Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Matthew 18:20 Renee opens prayer noting where two or three are gathered, God is with them
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
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Keep this verse
Revelation 12:11
they overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony
11 They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death.
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Leviticus 11:44-45
God commands Israel to consecrate themselves and be holy as he is holy
44 For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth.
45 For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
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1 John 1:5
God is light and in him there is no darkness at all
5 This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
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1 Peter 1:15-16
be holy in all you do for it is written be holy because I am holy
15 but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior;
16 because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”
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2 Peter 1:2-4
his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through knowledge of him
2 Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3 seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue;
4 by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.
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Acts 17:27-31
in him we live and move and have our being, God has appointed a man to judge the world
27 that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
28 ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’
29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.
30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,
31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
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Exodus 32:1-6
Israelites misplaced their worship by making a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain
1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.”
2 Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4 He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molten calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.”
6 They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
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Leviticus 1:4-5
lay your hand on the animal's head, slaughter it, priests splatter blood on the altar
4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
5 He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
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Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus says come to me all who are weary, my yoke is easy and my burden is light
28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Leviticus 1:10
goats and sheep used for the burnt offering
10 “‘If his offering is from the flock, from the sheep, or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without defect.
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John 1:29
John calls Jesus the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
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Genesis 22:13-14
Abraham finds a ram caught in a thicket and sacrifices it in place of his son, names the place the Lord will provide
13 Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh Will Provide. As it is said to this day, “On Yahweh’s mountain, it will be provided.”
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Matthew 13:24-30
parable of wheat and weeds growing together until harvest when weeds are burned
24 He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
25 but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away.
26 But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also.
27 The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’
28 “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’
29 “But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
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Luke 3:22
Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove
22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
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1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances
18 In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
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Hebrews 13:15
offer up a sacrifice of praise
15 Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.
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Revelation 5:8
prayers of the saints described as incense to God
8 Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
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Revelation 8:3-4
prayers of the saints described as incense to God
3 Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.
4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.
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1 John 3:2
we are called God's children
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.
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Revelation 1:6
we are called priests
6 and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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Revelation 5:10
we are called priests
10 and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on the earth.”
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John 6:25-59
Jesus identified as the bread of life
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
26 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.”
28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
30 They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do?
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
34 They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe.
37 All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
39 This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.
40 This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41 The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”
42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’”
43 Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves.
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me.
46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.
47 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves.
54 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me.
58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 He said these things in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
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Hebrews 4:15
Jesus described as the great high priest
15 For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.
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John 1:29
Jesus the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, ultimate sacrifice
29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
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Romans 5:12
sin entered the world through Adam
12 Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
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Romans 3:10
there is no one righteous not even one
10 As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.
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Romans 3:23
all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;
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Matthew 23:25
woe to Pharisees who clean the outside of the cup but inside are full of greed, first clean the inside
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This Sunday's message was brought by Renee, a longtime Tribe member, while Brian and Lissa were on vacation. She worked through the book of Leviticus, arguing that even in its dense regulations and rituals, God is writing a love letter to his people. The throughline connecting everything was the question Brian had been building toward in previous weeks: who walks out of the Thunderdome, you or Jesus?
What was said
Renee opened with her own story. She grew up in a strict Wisconsin Synod Lutheran home where she memorized scripture and hymns but never found hope in her soul. When her parents divorced, she became suicidal, and it was only after a friend brought her to a youth group, where she kept having a thought and hearing the exact scripture that addressed it spoken aloud, that she gave her heart to Jesus at sixteen. Years later, after drifting into sin and depression again, a stranger on a bus did the same thing, opening his Bible to whatever she was thinking. Both moments convinced her that God is always trying to speak to us, and that realization is what she wanted to bring into Leviticus.
Before getting into the text she asked the room to define holiness, consecration, and what it means that Leviticus is a divine blueprint. The conversation landed on holiness as being fully set apart, morally whole, and free from darkness, which is how first John one five describes God himself. The point was that God calls Israel, and through Jesus all who are grafted in, to share in that same holiness. Second Peter one two through four was read to show that the starting place is knowledge of God, deepened through his word, prayer, worship, and being in community together.
From there Renee showed that Jesus is present all the way through the Levitical sacrifices, not just alluded to. The young bull of Leviticus one is the same animal Israel made into a golden calf when they lost patience for Moses, and Jesus in Matthew eleven calls people to take his yoke, the instrument an ox pulls. The lamb without blemish is John's "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The ram caught in the thicket in Genesis twenty-two is the same male sheep. The doves and pigeons available to those who could not afford larger animals are the form the Holy Spirit took at Jesus' baptism. The pagan practice of reading animal organs to find divine guidance is countered by God's instruction to burn those organs to ash, removing any foothold for false worship.
