The Fire That Never Goes Out

In one paragraph

This was the final week of Tribe's series through Leviticus. Brian Hunter walked the congregation through a few verses in Leviticus 6 about the burnt offering and the altar fire, drawing out what those priestly instructions mean for how any believer maintains their relationship with God today. The conversation was characteristically interactive, with the room contributing observations and...

Read together

1. Leviticus 6:8-13 main text read aloud by a congregation member, instructions for the burnt offering and keeping the fire burning
2. Leviticus 9:23-24 read aloud to show that God himself sent the fire to ignite the first burnt offering on the altar
3. Ephesians quoted briefly: 'God is working in you, giving you the power to obey him and the will to do what pleases him'
4. Romans 12:1-2 referenced as the call to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, connecting Old Testament priesthood to New Testament believers
5. 1 Peter 2:9 quoted to show all believers are a chosen people and royal priesthood, answering the question about priests under the new covenant
6. Exodus 19 briefly cited as the origin of the 'kingdom of priests' concept applied to Israel
7. Matthew 6:34 quoted by a congregation member: 'do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will bring its own worries'

What was said

• Each morning this week, before you do anything else, take a moment to name whatever yesterday left on you, whether a failure, a frustration, or even a spiritual high, and ask God to clear the ashes so you can start fresh.
• Pick one daily habit this week, reading a passage of scripture, a short prayer, or even the Bible Project Leviticus podcast, and treat it as adding fresh wood to the fire rather than waiting to feel motivated first.
• If you have been coasting on a past spiritual experience, a camp, a conference, a retreat, honestly ask yourself what discipline you have actually dropped, and pick just one back up this week.
• When you sit down with God this week, invite the Holy Spirit in specifically, and let that be part of your routine rather than an afterthought.
• Write your prayer request on the back of a connect card and hand it in so the Tribe staff can pray over it together on Monday.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about how God sends the fire but says it is our job to maintain it. Where have you seen that play out in your own life, and what made it hard to hold onto?
2. The passage says the priest had to clear out the ashes every morning before adding fresh wood. What does it look like practically for you to let go of yesterday, whether that is a failure or even a great spiritual high, so you can come to God fresh today?
3. Janet brought up the manna in the wilderness, that it had to be gathered fresh each day and could not be stored. What are the "fresh wood" practices in your life right now, and are any of them feeling more like stale manna you have been coasting on?
4. Brian drew a distinction between remembering what God has done and relying on it to fuel today. He used David asking God for battle instructions twice and getting two different answers. How do you personally hold those two things together, gratitude for the past and dependence on God today?
5. Brian said letting the fat drip onto the flame causes it to flare up, and connected that to not quenching the Holy Spirit. Where have you seen the Holy Spirit show up unexpectedly in your own life or in this community, and is there anything you have been holding back that might be keeping that flame smaller than it could be?