that was all that they knew. They had many ceremonial rituals and other things
that I do not pretend to understand, but many things were added into those
things which made the law of Moses a bit corrupt I believe. They followed the
traditions of their fathers and their father’s father and so on for
generations.
The Law
of Moses was a lesser law through the Aaronic Priesthood preparatory for the
Higher Law. Their ceremonies and rituals of the Law of Moses were done as
reminders to keep their focus on spiritual things. I think a lot of thee
Hebrews didn’t understand that the Law of Moses had been fulfilled through
Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on the earth He taught the people of a higher law.
Those who broke away from those traditions and
chose to become believers of Jesus Christ surely had to have a whole lot more
faith and trust than I have. I know in our previous study we learned that those
who chose to follow Jesus Christ did not have an easy life. Sometimes they lost
their lives for believing in and following Jesus Christ☹ if their
families did not make the same choice to follow Jesus, there may have been
alienation from their families for choosing to be a follower of Jesus☹
I think
maybe the explanation from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families
manual will explain it a lot better than I have:
We
all have to give up something in order to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ—whether
that be bad habits, incorrect beliefs, unwholesome associations, or something
else. For Gentiles, conversion often meant abandoning false gods. For the
Hebrews (Jews), however, conversion proved to be, if not more difficult, a
little more complicated. After all, their cherished beliefs and traditions were
rooted in the worship of the true God and the teachings of His prophets,
extending back thousands of years. Yet the Apostles taught that the law of
Moses had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ and that a higher law was now the
standard for believers. Would accepting Christianity mean that the Hebrews must
give up their earlier beliefs and history? The Epistle to the Hebrews sought to
help settle such questions by teaching that the law of Moses, the prophets, and
the ordinances are all important, but Jesus Christ is greater (see Hebrews 1:1–4; 3:1–6; 7:23–28). In fact, all these things point to and testify of
Christ as the Son of God and the promised Messiah the Jews had been waiting
for. The message for the Hebrews, and for all of us, is that sometimes we must
give up traditions to make Jesus Christ the center of our worship and our lives—for
it is through Christ “that
we may obtain mercy” (Hebrews 4:16).
Jesus Christ is “the author of eternal salvation.”
What are some ways that you can encourage your family members
and friends to share with one another some of the meaningful scriptures about
Jesus Christ that they found during their personal scripture study and their
family scripture study this week?
One way that we died this in class was that our instructor made
a chart on the board with a column for each of the first five chapters in
Hebrews. Then we shared with our class phrases from each of the chapters that
had taught us about Jesus Christ. Then he wrote them on the board in the
appropriate column along with the verse number where they are found. His chart
looked something like the following:
|
Chapter 1
|
Chapter2
|
Chapter3
|
Chapter 4
|
Chapter 5
|
|
v.7 Thou
madest him a little lower than the aangels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the
works of thy hands:
|
v.1 partakers of the heavenly calling, aconsider the bApostle and cHigh Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
v. 3 counted worthy of more glory than Moses,
|
v. 15 was in all points
|
v. 2 he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
v.8 Though he were a Son, yet alearned
|
Now here is the question that we were asked in our class, that I
will pose to each one of you as well: How does knowing these things about the
Savior affect our faith in Him and willingness to follow Him? Here is the first section
from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families with personal scripture
study ideas for you:
Ideas for Personal
Scripture Study
Who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews?
Some scholars have
questioned whether Paul wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews. The literary style of
Hebrews is somewhat different from Paul’s other letters, and the earliest
versions of the text did not name an author. However, because the ideas
expressed in Hebrews are consistent with Paul’s other teachings, Latter-day
Saints, in keeping with Christian tradition, have generally accepted that Paul
was at least involved in writing this epistle.
As you probably noticed in your study of Hebrews chapters 1-5,
the author uses a variety of different images to describe the Savior. It might
be helpful to use these images to deepen the understanding of your family
members and friends of the mission of Jesus Christ.
They did this activity in class, but I was not there for the
whole thing. I thought it was a good activity even though I did not personally
participate in it. So I did not see the objects that they used. I came up with
a couple, but maybe you will have some better ideas to use with your family
members and friends if you choose to do this activity with them😊
Here are the scriptures they used for examples that you might
use some objects with to add to their understanding with the visuals to
represent the descriptions of Jesus Christ or His mission:
Hebrews 1:3
3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image
of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down
on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten of the
Father. He has a body of flesh and bones. He has God’s power. He paid for our
sins. He now sits at the right-hand of God. What object could you use here to
represent this verse?