The grain offering in Leviticus two gave Renee a way to talk about suffering. Wheat becomes flour by being ground and crushed. Using the parable of the wheat and weeds from Matthew thirteen, she connected the people of God to the wheat, and then connected the crushing process to the trials and pain every believer goes through. Hebrews thirteen fifteen calls that offering of praise in the midst of suffering a "sacrifice of praise," and Revelation five eight describes the prayers of the saints as incense rising to God. When the oil of the Holy Spirit, the reference that had come up naturally in conversation earlier, is mixed with that praise, it becomes something God recognizes as worthwhile.
She tied the sacrificial system directly to Christ's priesthood. He is the fellowship offering of Leviticus three, the sin offering of Leviticus four, and the guilt offering of Leviticus five through seven. He is the great high priest of Hebrews four fifteen, and it is his death that tears the curtain so that every believer can enter the holy of holies. The bacteria and skin-disease regulations of Leviticus thirteen through fifteen became a picture of sin allowed to grow unchecked, visible eventually to the whole community even when we think we are hiding it well. Her encouragement was to bring whatever is festering into the light, into prayer, because the health of one part of the body affects all the others.
She closed by returning to the Thunderdome image Brian had set up in the weeks before. Everyone enters the arena with Christ, she said, either the first time when confronted with who Jesus is, or again and again over a specific thing he has asked for. The question is how long you want to keep wrestling. If you win, you lose. If he wins, you win, because his victory becomes yours.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Renee shared that her early religious upbringing gave her knowledge but not hope, and that a real encounter with Jesus changed everything for her. What is the difference between knowing about Jesus and actually knowing him, and where are you on that spectrum right now?
- Several people in the room tried to define holiness, and the conversation landed on ideas like being set apart, humble, true, and pure. How do you personally think about holiness, and does it feel like something achievable or something that requires God to do in you?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,509 words
Welcome to Tribe's podcast. Hey, we just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you're ever in Jackson Hole, we'd love for you to visit our Tribe fam in person. To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com.
Welcome to Tribe's podcast. Hey, we just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you're ever in Jackson Hole, we'd love for you to visit our tribe fam in person. To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com.
For those of you who don't know, I'm Renee. I have been a member of tribe since its inception. Brian and Liz are on vacation and. Wow. Apparently, the lord wanted me to talk.
So, so as you guys know, you're more than welcome. We love to have conversation here. It's part of the reason why I love Tribe is because it's it breaks the mold, and it's not very religious, if you will. Jesus told us to avoid the yeast of the Pharisees. So we welcome your addition to the conversation.
So if you feel led to add or ask questions or whatever, We've got a beautiful lady over here with a microphone in her hand. It's not to put you on the spot, but to have the livestream hear what you have to say. Okay? And first, I'd like to pray again. We're gonna pray.
Amanda is such a precious prayer, but, I wanted to cover some things. You you never have you ever prayed and went, oh, I wish I said that. So, I wrote it down. So, if you guys would pray for me, pray with me. Oh, you know what I don't have is my glasses.
Hopefully, I can do this. Okay. What's that? Yeah. Matt, do you know where my glasses are?
In my backpack? Oh.
I mean, your backpack. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
I think I can pray though without them. So, father, thank you for this sacred assembly that you've ordained today. It's not to be taken lightly, Lord. As you've said, where two or three are gathered, there you are with them. So we just honor your presence here today.
We honor your truth here today. Thanks, Amanda. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, Lord. May they be a pleasing aroma to your nostrils. Forgive us our sins, any thought, word or deed where we have fallen short of your perfect plan and your intention for holiness in our lives.
Set us apart. Let us be lights in a dark place. Let us seek and save the lost, the reward of your suffering, and infuse us with supernatural zeal and fervor to seek and serve you with great faith and minds, and help us to leave this place new creations, doing the good works that you have prepared in advance for us to do. Place a guard over our lips and my lips especially and help us to utter worthy, not worthless words today. Thank you, Jesus for making a way for us to enter the holy of holies and ask for your kingdom to come and your will to be done in our lives as it is in heaven.
In the great name of our savior Jesus. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Okay.
So just so you know, and those of you who don't know me, this is how the Holy Spirit manifest itself himself in me as I cry. So just just so you know. I know people get weirded out by that, but. We love it. Thanks.
So, I wanted to start out with my testimony. Thank you. I wanted to start out with my testimony first because Revelation says, they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of his testimony and word of our testimony and so I wanted to share my testimony just to give you a little background. And Jeepers, I don't ever get a chance to share it, really. So, if you'll oblige me, that'd be awesome.
