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Summit Church
Jesus Our Fortress Pt 5 | Leaving the Old to Live in the New | Jim Ladd
Locations & Times
Summit Church
7200 S Clinton St, Centennial, CO 80112, USA
Sunday 10:00 AM
PALM SUNDAY
Last 10am gathering!
8 days that changed the world with the One who can change your world!
This is the week where He established His eternal priesthood and the New Covenant as He entered the heavenly sanctuary to offer an eternal sacrifice for our forgiveness.
8 days that changed the world with the One who can change your world!
This is the week where He established His eternal priesthood and the New Covenant as He entered the heavenly sanctuary to offer an eternal sacrifice for our forgiveness.
Hebrews 8:1-9, 13
“Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
“Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
The Big Idea: We have to Leave the Old to Live in the New
Living under the Old Covenant will keep you stuck in a misery that Jesus already replaced.
Living under the Old Covenant will keep you stuck in a misery that Jesus already replaced.
Hebrews 8 is making a bold and critical claim:
Jesus is a better priest
Serving in a better sanctuary
Mediating a better covenant
Jesus is a better priest
Serving in a better sanctuary
Mediating a better covenant
Move Out
Move In
Receive
Move In
Receive
The old covenant is obsolete, outdated, and gone.
It's not “improved.”
It’s not “updated.”
It’s replaced.
It's not “improved.”
It’s not “updated.”
It’s replaced.
What the Old Covenant was built on human performance to maintain relationship with God
That system exposed sin—but couldn’t fix it.
That system exposed sin—but couldn’t fix it.
The problem wasn’t just the law—it was us.
The law reveals what’s right, but it cannot change the human heart.
So God didn’t patch the system—He replaced it.
The law reveals what’s right, but it cannot change the human heart.
So God didn’t patch the system—He replaced it.
Why this matters for us:
Even though the Old Covenant is gone…we still live like it’s in effect.
1. Performance-based relationship with God
2. Guilt-driven spirituality
3. Distance from God
4. Religious striving
Even though the Old Covenant is gone…we still live like it’s in effect.
1. Performance-based relationship with God
2. Guilt-driven spirituality
3. Distance from God
4. Religious striving
Core Truth: If the Old Covenant is obsolete, then relating to God based on performance is also obsolete.
Response: Move Out of the Old Covenant
Step 1: Name it
Step 2: Replace it
Step 1: Name it
Step 2: Replace it
Segment Two: Move into the New Covenant
Hebrews 8:10-13
This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
But God didn’t remove it without replacing it.
The Core Shift: From External control to Internal power
“I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.”
The Core Shift: From External control to Internal power
“I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.”
Key Difference between Old and New Covenant: God is no longer just telling you what to do—He is empowering you to change what you want.
- From Distance to Relationship
“I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
“I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
- From Knowing About God to Knowing God
“They will all know me…”
“They will all know me…”
- From Repeated Guilt to Complete Forgiveness
“I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.”
“I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.”
Key Difference: You are not defined by your past—God has chosen not to hold it against you. The New Covenant is not about trying harder for God—it’s about living from what God has already done in you.
What This Changes
Because of the New Covenant:
You don’t obey to be accepted → you obey because you are accepted
You don’t pursue God from distance → you live with Him in nearness
You don’t fight sin alone → God is at work within you
You don’t live under guilt → you live from forgiveness
Stop relating to God like the change is up to you—start living like God has already begun that change in you.
Because of the New Covenant:
You don’t obey to be accepted → you obey because you are accepted
You don’t pursue God from distance → you live with Him in nearness
You don’t fight sin alone → God is at work within you
You don’t live under guilt → you live from forgiveness
Stop relating to God like the change is up to you—start living like God has already begun that change in you.
Response: Move In to the New Covenant
Segment Three: Receive A Cleansed Conscience
Hebrews 9:6-15
“When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
“When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
Jesus did what nothing else could - cleanse our conscience
Access to God was restricted, distant, and heavy with reminder of sin.
The Problem is Not Just our Sin—But our Conscience
Hebrews says something profound: The sacrifices “were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.”
That’s the issue.
Hebrews says something profound: The sacrifices “were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.”
That’s the issue.
The conscience is simply Your inner awareness that says, “Something is wrong with me.”
