The Feast of Unleavened Bread

In one paragraph

Brian walked the congregation through two of the seven feasts God lays out in Leviticus, specifically the Feast of Unleavened Bread, using the Jewish tradition of searching the home for yeast as a way into a bigger question: how do Christians actually live free from sin, not just believe they are? The conversation wove together several New Testament passages and a lot of honest back-and-forth from...

Read together

1. Leviticus 23:6-8 read aloud as the main Old Testament text introducing the feast of unleavened bread
2. John 8:34-36 quoted to show that everyone who sins is a slave to sin but the Son sets us free indeed
3. Colossians 2:13-14 quoted to show God forgave sins and cancelled the record of charges by nailing it to the cross
4. 1 Peter 2:24 quoted to show Jesus carried our sins in his body on the cross so we can be dead to sin
5. Luke 12:1 mentioned by a congregation member as the source for leaven representing hypocrisy
6. Romans 7:15-20 quoted by a congregation member to describe the tension between wanting to do good and still sinning
7. Hebrews 9:26 quoted to show Jesus appeared once for all to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice
8. Galatians 5:1 quoted as the call to stand firm in freedom and not return to slavery
9. Hebrews 12:1-2 quoted by a congregation member about throwing off sin that entangles and fixing eyes on Jesus
10. Philippians 4:6 cited as the first scripture Brian memorized, as a remedy for worry and anxiety
11. Philippians 4:8 referenced as the instruction to meditate on what is pure, holy, lovely and true rather than what to avoid
12. Galatians 5:16 quoted by Lissa to show that letting the Holy Spirit guide your life means you will not carry out what the sinful nature craves
13. 2 Corinthians 10:4 briefly cited as the verse about using powerful God-tools for smashing strongholds

What was said

• Pick one verse from this sermon, write it on a sticky note, and put it somewhere you will see it every day this week.
• When a familiar temptation shows up, say out loud that the enemy has no authority over you, then move on rather than wrestling with the thought.
• If worry or anxiety is your pattern, memorize Philippians 4:6 this week and speak it the next time the worry starts.
• Notice when you are trying to fight sin by willpower alone, and instead ask the Holy Spirit to handle it rather than straining in your own strength.
• If you are a man who wants to go deeper on identity in Christ, sign up for the Birthright book study starting the first Monday of May at 6pm.

Talk about it

1. Brian walked through the Jewish tradition of searching the home for leaven before Passover, and connected leaven to sin and hypocrisy in our own hearts. What is something in your life right now that you sense the Holy Spirit is shining a light into, the way that candle searches the dark corners of a home?
2. Brian described what he called the little pink monkey strategy, where trying hard not to think about something only keeps your mind fixed on it. Have you ever caught yourself fighting sin that way, by focusing on it and straining against it in your own strength? What happened?
3. Several people in the room shared the tension between what Scripture says, that we are dead to sin and free indeed, and what we actually experience day to day. Where do you feel that gap most in your own life right now?
4. Brian used the image of a fired police officer who still walks in looking copped up and giving orders. He said the enemy operates the same way, with no real authority left but still counting on us not knowing that. Can you think of a lie the enemy has told you that you have been obeying as if it had authority over you?
5. Brian and others in the room pushed hard on memorizing specific Scripture verses as the practical sword to fight with, and pointed to Philippians 4:6 as one place to start. What is one verse from this conversation, or one you already know, that you want to actually commit to memory this week, and what situation in your life are you most likely to need it?