Through the ages, there have been many offices such as chiefs, czars, emperors, kings, judges, executioners, state attorneys, soldiers, ambassadors, policemen, many types of offices. And each office had their public duty to perform. However, in Israel, there were many offices as well, but there were three principal offices to which those who had them were anointed. It was the king, the prophet, and the priest. These each prophetically symbolized in history the position of God's promised Messiah in whom these three offices found their perfect realization in God's Son as our mediator. Let me ask you, when you hear the word priest, what comes, what first comes to your mind? Christ, the Old Testament priesthood, maybe the Catholic priesthood, so-called? Most of us would probably say Old Testament. Tonight I hope to move you towards seeing Christ as your great high priest, as our great high priest, because this office deals with heaven and hell.  This is a real office. It's not figurative. It belongs to the realm of grace. This office itself presupposes sin, unlike the kingly and the prophetic. It also presupposes the divine design to overcome and remove sin. Therefore, we must see the glory of God as revealed to us in his Son, our great high priest. That's the title of the sermon, Christ, Our Great High Priest. I plan to cover three major headings, his qualifications for his priesthood, the nature of his priesthood, and our living in relation to Christ's priesthood. In your bulletin, I didn't give a reference, but that definition is primarily taken from Richard A. Mueller in a theological dictionary. This is a topic arranged, so we're not going to look at just one text. We're going to look at two, and we're just trying to briefly cover some major aspects. So the two texts that we're planning to look at is Hebrews 5.1 and Hebrews 7.25. Before I go over the qualifications, let me tell you a little bit about the context of Hebrews. Feel free to turn there.  It is the one book that teaches us more on the priesthood in the New Testament than any other book, and it teaches us about Christ, our great high priest. The author is concerned about a specific congregation drifting away from the true confession of Jesus Christ as their Savior, their priest, their mediator. They're undergoing persecution. They're in the early years of the church where it underwent great persecution, not to say that it doesn't today, but they were. They had received the plundering of their goods. If you look at Hebrews 10 verse 32, but recall the former days in which after you were eliminated you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. For you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods knowing that you have a better and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. They had their belongings taken from them. They were plundered as early believers, but they've progressed now, and they moved in their faith to a place where renewed suffering, renewed persecution is causing them to drift, and the author is concerned, very concerned out of love and serious zeal for them to remain faithful. If you look in chapter 6, he says in verse 11, of whom, talking about Christ's priest according to the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. Then if you look at chapter 6 verses 11, and we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, and that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. His desire was that they maintain the same diligence that they once had, and he's wrote this book full of exhortation and doctrine. He builds this theme on Christ, the great high priest, and on the basis of who Christ is, he says, I warn you not to turn away from him. I warn you not to turn away from this confession, and you know where they were turning? They were turning to Judaism. He's concerned about them turning to Old Covenant ways. That's why there's this major contrast between Christ being superior to all the Old Covenant, they're all, and he doesn't come at the Old Covenant like Paul does. He shows how it's Christ is similar, but he's greater. I don't know particularly what was going on, but it wasn't the same as what Paul was dealing with. With that in mind, look at, since our first and primary text is going to be 5.1, look at 4.14 through 16. Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. See that? See we have a great high priest. We don't have the Old Covenant high priesthood, we have the true high priest, Jesus the Son of God, so let us hold fast a confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. This is 15 and 16, it's kind of like a header for our section, and the section that the author is dealing with in 5 through 1 versus 1 through 10, he's wanting to show Jesus Christ as our sympathetic high priest. Why? Because he's exhorting them to faithfulness and holding fast to their confession. He says the Word of God is living and powerful and sharpening a two-edged sword, and it's going to expose you, and you're naked before the sight of God to show them that they cannot trust in themselves. And then he says, but you have a sympathetic high priest. Hold fast your confession and go to the throne of grace. This is how you persevere. And in 5 1 through 10, if you look at 5 1 now, he says 4 every high priest. That's not in every translation, but it's there in the Greek 4, and that 4 is explanatory. He's going to explain what he means when he says our sympathetic high priest in the next 10 verses. So what are the qualifications of Christ's priesthood? There's several, but I'm only going to be able to cover two, maybe I'll shorten it tonight to one, but let's start with what we can see here in 5 1a. I'm just going to read verse one. This verse is like a skeleton or a clothesline where you can hang all these major aspects of priesthood on it, and you can add all the flesh onto the skeleton. This is a very helpful verse to getting to the essentials of priesthood. And really, he's reviewing the Old Testament priesthood, but the author knows that the Old Testament priesthood was patterned after the true priesthood of Christ. So when he covers these essentials, he's reviewing the ones that align with what is the true one. It's not everything's the same. So this verse, when you read Systematics and you go read on these things, this is often the place people will go to describe the elements of the high priest, even though when you read the text, you're like, I think it's talking about the Old Covenant priesthood, not Christ. That's because what the author's trying to do is review the Old Covenant priesthood and then show you how Christ is the fulfillment of that, how he's superior to it. So for every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men and things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. In order to be our great high priest, Christ had to become and be fully man. I get that from taken from among men, for every high priest taken from among men. The Old Covenant high priest had to be taken from men. Aaron and his line were called from among men. And if you look for the Old Covenant priest, look at verse two.  