The Great Shaking
Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price | May 17, 2026
The Great Shaking & the Unshakeable Kingdom
Hebrews 12:26–29 | Schrader Lane Church of Christ
Two Mountains — Two Covenants
The Old Covenant
- Fear & trembling
- Distance from God
- Restricted access
- Obedience through law
- Moses as mediator
- Sin exposed, not removed
The New Covenant
- Grace & celebration
- Access to the living God
- Open invitation
- Obedience through love
- Jesus as mediator
- Sin forgiven & removed
4 Purposes of the Shaking
"The shaking is not destruction — it is revelation. God shakes what is temporary so that what is eternal can finally be seen."
— Dr. Richard Price | Schrader Lane Church of ChristBarry's Bureau | Inspired by Dr. Richard Price's sermon at Schrader Lane Church of Christ
When Everything Shakes — Stand on What Cannot Fall
In a world where economies tremble, institutions crumble, and even our own faith can waver, God's Word offers a revolutionary perspective: the shaking is not the enemy — it is the revealer. In this week's Priceless Lesson, drawn from Hebrews 12, Dr. Richard Price reminds us that believers don't just survive the storm — we belong to a Kingdom that no storm can destroy.
The Ground Is Moving — And That Should Tell You Something
You have felt it. Maybe not in the literal sense of trembling soil under your feet, but in ways that are just as unsettling. An economy that keeps shifting. A political landscape that offers no solid ground. A relationship you counted on that quietly cracked beneath the surface. A season of faith that left you questioning everything you thought you knew about God.
When life begins to shake like that, the instinct is to hold on tighter — to grip whatever feels stable. But what if the shaking itself is a message? What if God is doing something intentional in the trembling?
That is exactly the question at the heart of this week's teaching, and the answer is more liberating — and more sobering — than most of us expect.
The Scripture That Changes Everything
The writer of Hebrews reaches all the way back to Mount Sinai to set the stage for one of the most powerful declarations in all of Scripture. In Hebrews 12:26–28 (NLT), we read these words:
"Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also. This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe."
The central truth here is breathtaking: God permits — and at times orchestrates — shaking in our world. Not to destroy His people, but to reveal what is eternal. Everything built on a false foundation will eventually fall. But what is rooted in Christ and His Kingdom will stand when every storm has passed.
Understand Why God Allows the Shaking
Dr. Price does not let us rush past the meaning of this text. The shaking, he teaches, is not random and it is not punitive — it is purposeful. God allows shaking to expose instability, to reveal false foundations, to uncover shallow faith, and to remove what was never meant to last.
Think for a moment about the Israelites at Sinai. Exodus 19:16–18 describes a scene of terrifying holiness: thunder roaring, lightning flashing, the mountain covered in smoke, and the entire ground shaking violently beneath the presence of God. The people didn't draw closer. They backed away in fear. They told Moses, "You speak to us, but don't let God speak to us directly, or we will die."
Their retreat said everything. Sin had done something devastating to the human soul — it had created an unbridgeable distance between a holy God and a broken people. The mountain shook externally because humanity was already shaking internally. As the Apostle Paul would later write in Romans 3:23, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." And in his gut-wrenching confession of Romans 7:24, Paul cries, "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life?"
The law at Sinai could expose the problem. But it could not solve it. That distinction is everything.
From Sinai to Zion — The Move That Changes Everything
Here is where the gospel breaks through like sunlight after the longest night. The writer of Hebrews does not leave us trembling at the base of Sinai. In Hebrews 12:22, he pivots with one extraordinary declaration: "You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God."
Notice the tense. Not "you will come." You have come. Through Jesus Christ, the distance between God and humanity has been bridged. The mediator is no longer Moses — it is the Son of God Himself. At Sinai, there were boundaries: touch the mountain and die. At Zion, there is an open invitation: come, because grace is here.
