Well, a year ago, right now, we were also finishing a sermon series.

It was a much shorter sermon series, and it was one of my favorites of all time.

Y'all remember when we preached on Jonah a year ago?

Oh, man. A lot of people hate on Jonah. I love Jonah, because he reminds me of me.

It's like, you're running from God and God's love

and pursuit of you overwhelms your own rebellion and even exposes the idols of your own heart. I'll

never forget that series. I was crying a year ago just saying goodbye to this series. I got to tell

you a year later and nine months into Hebrews, I am not

sad about finishing this series at all. I'm thrilled to be moving on because the theme of Hebrews

is perseverance under trial. It's keep going when you want to give up. And here's why Jesus is

worth you not giving up. It's a church

that is thinking about tapping out. And most of us would say for good reason. They're being

threatened with rejection from people that they love. They're being threatened with persecution.

There's real stuff that's made it really hard for them to participate in the kingdom of God in their

day. But what we've seen through some deep theological truths

rooted in the Old Testament story of God's people

is that the covenant we have with Jesus

invites us into a story and a life that is better.

We are not letting go of Jesus.

Here's why.

Because where else are we going to go?

Who else would we run to? What other option do we have? So it might be a hard road, it might be a difficult road. And this is where a lot of people in our country, and I think a lot of people in our community are getting to right now. It's like, man, it might be difficult. It might mean rejection. It might mean pain. but what other option do i have for my life other than to give it to jesus on friday i got the opportunity to preach a funeral

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