Hebrews 12:18-29
“The True Mountain of God”
Scripture: Hebrews 12:1819
Lesson Focus: We need to run our race toward following Jesus toward heaven.
Memory Verse: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken…”
Hebrews 12:28a
Activities and Crafts: Coloring Page, Word Search
Craft for 1st and 2nd graders: “The True Mountain of God fan” (Give the kids the fan and have
them color and decorate their fan. Have them glue or tape the popsicle stick to the bottom of
the fan.
Introduction: Ask the kids to give you a one word description of God. Write them on the
board. Tell them that the Bible tells us many things about God. Today we are going to learn a
few new ways to describe God.
Bible Study:
Hebrews 12:18-21; The Old Covenant
√ What are these verses talking about? Does it make any sense? Does it sound scary?
These verses are talking about the time that God cam to Mount Sinai and gave the 10
commandments to the people of Israel.
Let’s look at the Old Testament:
Exodus 19:10 – the people get ready to hear from God. They are told to wash
their clothes and to make themselves clean.
Exodus 19:11 – the people are told that God will come and speak to them from
the mountain on the 3rd day.
Exodus 19:12-13 – they are told that they cannot touch the mountain man or
beast or they will be put to death. The mountain will be holy. The
people can only come near when they hear the trumpet sound.
Exodus 19:16-25: What happened on the third day?
1. Thundering and lightning
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2.
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Thick cloud on the mountain
Sound of the trumpet was very loud
All of the people trembled (they were scared)
Moses brought them out of the camp to the foot of the mountain to
meet with God.
6. The whole mountain was covered in smoke and it quaked greatly
7. The blast of the trumpet became louder and louder
8. Moses spoke to God
9. God answered him by voice
10. Moses went up to the top of the mountain
11. God sends Moses down to once again warn the people to not come
up on the mountain
12. Moses goes up with Aaron to get the Lords commandments
Exodus 20: the Ten Commandments:
1. You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3
2. You shall not make for yourselves a carved image…or bow
down to them…Exodus 20:4-5
3. You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in
vain…Exodus 20:7
4. Remember the Sabbath day; Exodus 20:8
5. Honor your father and mother…Exodus 20:12
6. You shall not murder; Exodus 20:13
7. You shall not commit adultery; Exodus 20:14
8. You shall not steal; Exodus 20:15
9. You shall not bear false witness; Exodus 20:16
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; Exodus 20:17
Exodus 20:18-21
1. All of the people of Israel witnessed the thunder and lightning
flashes, smoke, sound the trumpet, and they were scared and
stood far off.
2. They did not want God to speak to them because they thought
they would die
3. Moses tells them they do not need to fear and yet they are to
have a right “fear of God” before them so that they would not
sin.
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Take time to think about what this scene looked like.
√ Have any of you ever been in an earthquake? What did it feel like? Does it
make you feel good? Does it scare you? Why?
None of us like the feeling of the ground moving under our feet. It makes
us unsteady and vulnerable.
√ Do you guys remember the fires that we had here in Colorado two summers in
a row? What was it like? Was it scary to see all of that smoke?
The people of Israel could not even see the mountain because of the
smoke. They knew that God had descended on the mountain and they
were afraid. They heard the loud trumpet sound and they shook with
fear.
This is the scene of the time that God gave the 10 commandments.
√ Why do you think that the scene was so scary? What was God trying to
get across?
See the writer of Hebrews is saying that they have not come to a mountain like
they did in the Old Testament. We have a new mountain!
Hebrews 12:22-24: The True Mountain
√ What do we come to? The Mount Zion, the city of the living God
1. Mount Zion in the Old Testament is where King David brought the
Ark of God.
2. King Solomon built the Temple there (Zion/Jerusalem)
3. But through Jesus, we get the heavenly counterpart, the true city of
the living God. This is future but we are a part of this kingdom now.
√ How do we describe this heavenly city?
1. Innumerable angels (Hebrews 12:23 c)
2. We are “registered” in heaven. We are already citizens of heaven.
That is our true home.
3. “the church of the first-born” – we come to fellow believers. Jesus
was the first-born son of God who died and was resurrected for us.
Through Him we are co-heirs with Christ.
4. We come to God – the judge of all.
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5. We come in victory because we are “the spirits of just men made
perfect. We are just through Jesus. We are made perfect through
Jesus.
6. We come to Jesus who is the gave us the new covenant through His
death. The old covenant was the Old Testament laws that no man
could keep. But we live under the new covenant which came through
the blood of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12:23-29; The Consuming Fire of God
Important facts of the following verses:
1. “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks.” God speaks through
His word and God spoke through the life of His Son, Jesus Christ.
What the writer of Hebrews is saying in this verse and the following
verses is that we still have to obey God. God is God and He alone
judges the earth. Salvation and citizenship of heaven only come
through Jesus.
2. We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Remember on
Mount Sinai, how the ground shook and the people where so afraid.
We have a Kingdom that cannot be shaken or taken from us.
If we have a kingdom like that, how should we react?
a. Receive the grace of God
b. Serve God
c. Have the right kind of “fear of God”
3. Our God is a consuming fire? What does that mean?
God is God. He is Judge. He is the same God from the Old Testament
and on Mount Sinai. The only difference is His free gift of salvation
through those who believe in Jesus Christ His Son. He has the right to
turn people away from heaven if they do not know Jesus.
Conclusion: We do not need to live in fear. We have a God that has given us everything for
salvation through Jesus. But we also have a God that we should have a healthy “fear” or
reverence so that we do not sin and we want to worship Him and serve Him.
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