Hebrews 2:10
10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,
in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of
their salvation perfect through
sufferings. To
make the captain of their salvation – maybe you could use a real one or a picture
of a captain’s hat? Jesus Christ is the captain of our salvation. Our salvation
was made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Would you choose to
use another object to represent this verse?
Hebrews 3:1, 6
1 Wherefore, holy
brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of
our profession, Christ Jesus; This verse is referring to Jesus Christ being the
Apostle and High Priest over our Church. He holds the Melchizedek Priesthood.
6 But Christ as a son over
his own house; whose house are we, if we hold
fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Whose house are we – This is the Church
of Jesus Christ – we belong to His Church. Jesus Christ is the head of His
Church – the cornerstone.
With these two verses together, what object would you use to
represent them? I was thinking maybe a picture of one of our meeting houses where
the name of the church is visible?
Hebrews 5:9
9 And being made perfect,
he became the author of
eternal salvation unto
all them that obey him;
Jesus Christ is perfect He became the author of eternal salvation –
you could maybe use a book for this one? Do you have a better object to represent this
verse?
Show your family members and friends an
object that represents one of these ( or you can choose your own verses)
descriptions of Jesus Christ or His mission from Hebrews
1–5 . As
you show the object you could explain to your family members and friends what each
object teaches us about Jesus Christ. Then read the corresponding verse from
Hebrews in the examples above.
And it’s question time again😊
ask your family members and friends this question: How does knowing these
truths about the Savior influence our lives? Here is the second section from
the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families with personal scripture study
ideas for you:
Ideas for Personal
Scripture Study
Jesus Christ is “the express image” of Heavenly Father.
Many Jews found it
difficult to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The Epistle to the Hebrews
teaches that everything about Jesus testifies of and exemplifies His Father. As
you read the first five chapters of Hebrews, you might keep a list of Jesus
Christ’s titles, roles, attributes, and works you find mentioned. What do these
things teach you about the Savior? What do they teach you about Heavenly
Father?
What does the
following statement from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland add to your
understanding of the teachings in these chapters? “Jesus … came to improve
man’s view of God and to plead with them to love their Heavenly Father as He
has always and will always love them. … So feeding the hungry, healing the
sick, rebuking hypocrisy, pleading for faith—this was Christ showing us
the way of the Father” (“The Grandeur of God,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2003, 72). https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2003/10/the-grandeur-of-god?lang=eng
·
Jesus Christ suffered all things so that He can understand and
help those who suffer.
Your family members and / or friends may
be going through some difficult times, suffering some trials in their lives and
they may feel hopeless and alone.it may help to build their faith so that they
have a desire to turn to their Heavenly Father and their Savior for help as you
study and discuss the following verses: Hebrews
2:9–18; 4:12–16; 5:7–8 .
You could begin this by asking your
family members and friends to think of someone they know (it could be a friend,
another family member, someone in your neighborhood, someone in your extended
family, etc.) that seems to be suffering an illness or another trial and maybe losing
hope. Then as you study the verses together you could have your family members
and / or friends either listen for or look for the verses that they might be
able to share with the person that they had thought of who may be in need of
their help and comfort.
Maybe your family members and friends
could think of a time when their Heavenly Father and the Savior has given them
comfort and supported them through their own trials that they could share with
this friend or with your family group. You could also share with your family
members and friends the following quotation by President John Taylor:
Jesus Christ knows what it’s like to
experience suffering.
President John Taylor taught: “It was necessary when the Savior
was upon the earth, that he ‘should be tempted in all points like unto us,’ and
‘be touched with the feelings of our infirmities,’ [see Hebrews 4:15] to comprehend the
weaknesses and strength; the perfections and imperfections of poor fallen human
nature; and having accomplished the thing he came into the world to do, having
had to grapple with the hypocrisy, corruption, weakness, and imbecility of man—having met with
temptation and trial in all its various forms, and overcome, he has become ‘A faithful high priest’ [see Hebrews 2:17] to intercede for us in
the everlasting kingdom of his Father. He knows how to estimate, and put a
proper value upon human nature, for he, having been placed in the same position
as we were, knows how to bear with our weaknesses and infirmities, and can
fully comprehend the depth, power, and strength of the afflictions and trials
that men have to cope with in this world, and thus understandingly and by
experience, he can bear with them as a father and an elder brother” (Teachings of Presidents of the
Church: John Taylor [2001], 204–5).
