Life Together – Week #2
Stirring One Another Up
Life Together 2026 – Hebrews 10:19-25 (CGS #2)
INTRODUCTION – As we continue to consider what “life together” looks like, we arrive at one of the most compelling expressions of the motivation behind our commitment to community. Why do we love, serve, and restore one another? Because Jesus loved, served, and restored us first. Earlier in chapter 10, the author of Hebrews refers to the Israelites’ system of making animal sacrifices for their sin year after year, but says that Jesus is a better sacrifice because his sacrifice cleanses us from sin forever. He wasn’t just covering up our sin, he came to actually remove it once and for all.
If that wasn’t enough, chapter 10 goes on to outline the practical outworking of this sin removal. Not only does Christ’s sacrifice cancel our guilt, it renews our relationship with God. We’re no longer God’s enemies or cosmic rebels condemned to the death penalty, but his friends. And not just his friends, but his children. This is a radical reversal of our fate, and Hebrews tells us that it’s only possible because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
With all of that in mind (the reason for the “therefore” in v 19), we get to our passage, and we’re given some instructions. God tells us how to live in light of Christ’s sacrifice. And it’s fascinating that it doesn’t start with moral commands like, “don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t kill;” no, it starts with an invitation: “draw near” (v 22). We can draw near to God’s throne (see also Hebrews 4:14-16). We can enter the holy place that was only foreshadowed by the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 26:30-34). In the Old Testament, if anyone entered the Most Holy Place without being purified, they died (Exodus 28:43). But now, because we’ve been purified by the blood of Jesus, we can enter God’s presence without fear, with confidence. We don’t have to be afraid that we’ll die for our sin because Jesus already did. We don’t need a high priest anymore because Jesus is our perfect high priest (v 21). He drew near to us so that we could draw near to him.
Verse 23 grounds our hope in his faithfulness. Think about it: If you couldn’t trust Jesus, would you feel any confidence approaching God’s throne? Absolutely not! You could never be sure of your safety because any time could be the time when his sacrifice fails. But he is faithful. He will never, ever fail, so we have every reason to place our unwavering hope in him.
Our passage doesn’t end there though, it goes on to tell us how to interact with one another while we wait for Christ’s return: stir each other up for love and good works. The language of “stirring up” should bring to mind a mug of hot chocolate or a pot of stew; it’s the opposite of “settling down.” See, the Holy Spirit knows our tendency to relax, to take our foot off the gas pedal, to lose steam, to become complacent, to settle. So he gives us the gift of community. When we gather together, either in big groups on a Sunday morning or smaller groups throughout the week, we get the privilege of running alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ and stirring each other up. We can listen, encourage, support, pray for, and gently correct one another. That’s the goal of gathering. Not just to sing songs and sip coffee, but to walk, arm in arm, pressing on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14).
Remember, we don’t have to run this race alone. We can’t run this race alone. Draw near to God. Hold fast to your hope in him. And when you don’t have the strength to stand up on your own, lean on the people God has placed around you. They are his means of holding you up and moving you forward.
GETTING STARTED – Discuss this question as a group: Describe a time when you really needed encouragement. Did you get it? What was the result?
IN THE WORD – Let’s dig back into the passage. It’s important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.
First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below (O.P.A.).
Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.
Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?
Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday-Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?
DISCUSS – Another way to approach your time together is to talk through the following discussion questions:
- What did you hear God’s Spirit say to you through the passage this week? How does it encourage you? How does it sharpen you?
- How have you seen God at work in your life this week? Have you enjoyed him? Have you heard his voice and the leading of his Spirit? Big ways or small ways.
- Where do we get the confidence to enter the holy places?
- What are we told to do as a result? (Hint: Look for the “let us” commands in verses 22-25.)
- What are some of the benefits of regularly gathering in Christian community?
- What does it mean to “stir up one another to love and good works”?
- In what ways have you been “stirred up” to love and good works in the past? Who did the stirring? What was the result?