To understand Leviticus properly, we need to understand the God who gave Leviticus, and the God of Leviticus. Leviticus is basically about God coming down to live among us, but we are presented with a problem because of who God is, and because of who we are. The God of the Bible is a specific being. And this God describes human beings in a very specific way too. The theology and anthropology of the Bible is very unique. Leviticus is all about how we try and deal with the problem, but continues to hint that the answer is not in us, but really in Christ. And the God of Leviticus, of all the ceremonies and slaying and fire, is the God of Christmas.
We begin our series in Leviticus, not with the book proper, but we're taking time to understand the context and purpose of this book. Leviticus is not an easy book to understand, but if we believe in 2 Tim 3:16, we know that the book of Leviticus is God-breathed and useful!
For a school choir, one of the events that can really change things is going for a tour. You do everything together on a tour and that unites everyone in a common experience. It can inspire others who may not have been very interested in choir, to like singing.
Is the cross like that for us? Is it just a catalyst for positive change? Or is it more or less than that? Is it just a significant event? These are the questions we will be considering in today's lesson.
Both passages point us to one aspect of the cross-centred life. We will see that it's not so much about the lives we live and the things we do. It's about where the cross is in our lives and what it is doing there. We must understand that the cross-centred life is one of visible unity that is empowered by the cross.
We studied what Jesus teaches His disciples after he has risen. What now for the disciples? What are they suppose to do? What does the Holy Spirit do? What does it mean to have a spiritual experience? Does it mean you can perform miracles? Does it mean that you can see a vision, a dream, signs, etc.? Today, we will look at what the Bible tells us about the work of the Holy Spirit, and how that fits into the mission of the church.
What do you expect someone who comes back from the dead to say? In today's passage, we pick up then narrative from after the resurrection of Jesus. What did He say to the disciples? What is He also saying to us today?
This last study before Good Friday takes us to Jesus' last prediction of his death before he arrives at the cross. In this study in Luke 18:18-34, we'll begin by examining verses 31 to 34 and make our way back up to verse 18.
This week, we look at the transfiguration. Luke begins his account of the transfiguration by referring to the sayings of eight days ago (v.28). Clearly, he was picking up from the words and themes in the preceding verses, where Jesus spoke about His death, and called His disciples to death to self too. Verses 28 to 45, therefore, follow from these commands to come and die.
We begin the first week of this series in Luke 9:18-27, where Luke records for us the first time that Jesus predicted His death on the cross. We might have heard it said before, that Jesus' words were shocking for his disciples and those that followed Him. In our day and age, the cross is closely associated with Christianity, and often made into associated jewelry or even accessories. But in Jesus' time, the ancient world saw it as a symbol of great shame and death by the cross was reviled and reserved for terrible criminals. It is this death that Jesus predicts for Himself, and what He calls His followers to.
As we begin this series, let us go back to the cross, and consider what it means to follow One whose greatest achievement was death.
The book of Ruth ends with a genealogy. The closing verses contain the word "generations" which in Hebrew is 'toledot'. A genealogy is a record of generations, and though we often gloss over them these words too, are breathed out by God and have been given to us for teaching, correction, training in righteousness to equip men and women of God for good works. We have been called to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, strength and minds, and this study on the last 5 verses of Ruth invites us to do just that in its context; in them, we behold our loving God who includes and invites us to Himself through Jesus Christ.
This study picks up the story midway, after the nearer-redeemer relinquishes his claim to buy the land of Elimelech and his family.
In this study, we'll move on the book of Ruth to the final chapter of this book. Here, the theme of redemption, and the idea of a kinsman redeemer, which was previously mentioned, will take centre stage. Ruth 4 picks up from Ruth 3, as indicated by a well-placed "now" in Ruth 4:1. In chapter 3, we read of Ruth and Boaz's encounter in the field in the middle of the night. Ruth proposed marriage, but Boaz knew of a nearer redeemer who had the rights to redeem the land of Naomi's family. Boaz, a man of integrity, took pains to prevent any misunderstandings and scandals in the middle of the night, and promised to settle it immediately. He sealed his promise by sending Ruth away with a lot of barley discreetly (Ruth 3:15).
We're still in chapter 2 of Ruth. Through this study of Ruth, we learn another way of reading the Bible, that is that narratives can be read again and again with an emphasis on different themes. Today we'll read through Ruth 2, choosing to focus on God's grace through the kindness of Boaz.
In Ruth 2, we saw God's invisible grace in unseen ways, as well as visible favour revealing God's kindness in many different ways. In Ruth 3, we continue to see God at work, and we will see the theme of redemption unfolding a bit more. Chapter 3 tells us how God redeems in practical, day-to-day ways, and we experience His redeeming work daily. The book of Ruth helps us see and reminds us that God floods our seemingly mundane lives with grace. In Ruth 3:1-18, the various characters draw up plans and act on them. Perhaps one way to think of this passage is to ask the question:how do people touched by God's grace live their lives as part of God's redemptive plan? Let us first take a closer look at each character, the plans they came up with, and their motivations/reasoning.
This week, we take a little tangential detour from the main story, and focus on the inner workings of one our our key characters, Naomi.
In this study, we'll take a closer look at the theme of grace and favour in the narrative
Today's passage shows us three women - Naomi, Orpah and Ruth, and their reactions to calamity and suffering.
The Bible has many different genres -- prophetic literature, wisdom literature, narratives, historical accounts, epistles etc. Ruth is a narrative, and narratives, as we know has elements such as setting (including time and geographical location), characters (with names and relationships), themes, problems, etc.This introductory study on the first seven verses of this book helps establish the context of this book, and we will uncover more of the characters, themes and problems in the subsequent weeks!
This is a familiar passage to many of us, and at the end of this Advent series, we'll look once more at the events of Christmas night. How and why did the people celebrate Jesus' birth, and how do we consider the good news of Christmas today?
(A) Simeon’s example: Jesus is worth waiting for (v.22-32)
(B) Anna’s example: Jesus is worth consecrating yourself for (v.36-38)
(C) Joseph and Mary’s example: Jesus is worth being heartbroken for (v.33-35)
Christmas is a time of great festivities and joy for many. Many of the songs speak about hope and joy. Yet, if we look at the world, sometimes it doesn't seem like peace prevails. Are we just being hopelessly naive and oblivious to the suffering of the world?
Today's passage takes us to a part of the Christmas story that we sometimes forget exist.
