More On Our Side Than On Theirs

In one paragraph

This service, led by Brian Hunter with guest worship leader Steve, was shaped entirely by the Hamas attack on Israel that had unfolded in the roughly thirty hours before the congregation gathered. Rather than preach his prepared message, Brian opened a dialogue with the room about what was happening, why it mattered to followers of Jesus, and how Tribe fam's two-plus years of studying Israel and...

Read together

1. Hebrews 12:18 opening worship comment about not coming to a mountain of doom and gloom but to a heavenly mountain
2. Zechariah 12:2 God will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes nearby nations stagger
3. Zechariah 12:3 God will make Jerusalem an immovable rock that all nations gather against but only hurt themselves
4. Romans 11 Paul warns Gentiles not to be arrogant about Israel, notes Jewish people are enemies of the gospel yet beloved on account of the patriarchs, and describes a partial hardening that will be removed
5. Jeremiah 31 the new covenant was prophesied to be made with the house of Israel
6. 2 Kings 6:13-17 Elisha's servant sees the surrounding army and panics, Elisha prays his eyes open to see the hillside filled with horses and chariots of fire

What was said

• Pray specifically for Jacob and Gretchen as they make their way home, and for Susan Han serving up north in the Golan.
• Read Romans 11 this week and sit with what Paul says about Israel being both hostile to the gospel and beloved on account of the patriarchs.
• When a friend or classmate brings up what is happening in Israel, try asking them this question instead of debating sides: why do you think there is so much tension over that particular piece of land?
• Pick up a copy of The Final Mystery by Art Katz and start reading it alongside what you are watching unfold in the news.
• Take a few minutes each day this week to ask the Lord to open your eyes the way Elisha asked for his servant, so that your understanding of these events is shaped by what God sees rather than only by what the news is telling you.

Talk about it

1. Steve said that getting right with God does not always feel good, and compared it to working through tension in a close relationship. When have you experienced that kind of uncomfortable realignment with God, and what did it produce in you?
2. Brian read from Zechariah 12 where Jerusalem is described as an intoxicating drink that makes the nations stagger. He used COVID as an illustration of how a single thing can cause the whole world to reel and divide. Where do you see that same kind of disorienting effect happening around Israel right now?
3. Steve pointed out from Romans 11 that Paul warned Gentile believers not to become arrogant, and that God hardened Israel in part so that Gentiles could even come into the covenant. How does that change the way you think about your own place in the faith?
4. Brian described two responses to frightening world events: getting nihilistic and retreating, or cultivating hope and becoming a clear voice like Elisha. Which pull do you feel more strongly, and what has helped you resist the one that leads to paralysis?
5. Several people in the room said the twenty one days of prayer and fasting stirred a deeper emotional connection to Israel than they had before. What do you think it means practically, in your everyday life and conversations, to stand with Israel when Brian said it is becoming increasingly unpopular to do so?