God's Little Theater is closed! Yesterday Jim said that the Old Covenant sacrificial system was a drama, representing deeper truth. And God never intended the play to go on forever. At some point the curtain comes down (or is torn in two!), the lights come up, and everyone heads for the sunlight of reality. Well, not everyone. Those who want to reestablish priests and sacrifices have missed the point of the play entirely! We'll review a bit, then conclude Jim's message from Hebrews 9.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Sometimes you have to keep telling yourself, "It's only a movie!" We can get caught up in a drama and forget that what we're seeing is a story, designed by a playwright and performed by actors who have other names and other lives. As we open Hebrews 9 we'll see a unique drama. The divine Author used it to communicate His "inner life," if you will, to us. The stage was the Tabernacle; the players were priests; and the meaning of the presentation is what we'll discuss today. But never forget - as some of the early Jewish Christians did - that "it's only a movie."

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Religious tradition may be comfortable, and even comforting, but it is "futile." That's the word Peter used. It looks nice, but doesn't get you anywhere. In Hebrews, we've been confronted with the stark contrast between symbolism and substance, Old Covenant versus New. Yesterday Jim said that God's Best Offer includes a better Priest, a better place and better promises. Today he'll spell out four of those promises. And the first one is a Better Result!

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

The Old Covenant system dealt only with physical, time-bound things. Even its place of worship was a replica! We're getting to the heart of the book of Hebrews. Through 7 chapters the author has contrasted the limitations of the old system with the excellences of the new. If he can help us see the infinite superiority of Jesus' spiritual ministry and the terms of the New Covenant, Satan will never be able to tempt us to go back to skin-deep religion. Here's Pastor Jim with Part 1 of the sermon, God's Best Offer.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Don't let the temporary fix become the permanent solution. When we think about it, everything in the Old Covenant system of priests and sacrifices screams "provisional," "partial," "stopgap," "temporary." We have flawed, mortal priests offering the blood of farm animals in a kind of endless loop. Does this seem like the perfect answer to our sin problem? Continuing his sermon from Friday, Jim will show us that God's full remedy is much, much better. And permanent. We're in Hebrews, chapter 7.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

The writer of Hebrews is about to "drop the mic." The New Covenant is a better covenant - with a better hope and a better sacrifice. And its priesthood was here first. We're continuing our study of Hebrews with a closer look at the argument made in chapter 7. Whether you're looking for fellowship with God, eternal life in heaven, or even human completeness, you can't get there from Mount Sinai. Jim calls this passage "unsurpassed" in all the Bible. Here's Part 1 of his message, Older than the Old Testament.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

To move from relationship to ritual is not a step forward. The author of Hebrews was writing to people who were charmed by tradition and ceremony - just like many church people today. And no wonder we like barriers and intermediaries: open fellowship with God can be a frightening prospect. But the old formalism was far inferior to the "new way." Yesterday Jim began to summarize the difficult truths contained in Hebrews, chapter 7. Here's the second half of his sermon, Meet Mysterious Melchizedek.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Is Abraham our spiritual great-great grandfather? Or might it be someone "greater?" There is someone "greater than Abraham" in the Old Testament. His name is Melchizedek. We don't know much about who he was, but we can see what he stood for. And, for those Hebrew Christians tempted to fall back into the Jewish system, he is a powerful symbol of something better, deeper, and permanent. Our quick Hebrews series has brought us to chapter 7. Today we'll hear the first part of a message called, Meet Mysterious Melchizedek. Jim starts our conversation by asking, "What's in a name?"

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

In a sense, God's promises to us are already fulfilled - in our Representative! We believe that our sin has been dealt with in our Agent, our Surrogate, Jesus. But do we also understand and believe that we've already been "seated in the heavenly places" in that same Representative? He's holding our seat for us until we arrive. There's no worry about God fulfilling His promises; they're already done! Today we'll hear Part 2 of a sermon in Hebrews 6 called Some Things Don't Change.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

We joke, "The only constant is change," but that's not true about everything. That saying goes all the way back to Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who said, "Panta rhei" - "Life is flux." But we know that God is constant, and so are His promises. That's going to be important to us as we press on through our own inconsistencies and failures. And pressing on is exactly what the writer of Hebrews wants us to do. Before our Easter break we read the first part of chapter 6, full of dire warnings. Now we turn to the second half of that chapter, and God's good, unchangeable plans for us.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.