A Consuming Fire

In one paragraph

Week two of "Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves" stayed in Leviticus, moving through the ordination ceremony of Aaron's sons and into the moment fire blazed out from God and killed Nadab and Abihu on their first day as priests. Brian used those two fires side by side, one that produced worship and one that produced death, to press into a single question: how does a God who is perfectly holy express...

Read together

1. Leviticus 9:18-24 read aloud by congregation members, describing Aaron's sacrifices and the fire from God consuming the burnt offering
2. Leviticus 10:1-6 read aloud by congregation members, describing Nadab and Abihu offering unauthorized fire and being consumed by fire from God
3. Psalm 2 cited loosely as the passage where the nations shake their fist in rage at God
4. Luke 12:47-48 read aloud by a congregation member about servants who know the master's will being held to greater account
5. Hebrews 9:27-28 read by Pastor Brian connecting the Old Testament sacrificial system to Christ offered once for all to take away sins

What was said

• Read Leviticus 9 and 10 this week and sit with the question Brian raised: what does this passage teach you about who God is, rather than just asking why he did what he did?
• The next time you catch yourself asking God 'why did you let this happen,' try replacing it with 'Lord, what do you want me to learn about you in this situation?'
• If you need prayer for something you are carrying right now, reach out to Michelle and Ron or anyone on the Tribe prayer team rather than sitting with it alone.
• Think of one area of your life where you have not yet given God permission to work, and spend some time this week asking him specifically to move there.
• Come back next Sunday and keep working through this series, because Brian said this conversation about the consuming fire is one worth spending your life on.

Talk about it

1. Brian said that asking God 'why' is a normal human question but not always the most productive one. When have you found yourself stuck in that 'why' loop, and what eventually shifted your thinking?
2. Michelle suggested reframing the question from 'God, why did you do this?' to 'God, what do you want me to learn about you in this situation?' How hard is that shift to make in the middle of real pain, and what gets in the way of it?
3. Gretchen said there are two different ways to ask God why, one coming from anger or resentment and one coming from a genuine desire to learn and grow. Which posture do you tend to default to, and what does that reveal about where you are with God?
4. Brian described God as 'a consuming fire who will never compromise holiness for love,' and the group wrestled with the dilemma that creates for people who can never be holy on their own. What does sitting with that dilemma, before racing to the Sunday school answer, stir up in you?
5. Brian closed with the idea that two men enter the presence of God, Jesus dies, and you walk free. How does that reality actually shape the way you live day to day, or has it become something you mentally agree with without it changing much?