Because of this, his weakness that is, he is required as for the people also for himself to offer sacrifices for sins. So the humanity of the Old Covenant priest enabled him, but his humanity was falling, but his humanity and his sin, in a sense, enabled him to have a certain kind of compassion for the people he ministered for. He would sin and he would know when he was offering sacrifices for the sins of others that he needed to be patient with them because he's done the same thing. But his, his is a patience. It's a not being angry, but it doesn't go much further than that. Christ though the author is very clear in this whole book is sinless. He also became man so that he could be a merciful high priest because in a perfect humanity, he underwent temptation to degrees that no man can ever know. And because he underwent that temptation, he can sympathize with you brother, with you sister.  He's not arrogant. When you go to him as your high priest in the heavenly places, he knows experimentally the weight that you carry, the temptation. He knows beyond it and he is there to be one to offer a intercession for you. You can see that in verse seven. This is his humanity in the days of his flesh. And here's how we know he can be compassionate because look at what he did when he had offered up prayers and supplications with the hymnant cries, that's mighty, strong cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death. And I don't think this is necessarily just focused on Gethsemane or the cross. I think this is a picture of his life though you can go to Gethsemane or the cross to, to illustrate it. But throughout the life of Christ and probably especially Gethsemane and especially at the cross, Christ offered up prayers. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? If it be your will, let this cut pass. And they were vehement. They were from the depths of his soul. They were under, he was under temptation that you have never experienced. And if you look here, he was heard because of his godly fear, though he was a son, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. You have a high priest in heaven who is now exalted who has suffered. I read an author, he said, through one eye, the Lord could see those mocking him on the cross. And through the other eye, he could see his mother weeping. And I was thinking, and with his soul, he could see the Father's sword. And through his godly reverence, through his fear of God, he trusted in the Father. He delighted and joy to fulfill the plan of redemption by being a sacrifice for his people. And because of this, he's a sympathetic high priest. He could not be a sympathetic high priest if he was not a man, not in this way. There's something he had to learn that he could not have learned apart from humanity. And now God, having instituted his Son as the God-man, the mediator, calls you to the throne of grace, knowing that you have a mediator, a high priest who can sympathize. Okay. I think I'm going to skip divine appointment, though it's very important. I'll just state the truth. In order to be our great high priest, Christ had to be appointed to the office by God the Father. And you can see that in verse five, or I'll start four. And no man takes this honor. This is the honorable office of a priesthood, of a priest. No man takes this honor to himself, but he who was called by God just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but it was he who said to him, you are my son today, I've begotten you. And also he says in another place, you are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. The same, the author goes through these enthronement texts to show that Christ is the enthroned king. He has been coronated. He has been established in heaven. And it's the same Psalm 110 that says, he's a priest forever. And that's hard for a Jew to understand because those two were separate. That's why it goes to Melchizedek. Christ as our high priest performing the sacrifice of a high priest and the intercession of a high priest does so in fulfillment of his appointment by God. He didn't take it up on his own. He was appointed by the Father. The will of God and the Father and the Son and the Trinity is one. And Jesus Christ is not an offering to a Father who has a different will. It's the Father who appointed him to bring the offering. And it's the Father who is instituted his Son as your sympathetic high priest and says, come to my throne of grace. I want to move to the nature of his priesthood. So the qualifications I just covered were he had to be a man and two, he had to be appointed by God. All everybody knew that the appointment had to be true. Uzziah was a king. He had years of success as a king. And then one day he was lifted up in his heart and he went to offer incense and the Lord struck him with leprosy and he kept it for the rest of his life. The Jews, I'm just reiterating one last thing about the qualification. Nobody takes the office of a priest apart from God's appointment. All right. The nature of his priesthood. This is getting to the meat of the priesthood. I heard this from Albert Martin so I want to share it. Imagine the governor of Florida, his example was New Jersey, appoints a citizen of Florida to represent Florida to go to Congress to request for finances and funds for parks, state parks. That's an illustration of God appointing the Son for a particular work, a particular intent. And in this illustration the intent is to secure funds. So we have an idea of the nature of this office that's been created. But even though we know what the nature is and the inherent nature of it is to secure funds, the goal. And he has to be a Floridian and he's appointed. We don't know what he has to actually do to secure them. What is his duties? Does he need to start a riot to get the funds? Does he need to write letters to get the funds? And the governor says, no, I want you to prepare a public speech. And this is how it will be achieved. Well, that's an illustration to show you that in the office of Christ's priesthood, I want to cover the nature of it. So I want to show you what the intent of it is and then what duties have to be performed to get it, to get what that nature is supposed to accomplish. One, the inherent nature is that Christ and all priests were appointed four men on behalf of men in things toward God. If you look at verse five, I mean chapter five, verse one, for every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God. That he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. I'm focusing on four men in things pertaining to God. As our great high priest, Christ must act as the personal covenant representative on behalf of that's four, the sinful covenant members in things pertaining to God that for there is in behalf of the all priests were appointed for a particular purpose. They were they presuppose sin. The priesthood presupposes sin and a design to overcome it. And on that presupposition, the priest now is set apart, consecrated for men. He's for the offending parties of that covenant. He's for their benefit, for their good. That's why Christ offers up sacrifices for our sins. If you look at chapter two, verse nine, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. He was crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God might taste death. If he's sinless, death should not come to him. Why does it come to him? In the analogy of faith, things, other things that we know in scripture to be true, doctrinally, we know that Christ had to be a substitute. That's getting into