The Feast of First Fruits

In one paragraph

Brian walked the congregation through the Feast of First Fruits, one of the spring feasts that often gets skipped between Easter and Pentecost. He showed how the details of that ancient observance point directly to the resurrection of Jesus, and closed with the claim that the resurrection gives every believer confidence that total victory is their destiny. Brian set the context by reminding Tribe...

Read together

1. Habakkuk 2:2 word given to Christine Schuler about writing the vision and making it plain so a herald can run with it
2. Deuteronomy 26:1-11 prescription for bringing first fruits to the priest and declaring God's faithfulness in bringing Israel out of Egypt
3. Leviticus 23:9-14 the Lord's instructions to Moses about waving the first sheaf of harvest before him as a permanent statute
4. John 20:11-18 Mary Magdalene encounters the risen Jesus at the tomb and he tells her not to hold on to him because he has not yet ascended to the Father
5. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Christ raised as the first of the great harvest of all who have died, with resurrection coming to all who belong to him when he returns
6. Philippians quoted as saying believers are God's masterpiece, the Greek word poema, from which we get the word poem

What was said

• Read 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 on your own this week and sit with what it means that Jesus is called the firstfruits of the resurrection.
• When something good comes into your life this week, pause and bring it to God first before you do anything else with it, the way the Israelites were told to bring the first of the harvest straight to the priest.
• If you have been carrying something that feels like failure or a dead end, write it down and then write next to it the words 'total victory is my destiny' as a concrete reminder of what Brian said the resurrection means for people who belong to Christ.
• If you have never invited Jesus into your heart, do it this week in your own words, telling him you want to be a new creation.
• Come to the men's Bible study starting Monday at 6 a.m. at the TNC if that is something you have been putting off, and sign up on the sheet on the fridge.

Talk about it

1. Brian gave a word to Schuler about being an amplifier, and noted that amplifiers only ever magnify what is plugged into them. What are some things in your own life that you are letting plug into you, and how are those shaping what you put out?
2. Brian walked through the prescription in Deuteronomy 26 and Leviticus 23 where the very first of the harvest had to be brought to the priest immediately, before anything else was done with it. What does that kind of first-and-fastest obedience look like in practice for you today?
3. Brian pointed out that Mary was standing right in front of the risen Jesus, spoke to him, and still did not recognize him until he said her name. Has there been a time when you could not see what God was doing right in front of you, and what finally helped you recognize it?
4. Brian said Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection, and that resurrection life begins the moment a person is saved, not just at the end of life. What difference does it make day to day to think of yourself as already living a resurrected life rather than waiting for one?
5. Brian closed by saying that because Jesus rose from the dead, nothing less than total victory is our destiny, regardless of past failure. Where in your life right now is that hard to believe, and what would it look like to hold onto it anyway?