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Love
Teaching Text: Hebrews 12:18–29
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Hebrews: A new and Living Way
Unshakeable Kingdom
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
Sermon Summary
“I have found it to be rather inscrutable — just quite difficult for me to read and understand.”
That’s the honest confession Jackie opens with about Hebrews. It’s a letter written to people who aren’t us — shared language, shared culture, a world of Old Testament “hyperlinks” we don’t catch anymore. But read straight through, one thing leaps off the page: urgency. The author is grabbing his friends by the shoulders, looking them in the eye, and saying: don’t turn back now.
Don’t give up on Jesus. Fix your eyes.
Three Old Testament hyperlinks carry the argument:
We have not come to a mountain that can be touched, but to Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:18–24). At Sinai, Israel stood far off, terrified — touch the mountain and you die (Exodus 19–20). Under the new covenant, that distance is gone. Jesus’s blood speaks a better word than Abel’s — it says “it is finished.” The veil is torn. We get to come all the way in.
Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens (Hebrews 12:26–28). This echoes Haggai’s word to a discouraged, rebuilding people, and Daniel’s vision of a kingdom that crushes every other kingdom and never ends. What we build for God’s kingdom — however small it looks — cannot be shaken. Sandwiches made, prayers prayed, strangers welcomed as family: it lasts forever.
Our God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:23–24; Hebrews 12:29). A warning against idols, but also a promise. The closer you get to God, the more He burns away what isn’t useful — not to destroy you, but to refine you.
Pain and suffering now? Last gasps of a kingdom that’s passing away. Keep building.
Direct Quotes
“It may not look like what you thought it would look like, but KEEP working, God is WITH YOU.”
— Unshakeable Kingdom
“These things might seem small, but God is saying over every bit of work you do to build the kingdom: it’s good and that goodness will last forever.”
— Unshakeable Kingdom
“In Jesus, the promise is refinement, not destruction.”
— Unshakeable Kingdom
“We were made for loving communion with God. And anything that we seek to replace that essential relationship with — all other things we run after or give our hearts to (even good things) — will be a destructive force in our life.”
— Unshakeable Kingdom
Three Questions for Personal Application
Where am I still standing far off from God, afraid to come all the way in? Think about the areas of your life you keep at arm’s length from him — shame, fear, the need for control. Ask him tonight what it would look like to walk past the veil.
What am I building that feels small but might be exactly what God calls good? A meal served, a prayer prayed, a stranger welcomed. Sit with the truth that faithfulness in hidden things is never wasted in his kingdom.
What is God trying to burn away in me right now, and can I trust it’s for refinement, not destruction? Name the discomfort or trial you’re facing. Ask whether you’re resisting God’s fire out of fear, or letting it produce a genuine, proven faith.
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
— Isaiah 54:10