the nature of his priesthood being four men. In order to be a substitute, he had to be in covenant relation as the covenant head for those people. And now you get overlap with old covenant priesthood. The old covenant priests, when they would perform their duties, they would go into the holy of holies or really the high priest would do that, but the priests would come into the holy place and they were acting on behalf of the people. The high priest even had special garments and I don't have time to go there, but he had onyx stones that had the names of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders and he had particular gems in his breastplate that represented the people. He was a representative for the people and his orientation, his direction was towards God. His immediate object of his performing of his duties is toward God. That's different than the other two offices. The other two offices are pointed towards men. The immediate object of the king is to rule men. The immediate object of the prophet is to teach men. The immediate object of the duties of a priest is to propitiate God. That's why some theologians call this the foundation office. And if you look also for men still, I want to read 16 and 17 of chapter two, for indeed he does not give aid to angels, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. You see how it's particular too? It's not all men. It's the seed of Abraham. That implies a covenant. Therefore, in all things he had to be made like his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest and things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Next, so that's the that's the inherent nature. It's four men and things pertaining to God and that to God things pertaining to God. It's all those things that God requires of of his covenant members. He requires a perfect righteousness. He requires satisfaction for the curse of breaking his covenant because we broke a particular kind of covenant. We broke a covenant in Adam. So now the representative of the new covenant has to with these members has to propitiate God for that curse. He is coming before God four men and things pertaining to God's justice and things pertaining to God's wrath and things pertaining to God to God's desire to shed forth his love on those members. It's there's more, but I'm trying to give you a picture of it. Okay, that's that's the inherent nature kind of like the Floridian that's been appointed to secure funds. Christ has been appointed for men and things pertaining to God. But now the next question is how is he going to benefit man? What duties does God Almighty require of the high priest? He requires him to offer and he requires him to intercede. If you go back to chapter five, for every high priest taken from among men is appointed four men and things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. As our great high priest, Christ had to become one perfect offering for the sins of all and each of the covenant members. I word it all in each because he represents all of them, but yet he dies for each of them. There's there's individuality and there's corporate elements to his offering. He makes one offering. The book of Hebrews tells us that in chapter nine and it's for sins. Remember in this chat in this section the author is reviewing the priesthood and he states that one of the major functions is that he offer offerings. The word offer means to present something to someone by bringing it. It can be translated bring, that he may bring both gifts and sacrifices for sins or present. This is one of the fundamental duties of a priest. Let's turn to Leviticus 16 real brief, 1630. I'm going to go back. Look at verse 15. Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do that, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. You see how it says do with what he did as with the blood of the bull. That bull is the offering he made for himself. And if you go over there says Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering. I'm sorry. That's 16, 6. Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his house. So first Aaron has to make atonement for himself and then he has to make atonement for the people. And he has to do that by offering and his offering for their sins. See how the high priest is a representative acting on behalf of the people and things related to God. Let me go back to Hebrews 8 verse 3. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. See how that's a repeat? It doesn't say everything the other one said, but it's the same wording. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. You see how it's a fundamental, it's a necessity that Christ have something to offer because as a function of his office is that he offer. That's the only way that the blessing of his, that his office aims at will be secured. And what was it that Christ offered himself? That's different than the Old Testament. They would offer lambs, goats, bulls. Christ offered himself because to propitiate God and for your sins to be taken away, an animal will not be sufficient, but the God man is able. And I hope that you won't ever think anymore of passive endurance when you think of the cross as just a mere passive endurance. Remember that not only is he the lamb, he's the priest on the cross. He is making a worship offering to the Father. And if he in spirit does not delight and is like Nadab and Abihu doesn't delight in the Father in the work, then it's not worthy. He must be active in his priesthood. He must be active in his offering. When he offers to God, he must be active in it. He must come with a disposition of his heart to want God's wrath to come upon him, to want God to be propitiated for his people. There's much glory to be found in those that thought for the son loves the Father and he shares his will though in his humanity. He was tested beyond our understanding. Let's see. So Christ had to offer and then he had to intercede. I think I'm going to just touch on this one and then go to the end. I know we have a little bit of overlap from start and late, but in chapter 7 verse 25, therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. As our great high priest, Christ must always make intercession for all and each of the covenant members. After the offering is made, Christ is exalted and he sits at the right hand of God. Brother Noel's sermon on the session and in that role he as priest is his function and his duties are not over. The sacrifice is over and completed. It is finished, but now there is the intercession and he lives forever. So that because he lives forever, he's able to save those who come to God through him to the uttermost. That means to the end, into the eternity, into forever. And the author here is assuming that the audience knew that Christ as a priest would intercede. So I'm not able from this text to go into intercession. It has to do with Christ's making supplications and making a presentation, perpetual presentation of the finished work of his cross. That's even in Revelation, he's called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. All right. To finish, perseverance, if you turn to chapter four, brothers, sisters, let us hold fast our confession. Look at verse 14, seeing then that we have a great high priest who is passed through the heavens. He was humiliated and as humiliation, he