Leviticus 19Law as a Window into the Heart of God Leviticus 19:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.  ³ Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father….⁹ "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. ¹⁰ And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God…. ¹⁷ "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. ¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. ¹⁹ "You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.

If you could have had just one point from Sunday’s message communicated what would it have been?The people we dwell with shape our sense of who we are (identity). Which people in your life have most shaped your identity?[caption id="attachment_4635" align="alignleft" width="700"] The Tabernacle and Court[/caption]In Leviticus the Covenant King comes to dwell among his people.What evidence from Exodus points to God being a COVENANT King?What evidence from Exodus points to God being a Covenant KING?What evidence from Exodus points to God being a Covenant King who DWELLS AMONG HIS PEOPLE?How has God come to dwell even nearer to his covenant people today?How would you say that God’s dwelling within and among us shapes your identity, your sense of who you are?J. Todd Billings writes that among many Americans, especially emerging adults “faith has been reduced to a necklace one wears as part of a self-made identity rather than a whole new set of clothes one wears—“put[ting] on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14)—as a new identity found in him.” Billings, J. Todd (2011-11-01). Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church (Kindle Locations 404-415). Baker Publishing Group.Do you find yourself trying to keep Jesus the Covenant King at arms-length despite his desire to dwell near? Do you sense any fear at being so completely identified with him?What inspires you about being so identified with the Father who has adopted you in Christ (Romans 8:15)? What do you like about others who are excited about the nearness of their Covenant King?

Is there anything from last Sunday’s sermon from Zechariah (c. 520 BC) that you found particularly applicable to your life?What are examples in music, TV, movies or elsewhere of American interest in survival?Check out this video from Gloria Gaynor and/or Kelly Clarkson.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-Ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn676-fLq7IWhat is survival about for these women?Here is another video of people in America preparing for survival.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7JnClHTCUQWhat do these people want to survive from?What had the prophet Zechariah’s audience survived from? (Hint: Zechariah prophesied in c. 520 BC during the Persian Period)[caption id="attachment_4564" align="alignright" width="218"] Zechariah by Michelangelo[/caption]Read Zechariah 12:10What does Zechariah see as an enduring survival issue for God’s people? What issue had they not overcome entirely despite surviving the exile?Read Zechariah 13:1What means of survival does God provide to deal with their enduring problem?Read Acts 2:36-41How is there a fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10-13:1 in Acts 2:36-41? Be specific and point out how different predictive elements of Zechariah are fulfilled in Acts.Do you find it tempting to believe that you can kill the root of anxiety, anger, fear of others, social dysfunction, etc. by enduring your problems, white knuckling it?How does survival of the heart disease of sin get healed by receiving rather than enduring?How are you intentionally putting yourself in places to receive your survival needs through Jesus Christ?

Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (604 - 562 B.C.)

LEADER: Please choose 2-3 readers for the evening and print out copies of the following for all participants. Do not feel that you work through every question. Weigh which questions will be appropriate for your group. Take time to work through the questions the group is especially interested in or challenged by.Read 2 Kings 25:1-12• The Babylonian exile of the Southern Kingdom (or Judah) took place in 586 B.C.• Obadiah was written after the Babylonian exile to address the injustices waged by the Edomites (a local nation) against Judah while they were being exiled.Read Obadiah 1-16 - God Reassures the Rattled of Retribution• Why would the survivors of the exile be rattled or unsettled because of the Edomites?• Are you ever “rattled” when watching the news? Does seeing the mercilessness and pride of man unsettle you?o How might praying after newscasts be a means of God’s reassurance of his retribution and grace?o What are other ways you can be reassured by God of his fair retribution upon evil?• How has God brought retribution to injustice through Christ’s death?• How will God bring retribution to injustice at Christ’s return?Martin Buber, a 20th century Jewish theologian, wrote of himself and Jewish people in general, “we will never recognize Jesus as the Messiah Come, for this would contradict the deepest meaning of our Messianic passion. In our view, redemption occurs forever, and none has yet occurred. Standing, bound and shackled…we demonstrate with the bloody body of our people the unredeemedness of the world. For us there is no cause of Jesus; only the cause of God exists for us.”• How would you respond to Buber? How does Jesus’ work in the past and the future counter what Buber said?

