13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
    for it is time to show favour to her;
    the appointed time has come.

14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
    her very dust moves them to pity.

15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
    all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion
    and appear in his glory.

17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be written for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created may praise the LORD:

19 "The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,

20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
    and release those condemned to death."

21 So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion
    and his praise in Jerusalem

22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship the LORD.

23 In the course of my life he broke my strength;
    he cut short my days.

24 So I said:
    "Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days;
    your years go on through all generations.

25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26 They will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
  Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.

27 But you remain the same,
    and your years will never end.

28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
    their descendants will be established before you."

5For to which of the angels did God ever say,

"You are my Son;
today I have become your Father" ?

"I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son" ?

"Let all God's angels worship him."

"He makes his angels winds,
his servants flames of fire."

"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy."

"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end."

"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet" ?

2 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

2. What ways do people think God speaks outside the Bible?

Read Hebrews 1:1-2:4

Pray for understanding of the passage.

3. How has God spoken in the past? (1:1)

4. What things are special about Jesus?
(There are about 8 mentioned in vv2-4)
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-
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5. Are angels greater or lesser than us? (1:14)
(See also 1 Corinthians 6:3 and Colossians 2:18)

6. What should we pay more careful attention to? (2:1)

7. Why did God send angels, apostles and signs? (2:2-4)

8. How does the Gospel message help us make decisions?

9. What decisions have you made because you believe the Gospel?

10. What decisions should you be making because you believe the Gospel?

Pray about our faithfulness to the Gospel in decision making.

1. The Big 'But' (1:1,2)

2. The Image of God (1:2-14)

3. Are you Paying Attention? (2:1-4)

Conclusion: The Last Word

You are a German, living under Nazi rule. Gestapo police come to your door and ask you if you are hiding any Jews in your home. What are you going to do?

You are going out with a non-Christian. You are now discovering that it is hard to behave like a Christian in that relationship. You are also finding it hard to give up the relationship. What are you going to do?

You are leading a Bible study group. It is Bible study night. Your boss tells you she wants you to stay back and help her finish a report that has to sent to head office overseas tonight. What are you going to do?

You're frustrated by still being single. There are no eligible partners in your church. There is a church nearby that has lots of eligible partners. The church is very social but the Bible is not really taught seriously. What are you going to do?

Your daughter comes home one night and breaks down as she tells you she was raped a couple of months ago, when she left Bible study on her way to her car. She has just discovered she is pregnant and doesn't want the baby. What are you going to do?

I don't think the answer to any of the questions above is simple. There are pros and cons on both sides. We can get all our friends together and ask them for advice. They'll point out all sorts of things. We can list these out, weigh them up and make a decision. In the end, though, the bottom line is that it is not our friends who have to make the decision. It's our life, our choice to make, we have the last word.

What decisions do you have to make over the next year or so? ... a course of study, a job, a place to live, a church, a life-partner. How are you going to manage your time? How are you going to pick your friends? Do you have plans, priorities and preferences? Where do you turn for advice? Do you look for God's guidance? If so, how do you expect him to answer you?

Pay careful attention to what we are studying today, because God has spoken. God has spoken to us and that leaves us with only two choices- either we listen and respond by taking his words to heart or we drift away.
 

How many ways can you think of God speaking throughout the Bible?

<At creation! to Adam in the Garden, to Abraham, to Lot (by messengers), to Joseph in dreams, to Moses in the burning bush, writing the Ten Commandments on stone with his own finger, proclaiming his name to Moses, to Balaam through an Ass, to Elijah after the storm, the writing on the wall, to Job, to John the Baptist, to Jesus.>

We know God can speak in all these many ways, because he has done so. But! Look at verses one and two. The writer makes a strong contrast. Although God can speak in all sorts of ways, now he has chosen to finish with something special.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son

The point is reinforced by the contrast between the phrases 'in the past' and 'in these last days-' God used to do that, but now he has done this.

Also, by calling our present time, 'these last days,' the writer is suggesting completion. He is suggesting that the world is coming to an end, just as he is suggesting that God has stopped speaking.

Finally, we should note the contrast between the two tenses of the verbs in verses one and two. I'll have to explain a little grammar first.

Rod and Peter graduated yesterday. We say they have graduated. They are, and always will be, Bachelors of Engineering (though hopefully Peter will go on and become a Doctor as well.) Their studies have finished, but the knowledge they've gained continues. There'd be no point in studying otherwise! Grammarians call this the 'Perfect' tense- 'they have graduated-'  a completed action in the past, with continuing results.