came as a man. He suffered and endured the time of his trial and overcame and offered himself up through the eternal spirit and was resurrected and ascended into heaven. He is passed through the heavens. This is true. This is the word of God and hold fast to this confession. Hold fast to Christ as your priest, your exalted priest. Remember, that's what this author was concerned about with his audience, was that they would no longer hold fast what was happening. They hadn't yet resisted to bloodshed. He says that in chapter 12 and I think it's because that they were in a situation where they might undergo that. Their goods were plundered, but yet they had not yet resisted to bloodshed. They were in danger of drifting, of unbelief, like the children of Israel, of apostasy and he gives them strong warnings and strong consolation and he tells them you need to continue to hold fast to this confession and we need to hold fast to our confession. We are in the same context, but there are different types of Christianity that you could go to that are easier and I've seen that happen. Some people are just tired of the trials. They're tired of the holy living. They're tired of whatever it is that tests them through being faithful and holding fast to this confession and they find what they think is rest in a way from Christ. We need to hold fast our confession. Whatever it is, deal with it. Get it out in the open. I'm going to go talk about prayer in a minute, but go to that brother if you have an issue with him. Go to that sister. Talk to them. Remember that slander is all around. Look at chapter 4 verse 15 to 16. This is the last part. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Why do people turn to easier religion? They stop believing true doctrine and they stop fellowshiping with God. He's exhorting them to sound doctrine, hold fast to this confession of Jesus Christ as your great high priest and their dull of hearing. He says it's hard to explain to you because they're turning away from sound doctrine and they're also not and they're also not fellowshiping with God or they're in danger of discontinuing that or shrinking back or shying away because with the doctrine which underpins life comes the practice and he's reminding them of who Christ is and then he's reminding them he's sympathetic. It's a throne and you must submit to God Almighty, but it's a throne of grace and if you have need, I have need, brothers. I have great needs. I know you do too and you need to go to God. You need to fellowship with God. Think about it, brother, sister. God, the Father has covenanted in love with the Son and Spirit to install his only begotten Son to be a sympathetic high priest so that for one you would approach him through your great high priest for all your help in Christian living. This is a major theme and a great design of history. It's that God would be God to his people and they would be his people, that God would dwell with his people. I tell you he has established the Son as high priest and fitted him to his ministry, which Christ delighted to do by making him a man, seeing him through temptation beyond compare and teaching him obedience so that he would be a merciful high priest as God and men. He knows the Father's perfect will and what exactly to ask for and knows fully what weaknesses you have and what you need. Pray, brother and sister. Pray. Go to God through Christ often, freely and boldly. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, forgive us, Lord. I feel it for not coming to you and for forgetting these great truths and acting as if you do not welcome us in Christ. Lord, I pray that we as your people and this congregation and this age would not cheat out and deceive ourselves with what we would think would be easier religion. But we would pursue holiness without which no one will see the Lord and that we Lord would trust and believe in Jesus Christ and endure to the end. Amen.


We have come here tonight to feel the burn of our nation's history. And the fact that Senator Bernie Sanders is answering the call to stand up for working class folks and middle class folks in this country to say enough is enough is enough is enough. Working poor who work two and three jobs at a time and they still can't make ends meet. Enough is enough is enough country. Senator Sanders says enough is enough is enough. The country are being deprived of health care. The senator says enough is enough to control. It is we want our whole damn dollar. Justice system that is unjust to African-Americans and our Hispanic be surprised to know that Senator Sanders has a racial justice plan that affirms the value of people of color and wants to do away with the four types of violence that are that is waged against them. Physical, political, legal and economic enough is enough is running this race. Him and Mrs. Sanders they are running this race. Senator has four children and seven grandchildren and he wants them his greatness.  He is sick and tired of an economy that is rigged enough is enough is enough. Now I'm going to tell you something folks. Senator Sanders can win this race don't listen to the pundit he can and he rigged because when I think about Senator Sanders I think about a public servant for our time. He has been doing the work of the people his entire political career. He has been steady in his commitment to folks who live in this in this country. He is going to get it done. Senator Sanders lives on his principles he is going to get it done. So if all of us put a little extra on our ordinary extraordinary things will begin to happen in this country. I know it and I believe it which is why I am feeling the burn. We need you all to teach in every person in this room you are a part of making the political revolution real and we have to get out here and make sure that we register people to vote then there's will be the next president of these united he is a man of principle and I applaud the senator for taking this on. So I want to leave you with three things. Number one I believe that the creator of this great universe has given us two hands one to reach forward and one to reach back lifting as we climb that we can't ask other folks to do more for us than we are willing to do for ourselves. Sling the words of my grandmother who was born in 1930 to read or write but she could count her money and she kept her money in the southern ladies bank and trust. When I asked my grandmother what does it take to be successful in life she said my dear granddaughter all you need are the three bones the wishbone the jawbone and the backbone. She said the wishbone will keep you hoping and praying because hope is the motivator but the dream is the driver. The reason why Senator Sanders is running this race is because he knows that the hopes and the dreams of every in his leadership to push this country forward are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis choose neutrality sisters and brothers we have a great moral crisis on our hands and we cannot be neutral we will not be neutral. Thing unless you have the supercadrofragilistic expialidocious bone which is the backbone because the backbone will keep us standing through all of our trials and our tribulations and in this life we will go through some stuff but you cannot have a testimony without a test. We are being tested.