Dr. Price draws the contrast with clarity: Sinai was marked by fear, distance, restriction, and trembling. Zion is marked by grace, access, celebration, and mediation through Christ. When Paul cried out, "Who will free me?" the answer came immediately: "Thank God! The answer is Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:25).
And then comes the warning we must not overlook. Hebrews 12:29 does not let us grow comfortable with cheap grace: "For our God is a consuming fire." The fire that descended at Sinai is the same fire that fell at Pentecost. God's holiness has not changed. His standard has not softened. His grace through Christ is not permission to presume — it is power to be transformed.
Stand Firm in the Kingdom That Cannot Fall
Here is the word every believer needs to hear in a season of shaking: you may feel the trembling, but you belong to something that cannot be destroyed. Dr. Price makes this point precisely — the Scriptures do not promise that you will be unshakeable. They promise something better: you belong to a Kingdom that is unshakeable.
That Kingdom does not depend on Washington's politics or Wall Street's economy. It is not held together by human institutions, cultural trends, or the shifting opinions of any generation. The Kingdom of God belongs to God — and because the Kingdom remains, the people of God remain also.
This is Paul's great rallying cry in 1 Corinthians 15:58: "Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." When the shaking intensifies, the response of a Kingdom citizen is not panic or retreat. It is rootedness. It is worship. It is the steady, daily work of a life anchored in what is eternal.
"The shaking is not destruction — it is revelation. God shakes what is temporary so that what is eternal can finally be seen. And when the dust settles, only the Kingdom of God will be left standing."
4 Ways to Stand Firm When Everything Is Shaking
- Audit your foundations. Ask the piercing question from Hebrews 12: "What in my life can survive the holiness of God?" Be honest about where you have built on temporary ground — career, comfort, human approval, or political security.
- Stay at Zion, not Sinai. Don't let fear drive you back to a religion of rules and distance. You have access to God through Christ. Use it — in daily prayer, in the Word, in worship with the body of believers.
- Put on a kingdom lens. Before you scroll the news or absorb the culture's anxiety, ask: "How does the Kingdom of God see this?" Practice viewing each day's events through Scripture, not through headlines.
- Be steadfast in the work. Shaking is not a signal to slow down your kingdom investment — it is a signal to double down. Serve, give, encourage, evangelize. The eternal work never shakes.
📺 Watch, Study, and Go Deeper
Listen to this full sermon on the Barry's Bureau YouTube channel (40 min). Then test your knowledge with the interactive quiz and study game available at BarrysBureau.org — tools designed to move you from hearing the Word to living it.
Where Is Your Anchor?
Here is the reflection question Dr. Price leaves with every listener — and it is worth sitting with today: What in your life can survive the holiness of God?
Everything temporary will eventually shake. Everything false will eventually fall. But what is rooted in Christ — your faith, your identity, your eternal membership in His Kingdom — cannot be taken from you. Not by an economy, not by an election, not by a diagnosis, not by a heartbreak.
You belong to something unshakeable. Live like it.
Share this lesson with someone who needs a firm foundation today. Leave a comment below — tell us: where have you seen God use shaking to reveal something eternal in your own life?
Join us for worship at Schrader Lane Church of Christ or visit BarrysBureau.org for more resources.
The Great Shaking & the Unshakeable Kingdom
A 7-Question Interactive Quiz | Hebrews 12 | May 17, 2026
Test your understanding of this week's powerful lesson. 7 questions. Immediate feedback. Ready to begin?
Your Results
Sinai or Zion?
A Category Sorting Game | The Great Shaking | Hebrews 12
Eight concepts from this week's sermon will appear one at a time. For each one, decide: does it belong to Mount Sinai (Old Covenant) or Mount Zion (New Covenant)?
Tap the correct mountain zone to sort each item. You earn 1 point for each correct answer. Build your streak for bonus bragging rights!
Game Type: Category Sorting | 8 Rounds | Hebrews 12:18–29