HEBREWS 13:1-6

Love, Sex, and Money

November 13, 2016

Keith Gove

Hebrews 13:1-6 ESV: [1] Let brotherly love continue. [2] Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. [3] Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. [4] Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. [5] Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” [6] So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 

The author of Hebrews moves from the powerful truth that “our God is a Consuming Fire” to some very practical, visible expressions of how the reverent worship of God, the life of faith, gets lived out.

o We Love Others Liberally

o We Honor and Promote Marriage: Publicly and Privately

o We Enjoy God’s Provision Confidently

Life Group Questions:

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

1. How would you summarize the big ideas of chapters 1-11?

2. How would you paraphrase what the author has been saying in chapter 12?

3. What transition is taking place in Chapter 13?

4. Who is the author speaking about that I am supposed to love?  Who are my brothers?

5. Who are the strangers? Are these people inside the church or outside the church?

6. What is the author meaning when he asks the readers to show hospitality? What is the author’s intent in saying we have the opportunity to entertain angels?

7. What is our motivation for remembering those who are in prison?

8. Who or what is “the body” in verse 3?

9. How does verse 4 connect or relate to verses 1-3?  Is it connected at all?

10. Why does the writer mention marriage in the context of this conversation?

11. What does it mean that the marriage bed is undefiled? Why include the promise of judgment?

12. How does the author seem to connect “keep yourself from the love of money” and the quote in verse 6? What reason does the author give for contentment?

13. How would you summarize Hebrews 13:1-6?

HOW DOES IT APPLY?

1. How does this text relate to having faith that endures?

2. Who are the brothers and strangers in your life?

3. What are examples of hospitality? In your life, how do you show hospitality to brothers and sisters? How do you show hospitality to strangers? What would it look like to be more loving or hospitable? Should we invite strangers into our homes?

4. Is this verse saying we should express love to prisoners in our prison systems? Explain.  Who are the prisoners/mistreated in our culture? What would it look like for us to remember and extend love to them?

5. How do I view and value marriage in a culture that has embraced “same sex” marriages, infidelity, and divorce? 

6. If I am single, how do my choices match the picture of marriage described in Hebrews? Does it even apply to me?

7. What does it look like to live a de-compartmentalized life with your money/time/resources?  How does your faith (more joy in Jesus) get expressed in how you use your resources?

8. How could we experience more, and express more, of the truth that the Lord is our helper who will never leave us or forsake us