Old Covenant reality: Sin covered externally, but guilt remained internally
Old Covenant reality: Sin covered externally, but guilt remained internally
What Christ Did That Nothing Else Could
“How much more… will the blood of Christ… cleanse our consciences…”
“How much more… will the blood of Christ… cleanse our consciences…”
He dealt with it internally and completely.
Three massive differences:
1. Once for all
Not repeated, Not temporary, but Finished
2. His own blood
Not animals, Not symbolic, but Personal, costly, sufficient
3. Cleanses the conscience
Three massive differences:
1. Once for all
Not repeated, Not temporary, but Finished
2. His own blood
Not animals, Not symbolic, but Personal, costly, sufficient
3. Cleanses the conscience
If your conscience is still condemning you, you are experiencing something Jesus already paid to remove.
- From Dead Works to Living Service
“Cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.”
Dead works =
What happens when your conscience is clean:
You don’t serve God to deal with sin—you serve God because sin has been dealt with.
- From Dead Works to Living Service
“Cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.”
Dead works =
What happens when your conscience is clean:
You don’t serve God to deal with sin—you serve God because sin has been dealt with.
The glory of God is man fully alive!!
- The Result: You Receive an Inheritance
“That those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance…”
“That those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance…”
Receive.
What’s the inheritance?
A guilty conscience keeps you from receiving what God has already given.
What’s the inheritance?
A guilty conscience keeps you from receiving what God has already given.
Response: Joyful Freedom and Praise
Joyful Expression
A visible shift from guilt to joy.
A visible shift from guilt to joy.
Discussion Guide
Theme: Leaving the Old Covenant & Living in the New
Icebreaker: (pick one)
1. What’s something outdated or expired you accidentally kept using longer than you should have?
2. When you hear “Palm Sunday,” what comes to mind or what has it meant to you in the past?
Discussion Questions
1. In your own words, what is the main difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant?
2. Why do you think the Old Covenant couldn’t ultimately fix the problem between people and God?
3. We often live like the old covenant is still in effect—where do you see that in your own life?
4. Which of these do you tend to struggle with most in your relationship with God: performance, guilt, distance, or fear? Why?
5. What are some subtle ways “performance-based Christianity” shows up in everyday life?
6. How does guilt shape the way people relate to God? Have you experienced that personally?
7. When you mess up or sin, what is your immediate instinct in how you approach God?
8. Do you ever feel like you need to “earn your way back” to God? What does that look like?
9. Where in your life does God feel distant—and why do you think that is?
10. What does it practically look like to relate to God from acceptance instead of striving?
11. How does the idea that God has written His law on your heart change the way you think about obedience?
12. What does it mean to you personally that “you can know God,” not just know about Him?
13. What is the difference between being forgiven and actually feeling free from guilt?
14. How would your life change if you truly believed your guilt and shame were fully removed?
15. The Word says we don’t earn—we receive. What makes receiving from God difficult sometimes?
Response & Application
1. What is one “old covenant mindset” you need to leave behind this week?
2. What is one truth from the New Covenant you want to actively live in this week?
Icebreaker: (pick one)
1. What’s something outdated or expired you accidentally kept using longer than you should have?
2. When you hear “Palm Sunday,” what comes to mind or what has it meant to you in the past?
Discussion Questions
1. In your own words, what is the main difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant?
2. Why do you think the Old Covenant couldn’t ultimately fix the problem between people and God?
3. We often live like the old covenant is still in effect—where do you see that in your own life?
4. Which of these do you tend to struggle with most in your relationship with God: performance, guilt, distance, or fear? Why?
5. What are some subtle ways “performance-based Christianity” shows up in everyday life?
6. How does guilt shape the way people relate to God? Have you experienced that personally?
7. When you mess up or sin, what is your immediate instinct in how you approach God?
8. Do you ever feel like you need to “earn your way back” to God? What does that look like?
9. Where in your life does God feel distant—and why do you think that is?
10. What does it practically look like to relate to God from acceptance instead of striving?
11. How does the idea that God has written His law on your heart change the way you think about obedience?
12. What does it mean to you personally that “you can know God,” not just know about Him?
13. What is the difference between being forgiven and actually feeling free from guilt?
14. How would your life change if you truly believed your guilt and shame were fully removed?
15. The Word says we don’t earn—we receive. What makes receiving from God difficult sometimes?
Response & Application
1. What is one “old covenant mindset” you need to leave behind this week?
2. What is one truth from the New Covenant you want to actively live in this week?