Have you ever found yourself dumbfounded by what another person said they believed? I don’t know how you respond in a moment like this, but I walk away going, “Wow, human beings are so interesting. I mean how can a person possibly think and believe that?” If you want to see this in real time – just open up Instagram, or X, or Facebook for sure. And it’s especially fun to experience during an election year.

It drives us crazy when we hear someone say that they basically believe the EXACT opposite of what we believe. So half the country is going, “How could you vote for him?” and the other half is going, “how could you vote for him?”.

And you know what really sends this over the top? When the other person says the reason they believe EXACTLY the opposite of what you believe is because of their faith in Jesus. And we’re like, “Seriously, following Jesus led you to this?” How is that possible?

It could certainly be due to ignorance, meaning the person isn’t very well-acquainted with the Jesus revealed in Scripture. But it could also be because naturally we all will emphasize certain aspects of following Jesus while minimizing others. This is why we have the vision that we do for our church.

The vision of Epic Church is to see an increasing number of people in San Francisco orient their ENTIRE LIVES around Jesus.

Every single one of us tends to focus on certain aspects of our discipleship to Jesus, while minimizing or even neglecting other areas. When you begin to follow Jesus, you will immediately find that some of his truths and his ways resonate so deeply with you already. But for us to keep making progress in our faith, we will want to fully integrate our beliefs and actions into alignment with the way of Jesus.

Is it possible you are only orienting the areas of your life around Jesus that already align with your values?

Today I want to affirm all of the ways we are already following Jesus. This is something to be celebrated. It’s really special to think about where we started on this faith journey and to see all of the progress that’s been made.  And at the same time, I want to challenge all of us in the areas of our lives that are out of alignment with the way of Jesus.

Encouragement and challenge, both done with grace and love, is how we as a collective church can continue to move forward towards the vision Jesus has for our lives. Today we open up the final chapter in the book of Hebrews. In today’s text, we’re going to encounter a number of imperatives. You will likely discover some that you emphasize already and others that aren’t that central in your life – yet. You may also find some that you personally disagree with. There’s enough grace available for all of us today – to celebrate progress, to wrestle through things we aren’t sure about, and to fully surrender our entire lives to God.

Hebrews 13:1-8 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Quite the variety of topics, wouldn’t you say?

• Deep Love within Christian Community

• Hospitality to the Stranger

• Remembering Victims of Injustice

• Commitment to Marriage and Sexual Purity

• Be Content rather A Lover of Money

• Let God’s Presence Remove Your Fears

• Remember and Imitate Your Leaders

I don’t know that the order is important for all of these topics, but I do know there’s a reason for the first one listed. It’s always the first one listed – LOVE. Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment. In other words, out of more than 600 commands, which is the highest priority? He gave two answers – love the LORD your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. What matters most? Love! Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13, says this:

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

When Paul gives the list for the fruit of the Spirit, which do you think is first? That’s right, love. Why? Well, without love, nothing else really matters.  Remember that the audience receiving this letter was facing great persecution. Times were challenging and sometimes when life gets tough, we start going at each other rather than being for each other.

There are many different kinds of people in this Epic Church community. I think you can find some who are like you and I know you can find many who are nothing like you. We come from over 60 different nations. We’re single, we’re married, we’re divorced, we’re dating. Some of us have kids and some of us don’t. Of those of us who have kids, some of us have chosen private schools while others have chosen public schools and some of us have chosen to homeschool our children. And even in a city like San Francisco, we don’t all have the same politics. Over the last several years, it’s been reported over and over to me how certain church communities divide over political differences. I’m thankful that this hasn’t been our reality at Epic. But let me say this:

If you allow your differences to keep you from loving someone in our church community, you’re orienting your entire life around something other than Jesus.

Do you know who Jesus chose to be part of his original disciples? Not people who valued the same things or voted the same way.

Are you letting anything get in the way of loving others within this Epic community?

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers. At this time, a safe place to stay was not always available to travelers. So these Christians are urged to take strangers into their homes. What does it look like for us to welcome strangers into our lives? Into this church? Into our friendships?

Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.

Remember those who are in prison and those who are mistreated. Don’t forget those who are suffering injustice. How do you remember those who have been mistreated? Praying for them often. Go and serve them if you are able to. Provide for their tangible needs. Give to ministries and organizations who are able to provide care and services for those who have been oppressed and mistreated. This is the beauty of The Hope Project. While we launch The Hope Project every November, there are many people in our church who give to it throughout the year. Last year, we gave over $487k.

Foster Care. Adoption.

Next comes instructions about how everyone should honor marriage and that the marriage bed should be kept pure. Marriage isn’t for everyone, so it’s not a have-to. But it also isn’t something to be treated lightly or to be dishonored. It’s God idea and design.

God has also given the gift of sex to human beings. And like all of his gifts, He has intention behind how this gift should be experienced. We’re called to keep the marriage bed pure? How do you do this? If you are single, celibacy. If you are married, it means not lusting or having sexual relationships with anyone who isn’t your spouse. And if also means, if you are married and both able, there should be a frequency to having sex with your spouse.

“For a Christian, sex is something sacred. Hence it can never be simply a casual, unimportant, neutral thing. If its proper nature is respected, it builds the soul as a sacrament, and brings God’s physical touch to us. Conversely, though, if its proper nature is not respected, it becomes a perverse thing that works at disintegrating the soul.” -Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing

How are you orienting your romantic relationships and sexual practices around the way of Jesus?

Going on, keep your lives free from the love of money. How? Through contentment. Well, how do you get contentment? The awareness that the God of the Universe is with you, for you, and will never leave you.

A lack of contentment comes when we think we need something that we don’t have yet.

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I lack nothing.

No matter how little you have or how hard life gets, God will never leave you or forsake you. So you too can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” As we progress in our faith, the presence of God helps us overcome our fear and anxiety.

Remember your leaders and imitate their way of faith. There are no perfect leaders here at Epic Church – sorry. :) But we do want to be leaders who aren’t just telling you to orient your entire life around Jesus. We want to show you what it looks like to orient your life around Jesus.

And then verse 8 really gives the big idea of this text, the big idea of the book of Hebrews, and the big idea of our entire faith.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Other kingdoms have come and gone. The world constantly changes. Culture keeps shifting too. The values people hold dear are constantly in flux. Our economy rises and falls. So much is constantly shifting, but Jesus is constantly steady.

I’ve even been learning this in my own life during this season. So much has shifted in my home and in my job here. At home – somehow these 4 little kids are now almost all young adults. I’m embracing it, but it feels so different. And Epic Church is older and bigger now. What I give my time and energy to is different than it used to be. All of these changes have been a little jarring to me. It’s caused me to ask this question – “Where’s my place now?”

But with Jesus, He holds through it all. We’re not anchoring our lives to a moment or season in history. We’re anchoring our faith and our lives to the Maker and Sustainer of history.

Where can you thank God and celebrate progress in your faith?

Where is God inviting you to make progress in your faith?‍