There is no Sunday School version of Leviticus

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SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2017

The Old Testament is full of people - real people; whose lives are messy, their families dysfunctional and their obedience not always full or immediate, yet God used them.  Our study of their lives is to bring perspective, hope and instruction to ours - to recognise that at times we are tempted to sanitise or selectively interact with their stories and in that way make them heroes.  The reality is that their stories are powerful because they are human like us and face the same temptations and frailty that we do - yet God used them.

Leviticus is a book about how Israel are going to be able to live with the presence of God at the centre of their community, but to do this there are lots of laws they need to live by.

To unpack this book and put it into context, James takes us through a a quick recap of the previous book Exodus, which ends with Moses not being able to enter the tent he has just completed. 

The first verse in Leviticus (1:1) says: The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him FROM the tent of meeting. but when we jump forward a book the first verse states: The Lord spoke to Moses IN the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinaion" (Numbers 1:1)... so something about the book of Leviticus is trying to tell us how we should approach God so that our space and his space can overlap. As well as how we can live in such a way that we can be faithful to how he calls us to live and how we can be in this world but also set apart from it.

The book of Leviticus has a beautiful design and it breaks down into seven key parts:
1. Ritual sacrifice
2. Priest stuff
3. Clean and unclean (ritual purity)
4. Day of atonement
5. Clean and unclean (moral purity)
6. Qualifications for being a priest
7. Ritual festivals

The bible is not a book about us. It is a book about God and his mission of restoration for humanity.
It is not a book about how we get to heaven, it is a book about how God has been at work throughout history to bring heaven to earth.
God has wanted to live with his people since the beginning. Leviticus shows us that, and this is the story that Jesus steps into...

Esther & Mordecai, the story of Identity, Risk & Destiny

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SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2017

The Old Testament is full of people - real people; whose lives are messy, their families dysfunctional and their obedience not always full or immediate, yet God used them.  Our study of their lives is to bring perspective, hope and instruction to ours - to recognise that at times we are tempted to sanitise or selectively interact with their stories and in that way make them heroes.  The reality is that their stories are powerful because they are human like us and face the same temptations and frailty that we do - yet God used them.

The Sunday School version we are mostly presented with is Esther, the Brave Queen.
But when you read the book of Esther you find it’s not quite that simple. Mordecai and Esther are not perfect, blameless examples – they are living in a compromised system and they themselves are not perfect examples but living ones.

One of the curious facts in the book of Esther is that God’s name never appears – there isn’t a hand of God writing on a wall like in Daniel, there’s not a burning bush or a red sea parted like for Moses, there weren’t any obvious markers for Mordecai or Esther. God was at work – but it wasn’t clearly named or identified.

As I reread this book this week I see a story about a couple of people who at first hid their true identity and family background, who got involved in situations that broke Jewish law – who blended in until things got to a place where they couldn’t anymore. And then, even in their acting – it was in the sense of maybe this is the time and maybe this will be the way – I will choose to act even though I may perish.  I don’t think it was as black and white for them.  

Mordecai and Esther are people who lived in a system and time that is like ours.  Where God is not honoured.  Where the ways of the land and the leaders of it are not the ways of the Kingdom.  And where people who love God are not always accepted.  So, what can we learn from their story? 

The Rise and Fall of King David

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SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017

The Old Testament is full of people - real people; whose lives are messy, their families dysfunctional and their obedience not always full or immediate, yet God used them.  Our study of their lives is to bring perspective, hope and instruction to ours - to recognise that at times we are tempted to sanitise or selectively interact with their stories and in that way make them heroes.  The reality is that their stories are powerful because they are human like us and face the same temptations and frailty that we do - yet God used them.

We know more about David than we know about any other character in the Old Testament, and Murray breaks down the whole story into six episodes:

1. The boy wonder (1 Samuel 17:45-47)
2. David and Jonathon (1 Samuel 18:1-4)
3. David and Saul (1 Samuel 18:6-9, 26:7-11)
4. Bathsheba and Uriah (1 Samuel 11:2-5, 14-15, 12:7-10)
5. Absalom's rebellion (1 Samuel 14:25, 15:1-6, 13-14, 18:9-10)
6. How not to finish well (1 Kings 1:1-4, 2:1-9)

Elijah

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SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER 2017

The Old Testament is full of people - real people; whose lives are messy, their families dysfunctional and their obedience not always full or immediate, yet God used them.  Our study of their lives is to bring perspective, hope and instruction to ours - to recognise that at times we are tempted to sanitise or selectively interact with their stories and in that way make them heroes.  The reality is that their stories are powerful because they are human like us and face the same temptations and frailty that we do - yet God used them.

I remember the story of Elijah from Sunday School, and as a kid you heard these amazing things that God did through Elijah. He's almost portrayed as a Christian Superman and unfortunately that's usually where the story ends. It's not made obvious that the central figure of the story isn't actually Elijah but God.

Through all the books of the Old Testament, the main purpose of all the stories, poems and historical narratives is to make God known. And because God can be known we are able to be in relationship with Him.

In our western culture of individualism knowledge is highly prized. Especially these days, if you want to know something you just Google it. But our relentless individualism can be a weakness. We are keen to pursue knowledge but sometimes we are too busy to pursue understanding, because understanding is often acquired through community. Together as a community we share our experiences and learning of God - it's not supposed to be an individual journey, we are supposed to be doing this faith walk together...

Here are Trevor's thoughts on his study into Elijah's story.

King Saul; Listener, Lover, Believer, Follower

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SUNDAY 01 OCTOBER 2017

The Old Testament is full of people - real people; whose lives are messy, their families dysfunctional and their obedience not always full or immediate, yet God used them.  Our study of their lives is to bring perspective, hope and instruction to ours - to recognise that at times we are tempted to sanitise or selectively interact with their stories and in that way make them heroes.  The reality is that their stories are powerful because they are human like us and face the same temptations and frailty that we do - yet God used them.

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Liam takes us through the story of King Saul through the persepective of a word spoken by one of our Tamariki O Te Atua:

"A listener is a lover,
a lover is a believer,
and a believer is a follower"
- Grace, 8

What was Saul a listening too that he was a lover of, that he became a believer and therefore resulted in the way he acted. 

We start our journey in 1 Samuel, chapter 8.