First of all, one thing to be known about me is I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin called Partyville, Wisconsin. And I I put a slide for a map because everybody's like, Partyville? You mean Madison? No. Not Madison.
It's actual town in Wisconsin called Partyville, Wisconsin. And I come from a long line of Lutherans. I grew up Lutheran. Wisconsin synod is probably the most strict Lutheran of all the Lutheran religions. And my grandparents were Lutherans.
My parents were Lutherans, and my whole family was Lutheran. And if it taught me anything was how to memorize. I learned the books of the Bible. I learned, hymns and songs and how to sing harmonies that way, which was beneficial. And what it didn't do was give me hope in my soul.
So that when my parents went through a divorce, I went spiraling into depression because everything I'd ever known was the rug was pulled out from underneath me. And what it did was save me from committing suicide even though I was suicidal. And I did things such as, like, close my eyes and take my hands off the wheel when I'm I was driving 60 miles an hour. I made sure no one else was on the road, but I would drive without my hands and my eyes closed, and I'd say, Lord, take me. Take me.
And he never took me. So I needed help, and the Lord rescued me. He invited me to he had a friend invite me to a youth group. And in that youth group, the one this one miraculous miraculous day, day, I would have a thought, and they would speak the scripture out that address that thought. And it happened over and over and over again.
And I found tears. Right? I'm like, what is happening to me? What's going on right now? This is real.
This is alive. This is this is something different, altogether different than religion. And I gave my heart to Jesus when I was 16, and he saved me. Literally saved me. And I became born again.
And I get I got on fire. And I burned all of my depressing music and t shirts. I was super into the cure. And I've got a picture of that. Of your T shirt.
Oh, my so I'm burning the cure T shirt. I'm wearing my Jesus T shirt. I preached to everything that moved. If you if it moved, I preached to it. Right?
And the Lord gave me an incredible capacity to just remember scripture and references. And I I I got a I brought visual aids. So this is my first bible, and it's falling apart, but I devoured this. And I was like, every answer to all of my questions is in this book. What?
I've been this has been in the pews forever, and all the answers to all of my questions were here. So, I was born again and set on fire, and I started going to Christian music festivals, which is where I discovered that I loved skateboarding, that I loved punk rock, Christian punk rock, Christian hardcore, Christian, you know, electronic, Christian all the music things, but don't get body passed in a secular, you know, punk rock show. That's all I have to say. Christian punk rock, yes. They won't they won't do anything nefarious.
But the skateboarding scene and the snowboarding scene kinda took me down a path where I started I mean, I was in my twenties by then. My my I was 19, and I dated somebody who wasn't so much of a believer. And it kinda downward spiraled, and I started, you know, dipping my toe into sin a little bit. And then I started dipping my toe into sin a little bit more. And then I then before you know it, I was further than I wanted to go and kept longer than I wanted to stay, and it cost me more than I wanted to to spend.
So but God is faithful. So I was, I was depressed again and and lost again, and my heart was crushed again. And I was smoking cigarettes and drinking and doing all you know, I was doing all the things to try and fill that void, that god shaped void. And I was on a bus on my way to visit some friends in Kentucky, and I was sitting in a bus stop smoking a cigarette. And and I see these two sandals in front of me, little hemp sandals.
And this guy goes, hey. You got a light? And I look up and it says hippie dude. And I go, sure. And I lit his cigarette for him, and he goes, hey.
Can I sit down next to you? I said, sure. And we start chatting. He goes, hey. Can I ride the bus with you?
So we ride the bus together to our next destination, and he pulls out his bible. And the same exact thing happens where I have a thought, and he opens the word to it. That exact thought, address that exact thought over and over and over again. And the message he left me with was, God's always trying to speak to us. We just have to have ears to hear and eyes to see and a heart that feels his movement and his word, his voice to us.
He speaks to us in nature. He speaks to us through people. He speaks to us everywhere, every time, all the time. So I think I've got a cartoon that kinda I put a cartoon in there. I found this later on.
I put it on my fridge. And this is kind of really indicative of our lives. And and I challenge you to to keep your eyes peeled for when he's telling you, hey, I love you. I love you. Hey.
I love you. And that's what I wanna reveal in Leviticus. Even in Leviticus, you guys, he's telling us he loves us. So I want to just encourage you that God is always writing us a love letter. And that in Leviticus today is where I'm going to attempt to reveal his love letter to us.
So we'll go to the first slide. The next slide. Where's Jesus in Leviticus? Let's find him. But first, I'd like to before we get into it, I want to see if somebody can share with, everyone here what we've been talking about.
Do you remember any points or things that PB has brought up? Or, like, what's what's been the theme of the last three weeks? Pop quiz. Yeah. Our offerings.