Well, first of all, I'd like to say, I think they're extremely important. I think the first thing is that they give a complementary feel to research and teaching. Sometimes these terms are in opposition to each other or seen as kind of binary. But actually, I think the fact that this allows some research into teaching and learning shows the complementary nature of research and teaching, which I think is really important message in the higher education sector. So that's the first thing why I think they're really important. Secondly, I think they allow research into a breadth of teaching and learning. Much research in teaching and learning is in the discipline. A lot of people investigate their discipline, whereas this allows kind of cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional research. I think this is really, really valuable to come out and have that breadth of teaching and learning research. The other thing that I think it does very well is it goes deep into an area. So it does breadth and it does depth. And what I mean by that is that it shines a light on a particular area that might need some researching. In my case, it was assessing work into greater learning, but it allows you to go deep into one particular area, shining a level of insight into an particular area. So I think that's very valuable. I think the fact that it is funded by the National Forum and linked with the National Forum allows outputs of the research to go more easily into policy and more widespread actions. So I think the fact that it is linked with the National Forum allows that sort of more impact of the research. I think, again, that's really, really valuable because sometimes research can kind of stay in peer-reviewed papers, but don't have an impact on policy. So that's really valuable. I think that these fellowships are vitally important. They provide a mechanism for those deeply involved in teaching and learning to leverage their experience and go further than they could otherwise and to share their findings with the community. Without this fellowship, I would never have the time or resources to explore topics that span, for instance, such a wide range of disciplines, educators, and students. And additionally, truly future-focused work is really hard to accomplish without a structure, time, and resources. Particularly when you consider that there are five fellowships, there's a good amount of work being done and shared that's really at the cutting edge of teaching and learning. And vitally, that's all being done in the Irish context. So hopefully this work is really valuable and really directly applicable to a lot of those in higher education in Ireland today. For me, these fellowships are truly transformative. They spawn on the integrated nature of teaching and learning, research, and scholarship in Ireland. They showcase the value in scholarship of teaching and learning. And us, as the first set of fellows, we were ambassadors for this fellowship, the concept, as well as the actioning of it. We were touchstones for the sector and the catalyst for change. In this evolving higher education sector, particularly with the emerging TU sector, and those that teach within the sector, we could help shape and change how we value teaching and learning and the scholarship of teaching and learning. For me, it was an absolute honor to initiate a new community one founded on individual excellence, however one that would be sustained by strategic scholarship and collaboration across the sector. It was great to be part of this at the very start. It part of something very special, and I really look forward to being part of the fellowship as it grows and continues to inform, shape, and inspire the sector. I was recognized with this award in summer 2020, and I value it greatly. I feel it's made a significant impact to my day-to-day commitments as a university professor and teacher of students, particularly in dentistry. I view the fellowships as incredibly important for the higher Irish higher education sector, as they leave the opportunity to recognize people who have potential, to recognize individuals of achievement, and to give them space to develop and grow further within their field. These fellowships are also incredibly important for the sector, as they encourage an ethos of excellence in scholarship and further development amongst teaching-based practitioners. In my own experience, the fellowship has enhanced my day-to-day role in that I have had time to reflect and develop new skills in pedagogy and assessment. I have found it incredibly worthwhile and valuable interacting with my colleague fellows, and we've nurtured and stimulated new ideas and development. I've asked the question, what do I think the teaching and learning in higher education in Ireland will look like in 2030? And I think that's quite a daunting question to answer. I think if we were asked at the start of 2020 what we thought teaching and learning would look like in Irish higher education at the end of 2020, I think any of us would have struggled to answer that with any degree of clarity or prediction. However, the words of the president of University College Cork, where I work, Professor John O'Halloran, keep coming to mind. And John has a great phrase about how we are student focused and research led. And regardless of what teaching methodologies or structures or strategies we use, I think reflecting on those words will steer us well over the decade ahead as we move beyond the pandemic and into a world of excellence and development within higher education in Ireland. Well, first of all, I spoke to look at me in relation to, I suppose, my scholarship. It was a fantastic opportunity to develop as a scholar, to develop my own research skills. I learned a lot about more qualitative research approaches by using a participatory and action research approach. So I really enhanced my solid scholarly skills in that direction. I also got to handle a lot of quantitative data, large quantitative data. And again, that gave me a great opportunity to enhance my own scholarly approach in relation to sort of the skills and confidence with, you know, so both with qualitative and quantitative. The other area in relation to scholarship, which is lacking, I think, in the area of teaching and learning research is having conversations with other peers in this area. So it was really nice to be able to chat with the other fellows who would be peers in this area, chatting to them about their own research, getting some feedback on my research, hearing about their research and having that peer support piece that was really enhanced all of our scholarship. I think all the fellow scholarship. For me, after continuing this research, it has changed me, has changed what I do, it changed how I teach. It also changed the way I engage with students and engage with colleagues. I appreciate diversity much more now and I have become a strong ally for all those in higher education. I've really learned a lot during this fellowship and I'm hoping that I'll be able to share that. I mean, my most overwhelming evidence I think I have for that fact is that my list of things that I want to look into it has grown tenfold since my fellowship has started. So it's like everything that you find that there's three more things behind that. And I mean, that's really exciting, but it's also a challenge to control.