Model of Second Temple made by Michael Osnis

Read Obadiah 17-21 - God Reassures the Rattled of Restoration• What are the four P’s? (Pe_ p _ _; Pl_ _ _; Pr_ s_ _ _ _; Pu_ _ o _ _)• Where do you see the 4 P’s mentioned in Obadiah 17-21?• Obadiah promised that one day Mount Zion would be made holy. Essentially he is prophesying the holy presence of God would yet be among his people in their own place for the purpose of their mission to be a light to the world.Patrick Fairbairn wrote in his wonderful book The Interpretation of Prophecy that, “the prophets necessarily thought and spake of the future under the conditions of their own historical position; so that it was not the image of the future which threw itself back upon the past, but rather the image of the past which threw itself forward into the future – the things which were, and had been, gave their form to the things which were yet to be.”Read 1 Peter 2:4-10• Have you grasped that the church is the temple of the Holy Spirit?• What has the Church done to earn or deserve such a gift?• How does it matter that God’s people are the temple of the Holy Spirit? What difference does that make in life today?• How would people’s truly grasping that the holy presence of God is within the Church change world politics?

1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

God's Wrath Against Nineveh

1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.

Habakkuk's Complaint

[caption id="attachment_4476" align="alignleft" width="300"] Pastor Uwe Heimowski[/caption]Crossroads Presbyterian Church has become a sister church to an Evangelical Free Church in Gera, Germany (located in what was the Communist-controlled area of East Germany) and to a Baptist Church located in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. The purpose of the “sisterhood” is to demonstrate the reconciliation that can be found only in Christ among three churches who have been enemies to each other. Crossroads joined this ‘sisterhood’ in 2014 and participated in a joint construction project at the Russian church location in May of 2014.Pastor Heimowski preached from Ephesians 4:1-6.How might the original recipients of Ephesians have been in need of unity? What things may have been causing discord among believers living in the Roman Empire?Economic disparity, ethnic differences, political differences…[caption id="attachment_4475" align="alignright" width="300"] Black Sheep by Marsh[/caption]What did Pastor Uwe point out as three important aspects of unity according to the Apostle Paul?Godliness of lifeSimplicity of messageDeep faith in GodWhat verses from Ephesians did he use to support his points?Did any point in particular stand out as important to you?How did his message relate to the German-Russian-American Partnership?How might this message lead you to pray for the partnership?How might it relate to the congregation of Crossroads?

[caption id="attachment_4525" align="alignleft" width="247"] The Prophet Zephaniah, 18th Century Russian Representation[/caption]Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.18 I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.20 At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes," says the LORD.Zephaniah 3:14-20 ESV

Amos 9:11-15 (ESV)¹¹ "In that day I will raise upthe booth of David that is fallenand repair its breaches,and raise up its ruinsand rebuild it as in the days of old,¹² that they may possess the remnant of Edomand all the nations who are called by my name,"declares the LORD who does this.¹³ "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD,"when the plowman shall overtake the reaperand the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;the mountains shall drip sweet wine,and all the hills shall flow with it.¹⁴ I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.¹⁵ I will plant them on their land,and they shall never again be uprootedout of the land that I have given them,"says the LORD your God.

