Sermons
Gathered Worship is Covenantal - Joshua 24:1-28
How aware and knowledgeable are we that we have a covenant with God?Do you think that worshippers at Crossroads sense a need to respond to God during worship?What do you think it means to renew our covenant with God during a worship service today?Read 2 Corinthians 4:5-6Where do you see the theme of a suzerain-vassal covenant in these verses?How is this covenant we have connected with looking into the face of another?Read Revelation 22:1-5How is worship in the fully restored heavens and earth presented with regards to God’s face?When you look back over the course of your life do you sense that worship is a very interpersonal event on Sundays?
How would you like to see your worship on Sunday improve interpersonally?
Seeing that God has made each individual different how does that inform the personal nature of congregational worship?
Leviticus 16 'The Day of Atonement'
If a neighbor or co-worker were to ask you what the Pastor spoke about on Sunday how would you summarize the sermon in one sentence?
You can’t understand sacrifice of Jesus until you understand sacrifice in Leviticus. Leviticus 16 is about the Day of Atonement? How was the Day of Atonement like spring cleaning?
An atoning sacrifice is also known as a ransom in Leviticus. Let’s consider how a ransom works.Jay Sklar writes, “In the Old Testament, a ‘ransom’ has the following characteristics:1. It is a legally or ethically legitimate payment;2. It delivers a guilty party from a just punishment that is the right of the offended party to execute or to have executed;3. It is a lesser punishment than was originally expected;4. It is up to the offended party whether or not to accept the payment; and5. Its acceptance serves both to rescue the life of the guilty and to appease the offended party, thus restoring peace to the relationship.
Exodus 21:28-30 is an example of how a ransom works in human-to-human relationships. Read Exodus 21:28-30How can a man whose ox has gored others multiple times avoid the death penalty?Is the offended party required to place a ransom upon the offender?How would you view the offended party’s action?Read Leviticus 17:11Just as God mercifully provided for a ransom in human-to-human relationships Lev. 17:11 is about how ransom, or atonement, also works in God-to-human relationships. Sacrifice in Leviticus is a ransom for those who deserve death.Read Mark 10:45How does Jesus’s death on the cross meet the requirements of ransom above?How is Jesus’ ransom payment even better than that required in the Old Testament?How much of the debt has not been paid by Jesus? How does this help us to understand why the New Testament speaks of Jesus’ saving work as a gift (see Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8)?
Law as a Window into the Heart of God
Leviticus 19Law as a Window into the Heart of God Leviticus 19:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father….9 "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God…. 17 "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. 19 "You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
Guess Who's Moving In? - Introduction to Leviticus
If you could have had just one point from Sunday’s message communicated what would it have been?The people we dwell with shape our sense of who we are (identity). Which people in your life have most shaped your identity?[caption id="attachment_4635" align="alignleft" width="700"]
The Tabernacle and Court[/caption]In Leviticus the Covenant King comes to dwell among his people.What evidence from Exodus points to God being a COVENANT King?What evidence from Exodus points to God being a Covenant KING?What evidence from Exodus points to God being a Covenant King who DWELLS AMONG HIS PEOPLE?How has God come to dwell even nearer to his covenant people today?How would you say that God’s dwelling within and among us shapes your identity, your sense of who you are?J. Todd Billings writes that among many Americans, especially emerging adults “faith has been reduced to a necklace one wears as part of a self-made identity rather than a whole new set of clothes one wears—“put[ting] on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14)—as a new identity found in him.” Billings, J. Todd (2011-11-01). Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church (Kindle Locations 404-415). Baker Publishing Group.Do you find yourself trying to keep Jesus the Covenant King at arms-length despite his desire to dwell near? Do you sense any fear at being so completely identified with him?What inspires you about being so identified with the Father who has adopted you in Christ (Romans 8:15)? What do you like about others who are excited about the nearness of their Covenant King?
H.O.A.'s in Conflict - Haggai 2:1-9
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Darius, King of Persia at the time of Haggai's ministry[/caption]What stood out to you from Sundays sermon on Haggai?Have any of you ever had good or bad experiences with a Home Owners Association (HOA)?On Wikipedia it is noted that, “In the United States, a homeowner association (or homeowners association) (HOA) is a corporation formed by a real estate developer for the purpose of marketing, managing, and selling of homes and lots in a residential subdivision.” So, an HOA is about real estate development.The LORD’s HOA dictates that he will always have a home within his real estate and among the other home owners. Positively he will enjoy being with his neighbors and bring blessing to the entirety of the real estate through them. Negatively, he will not be kicked out of his own neighborhood.[caption id="attachment_4569" align="alignright" width="457"]
Israel Under Saul, David and Solomon[/caption]How does the LORD’s possession of a house among humanity influence the development of his real estate (creation) in the Garden of Eden? What about among Israel during the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon?What was the building of the temple communicating in the days of the post-exilic prophet Haggai (520 BC)?Read Ephesians 2:11-22In 2:20 it says that Christ is the cornerstone of the temple being built by God today. John Stott writes that, “the cornerstone is of crucial importance to a building. It is itself part of and essential to the foundation; it helps to hold the building steady, and it also sets it and keeps it in line…As a building depends for both its cohesion and its development on being tied securely to its cornerstone, so Christ the cornerstone is indispensable to the church’s unity and growth. Unless it is constantly and securely related to Christ, the church’s unity will disintegrate and its growth either stop or run wild.”The world we live in has several conflicting HOA’s with God’s HOA. Tim mentioned several ways our local HOA is in conflict with God’s HOA:- We may have houses for gods but they must remain general so therefore the cornerstone must be something other than Jesus Christ OR we need to have several cornerstones that include all gurus, religious leaders, etc.- The houses of gods will not be at the center of the neighborhood because they will not serve as the main resource for real estate development.- Greater attention will be given to the construction of commercial buildings that to religious buildings because they bring in more money which is ultimately the source for greater real estate development.- The houses for gods will not have any say regarding the development of the government, education, economic endeavors or any other aspect in the neighborhood.- Attendance at the house of gods is completely voluntary and non-attendance will not warrant fines from the HOA (in contrast to non-attendance to school).Can you think of other differences between the world’s HOA and God’s HOA regarding the building, location and importance of God’s international temple in Christ?What most bothers you about the world’s HOA?How are you, in Christ and by the Spirit, disregarding the world’s HOA?What would happen if you used the Word of God as a resource for planning, executing or evaluating at work? Would you receive “a fine” from the HOA? How could your flouting the HOA at work actually help to develop God’s real estate despite the fine you receive?