The writer of Hebrews contrasts God's speaking in verses one and two by using different tenses for the verb 'to speak.' In verse one he uses the so-called 'Simple Past' tense- God spoke- he may or may not do so again. In verse two he uses the 'Perfect' tense we've been talking about- God has spoken- a completed action in the past with continuing results.

Just in case you are getting worried. To say that God has stopped speaking does not mean we can't  hear him any more! It's a 'Perfect' tense. It means God finished speaking (completed action in the past) but it also means there are continuing results- like with completing a course of study. The continuing result of God speaking is we still hear what God said, and it is still very relevant for us today.

The authors of books close with a conclusion. In a court-room the judge closes the case by pronouncing a verdict. The writer of Hebrews is telling us that Jesus is the conclusion of God's story. His is telling us that Jesus has pronounced God's verdict.

There is another parallel I'd like to suggest. When we write a letter, how do we usually close it off?

<signature>

Looking ahead to verse three, it is interesting to think that with God closing his speech to man, in the person of his Son- Jesus- it is almost like a signature, a unique representation of himself, proof that God himself has actually spoken. Let's turn to the rest of chapter one now.
 

As we read Hebrews we are going to discover that it is obviously all about Jesus. It spends ten chapters carefully explaining who Jesus is. It's a bit tricky because it explains who Jesus is to a Jewish audience. It's tricky because the Jewish people it was written to knew their Old Testament better than we do.

Before we hit the Old Testament quotes, though, what did we learn about Jesus from vv2b-4?

<8 things>

What do you make of "after ... he sat down ..." ?

Why is it important that purification is finished?

<Grace- not by works- we don't have to do anything. And
Assurance of Salvation- depends on God keeping his word, which is sure Heb 6:13-18>

How would you summarise the main point of vv4-14?

<Jesus is greater than angels>

Each quote answers the question "Why is Jesus greater than angels?" Why was this an issue? Look at 2:2: "For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?"

In the original Greek, the word we translate as angel or angels simply means messenger. Sometimes it refers to spiritual beings, but not always. The writer's argument at this point hinges on our understanding that the greater the message the greater the messenger. For example ...
The greater the message, the greater the messenger.

More importantly, the same idea holds the other way around- the greater the messenger, the greater the message. For example ...
The greater the messenger, the greater the message.

The Jewish Christians the author was writing to were already convinced of the high value of the Old Testament message and honoured its messengers, Moses and the prophets, accordingly. The writer of Hebrews is looking to convince his Jewish readers that Jesus is greater than Old Testament messengers. The Gospel message of salvation he brings is therefore greater than the Old Testament message.

This salvation, ... was first announced by the Lord (2:3)

How does the writer of Hebrews want us to respond to what he is telling us? Let's turn finally to the first four verses of chapter two.
 

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?

This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.  God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Verse four gives other evidence that God provided to confirm the Gospel. However, the 'also' in verse four may suggest it is a bit of a throw-away comment. It might be like the 'also' in Gen 1:22

God made two great lights- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

People are persuaded by different things. Jewish people, in particular, were used to God confirming things by signs.

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom

But the question still remains: are you paying attention or are you drifting away? Let me give you a last word.

[How do we pay attention? By remembering the Gospel. By applying it to all our decisions.]
 

The writer of Hebrews hammers home the point that God has spoken his last word. There's no reason for us to negotiate something different. Not that we'd want to! It is a last word promising a great salvation!

But negotiating a different relationship with God is not normally the problem we think we have. Normally, we get confused when we have hard decisions to make. We want to do the right thing, we want to go God's way, but we don't know what God's will is.

If that's your issue, you're the same as me, and I think we all face it if we're serious about living our lives as Christians. If you share this issue with me, this is what I think the writer of Hebrews would say to us-

God gives us great freedom: we're free to enjoy choko flavoured milk-shakes, wear sandals and long socks; even if we're cowardly, lie, gossip and steal- we will be forgiven. What we do is often less important than the direction we're heading. Are we striving to grow in understanding of God ... or have we stopped paying attention and are we drifting away?

Let's keep reading our Bibles and keep being changed by what we learn and are reminded about. Let's not look elsewhere- to our feelings or apparently super-spiritual friends. The Bible gives us a level playing field, there is no favouritism. Let's play in Bible territory, not in the mud and in the dark.