2026 West Branch Baccalaureate
Hebrews 12:2-3 :: May 26, 2026
All this year at Lanse Free Church, we have been studying together a particular book of the Bible called “The Letter to the Hebrews.” We’ve been studying Hebrews every single weekend at Lanse Free Church in 2026 so Tyler, Keagan, Noah, Katie, Coby, Payton, Kyla, and Haley may be a little tired of hearing me talk about it.
Too bad. Here we go again!
The Letter to the Hebrews was written by an unnamed pastor in the first century to a group of scared Christians most of whom were apparently ethnically Jewish, i.e. Hebrews.
They were scared because they were beginning to be persecuted for following Jesus. The government did not like it. Their neighbors did not like them being Christians. Some of them were getting thrown into jail. None of them had yet died for a being a Christian, but it sure looked like it was coming.
So they were starting to think about quitting this Christian thing. They were starting to lose heart and give up. It was getting hard.
Sometimes, it’s hard to follow Jesus.
And so this pastor wrote them this letter which eventually became a part of the Bible that is for us today.
And the advice that this letter offers to those scared Christians is the same advice that I want to press upon you as you graduate from West Branch this week. It’s the same thing that I have said to Tyler, Keagan, Noah, Katie, Coby, Payton, Kyla, and Haley every single Sunday this year. (I’m like a broken record.) And it’s this:
Fix your eyes on Jesus.
Whatever you do. Wherever you go next. Fix your eyes on Jesus and never take them off of Him.
If you’re looking at that passage that MacKenzie read to us (it’s in your program), the writer says that these Hebrew Christians are in a race.
He says that they are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. It’s a metaphor.
There’s a giant crowd at the race track. And they (and we) are being cheered on by those who have raced before us. For the Hebrews it was the believers in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. They had believed God and trusted Him even when things got hard, and God had rewarded them.
Class of 2026, you also have a great crowd of people cheering you on. You have this crowd out here, and you have your home churches. And you have all of the Christians who have gone before you.
And they are cheering you on. Bigger than any crowd at L.T. Drivas Memorial Field. And they are saying, "Fix your eyes! Fix your eyes! Fix your eyes on Jesus!"
You are starting out on the race of a graduate. The race of an adult. The race of life outside of these walls.
And let me tell you, this race is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. hat’s why Hebrews 12:1 says to run “with perseverance” the race marked out for you. It’s not a dash. It’s a hike.
My son Andrew a wild-land firefighter that jumps out of helicopters for a living, and this summer he is taking the fire season off and hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT is a trail that runs 2600 miles from Mexico to Canada across the mountain peaks of California, Oregon, and Washington. They are doing it all summer long. Up till now, the longest run he’s ever done is a 50K. This is a 4,200K. That’s a hike!
And the Christian life is like that. It’s a loooooooooong haul.
And we who follow Jesus need to prep for that long haul. The Bible says here in Hebrews 12, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”
My son has this little backpack with just the essentials. And there are a lot of essentials. But he doesn’t carry around anything that he will not need. He does not have a chainsaw with him this summer. Normally he carries one everywhere he goes. But not for this hike.
Is there anything that you are carrying around that you don’t need to run the race for Jesus? Take this special moment in your life to toss those hindrances and sins away. “Throw them off.” The Bible calls that “repentance,” and it feels heavy at first, but it actually lightens your load. Repent and fix your eyes on Jesus.
That sounds simple, but it’s not always easy. There are going to be so many distractions for you from here on. Nobody’s going to be telling you what to do. Actually, lots of people are going to be telling you what to do, but you’re going to be the one deciding what you’re going to do with all that advice. Here’s my advice:
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
Don’t fix your eyes on your parents.
Don’t fix your eyes on your friends.
Don’t fix your eyes on the culture.
Don’t fix your eyes on a political party or a politician.
Don’t fix your eyes on a social movement.
Don’t fix your eyes on an influencer.
Don’t fix your eyes on a romantic partner.