Group Leaders: Please print off the following for group membersChoose 2-3 readers for the evening.[caption id="attachment_4431" align="alignleft" width="300"] Downton Abbey TV Series[/caption]Ask group members if they have a favorite TV series of all time. Who were minor characters who influenced the overall plot?Talk about what Tim means by saying that the Bible is a five season series and Micah is in Season 2. How does that help us understand the part we play?Read Micah 5:1-5Micah 5:5 says that the king born in Bethlehem shall be our peace.Explain how holistic that peace is by contrasting it with the chaos of the Assyrian in 5:1. How is Jesus’ peace the holistic solution to the holistic chaos brought by the Assyrian?Where have you experienced the chaos of the world most acutely in life? Religiously, politically, economically, socially? Tell a story about what that was like.Do you grasp that the peace of Jesus’ growing rule and ultimate victory a comfort in the midst of a chaotic world? Do you struggle to trust that Jesus’ peace is greater than the chaos? Do you struggle to accept that there is great chaos in this world?Micah and the other minor (as well as major) prophets write a great deal about God’s reign and his reign through the coming Messiah. This brings up the important whole-Bible theme of the Kingdom of God. Much of the following is taken from Christopher Wright’s excellent book Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament.Read Luke 4:40-44There are three important ways to view the kingdom of God is spoken about in the Old Testament that is then assumed by Jesus Christ when he came preaching about it:Read Daniel 4:34-35 and Revelation 17:14The above passages speak of the first facet of the Kingdom of God…

1. God’s Universal Reign: He reigns over the whole earth. He is king of nations and nature. The widest and most basic sense of the kingship of God in the Old Testament is this universal sovereignty.

Jesus, the divine-human (theanthropic) King, now exercises this same universal reign.Question: Are you resting in the reality of Jesus’ greater ability to bring peace than any other heavenly or earthly ruler?Read Psalm 146:7-10 and Matthew 6:9-10the above passages refer to a second facet on God’s Kingdom…

2. God’s Redemptive and Theocratic Dimension: God’s Kingship over the whole earth is not acknowledged by all nations. However, Israel, through the covenant relationship, had accepted the rule of God over themselves. God was the acknowledged King in Israel…So, as well as the universal dimension of God’s kingship, the Old Testament has this very particular dimension. God’s covenant relationship with Israel was in a sense the relation of a king to his subjects…In the ancient world, it was the king’s job to protect his people from their enemies and to give them laws and good government….So the kingship of God in Israel had very practical, earthly effects. It was not just a theological item of belief. It was the authority of God as king which lay behind the specific details of Israel’s law. There was, therefore, a powerfully ethical thrust to the acknowledgement of God’s kingship. His reign was one of righteousness and justice, earthed in the real world of social, economic, and political relationships.

So when Jesus came proclaiming the kingdom of God, he was not talking about a place or an idea or an attitude. It was not just pie in the sky nor joy in the heart. The reality of God’s rule cannot be spiritualized into heaven (now or later) or privatized into individuals. Now of course it does have spiritual and personal dimensions which are fundamental also. But the term itself speaks of the aligning of human life on earth with the will of the divine government of God.Question: How might Jesus’ rule over the his international Kingdom impact the social, political, economic or religious systems of the places where his people are found?Read Micah 5:4-5 and Revelation 22:1-5The above passages refer to a third facet of the Kingdom of God…

3. The Eschatological Dimension: We see in the Old Testament that the kingship of God was in one sense a universal sovereignty over all nations, nature and history. And that in another sense it meant the specific rule of God over Israel within the covenant relationship where his kingship was acknowledged. But God’s kingship, thirdly, came to be thought of in a future perspective also because neither of the first two senses was being realized in full. On the one hand it was obvious that the nations did not acknowledge Yahweh as King, and on the other hand it became increasingly and painfully obvious that even Israel, who acknowledged him as King, did not demonstrate it. He was king in name and title, but not obeyed in reality in the actual life of the nation.

So there developed the hope and expectation that at some time in the future God himself would intervene to establish his reign in its fullness over his people and over the world. God would come as king and put things right.Question: On a scale of 1 – 5 how much do you care that season 5 is about God putting everything right in the world? Are you bored by the idea? What can you do, by God’s grace, to “blow on the coals” of yours or others hope for this bright and beautiful future?