As you know there are some people who see
all of the suffering in the world and they often wonder if God notices or even
cares. Reading in the following verses can also be helpful to those people: Hebrews 2:9–18; 4:12–16 .
Maybe your family members and friends could search these verses to find the
truths that might help with these questions.
What do these verses teach about how the
Savior responds to humanity’s suffering? Another activity you can do that may
be helpful is to ask your family members and friends to share examples from the
scriptures where people were supported by Jesus Christ in their sufferings
Scriptural examples of people comforted by
Jesus Christ.
·
Mosiah 21:5–15: The Lord softened the
hearts of the Lamanites so that they eased the burdens of the people of Limhi.
You may also want to show the video
“Mountains to Climb” (LDS.org). then you can talk with your
family members and friends what we learn about how the Savior can help us when
we face difficult challenges. I think one of the most important things that we
can learn is that we are never alone – our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
always there with us😊 Here is the third section from the Come, Follow Me for
Individuals and Families with personal scripture study ideas for you:
Jesus Christ suffered temptation and infirmities so that He can
understand and help me.
Do you feel that you
can “come boldly unto the throne of grace” and seek mercy? (Hebrews 4:16). One message of
the Epistle to the Hebrews is that despite our sins and weaknesses, God is
approachable and His grace is attainable. What do you find in Hebrews 2:9–18; 4:12–16; 5:7–8 that
strengthens your confidence that Jesus Christ will help you with your mortal
challenges? Consider recording in a journal your thoughts and feelings about
what the Savior has done for you.
God’s blessings are available to those who “harden not [their]
hearts.”
There is a plea to the Saints in Hebrews 3 and 4 for them not to harden
their hearts because if they do they are rejecting the blessings God that wants
to give them. As you and your family members and friends read through Hebrews 3:7–4:2, you
might want to discuss some ways of how the
experiences of the ancient Israelites could apply to us today, just as they had
applied to the Hebrews who were in the early Church Here is the fourth section
from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families with personal scripture
study ideas for you:
Ideas for Personal
Scripture Study
In order to receive God’s blessings, I must “harden not” my
heart.
Even though they had been converted to
Christianity, some of the Jewish Saints found it difficult to fully accept the
gospel of Jesus Christ and its blessings. By retelling the story of the ancient
Israelites, Paul hoped to persuade the Jews to avoid the mistake their
ancestors made—rejecting
God’s blessings because of unbelief. (You can read the
story Paul alluded to in Numbers
14:1–12, 26–35.)
Consider how Hebrews
3:7–4:11 might apply to you. To do this, you might ponder
questions like these:
·
How did the Israelites provoke the Lord?
(see Hebrews
3:8–11). What are the consequences of having a hard heart?
·
When have I allowed my heart to become
hardened? Are there any blessings God wants to give me that I am not receiving
because of a lack of faith?
·
What can I do to develop a soft and
contrite heart? (see Ether
4:15; Proverbs
3:5–6; Alma
5:14–15).
Here are a couple more questions for each
of you to answer😊What do you think is causing some people
to harden their hearts in our day? What are some things that we can do to keep
our hearts soft and responsive to the will of the Lord? Let’s search through
the following verses to see if we can find some answers together: Ether 4:15; Alma 5:14–15.
15 Behold, when ye shall
rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state
of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the
great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from
you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart
and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered
the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the
church, have ye spiritually been born of God?
Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this
mighty change in your hearts?
15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you?
Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in
immortality, and this corruption raised in
incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according
to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?
Those who serve in God’s kingdom must be called of God.
As you know, not all of your family members
and friends are priesthood holders as
not all people in your neighborhood are priesthood holders, but the message
from Hebrews 5 about
priesthood holders being called of God applies to all who receive Church
callings.
I know there are some of you out there who
are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t be worry.
To help you learn with us we are inviting each one of you to review with us in Exodus 4:10–16, 27–31; 28:1, what it means to “be
called of God as was Aaron,” the account of Aaron receiving his calling.
10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my
Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken
unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.
11And the LORD said unto him, Who hath
made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the bind? Have
not I the LORD?