I had one of some of our mutual friends, Meredith Olsen, yesterday asked me what tribe's been talking about, and I told her the Thunderdome. Yes. Two men enter, one man leaves.
Yes. You can go ahead and put that one up there. Yes. Can anybody summarize maybe the bottom line of that? I mean, we haven't really gotten there yet.
We've kind of danced around it a little bit. But Meredith then said, what does that mean? What would you tell Meredith? What did you tell Meredith?
Well, I told Meredith that when you enter the Thunderdome with Jesus, you can either plot to kill him like the Pharisees did or you can let yourself get tapped out by Jesus and let him walk out.
Nice.
And let the old man die.
Yes. Nice. Nice. Alright. So PB had said, if Leviticus so he said that Leviticus is a blueprint for holiness, showing Israel how to create a sacred environment where God can dwell among his people.
So maybe we should start by definite with the definition of holiness. Does anybody wanna attempt to define holiness?
I was just about to, but
then it went
away. Oh,
okay. Put it in your own words, Matt.
Holiness. I
do this to him all the time, by the way, when we're reading the word in the morning.
A wordsmith. I am not.
But
You don't have to be.
Yeah. Holiness just to be gosh. I would start with being just humble, doing the correct thing, or just trying to be perfect, really, is about the way I envision holiness is being humble, being true, and just that's the best way I can do it. Humble and true. Those are my two words.
Awesome. Cool. Anybody wanna add?
I'm gonna play the devil's advocate here, but, holiness really is perfection. But it that can be taken too far as in the Pharisees.
Mhmm.
So that's kinda what I'm thinking. And that we needed that paradigm shift from the holiness of total total perfection, which we cannot be, which is why we needed Jesus. But I I agree totally with what you said. It's just that I do think of holiness as that's, you know, lamb without blemish and all the rules, regulations that
are in
Leviticus are good, but that's not what gets us right with god. Mhmm.
Yeah. I also think about, like, righteousness is a word that comes to mind, like, especially in relation to the pharisees. And then I also think of, like, the word pure and purity. And I remember I was here a few weeks ago and PB talked about or I think it might have been Lissa saying God is like the sun. Like, there's there's so many good things about the sun, but, like, if you were to fly into the sun, you're gonna get burned up because his his holiness is just, like, too much for us.
That's good. Good listening.
Purifying.
Awesome. Awesome, Chris. One
last thing to contribute is fully and uniquely set apart Yes. Different, which God being so different than anything we can compare him to. That's that's how I think of holiness when I hear that word.
Awesome. Yeah. I did look it up. Let's see if if there's some resonation here. This is Nelson's illustrated bible dictionary.
It says, moral and ethical wholeness or perfection, freedom from moral evil. And ultimately, it's used to describe god. Right? However, in his word, he calls us to be holy. So let's go to, I I think I have a couple references in the next slide.
Yeah. Nope. Yes. Yep. Who would like to read first John one five?
I was gonna make you guys bible race but I I've I've got a lot of scripture here today. So
First John one five says, and this is the message we have heard from him and announced to you. God is light. In him, there is no darkness at all.
So free from moral evil. There's no darkness in him whatsoever. And then we're since we're in Leviticus, let's read the reference in Leviticus about holiness.
I can take it.
Thanks.
For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy. For I am holy, neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt to be your god. You shall therefore be holy for I am holy.
So Leviticus is addressed to Israel, god's chosen people, in which we are grafted into Israel as god's chosen people through Jesus. So, we're not off the hook. He asks us to be holy. Who wants to read first Peter 115 through 16? Matt's got it.
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written, be holy because I am holy.
Sounds kind of impossible on our own, doesn't it? But god. So in second Peter one, two, through four, do we, did I put that in there?
Yes. Awesome.
Okay. Who wants to read that one? Yes.
Second Peter chapter one verses two through four. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of god and of the and of Jesus our lord. His His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these, he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them, you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
So keep that, and then hand it to your wife. So according to second Peter, what's the first step towards a godly life?
Our knowledge of him.
Yeah. Knowing him. It begins with knowing of him and then keeps working until we know more and more and more of him. How do we know more and more and more of him?
Amen.
What does that look like? Spending time with him, reading his word. What else?
Watching the sunset.
Watching the sunset. Awesome. Praying. Praying.
Being in godly community.
Being in godly community. Worship. Worship. Awesome. I love it.
So, is merely just knowing Jesus enough? No. And if you doubt it, I've got three scriptures. You guys can just look up later in your own time if there's any doubt. We have now encountered the word sacred.
We've encountered the words consecrated and divine. What do you believe the word sacred means?
I see sacred as set apart.
