Author page: Henry Haffner

O how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to trust His cleansing blood, Just in simple faith to plunge me ‘neath the healing, cleansing flood. —Louisa Stead Today, we begin a journey of several weeks through Hebrews 11, the great “hall of faith” which details a host of Old Testament characters who walked “by faith.” The hymns we sing in…

The preacher of Hebrews tells us plainly, “you have need of endurance” (Hebrews 10:36). Nearly every hymn we sing this morning is a prayer asking for God’s strength, wisdom, and guidance, that we might endure in our Christian lives. We open the service by asking the Lord to “lead me all my journey through” (Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah).…

After a long discussion of temple worship and sacrifices that took up much of the preceding three chapters, the authorof Hebrews gives us three points of application in the middle of chapter 10: “draw near” (vs. 22), “hold fast” (vs. 23),and “stir up” (vs. 24). The hymns we sing this morning correspond to this pattern. Praise To The Lord, The…

Some weeks, each hymn or psalm that we sing in the service has a particular theme or even a particular word in common.For example, the last two weeks each hymn in the service had some reference to Jesus’ blood and Jesus’ sacrificial death,respectively. This week, the hymns and psalms are more varied, each responding to the elements in the service…

Those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. —Hebrews 9:15b The elements in this morning’s service all point to one conclusion, a conclusion both terrible and comforting: Jesus had to die. We’ll read that the new covenant was “inaugurated with blood” (Hebrews…

In the Old Testament God promised that He would send His Son as a sacrifice for every sin. He gave the twelve tribes of Israel a reminder that He would fulfill His covenant. This morning the writer of Hebrews reminds us that God has fulfilled His covenant. We join our voices with the whole company of heaven, from old Levitical…

In this week’s sermon text, the author of Hebrews discusses the new covenant inaugurated by Christ, a covenant marked by the Lord’s mercy (vs. 12) and intimacy with His people (vs. 11). The elements chosen for this morning’s service reflect these themes as well. The various Old Testament Scriptures that we read in the service look forward to this new…

The hymns we sing this week all include some form of “temple” or “priestly” imagery, picking up on many of the themes in this week’s passage from Hebrews. The opening and closing hymns of the morning, Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken and Within Your Temple, Lord—Psalm 48, both celebrate “Zion” as a place where God dwells: “go round the…

Light has been a consistent motif found in Christmas celebrations throughout history. From the legend of St. Lucy’s candle headdress which enlivens the winter solstice in Scandinavia, to the “star singer” processions of central Europe where children re-enact the visit of the Magi while singing hymns, these images point to Christ as “the true light” (John 1:9) and “a light…