Group Leaders: please print off copies for group participants. Choose two or three Scripture readers for the night.Opening Question: Has anyone used a certain memory device to memorize the order of the Minor Prophets? Have two or three people share their method with the others.Read Deuteronomy 13:1-6What are the criteria for distinguishing true from false prophets?How did Jesus pass that test as the true, and ultimate, Prophet? Can you point to a specific passage in the Gospels that highlights this?Read Deuteronomy 18:20-22What are the criteria for distinguishing true from false prophets?How did Jesus pass this test as the true, and ultimate, Prophet? Can you point to a specific passage in the Gospels that highlights this?Read Jonah 1:1-3Dr. Jack Collins writes that there are “3 characteristics of a prophet: 1/ direct personal communication from God; 2/ the message concerns the things of God, and his kingdom (in my terms, the corporate entity and its mission in the world); 3/ he faithfully recorded or uttered the revelation he received.”How did Jonah meet the above characteristics? Which characteristic did he fail to meet?Dr. Douglas Stuart notes that Old Testament prophets “considered themselves as occupying a divinely appointed societal office, correcting illegal beliefs and practices.”Can you think of people in American society who have this sort of role? Who would they be? How are they like or unlike the Old Testament prophet?Read Matthew 28:18-20We are not all called to be prophets, uttering direct revelation from God. Try to describe the characteristics of the rank and file Christian based on Jesus’ commission to the apostles.How is this different than having the role of a prophet?Who can name the major roles that God has chosen for you to play in life.Tell a story of when you sense that you have done a poor job fulfilling your role.Tell a story of when you sense that you have done a good job at fulfilling your role.Do you have joy in your heart about how God is using your service to him?

Genesis 50:22–Exodus 1:14  ²² So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. ²⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." ²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here." ²⁶ So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Exodus 1:1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ⁴ Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵ All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. ⁶ Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. ⁷ But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.⁸ Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹ And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. ¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. ¹³ So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves ¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

Choose two or three designated readers for the night. The group leader will call on them to read the suggested passages.Please print off enough questions for individuals in your group to have in front of them.If you could talk about one point from the sermon this evening what would it be?[caption id="attachment_4385" align="alignleft" width="445"] Jacob's Body is Taken to Canaan, by James Tissot, c. 1902[/caption]Read Genesis 49:29-33Why does Jacob deeply desire to be buried in Canaan? Craft your answer making use of the covenant with Abraham.The original audience of Genesis was the Exodus community heading toward Canaan from Egypt. They are the fulfillment of Jacob’s deep longing for the fulfillment of God’s promise of land. Why would this story of Jacob’s burial help them to realize that they were a special people living in a special time?Read Exodus 19:1-6[caption id="attachment_4386" align="alignright" width="247"] Little Ann Sucking Her Finger Embraced by Her Mother, by Mary Cassatt 1897[/caption]God’s covenanting people are said to be God’s treasured possession.To what extent do you grasp how special the Church is to Jesus Christ?Priests, in the Old Testament, were to bring God to the people and the people to God.As a “kingdom of priests” how were these special people to function in relation to their national neighbors?Do special roles and service always go together where you live, work and play? For example: is it the teacher’s pet who is also expected to be the servant of all the other students?Read Deuteronomy 9:4-6Does God account for our sinfulness when he affirms that we are special to him?How does Oprah Winfrey (or cultural figures similar to her) typically affirm that people are special? How is sin affirmed or not affirmed by those figures?We are also special because of the time in which we lived. Our people have longed for millennia when the age of the Messiah would come. That is the time we now are in.Read Hebrews 9:23-28How does the author to the Hebrews refer to the time in which we are living?What promises to the people of God have been fulfilled, according to this passage?[caption id="attachment_4388" align="alignleft" width="399"] Christ as a Clock, by Marc Chagall, 1957[/caption]What promise are we still awaiting to be fulfilled in the future?Do you live with an awareness of living at such a special time?Do you sense any competition with that awareness? For example, do you feel more special because you are living in the technological age than because you are living in the “end of the ages”? Do you feel more special because you get to participate in the age of America or the age of the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham? Others?What practices or habits in your life are serving to fuel Christ’s competition?How does attending this Care Group help you to know your specialness to God, to the world and the specialness of the time in which you live?What other practices in your life serve to further your appreciation for the specialness of being in Christ?