Nice. I think I've got the the official set apart. Not profane or common. Hey, guess what? You're set apart.
You're not common. In Jesus, you're not common. How about consecrated? That's a big one. Mark, what's consecrated?
Good. That's good. I mean, we read over these words and it's like, we don't really think about them.
That's a big word for me.
Yeah. It is a big word.
You know what I think I think, like, one scripture that keeps coming to mind is, you know, keeping your lamps full.
Mhmm.
As the anointed with oil. And and I just think, like, oil in a car keeps things running smoothly and keeps things from overheating and shutting down. And, like, in in my life, like, when I'm running with full oil, I feel pretty darn good most of the time.
Mhmm. And
when it's starting to slip, you know, the friction starts.
And Mhmm.
And so, anyways, there it is.
Awesome. Awesome. We will be talking about the oil in a little bit. Awesome. I think I've got the official definition or at least one of the official definitions.
Oh, it's to officially make something holy. We are officially consecrated through the blood of Jesus When when the priest splattered the blood on the altar, guess what that was a symbol of? Consecration. Consecration. What's the altar today?
Do we have a physical altar in a tent somewhere? What is it?
Our heart.
It's our heart.
Like, baptism is, like, a form of consecration.
Sure. Mhmm.
It's, like, a symbol for, a wedding ring.
Mhmm. Maybe even confession.
Confession
was a huge part of it. Mhmm. What else is it? Something holy and able to be used. And in this in this definition, it's religious ceremonies.
Kinda tiptoe around that that word religious because I tell people I'm not religious. I love Jesus. So, anyway, so how about divine? We have one more word, divine. Because PB's definition was a divine blueprint for holiness.
Leviticus was a divine blueprint for holiness. What's divine? From god. From god. Or of god.
We got it? And then we've got the Greek word too. Is being a deity something supremely good, and then Theos in the Greek, right, which is our New Testament is written in Greek. It's spoken of the only true god, the godhead trinity. He's created a way for the trinity to live within us.
The Greek word theos is used in Acts seventeen twenty seven through 31. Let's look at that really quick. Who read? Who wants to read? Yeah.
For
in him, we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, we are his offspring. Therefore, since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human design and skill. In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.
Brian, who's he talking about? Who's the judge?
Jesus.
Amen. Amen. He still answer. Jesus. Yeah.
Define Jesus. The ancient Israelites oftentimes misplaced their worship. Despite viewing god's manifest presence, you know, the cloud, the fire, all the things, right? They they saw it with their own two eyes at Sinai but they still misplaced their worship. Read about the first mention of this divine being made of gold in Exodus thirty two one through six.
If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn there. So, the Israelites, after seeing god over and over and over again with their own two eyes, his manifest presence When Moses went up to go meet him and spend time forty days, he hiked up a mountaintop to meet with god and they could clearly see something was going on. They misplaced their worship by the worship of what?
Calf.
So let's turn back to Leviticus one four through five. Someone wanna read it? I got it.
Four through five, Leviticus one. Lay your hand on the animal's head and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him. Then slaughter the young bull in the Lord's presence, and Aaron's sons, the priests, will present the animal's blood by splattering it against all sides of the altar that stands at the entrance to
the tabernacle. So what was the animal that is the sacrifice in this story? It's a young bull or a calf. Right. Alright.
So now, get your fingers, let your fingers do the walking. Go to Matthew eleven twenty eight through 30. Yes.
It says, come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am a gentle and humble in heart, and I will find rest for your souls, or you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Who's speaking?
Jesus. It's in red. Jesus.
What's a yoke used for?
It's the thing that an ox pulls.
They're like the
ox are
attached to to pull the fiber plow.
Yeah. I mean, essentially, Jesus is likening himself to a bull. Right? So, through all of the vapkis, you can look through all the little details and you can see Jesus in those verses. And so, hopefully, we can explore a little bit more.
He's just try all of Moses' writings, Jesus said to the the two dudes on the road to Emmaus. Was it Emmaus? He explained the scriptures to them. Moses and the prophets. This is part of Moses.
Jesus could very well have explained to them, hey, Leviticus. It's all about me. Right? So let's look at a couple more of the sacrifices, prescribed for the burnt offering. What animals were used in Leviticus one ten?
Oh. That's a great guess. Goats and? Sheep. Sheep.
Okay, now read John one twenty nine.
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, look, the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world.
Lamb of god. That's a sheep, y'all. Now read Genesis twenty two thirteen and fourteen.
Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh Gita, which means the Lord will provide. To this day, people still use that name as a proverb. On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided.
Nice. What's a ram? It's a male form of a
Sheep, goat.
