“the Whole Story” Series

“Full Access to God” – Hebrews 10:19-20

Hebrews 10:19-20

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,”


“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6

If you’re a baseball fan, you would have loved growing up in my hometown. South Florida is spring training mecca for the majors and Bradenton is host to the Pittsburg Pirates. I remember going to McKechnie Field to watch them play a couple times. I would sit in the stands and watch these athletes that were larger than life. I had a friend that was a batboy for the team and I considered him one of the luckiest guys I knew. He got to go into the dugout and the clubhouse with the team. To have behind the rope access to guys that had won the world series, guys I had baseball cards of, blew my young adolescent mind. They didn’t give just anybody that kind of access, my friend was breathing rarified air. 
So it was with the tabernacle and the presence of God. God purposely placed Himself in the middle of His people, but they were not to take that as an invitation to familiarity. There were three areas to the tabernacle – the outer court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. Each area was more exclusive than the next. Only the priests could enter from the courtyard to the holy place, and only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies once a year. As we discussed yesterday, after the Israelites settled into Jerusalem and the rest of the promised land, they built a more permanent but similarly patterned temple, and it was just as exclusive. These places of worship were a constant reminder to the Israelites that their God was present but set apart.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the standing temple was Herod’s or the 2nd temple. In rabbinical tradition, the entrance to the Courtyard was referred to as “the way,” the entrance to the holy place was called “the truth,” and as you might have guessed, the entrance to the holy of holies was called “the life.” So when Jesus was speaking to his disciples, and referring to Himself as the way, truth and life, He was describing access to the Father that had previously been unheard of. This radical claim was further corroborated when at the end of Jesus’ suffering on the cross, the huge curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place tore in two from the top down. God was saying in a not so subtle way that the death of His Son had removed every barrier that had separated us from Him. Through Christ full access is available to anyone who would believe and step through the door. 

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:

  • Where is the balance between being God’s friend and yet maintaining the proper reverence?
  • How would living daily in conscious awareness of God’s holy presence change your present lifestyle and habits?*
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Jon Price, Associate Pastor
*Today’s questions are from Steven J. Cole’s article, “Entering God’s Holy Presence”
Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

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“God’s Mobile Home” – John 4:20-24

John 4:20-24

“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

I went to a Christian school from 4th grade to 12th grade down in south Florida. It wasn’t affiliated with a particular church but many denominations were represented. Among my friends were Baptists, Methodists, Charasmatics, and Christian Reformed. We would good naturedly debate over who went to the best church. I loved my church because it was the one I grew up in, and it also happened to have a nice gym and a huge youth group! When we talked about our churches, for the most part we were referring to the buildings, but we also had very spirited discussions on theological matters. 
We find such a discussion here in John 4, where Jesus is speaking with a Samaritan woman by a well. Whether she was trying to wrestle with a deep question or just grasping at something to say to the holy man (a feeling many of us in ministry are familiar with) her question hit on a well-worn debate that Jesus was about to make irrelevant. 
During the time of wandering for the Israelites, the tabernacle represented the presence of God. It was in the middle of the camp as they traveled through the wilderness. As the Israelites settled in the promised land and built the temple, it was still all about the physical place. By the time the above conversation was taking place, the temple in Jerusalem was the main place of worship for the Jews. They didn’t even recognize the location that the Samaritan’s worshipped as valid. Jesus was saying, it didn’t even matter. The new covenant he was ushering in wasn’t about buildings, it was about the sincere adoration of a believer, wherever they happened to be. 
When we emphasize the importance of a building, we run the risk of compartmentalizing what was meant to be all consuming. When we tie the “spiritual” part of our lives to a certain place on a certain day or two of the week we are missing the point of what the church truly is. The tabernacle was the place where God lived among His people, but now He lives IN His people and WE have become the temples! The most ornate cathedral pales in comparison to the majesty of God lived out on the streets by those who worship Him in spirit and truth. 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • What do you think it means to worship in spirit and truth? 
  • How should we live differently or view ourselves if we are the temple of God?  
  • How do we reconcile the tension between the truths of yesterday’s devotional and today’s? 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Jon Price, Associate Pastor
Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

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“Having People to Share With” – Exodus 12:4

Exodus 12:4

“And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.”

In this verse, God is giving Moses instructions for the Israelites concerning the Passover sacrifice and meal. A quick google search told me that a whole lamb would have been enough to feed upwards of 40 people! I can eat a lot but I doubt my wife, our year-old son, and I would have put a dent in a whole lamb. Without refrigeration, most of that meat would have likely spoiled, so a small family like mine was commanded to find a neighbor to share a lamb and the meal with. Two thoughts come to mind when reading this verse. The first is the importance of community. In this verse, having community was valuable enough for lives to depend on it! God intends for us to be a part of each other’s lives and to be there for one another. Life is hard and without your community, it is easy to get overwhelmed. We need those relationships to help us when times get tough or when we are presented with a whole lamb to consume.

My second thought from reading this verse is how it’s not the size that matters. A whole lamb would look like a much larger sacrifice for my family of three than it would have for a family of 20. Why would I want my sacrifice to look smaller if my firstborn son’s life depended on it?! It was never about the size of the sacrifice but rather the faithfulness in the sacrifice. There wasn’t a perfect “lamb to person” ratio that the Israelites had to meet in order for their sacrifice to work. The sacrifice wasn’t about the lamb, it was about their faith in action. God said “do” and they faithfully did. Don’t ever let the perceived size of your sacrifice influence your obedience to serve God!

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 

  • Are you part of a close community of believers? In what ways do you share with each other? 
  • How are you at sharing your surplus? Are you able to receive from others as well? 