12Now therefore go, and I will be with
thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray
thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled
against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know
that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and
when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put
words in his mouth: and I will be thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach
you what ye shall do.
16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the
people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou
shalt be unto him instead of God.
27 And the LORD said unto Aaron, Go into
the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and
kissed him.
28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of
the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.
29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered
together all of the elders of the children of Israel:
30And Aaron spake all the words which the
LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
31 And the people believed: and when they
heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked
upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
28:1 And take thou to thee Aaron thy
brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may
minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abidu, Eleazar
and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
What do we learn from this account in
Exodus that can help us understand this account in Hebrews 5:1–5?
1 For every high priest taken from among
men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both
gifts and sacrifices for sins:
2 Who can have compassion on the
ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is
compassed with infirmity.
3And by reason hereof he ought, as for
the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself,
but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
5 So also Christ glorified not himself to
be made as high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have
I begotten thee.
Our instructor asked us when have we as
class members, including ward leaders, received confirmation that someone was
called of God to fulfill a specific calling? He then asked each of us how did
that confirmation help us each to better sustain someone in their calling? For me
personally this confirmation has come through a feeling in my heart and assurance
to mind😊
Knowing of a surety that someone has been
called to their calling by God gives me honor to sustain and help them in any
way that I can and to pray for them in their calling and otherwise too! here is
great power in prayer!!! If you have not experienced that power yet, you really
should give it a try. There is also great power in the scriptures when you read
and study them every day😊
I know that the Lord blesses each one of
us as we accept our callings and do the best that we can do to magnify our
calling😊 I
know from my own experience that the Lord qualifies those whom He calls when
the accept their callings and do their best! I know that I have been inspired and blessed
in every calling that I have ever been called to serve in since becoming a
member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints😊 Here is the section from
the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families with family scripture study and family home evening ideas for you:
Ideas for Family
Scripture Study and Family Home Evening
As you read the
scriptures with your family, the Spirit can help you know what principles to
emphasize and discuss in order to meet the needs of your family. Here are some
suggestions:
In what ways has
Jesus shown that He loves righteousness and hates iniquity? If we have
unrighteous desires, what can we do to change them?
Can you think of an
object lesson to help your family understand what it means to keep a firm hold
on the gospel truths “which we have heard”? You might illustrate this with an
object that is hard to hold onto. How are our efforts to maintain our testimony
like catching and holding this object? How can we make sure “the things which
we have heard” do not “slip” away from us? (verse 1).
To explore the
phrase “captain of their salvation,” you could begin by discussing what a
captain is. What does a captain do? How is Jesus Christ like a captain for us
and our salvation?
These verses can
help you have a discussion about what it means to be called of God to hold the
priesthood or to fulfill other Church callings by someone who has authority.
What can we learn from the example of Jesus Christ about receiving and
fulfilling callings?
Have you or your family members and
friends ever felt like they were “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” as it
says in Hebrews 11:13 all because your beliefs were different from
those around you? As you and your family
members and friends read and study
Hebrews 7–13, you
will find some examples of some individuals who faithfully received and
embraced the promises of God even though many of those people around them were
faithless and sometimes even mean☹
Wow! Cam you believe we are already at the
end of our lesson☹ I do love studying with each one of you
out there in our cyber study group😊 I do hope you are learning as much as I am😊 I
also hope that you have each been making good use of the personal scripture
study ideas and the family scripture study and family home evening ideas😊 I
have been using them so I thought it would be a good idea to make sure you had
an opportunity to use them as well😊
I believe that you can make use of these
things even if you are not yet a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints😊 I love the study helps that the Church
has made available for our use and profit and learning. If you have not had a
chance to check them out, please do so here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/?lang=eng
The Church also has an app for your phone
that contains so much, you might just be amazed and find it very useful in your
daily lives😊 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/pages/mobileapps/gospellibrary?lang=eng
As always please continue studying your scriptures
with us😊
there is still so much more for us to learn together☹continue
to say your prayers every day! Please, Please, remember who you are!!! You are each
one a child of God. You are either a son or daughter of God – no matter what
your age is😊 your Heavenly Father is the Father of
your Spirits😊 you need to nourish your spirit just as
you need to nourish your physical body to keep it strong and active!! Keep up
the good work guys!! You are doing better than you think😊So,
until my next post, please make it a good week!!!
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