Sheep and goat. It's the scapegoat, if you will. Right? All through Leviticus, we hear about the scapegoat. We'll come back to that.
Alright. Leviticus one also indicates that the priest will burn the internal organs of the offering. As we mentioned last week, was that you that brought that up? For pagan sacrifice. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. That was awesome. The pagan religious groups also sought direction and appeasement of their false gods by offering animal sacrifices. I've got a slide for that.
In a practice called ecstasy. The diviner would ask for guidance and prove of god's presence by reading the organs of the animal sacrifice, especially the lobe of the liver? What
do you
think god is saying by having his priest burn the organs of the animal to ashes? And why is it a pleasing aroma in light of this?
You say all that one more time?
So ecstasy, these pagan priests would burn these sacrifices, let them read the lobe of the liver for guidance, for proof that, you know, their god is with them, whatever. And god specifically says in Leviticus to burn it. So they wouldn't fall into
pagan rituals.
Pagan rituals. Is that ultimately where you're gonna find God's presence and proof of god's presence and know what's gonna happen in the future? No. No. It's a pleasing aroma.
Why? Because it's getting rid of false
idols and junk.
Yeah. It's getting rid of false idols and junk. So in Leviticus one fourteen, there are two birds mentioned for the possibility of a sacrifice. So if you couldn't afford a bull, you couldn't afford a ram, you couldn't afford a sheep, you couldn't afford a goat, you couldn't afford you can do doves. Right?
And doves and pigeons are virtually the same thing. They're pretty much synonymous. So, in Luke three twenty two, who is likened to this bird? Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove. So as a dove, the dove, perhaps due to the depiction in Luke, has become a symbol of peace and tranquility. And I have this book called Consider the Birds, a provocative guide to birds of the Bible. The author Debbie Blue says, the dove has come to seem banal and bland and cutesy as far as Christian symbols go. It comes to represent something polite and petite and pure.
Maybe this has worked to deprive us of a more robust view of the holy spirit. Isn't it sort of limiting to imagine the spirit of god as something dainty and white? We're made of dirt according to creation account in Genesis. We're full of bacteria. We each carry two to five pounds in of bacteria in our bodies.
Two to five pounds. We could kill a dove with one or two blows at the back of our hand when we need a spirit that can handle us. Surely, we need God's spirit to be less easily, to be less easily done away with, something that can handle the fungi, membranes, and bowels, not some fragile naive princess dressed in white unaware of the untainted unaware or untainted by the ways of the world, but we'll get back to bacteria in a couple chapters. I'd like to retort at this point that the point being made here is that we do have a holy spirit that begin brings to us the passionate fire of the almighty god. As we discussed before, it's the gift of the holy spirit that's the creator's deposit in us that enables us to be holy and sanctified, sacred, consecrated, even divine.
He is the oil that helps your car run right, Mark. He enables us to walk in purity and power. He is the one who makes our prayers like incense to the creator's nostrils. And mind you, I didn't tell Amanda any of this before she prayed that earlier and encouraged you earlier. This is especially so when we offer up our very own sacrifice, and that's praise.
Let's read Matthew thirteen twenty four through 30. Anybody in the back wanna read Matthew?
Yes. Here is another story Jesus told. The kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night, as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
The farmer's work went to him and workers went to him and said, sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds. Where did they come from? An enemy has done this, the farmer exclaimed. Should we pull out the weeds? They asked.
No, replied. You'll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them in bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.
K. So what is the wheat in this parable?
Us.
Us. They're Jesus' people. Right? So, in Leviticus two, what's primarily used for the grain offering? Hint, the grain offering.
Wheat. Wheat in and it's in its form of what? Flour. Flour. So how is wheat turned into flour?
It's ground. It's crushed. So, we've got, I've got three scriptures that many of you may be familiar with. John sixteen thirty three, first Peter four twelve through 13, and James one two through four that you can look at, but it talks about our trials and pain. Expect it.
It's part of the fallen world. Jesus said, don't think it's strange that you're experiencing this because that's the world. Right? Doesn't it sound like when you're going through trials and pain, Does it feel kind of like you're being ground a little bit? Being ground down?
Yeah. First Thessalonians five eighteen encourages us to give thanks in all circumstances. In Hebrews thirteen fifteen tells us to offer up a sacrifice of praise. One of my favorite messages by Bill Johnson at Bethel Church, He says, we will be praising god for all of eternity. But a sacrifice of praise is something we will only have a chance to give him here on Earth.
Our sacrifices of praise are precious to God and keep our hearts postured in a place of surrender and dependence on him even in the midst of questions and pain. Revelation five eight and eight three through four describe the prayers of the saints as incense to god. I think I have that one too. Did I list that one on the that slide? Good.