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 

Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Chris Stephens, Contemporary service worship leader

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“A Family Beyond Our Kin” – Mark 14: 12, 22-25

Mark 14: 12, 22-25

“And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

“And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

A few years ago, I was in Kenya, Africa on a mission trip. I went with a group of college students to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we had a great time being able to adventure out into new territories. I remember one night we were able to eat dinner at one of the family’s houses from the church. The entire night was trying new things and pushing past moments that were uncomfortable because of different cultures. However, the night was so sweet because we were able to sit around a table with people who looked different from us, but we all called the same Jesus, Lord and Savior. We were able to take the Lord’s Supper together.

In the Old Testament, the Passover celebration was done in obedience to God. Every element had a symbolic meaning. The bitter herbs symbolized the bitterness of slavery. The saltwater recalled the tears under Egypt’s oppression. The lamb symbolized the greatest element of all, Jesus to come, which was the sin-bearing sacrifice that allowed the judgment of God to pass over the household. Now, Jesus has brought the new covenant with Him, which is Himself and has always been. The bread represents His body that was broken for all people – for all sin. The juice represents His blood that was shed on the cross for the sins of all people – ALL people. This is the story of redemption, Jesus Christ.

That night in Kenya was a beautiful representation of how all believers, no matter what culture, color, language, or social class can come together to worship Jesus. The same King Jesus extended redemption to each one of us through His body and blood. I love verse twenty-five how Jesus will not drink again of the cup until His people join Him at His table in the new Kingdom of God. Praise Jesus for His death, burial, and resurrection today and every day. Much love, fam.

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • How have you experienced Christian community across cultural barriers? How has it stretched your understanding of the family of faith? 
  • When you look at your own life, what items might you include in a meal that would represent the experiences that have impacted you and your faith? 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Macon Jones, Student and Young Adult Pastor

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“Don’t Wait Around to Decide” – Exodus 12:33-42

Exodus 12:33-42

“The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders. The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.”

For generations, the Israelites had known nothing but slavery. But it seemed there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. And with the promise of freedom given and then taken away repeatedly during the plagues and Moses’ intercessions with a fickle Pharoah, when the opportunity came they weren’t going to sit around and wait for their captor to change his mind once again. It was time to gather up everything as quickly as possible and head to the door. The time was ripe and every Egyptian was on board with getting them on their way, to the point of handing them gold, silver, and other jewelry as they passed by on the road. Anything to avoid any more wrath from the God of the Israelites. 

The Passover meal was not just their last meal in captivity. It was the beginning of a tradition, the first of an annual communal celebration in remembrance of a faithful and powerful God. Each part of the meal represented an element of their captivity and their rescue. And the unleavened bread represented the rush that they had been in to leave. They hadn’t had the time to wait for their bread to rise as they packed and prepared for their trip to freedom. 
Can you even imagine a scenario where given the chance to trade their hard labor and persecution for freedom and their own land that they would hesitate or procrastinate in making a decision? Not a chance! But isn’t that what we are guilty of so many times? When God provides an opportunity for freedom, peace, and purpose, how often do we put off obedience to weigh our options? I remember sharing the gospel with a classmate when I was in college. I talked about the forgiveness and new life that God offers us through his son. I remember his answer. “It sounds great, but I’m at a time in life where I just want to have fun.” He would think about the offer later when he was a little older. 
In this instance, we should follow the example of the Israelites and respond quickly to the offer on the table. God blessed their immediate response with freedom and the added blessing of unexpected treasures! Who knows what our story will be if we respond the same?  

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • Is there a door that God has opened to you that you are putting off walking through? 
  • Have you taken Him up on the most beautiful gift of freedom – salvation through His Son?
  • What other areas has God called us to respond to? Baptism? Giving? Involvement in ministry? Do you believe that these areas include freedom and blessing?  
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Jon Price, Associate Pastor

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“I Will Never Forget That Day” – Exodus 12:26-27

Exodus 12:26-27

“When your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel’”

How many plagues would you need to believe God? How many would you need to do what He commands? For Pharaoh, it was ten. God made sure that the Egyptians would be so exhausted with the plagues that they would pay the Israel slaves to leave. Especially the tenth one.

This plague killed every firstborn son and cattle in Egypt, except for those who observed the “Passover”. The Bible does not say, but this looks like retribution for the killing of Hebrew boys 80 years earlier. Nonetheless, God got Israel out of Egyptian captivity after this day. Think of this! God told the Israelites to eat the Passover, cover the doorposts in blood, get dressed and ready to move out by morning.

With this tenth plague, as with everything He did, God gave a gospel message that would never be forgotten. God declared that all firstborn sons would die, unless blood was spread across the doorpost of each house. This day was to be observed each year as a memorial of God’s salvation. It was a direct symbol of the salvation that Christ would bring centuries later.

The point today is that God has offered each one of us redemption through the death of His son Jesus Christ. Do not forget the significance of the day you surrendered your life to Christ and He forgave you of your sins. He removed your sin debt and took away the sentence of hell.

There are significant days that I will never forget, but the most important day I cannot forget is the day Jesus saved me. Every time I think about that day, it reminds me that my hope is in Christ and I belong to Him. My future is secure and I am not a slave to my past or the world. When I think about that day, I forget my complaints and grateful beyond words to be saved.

“I never shall forget the day
When all the burdens from my soul were rolled away
It made me happy, glad, and free
I’ll sing and shout it, for He’s everything to me” Iris Dement

What does that day mean to you?

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • Have you surrendered your life to Christ and received His forgiveness? If you have not and want to know more, please email me at pastor@mybelmont.org
  • Follower of Christ, do you remember the day Jesus redeemed you? 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Pastor Stephen Williams

 

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