Hebrews – Hold onto Hope
Anchored Together – A Community of Hope
Readings: Hebrews 10:19-25 Preacher: Kevin Kim
In a world that often pulls us apart, Hebrews calls us to hold fast to hope—not alone, but together. This Sunday, we’ll explore how Christian community is not just a gathering, but a vital practice of encouragement and faithfulness. Drawing on Moltmann’s theology of hope, we’ll reflect on how meeting together becomes an act of resistance against despair, and a discipline that anchors us in Christ’s promises. Come and discover how building a strong, hope-filled community helps us to persevere, grow, and reflect the love of Christ in tangible, life-giving ways.
Sermon Text
Good morning, everyone.
Let me start with a simple question: Have you ever felt like giving up? Like your hope was slipping through your fingers, no matter how tightly you tried to hold on?
Maybe you’ve had a hard week. Maybe things have felt messy. Maybe you’ve been tired, or lonely, or full of doubt.
If that’s you—then this passage from Hebrews is for you. It gives us strength. It gives us courage. And most of all, it reminds us—we are not meant to do this alone.
Hebrews 10 is not just about believing. It’s about belonging. It’s about how we keep going—not by ourselves, but together. That’s what I want to speak about today: how hope holds best when we hold it together.
1. We Have Confidence—Together
Verse 19 starts with a powerful word: “Therefore.”
That word means, “Because of everything I just said…” And what has Hebrews been saying? That Jesus is our great high priest. That he died once for all. That his blood opened the way into God’s presence. That the curtain has been torn. That we are welcome.
And then it says, “Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…”
That’s amazing. Confidence! Not fear. Not guilt. But confidence.
But notice—it says we have confidence. Not just me. Not just you. We.
This is not a private moment. It’s a shared invitation. We come to God together. This is not just my journey or your journey—it’s our journey of faith.
And that confidence? It does not come from us. It’s not because we’ve been good this week. It’s not because we’ve done everything right. It’s because of Jesus. It’s because of his sacrifice. It’s because of his love.
So we don’t need to fake it. We don’t need to pretend. We can come to God as we really are—because our place in his presence was never earned. It was given. And that gift is not just for one person. It’s for all of us.
2. Let Us—Together
This passage is built around three short phrases:
Let us draw near.
Let us hold fast.
Let us encourage one another toward love and good works.
Let’s walk through these. Not in a rush. Not as commands. But as invitations.
Let us draw near.
Let’s come close to God. Let’s step into his presence. Let’s worship—not just alone, but side by side.
Verse 22 says we come with true hearts, full assurance, and clean hearts.
Why? Because Jesus has made us clean. Because Jesus has made the way.
We don’t come to impress God. We come because we’ve been invited.
That means we can be real. No masks. No “I’m fine” when we’re not.
Just honesty. Just hearts open to God.
Let us hold fast.
This means: Don’t let go.
Hold on to your faith. Hold on to your hope. Hold on to the promise.
But remember—we hold fast together. When your hands are tired, I can help hold. When I forget what’s true, your faith can help me remember.
Verse 23 says, “Hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, because he who promised is faithful.”
That’s the key. Not our strength. His faithfulness.
God keeps his promises. And he has promised to hold you. To love you. To finish the work he started in you.
Let us encourage one another toward love and good works.
This is about action. It’s about love. It’s about helping each other keep going in faith.
“Let us consider how to encourage one another toward love and good works.”
To encourage means to cheer each other on. To lift each other up.
To say, “I see what God’s doing in you—keep going!” It’s being the kind of community that helps one another grow.
And how do we do that? By meeting together. By being present. By not giving up on showing up.
Verse 25 says, “Don’t stop meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. But encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
In other words: don’t isolate. Don’t drift.
Keep showing up. Keep encouraging.
Because when we meet, we remind each other of what matters.
When we gather, we help each other believe again.
When we live as a community of hope, we reflect the love of Jesus.
3. The Power of Together
Let’s be honest—life can be hard. Faith can feel weak.
But we were never meant to go through it alone.