الحمد لله ثم الحمد لله نحمده ونسائره ونسالفره ونعود بله من شرور نفسنا ومن سيات عمالنا ما يهده لا فلا مدلله وما يدل فلا حاديله ونشد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شده ونشد أن سينا محمد العبده ورسوله وصفيه وخليله أرسله بالهدى ودين الحق ليذهيه وعالدين كله وكفى بالله شهده ونشد أن آدم خليفة الله وأن نوح رجل الله وأن إبراهيب خليل الله وأن موسى كريب الله وأن عيسة بلمريم روح الله وكلماته سلوات الله وسلامه عليه مجمعين وما يدينهم من نديين والرسالين قال الله تعالى في كتابه رزيز قال دعوه بالله من الشيطان الرجيم يا أيها الناس اتك ربكم ربي خلقكم بنفسه واحدة وخلق منه زوجها وبات منكم رجال كثيرا ونساء واتك الله الذي تساءر به ورحام إن الله كلعلك رقيبة يا أيها النادين آمرت الله حقا تقاته ورتبوتنا إلا وأنتوا مسلمون يا أيها النادين آملوا اتك الله وقول قولا السديدة يسلش لكم عمالكم ويكفل لكم ضلوبكم والما يقضع إله ومصوله وفقف ثلاثة وفوظة العديد ونبدأ my respected elders my brothers and my sisters in faith and humanity praising and thanking Allah the creator of all that is الله سبحانه وتعالى the sustainer of all that is الله سبحانه وتعالى the one who has given everything and everyone their balance and their equilibrium and their guidance he is the one سبحانه وتعالى who we declare that there is nothing worth worship of him and that our leader our master our beloved guide and teacher محمد may God bless his beautiful soul his spirit grant him peace is his last and final prophet last and final messenger to all human beings the black of them and the white of them the brown of them and the yellow of them and the red of them and we declare that whoever Allah Ta'ala guides none can be restrained whoever Allah allows to go straight none can guide and we bear witness that Adam is the vice-gerent of God and that Noah was the one rescued by God that Moses is the one that God spoke directly to and that Abraham is the intimate beloved friend of God and that Jesus the son of the blessed Mary is the spirit the created spirit of God and a word from him الله سبحانه وتعالى says in the Quran oh humanity indeed we created you from a single soul from the two of them and from it created its mate and from the two of them dispersed multitudes of men and women be reverent of Allah be reverent of God be conscious of God and the wounds that bore you indeed Allah sees all that you do oh you who have faith be conscious of God be reverent of God as he should be shown reverence oh you who have embodied faith be conscious of God and speak truthfully speak honestly and if you do this Allah will forgive your sins and rectify all your affairs الله سبحانه وتعالى سبحانه وتعالى أصبحت الله my dear respected elders brothers and sisters today I want to talk about going back to basics going back to the ko'a'id the principles of this beautiful this perfect this complete deal this way of life the principles of good and evil the foundations of good and evil Allah gives them to us in the Qur'an and I want us to just take a few minutes in this Jumu'a to remind ourselves and to reflect on the meanings this is the ayah that most of the khatibs most of the preachers in the khutbah with but today I want us to make the khutbah about the ayah that most khatibs in the khutbah with we have a checkered history as Muslims we have times in our history that were very glorious very moments of the manifestation of what's best in the human soul what's best in the human mind what's best in our character but then we also have moments in our history that are very tragic very sad sometimes we like to whitewash and skip over this history unfortunately we should not we should be honest we should be authentic we should not just be concerned with the authenticity of hadith we should be concerned with the authenticity of our history and the authenticity of ourselves we should be authentic human beings and one step towards becoming an authentic person is facing your past facing your history and we had a time in our history when unfortunately during the khutbah the government required that the family of the Prophet Muhammad be maland be insulted be cursed until the great leader the great sultan أمان بن عبد العزيز changed this practice he changed this practice because he knew that it was not a practice that was from the Qur'an or the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ which calls us to honor the family of the Prophet ﷺ see this is what happened when government in religion when government uses religion for its own needs and he decreed and he made this institutional change that at the end of the khutbah the Imam should say rather بادعود بالله من الشيطان ونرجين إن الله يعمل بالأدن والسان ويتائذ الغرباء وينه على الفاشاء والمنقل والبقل يعيدكم لعلكم تذكرون indeed الله يمكس الله يجد حقا وحكا وانقل ومنعن ومنعن مع الناس وإن يمكس وإن تبدأ لاترأس ونهي ونهي وانتبع وإن نجحك ونهي ويحصل وحصلت على مصر أمة ومصر الناس في خبسة هذه الآية من صورة نحل وحصلت على شرطة نحل الآن قبل هذه الآية والآية 89 الله سبحانه وتعالى يقول ونزل عليك الكتاب تبيانا لكل شيء ونسأل على أن تقوم بسرطة ونسأل على كل شيء ونسأل على أن هذه الآية تقوم بسرطة ونسأل على أن تقوم بسرطة ونسأل على أندي حف~! لن تكون wishes ونسأل على أن أعمل أن كل شيء س الأID�Next الله يقول ونزل عليك الكتاب تبيانا لكل شيء ونسأل على أن تقوم بسرطة او اي شيء. و في العالم الثالث يجب عليكم الجميع for a happy life. الجميع for success. الجميع for a family, for a neighborhood, for a city, for a country, even a civilization to be successful by anyone's standard, not just according to the measures of religious people, by anyone's standard. And Allah SWT also gives in the same the principles that lead to the destruction that lead to the atrophy and deterioration of families and neighborhoods and nations and civilizations. There are three principles that are the foundations of all good. And three principles that are the foundation of all evil. These are the first is justice. And this beautiful word is of course one of