If I were preaching today, I'd do a series on "The Hard Sayings of Jesus." We often focus on what Jesus promised, and less if ever on what he warned. We say "Jesus loves you," (which He certainly does) but don't talk of repentance, which was in fact the first thing Jesus said as He began his earthly ministry. "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mt 4:17) Words also spoken by John the Baptist (Matt 3:2), Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38),

In the 5th Chapter of the book of Hebrews, the Apostle Paul rebukes some in the church because "at a time when they ought to be teachers, they need someone teach them again the fundamentals of God." (Heb 5:12) At a time when they should be well on their way to maturity, they were still "babes in Christ, in need of milk, and not solid food." As a result, they had become "dull in their hearing." The Amplified Version says they had "become dull and sluggish in their [spiritual] hearing and disinclined to listen." The Spirit is