When we, god's children, which were called in first John three two, and priests, which were called in Revelation one six and five ten, when we mix our incense, our prayers with the oil of the Holy Spirit, we offer up something that God values and recognizes as worthwhile. I mean, yeah, we're not killing we're not killing animals, but what we can offer now is our praise even in the midst of suffering. So through trials and tribulations, I and you are the wheat being ground into flour. Through the sacrifice of praise, I am you become a fragrant offering. A pleasing aroma to the lord.
You are a pleasing aroma to the lord. When you praise him, in spite of it all. As you know, it's through Jesus, the bread of life, which is John six twenty five through 59. Are we still there? There we go.
You are so on it. And that we are able, it's through him that we're able to pass through the veil, separating man from God. He's the great high priest. Hebrews four fifteen. So if you read through Leviticus, you see him all through this this book.
He offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice, the lamb of god, who takes away the sin of the world, John one twenty nine. And when we put our faith in him, he's our fellowship offering of Leviticus three. That's the first John reference. He is the ultimate sin offering in Leviticus four. That's in second Corinthians five.
He's our guilt offering, and that's in Leviticus five through six, seven, one through 10. And then Isaiah forty three twenty five, Romans eight one, first John one nine. Please look these up. His lifeblood saves us from our sin disease. And then I've got scriptures, the Romans, Hebrews, and Revelation verses.
So I've got a I've got a album cover. I got that from that Scatterpie. That's one of the, the hardcore bands, Christian hardcore bands I used to listen to back in the day. So just thought I'd put that up there. Just as bacteria is found everywhere, and my new nurse friend Crete says bacteria is allowed to exist.
It's allowed to exist. It's a fact of life. Two to five pounds? So, also, we were born into it. We were born into a world plagued by sin through his progenitor, Adam.
That's Romans five twelve. And the Bible says that there's no one righteous, not even one. Romans three ten. And that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans three twenty three.
When we let sin reign in our lives, it grows the bad bacteria in our lives and manifest like skin diseases, sores, and mold like that in Leviticus 13 through 15. It's pretty evident. If you let it go, your car doesn't run good. If you're on oil, right, neither do we. And it's obvious to a lot of people.
We might be pretty good at keeping it secret. Some of our some of our manifestations, maybe. We can hide our skin diseases under our clothes, right, our religious appearances. But I say, when we are part of Christ's body and when one part suffers, the other part suffers with it. And God throughout Leviticus and throughout the words talks about how important it is to have a healthy community.
Not only were these regulations meant to keep the community healthy so that they all didn't get sick. But if I'm running around doing things I'm not supposed to be doing, somehow or another, it's gonna impact y'all. And so my encouragement today for you guys is if there is something that you're struggling with, please come to somebody. Give prayer. We'll have prayer time at the end.
And let's get free and let's move forward because revival's here y'all and we need to be a part of that flow. And that is starts with us as individuals. Right? So that was a little off script. But it's through the great high priest, the pure and spotless lamb, the ultimate sacrifice who gave up his spirit for us that tears the thick curtain, we can all enter into the holy of holies and actually commune with god.
Two men enter, one man one man leaves. We all, at some point, individually enter that arena with Christ. The first time is when we're confronted with the truth that Jesus is who he says he is, which is god. Right? He did what he said he did.
He died and he rose again for our sins. And that he's lord. That means he's the master of us. He is our lord. If you accept it.
At this time, in the arena, we all need to make a choice about who is going to win, or will we just continue to fight? Sometimes we enter the arena again and again. Will you finally give up that thing he's asked you to give up? Will you step out and do that thing he's called you to do? Or how long do you wanna keep struggling to fight against the lover of your soul?
He gives you his shield of victory. He stoops down to make you great. He broadens the path beneath your feet so that your ankles do not turn. I encourage you today to respond to the divine love letter. Crucify yourself with Christ.
Be a living sacrifice. Let Christ live in and through you. Live out your moments by faith in the son of God, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, who gave himself for you and set you truly free. Struggle, if you win, you lose. But if he wins, you win.
His victory is yours. We've got, like, four minutes. Does anybody wanna add or have any thoughts? Or yeah.
I like to thank you for that beautiful weave of scripture and how you brought so many themes together amongst the, the book of Leviticus across the, breadth of scripture of the bible. Thanks. It's beautiful.
Thank you.
Yeah. That was awesome, Renee. I like the verse that I feel like I'm walking out here with is when Jesus was talking to the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23 verse 25 says, woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you clean outside of the cup and the plate but inside, they are full of greed and self indulgence. You blind Pharisees, first, clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside may also be clean. I think of that, like, order of operations.