the names of Allah is one of Allah's beautiful names. These names that we call upon Allah SWT to connect the hearts to الله. That's why we are here to connect our hearts in this world with our Creator. So that when we are in the نشجد or when we are at our businesses or at our jobs or in our homes or when we're on the playgrounds, our hearts are constantly connected with Allah SWT so that we can be like the companions who it was said about them. Their feet were on the earth while their hearts were connected to the Hereafter. These are the kind of people we want to be. People that are practical and pragmatic. People that are rational but our hearts are connected to a place that is beyond the physical. That is beyond the rational even. The human being brings together these two different dimensions. And this is what qualifies us to be the خليفة of الله. Allah says to the angels I'm placing in the earth a خليفة because Allah did not say it's creating from the earth. He's placing in the earth because you human being your essence is not from this earth. Your essence is not from this earth. Your body is not your essence. Your body is from this earth. But that's not the essence of who you are. Your essence is the روح that Allah created that responded بلا indeed when Allah asked ألسطو بيربكون. That is who you are. That is who you were before your mother gave birth to you. Before you were African American. Before you were Pakistani or Arab or Malay or Syrian or British or French or Chinese.  The spirit has no color. The spirit has no gender. The spirit transcends gender. The spirit does not get old. The spirit does not get sad or angry. That's why the more we're connected to our spiritual self the more happy you become. The more content you become. The more patient you become. The more giving you become and the more forgiving you become. And these principles of Allah سبحانه وتعالى are mentioned in the 90 آية العدن العدانة والإحسان والإتاق مادرايشن جسدس spiritual beauty and liberal arts and generosity are meant to bring the body and the mind of a human being back in the mind and with the spirit.  One day he said in حديث that's narrated by Imam Al-Wahidi who has a well-known book on the أسباب النظور the history of revelation. He gives us about 600 or more آيات and when the context in the life of the Prophet ﷺ and when these آيات were revealed. He says one day he was in Makkah and he was sitting in the courtyard of his blessed house he had not become Muslim yet he was walking back this was in Makkah the Muslims were very few even after 13 years in Makkah the numbers of the Muslims according to our historians didn't exceed 200 would you call that success 13 years just over 100 followers in the eyes of Allah that was success because those محاجرون those محاجرون who first made Hijrah to East Africa twice and then made Hijrah to Yathud that became Madinah النبي. Madinah النبي ﷺ they were the seeds they were the seeds that Allah ﷺ crafted in order to plant the tree of Islam in Madinah and it is that tree of Islam that we are all the fruit of today just between 100 and 200 seeds that was success it is not about quantity for quality that is what's most important so he smiled at the Prophet ﷺ he smiled again and the Messenger ﷺ responded and I touched his would you not sit down and they began to talk and while they were talking the Prophet ﷺ all of a sudden looked up at the heavens for a while. عثمان إبنى درون رودي الله وعيه زق مصنيات he sees this he looks up at the heavens ﷺ and then he looks down to the right and then he turns away from عثمان and he starts talking as if he's trying to understand something and then he looks back up at the heavens again and he fixes his gaze on the heavens and then he continues talking to عثمان عثمان is he was looking at what's going on he says محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم you did something today I've never seen you do before the Prophet ﷺ as if he was oblivious to عثمان even being there he says what did you see me do he said what did you see me do and then he described so you look up at the heavens and so you look down to the right and so you turn away and he said جبريد جبريد came to me while you were sitting there look at how the Prophet ﷺ was absorbed and receiving وحي was not a small thing it's a difficult thing it's something that takes you that took him ﷺ beyond this world you know what I mean he did not see جبريد عليه السلام on some occasions the companions saw جبريد عليه السلام as we know and then he said and what did the angel say to you and he recited the verse تذكرون and of course what they called said إذا هيم إذا هيم الاستقر الإيمان في قلبي he said at that instant when the Messenger ﷺ recited that he said إيمان settled in my heart إستقر الإيمان في قلبي إيمان took up residence إستقر it means to take up residence somewhere إيمان took up residence in my heart you see إيمان must come into our hearts إسلام is something that we must enter into you enter into surrender into submission into peace entirely not half part of you don't do this dean half baked for your own sake not for the benefit of Allah Allah does not need us to worship him entering to Islam completely for your own benefit for the benefit of your family of your community of your country ولا تتبعوا خطوما تشانتي and don't follow the footsteps of the devil and then he said و أحببت محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم he said at that moment إستقر إيمان في قلبي و أحببت محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم at that moment إيمان took up residence إيمان مهدت إلى my heart إيمان is to move into your heart and that is a gift from Allah to Allah إسلام the practice of this dean is a preparation for إيمان entering into the heart taking up residence in our hearts and in that entrance of إيمان into the heart is the prelude for the