Consecrated Through the Blood ｜ Renee

In one paragraph

Brian and Lissa were on vacation, so Renee, a Tribe member since the church began, brought the message. She picked up the Leviticus series the congregation has been working through and traced a single question through it: where is Jesus in this book, and what is God saying to us through all of it? Her answer was that Leviticus, even in its most detailed and unfamiliar regulations, is a love...

Read together

1. Revelation 12:11 they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony
2. 1 John 1:5 God is light, in him there is no darkness at all
3. Leviticus 11:44-45 you shall be holy for I am holy, consecrate yourselves
4. 1 Peter 1:15-16 be holy in all you do, for it is written be holy because I am holy
5. 2 Peter 1:2-4 his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life, participate in the divine nature
6. Acts 17:27-31 in him we live and move and have our being, God has set a day to judge by the man he appointed
7. Exodus 32:1-6 Israelites worshipped the golden calf while Moses was on the mountain
8. Leviticus 1:4-5 lay your hand on the animal's head, slaughter the bull, priests splatter the blood on the altar
9. Matthew 11:28-30 come to me all who are weary and burdened, my yoke is easy and my burden is light
10. Leviticus 1:10 goats and sheep used for the burnt offering
11. John 1:29 look, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
12. Genesis 22:13-14 Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket and sacrificed it, named the place Yahweh Yireh
13. Luke 3:22 the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove
14. Matthew 13:24-30 parable of the wheat and weeds, enemy plants weeds among wheat, burn the weeds at harvest
15. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances
16. Hebrews 13:15 offer up a sacrifice of praise
17. Revelation 5:8 prayers of the saints described as incense to God
18. Revelation 8:3-4 prayers of the saints as incense before God
19. 1 John 3:2 we are called God's children
20. Revelation 1:6 we are called priests
21. Revelation 5:10 we are called priests
22. John 6:25-59 Jesus referred to as the bread of life
23. Hebrews 4:15 Jesus described as the great high priest
24. John 1:29 ultimate sacrifice, lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
25. Romans 5:12 sin entered the world through Adam
26. Romans 3:10 there is no one righteous, not even one
27. Romans 3:23 all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
28. Matthew 23:25 woe to you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup but inside is greed, first clean the inside

What was said

• Read through one of the Leviticus passages Renee covered and look for where Jesus shows up in it.
• If you are struggling with something, reach out to someone in the Tribe fam this week and ask for prayer rather than carrying it alone.
• Pick one moment each day to offer a sacrifice of praise, meaning thank God out loud even if circumstances make that feel hard.
• Keep your eyes open for the ways God is trying to say he loves you, through people, nature, or a word that lands at the right moment.
• Spend time this week with the congregation verses Renee listed, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and 1 John 1:9, and sit with what they say about sin and forgiveness.

Talk about it

1. Renee shared how God kept reaching out to her even when she had drifted far from him, through people on a bus, through a youth group, through the words landing at exactly the right moment. When have you noticed God trying to get your attention in an unexpected way, and how did you respond?
2. Several people offered their own definitions of holiness, including 'set apart,' 'humble and true,' and 'perfection we cannot reach on our own.' How do you personally think about holiness, and does it feel like something achievable or something given to you from outside yourself?
3. Renee traced Jesus through the offerings in Leviticus, the lamb, the ram, the dove, the wheat ground into flour, and said that trials can feel like being ground down, but that a sacrifice of praise in the middle of pain is something we can only offer here on earth. Is that idea freeing or does it feel hard to accept, and why?
4. The Thunderdome image came up more than once: two men enter, one man leaves, and if you win, you lose, but if he wins, you win. Is there something specific you are still wrestling with God over, and what do you think is keeping that match going?
5. Renee said that when one part of the body suffers, the other parts suffer with it, and that if we are carrying something we are not supposed to be carrying, it will eventually affect the people around us. How does that land for you, and what would it look like in practice to bring something like that into the community rather than managing it alone?