All of those things are good and helpful in their place, but they are terrible as the ultimate guide to your life.
The Bible says, “Fix your eyes on Jesus.”
Here’s why. Because of how special He is.
He’s the only Person worthy of our undivided attention.
Listen to what Hebrews chapter 1 says about Who Jesus is. This is the first paragraph of the letter to these scared Christians. Listen to what this pastor says about Jesus. I believe he wrote this without the assistance of ChatGPT!
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son [that’s Jesus], whom he appointed heir of all things [like the owner of everything, and I mean everything], and through whom he made the universe. [The universe that you learned about in your science classes here at West Branch was made through Jesus!] The Son is the radiance of God's glory [mind-blowing!] and the exact representation of [God’s] his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word [He didn’t just make everything. He keeps everything going. His word is the glue that holds the atoms of the universe together! And that’s not all. Listen to what Jesus did when He came as a human to planet Earth]. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:1-4).
That’s who Jesus is! He’s the maker of all things, the owner of all things, and the sustainer of all things. He is the Son of God and God the Son.
Who else would we fix our eyes on?!!!
Verse 2 of Hebrews 12 calls Jesus, “the pioneer and the perfecter of faith.” He’s the starter and the finisher for this race, and He ran it before us.
I love that about Jesus. He doesn’t just tell us to run. He ran before us. He’s the pace-setter on this race. And it was not an easy race for Him either. His race included the Cross. You know what happened on the Cross, right?
You know that they killed Jesus. They crucified Him. He knew that was going to happen, and He ran towards it for you and me. Not away from it.
It says that He “scorned the shame.” There was all kinds of shame at the Cross. Death, nakedness, suffering, mockery, ridicule.
They spit on Him.
They flogged Him.
They nailed Him to the Cross.
They nailed Jesus.
And He knew that this was coming, and He chose it anyway.
Why? Why would Jesus chose the Cross when He did not deserve it any way? Hebrews 12 says he did it for the joy.
“For the joy set before [Jesus], He endured the cross, scorning its shame.”
He could see the joy before Him at the end of His run. What was that joy? I believe it was the joy of pleasing His Father and the joy of having us (His children) with Him forever in His kingdom. Because His death paid for sins of all of His followers. He died for us in our place. And that was worth it for Jesus. He fixed His eyes on His Father and on us. And we are called to fix our eyes on Him. He’s the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith.
He’s the finish line for our race. He’s what we are racing towards. I love that it says that when He reached the end of His race, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Don’t miss that. That means that Jesus did not just go to Cross, He came back from the dead. He won His race! And then He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Do you know where Jesus is right now? He’s at the right hand of God. That’s the highest place there ever was. His work on the Cross was perfect and finished. So that He could sit down. And so we can run towards Him.
Class of 2026, fix your eyes on Jesus.
I remember going to a football game over here last fall, and there was kick-off, and Coby caught it and ran it back for like 90 yards for a touchdown. Man, that was exciting!
Coby, what were you focusing on?
Was it your dad shouting from the sidelines?
Was it the other team racing at you to take you down?
Was it a cute cheerleader?
Was it your teammates blocking for you?
All of those were good and helpful. (Maybe not your dad.)
But it was the end-zone right? It was the last yard-line. That’s what you were focused on.
Class of 2026, fix your eyes on Jesus.
“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow wear and lose heart.”
Don’t just drop out of the race! So many Christian kids leave high school and then leave Jesus. They get distracted at college or in their first job. Or they get disillusioned or disappointed by the church, by other Christians. Don’t focus on the church. Don’t focus on other Christians. Don’t focus on me.
Focus on Jesus. He will never let you down. He’s sitting at the right hand of God!
Class of 2026, fix your eyes on Jesus.
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Previous West Branch Baccalaureate Messages
June 2, 2005 "Don't Waste Your Life"
June 7, 2012 "Three Things I Pray"
May 31, 2020 "Certainties"
May 28, 2024 “The Way, the Truth, and The Life”
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