“Live in a way that if people should see you. They could see God’s goodness in you.” (I Love God)
Deuteronomy
16:9-17, Easy-to-Read Version
9 “You must count seven weeks from the time you
begin to harvest the grain. 10 Then celebrate the Festival
of Harvest for the Lord your God. Do this by bringing him some
special gift you want to bring. Decide how much to give by thinking about how
much the Lord your God has blessed you. 11 Go to
the place the Lord will choose to be the home for his name. You and
your people should enjoy yourselves together there with the Lord your
God. Take all your people with you—your sons, your daughters, and all your
servants. And take the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows living in your
towns.
12 Remember,
you were slaves in Egypt. So be sure to obey these laws. 13 Seven
days after you have gathered your harvest in from your threshing floor and from
your winepress, you should celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 14 Enjoy
yourselves at this festival—you, your sons, your daughters, all your servants,
and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows living in your towns.
15 Celebrate
this festival for seven days at the special place the Lord will
choose. Do this to honor the Lord your God. The Lord your
God blessed your harvest and all the work you did, so be very happy. 16 Three
times a year all your men must come to meet with the Lord your God at
the special place he will choose. They must come for the Festival of Unleavened
Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. Everyone who
comes to meet with the Lord must bring a gift. 17 Each
man should give as much as he can. He should decide how much to give by
thinking about how much the Lord has given him.
Sermon in a sentence: The celebration of harvest involves worshiping God, experiencing His
joy, and receiving His grace.
The Festival of Harvest (See Deuteronomy
16: 9-12 above)
· This festival happened
in September or October
[i]
· God is good, and we
have much to celebrate.
· Just as the Israelites
invited people outside their “comfort zone” to worship God, so we have a duty
to do the same with “strangers” we meet today (if they want it).
· The church is
empowered to worship God in community.
· This festival happened
in the fall.
The Festival of Shelters (See Deuteronomy
16: 13-15 above)
· This festival also happened
in September or October
· It was a time of great
joy like a big party to celebrate the awesomeness of God. What do you have in
your life to be joyful about?
· ASSIGNMENT 1 (for next week): Reach out to 7 different people (via text or
e-mail) that you can bless or encourage with your words, and demonstrate the
love of God to.
· ASSIGNMENT 2 (for next week): Renew your
commitment to God (and your faith) by doing something that draws you closer to
Him. This could be restarting (or increasing) prayer time, Bible study, attending
an in-person church service, or fasting from food (or electronics).
The Festival of Unleavened Bread (See Deuteronomy
16: 16-17 above)
· This festival happened
in March, April, or May.
· This festival was
connected with the Passover. The Israelites left Egypt so fast that they made
bread without leaven (so it didn’t rise). The angel of death “passed over”
homes that had the blood of a lamb painted on their door posts.
· Jesus is the Passover lamb
who shed His blood on the cross spiritually protects us. This is His gift to
us.
· God’s grace has
redeemed us from an eternity in Hell. He wants us to always enjoy His presence
in our lives.
[i] Adapted from: “Harvest Festival” from Wikipedia
Inspired
by the sermon “Celebrating the Harvest Together: The Harvest” (installment
five, final) Sunday November 28, 2021, Pastor Jon Fulton, CenterPoint Lewis
Center (CPLC). In-person services are available at all three U.S.
CenterPoint locations. CenterPoint also has an online Sunday morning
service (10am) that can be viewed at centerpointchurches.online.church or
centerpointchurches.com/live.
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| The Festival of Unleavened Bread |
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