And I think a lot of people read Leviticus and see it as like a recipe to holiness or, like, they get bogged down by all the, like, do this. Don't do that. Yeah. Right? And, like I I still see Jesus talking about that order of operations.
Like, there's there's an importance to doing things the right way and I think Leviticus as a whole does that really well and people try and discredit it but I just, yeah, that stuck out to me.
Awesome. We pray.
Sure.
Pray about that. Pray into that.
Lord, teach us how to be clean. Teach us how to be imitators of your son. How to be holy as you are holy lord. Keep us on the straight and narrow. Help us to walk as you did.
Cleanse us, clean us, help us to get rid of the sin in our lives, the bacteria that we're holding on to, the the gold that we try and forge into things that are not of you, lord. So that we may walk in righteousness as you do, to be a light and an example to those to spread your hope and your love to those around us. We love you, Lord. We offer our lives as a living sacrifice to you. Amen.
When I see this picture that's up here, I if since we're a family, just being really honest, I often you know, you ask, how how long do you wanna wrestle? And my immediate immediate answer is not long, but for some reason, I just like it in that ring. You know, just wrestling with the lord like, why? Like, just die to your flesh, Amanda. So, that was very encouraging and it's we're going to get out of here in just a few minutes but just to stay in this attitude of worship, you guys know we bring our tithe and our offering to the Lord every time we're together because it's an act.
It's a sacrifice. A sacrifice of praise bringing our tithe and offering. We work hard at our jobs for money. And money is so weird. The Bible talks about it.
But it can feel tricky. No matter how much you have or how much you don't have. It can grip your heart and so I just love the beauty of the lord and how he says to give and it's and it's multifaceted. It also does the work of the local ministry. When you give to tribe, it doesn't just sit.
It does the work of the ministry. It it allows us to be his hands and his feet here in this community and beyond. So, a few ways to give here at Tribe. We don't pass buckets but there's two. If you have cash or check, two drop boxes right here by the door.
You see the little wooden box with the tribe logo and then, of course, there's a black lock box downstairs outside the door or you could give at tribej.com and we all know the easiest ways to send a number to 8432. Come to our church. It's not weird. We're just reciting text numbers. 84321.
You can open up your smartphone and there's just real easy instructions anytime you can give that way. So, let's pray as a tribe family over these finances today. Heavenly father, thank you so much for your brilliance. You're so brilliant. We see it in everything in the scripture that we talked about today.
We see it in how you orchestrate things. We see it in nature. You are just brilliant. We worship you today, father. Lord, I pray for every single person in this place, lord, as we give, whether it's now or another time, whatever our rhythm is, father, I thank you that you just speak to us, lord.
What would you have us give? Because you know our heart better than even we do. What is it that you want us to give? Help us to listen and have the courage to obey the voice of your holy spirit when we give. We love you, lord.
Thank you that every single penny given will be stewarded well and go to exactly what you want it to go to. To make your name famous as we say and to just be a blessing to lost people. May they come to know you today, Lord. That's our prayer. In Jesus name, amen.
Just a couple quick announcements right behind Kat on the refrigerator. There's a sign up sheet for Tuesday young adult meals. I just see one on there. So, good news. Plenty of empty spaces for us to fill today.
You're so lucky. But yeah, you can just on Tuesday nights, the young adults meet here at Tribe and have a meal physically and a spiritual meal and do some worship and so yeah, if you want to sign up for that, please do so and then treats downstairs because church apparently needs coffee and treats and this is what keeps us going. So, we're going to do that. Two sign up sheets and then, on your seat. If you have need of prayer for anything today, one, if you want to go on to our tribe list where we just send text blasts every week reminding you of what we have going on.
You can sign up your name and Email there. We'll get you on the list but also on the back is a place to write a prayer. If you have that, we take those very seriously. Staff meetings are on Monday and we just spend time praying over those and just really joining our faith with yours for whatever you're in need of. And the last thing is this, if you want that and or live prayer, Lanisha will be here.
We call it our VIP room. If you need just some prayer today, nothing is too big. Nothing is too small to agree with a brother or sister in Christ for prayer. So, stand to your feet. Lord Jesus, we love you.
We thank you for this day. Thank you for your Holy Spirit speaking to each one of our hearts. Today, through your scripture, through your word. Let us spend this week meditating on what was said and where you want to lead us and guide us with all of those scriptures. Lord, let our hearts be nourished and deepened with your word and what we learn today.
We love you. We thank you even in hard times. We say thank you father because you are always good. You are faithful. You are our anchor in the many storms and we just say we love you.
You are worthy of all praise and we thank you. In Jesus name, amen. Happy Sunday. You are dismissed.
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