Sukkot 2024: Resting and Celebrating

In one paragraph

Brian opened the morning by walking through Leviticus 23:39-44, the passage that describes the feast of Sukkot, and let the congregation respond to what they noticed in the text. The conversation stayed close to two themes: God's invitation to rest, and what it means to rehearse events that are still coming. Brian framed the feast as one of God's family traditions, not a Jewish-only observance. He...

Read together

1. Leviticus 23:39-44 main passage read aloud by congregation member, instructions for the feast of Sukkot
2. Psalm 1:2-3 congregation member connected the willows by streams in Leviticus to trees planted by the riverbank bearing fruit
3. Jeremiah 17:7-8 congregation member connected the sukkah covering to the blessed one who trusts in the Lord like a tree by water
4. Zechariah 14:16-19 congregation member cited as the passage about nations celebrating the feast of tabernacles during the millennial reign
5. Psalm 2 Brian pointed to it as showing Jesus returning as conquering king who rules with an iron rod and laughs at conspiring nations
6. Psalm 1 Brian pointed to it alongside Psalm 2 as showing Jesus returning as conquering king
7. Proverbs 3:5 quoted as instruction not to lean on your own understanding, used to illustrate resting from your own plan
8. Hebrews 4 read to show God's promise of rest still stands and only those who believe can enter it
9. Song of Solomon 2:14 read as an allegory of Jesus inviting the soul to step out and let him see your face, used to close the call to rest in his love

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the Bible being the only book that actually reads you back. Has there been a time when a passage seemed to speak directly to your situation in a way that surprised you? What was that like?
2. Brian described how the leadership team, instead of jumping back onto the treadmill at full speed after COVID, stopped and asked God what he had for them. When life speeds up, what does it usually take for you to slow down and recalibrate?
3. The three reasons Tribe honors the feasts are to remember, to recalibrate, and to rehearse. Which of those three feels most meaningful or most unfamiliar to you right now, and why?
4. Brian said God invites us to rest from our own plan, from striving for our own salvation, and from trying to earn his love. Which of those three is hardest for you to actually set down, and what makes it hard?
5. The sukkah is meant to pull people out of their comfortable, convenient homes and into a simple shelter as a reminder that Jesus is really all we need. What would it look like in your own life this week to step outside your carefully constructed routine and just spend some unhurried time with God?