محبب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم for the love of the messenger of God صلى الله عليه وسلم that is what made the صحابة صحابة it is what made the companions companions و أنا ساير و أنا ستفر و أنا عول دلائه و الشقورة الفوسية و المسيئة أنت عمالنا أشدونا إلا الله و أحضه لأشجعك و أشدونا سيدنا محمد عبد و أسر so in conclusion my beloved brothers and sisters my beloved elders إسلام revolves around these three principles success for any human being even if you're not muslim revolves around these three principles and it is our commitment to fairness and moderation we don't go towards the frauds and we don't go towards the threats we don't go through extremism in practice or extremism in laxity and the thing about extremist is that no extremist thinks they're extreme every extremist believes they're moderate but how do you know if someone's an extremist how do you know if you're an extremist extremist when we look at the laxity we look at the objectives of sacred law when the way you are practicing islam leads the people leaving islam you're an extremist and we have some communities that are like that we have some misogyny that are like that we have some islamic centers and islamic schools that are like that that people they're driving people away from this you are an extremist with the way you're practicing islam in dangerous life or in dangerous the well-being of others these are very very empirical you can measure this you're an extremist in the way you practice islam causes the wealth of others the proper does harm or damage to the property of others or to the mental stability of others or to the lineage and to the family stability of others or to the reputation of others because these مقاصد are a human right they're a human right so we and we seek to establish justice this is what we just talked about out there is that we establish justice beginning with our own selves that you start being just with your own body with your own mind and your own soul and then you bring justice into your family you can't be just the prophet he said that we should even show justice between our children if you kiss one kiss the others you can't demand justice from your president or your king or your manager or the ceo and then you're not just in your own house there has to be a correlation justice he said i am for truth no matter who says it i don't care who says it if it's true i accept i don't care if they're black or white i don't care if they're muslim or atheist i don't care what they call themselves what jama'a or what minhaj or what manha they follow if they're speaking the truth we have to accept and he said that i am for justice no matter who it is for or against i'm not impartial i'm not partial to people that look like me or that pray like me or we enact exact justice on the poor but we need the rich who can get the good boys and find the loopholes it's not justice we need to establish justice a lot commands to justice a lot commands the prophets to justice in fact our scholars say and will end here with these two points that a country a civilization that is just will have longevity even if it is not muslim it will be prosperous even if it is not muslim but a country that is corrupt a country that is full of graph and bribery and under the table deals things decisions being made in smoke filled rooms will be will be short lived this is a principle a cosmic divine principle and that's why you see the countries in the world that are the most just you see in our world today most countries have a mixture this is our lord knows best if there's any country that's completely just maybe there are a few we hope but you know that the countries that are the most fair that treat their citizens the most fairly the most just those in the countries where there's the most safety the most security and the most prospered and the countries that are the most corrupt is this where this is where you see the most insecurity this is where you see the most death and disease lastly lastly the scholars are commentators say that justice relates to giving rights giving rights to those to whom rights are due and there are two beings two types of beings to which we owe rights there's the creator and the creation so justice is not only about human rights which is what the which is the narrative the discourse that we hear but justice is also about the divine right and allah's right is that we believe in him without any partner and that we worship him without any partner and that we call on him and that we recognize that he is the everlasting eternal and that he سبحانه وتعالى has absolute control over this dunya and everything and everyone in it and so my dear beloved muslims do not despair we may have a new leader this year or that year the seasons may change the climate may change but there's only one الله سبحانه وتعالى and as long as your heart is connected to allah and as long as you are open to allah's guidance we will always know what right course of action to take what just course of action to take and what compassionate course of action to take in service to allah and in service to all human beings الله ما احسن عاكبة نفل قمول كلها وجنة من خز الجنة وعذاب آفرة إن الله وملائكته يصلول على النبي يا أيها الذين آمنوا صلوا عليه وسلموا تسليمان الله وصلي على سينا محمد وعلى آر سينا محمد كما صليت على سينا إبراهيم وعلى آر سينا إبراهيم وبارك على سينا محمد وعلى أرسي على سينا محمد كما برقت على سينا إبراهيم وعلى أرسي على غير العالم إ기�لك الحمد للنجين الله احضر علي مصحد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الله انا ووافقنا رقما، تطalı وتولطاه الله بالهواء عن حق ق實 Washnak أو一帶 و делا و لاسوما جاما الله يؤكد أنه على رأной التووفى يخب language يخبان هذه rights to allah إن الله يعمل بالعدي والإحسان ويتاذ القربة وينهى عن الفحشة وذنك والذنك يعيدكم لعلكم تذكرون ولا ذكروا الله أكبر والله يعلموا ما تصنعون أكيم السلام