That’s why the writer of Hebrews uses these words: “Let us…”
We are part of something bigger than ourselves. We are a family. A body. A people of hope.
And hope is not just a feeling. It’s not just an idea. Hope is something we practice together.
That is what theologian Jürgen Moltmann calls the theology of hope.
He reminds us that Christian faith is always future-facing. God’s presence—whether in the story of Israel or in the life of Jesus—always points toward something still coming: God’s promised future.
For Moltmann, hope is not an escape from reality. It does not deny suffering. Instead, it dares to live in the middle of pain, while reaching for the promise. Hope believes that because Jesus has been raised, the dead end of death has been broken open. Because of Christ, hope refuses to settle for what is. It presses on toward what could be.
This kind of hope is what Moltmann calls a “passion for what is possible.” It’s the fire in our bones that doesn’t let us give up. It doesn’t make us passive. It makes us bold. Faith binds us to Christ. But hope stretches us toward the future Christ has promised.
And this hope? It’s contagious.
When we live with hope, we become a signpost to others. The church becomes, in Moltmann’s words, “a disturbance in human society.” A community that refuses to accept despair as the last word. A people shaped by the resurrection—who challenge fear, injustice, and hopelessness by how we live, worship, and love.
So when we gather, when we worship, when we encourage one another—we are practicing that kind of hope. We are declaring with our lives:
The world may feel dark, but God is still good.
Life may be hard, but Jesus is still with us.
The end is not fear, but resurrection.
We don’t wait passively—we live into the hope that’s coming.
4. A Community Shaped by Grace and Welcome
Christine D. Pohl, a theologian and ethicist who has lived in Christian communities like L’Abri and L’Arche, has a lot to say about what sustains Christian community. In her book Living into Community, she writes that real community isn’t built on perfection—but on practices like hospitality, truthfulness, gratitude, and faithful friendship.
These are not just nice ideas. They are holy habits—habits that hold us together when life gets messy.
She says the heart of Christian hospitality is making space for others—especially the weak, the stranger, the outsider. And not just in our buildings—but in our lives, our homes, our hearts.
Pohl’s insights are shaped by her real-life experience. She’s worked in refugee resettlement, taught in seminaries, and spent years building friendships with people on the margins. Her theology is not theoretical. It’s relational. Practical. Embodied.
She reminds us that hospitality is not about looking impressive. It’s not a performance. It’s an act of faith. When Jesus came into the world, he came to welcome us—and also needed to be welcomed himself. In hospitality, we meet Christ—both as host and guest.
And community is not easy. People fail. Churches disappoint. But Pohl insists that the solution is not to walk away, but to keep practicing these habits. To tell the truth with love. To speak gratitude even when things are hard. To keep welcoming, even when we feel tired.
These practices shape who we are. They make visible the grace of God in our life together. And in a world where people long for safety and connection, this kind of community shines.
Like Moltmann, Pohl reminds us that Christian community does not just look back—it leans forward. It is always moving toward the future God promises. And the best way we move forward is not alone, but side by side.
5. Anchored in Christ
Think of a ship in a storm. The waves are wild. The wind is strong. But the anchor holds it steady.
That’s what Christ is for us. Our anchor. Strong. Sure. Secure.
And the Church—the people of God—we are like the rope that holds us to that anchor. We are tied together. Strengthened together. Held together.
When your faith is shaky, someone else’s faith can steady you.
When your heart is tired, someone else’s worship can lift you.
When your hope is fading, someone else’s story can bring it back to life.
That is the gift of Christian community.
That is the power of “let us.”
6. Come As You Are
Sometimes we think church is for the perfect. But it’s not.
It’s for the tired. It’s for the broken.
It’s for the lost. It’s for the found.
Because of Jesus, we can draw near.
Because of Jesus, we can hold fast.
Because of Jesus, we can encourage one another toward love and good works.
Not because we have it all together.
But because he is faithful.
So let’s not give up. Let’s not grow cold.
Let’s not go it alone.
Let us draw near.
Let us hold fast.
Let us encourage one another.
Because this is not just a group.
It’s a community of hope.
And we are anchored together in the love of Christ.
Amen.