Embodying God's Covenant: A Call to Holiness

1) "For most of us, our understanding of the Old Testament comes from Sunday school or Hollywood, one of the two. And we have these little islands of knowledge, these little stories that we've heard of. We've heard of Noah, we've heard of, you know, the plagues on Egypt, we've heard of King David, and, you know, we've heard of David and Goliath. Things like these, but often they're just little islands. But the Bible was never intended to be understood as little stories. It is one story. And what we're doing in this series is we are working our way through what we now call the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, and we are seeking to see how these things connect together." [03:30] (55 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2) "Israel is to rest one day in seven. What does that mean they're not to work. What does it mean not to work? It's to be unproductive from an economic point of view. What does that mean to a society that is organized around agriculture and production? Well, giving up one 7th of your time, when you could be making sure that your crops are producing and so forth, means you have to rely on God, that in six days he will deliver you the productivity you need for seven. And then it reminds them that they are to be holy. The Sabbath is devoted to goddess. Their time is given over to him. They are separating themselves, as it were, from the normal to be in the holy." [19:53] (59 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3) "The old covenant was introduced by the blood of animals, the new by the blood of Jesus himself. In the old, there was the written law telling you how to be a follower of God. In the new, we receive the indwelling Holy spirit. And while the old was to be characterized by justice and generosity, the new by grace and sacrifice, Jesus said, it says in John, a new commandment, I give you that you love one another, just as I have, have loved you. The love in the new covenant is about sacrifice." [33:40] (61 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4) "You cannot be a holy nation on your own. We are called into a community. The world is to look at the church and see Christ. Yes, we are to reflect Christ in our individual lives. But it is in the church that God has decreed that we will be the blessing. You are to love one another. He's talking about within the church now. Actually, loving one another is not that easy. Right? It's almost as hard for me to love you as it is for you to love me. And we're to do so sacrificially." [35:51] (58 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5) "We have to resist the temptation to bring God down to fit our image. This was Israels almost fatal mistake, if you like. In the golden calf, they saw God upon the mountain. They heard God speak and they said were too frightened. Moses, you do it. We'd rather be back here. We'd rather go with what we know. And what did they know? Well, they were living in Egypt. What they knew was idols, idol worship." [37:09] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6) "We have to let go, I would say sometimes, not every Sunday, but we have to let go of this idea that we are in control. When God appears. When God appears and the Holy Spirit is doing his thing. What was it Rick said? Crazy stuff happens, wasn't it? Crazy stuff happens. Let us not be those who shrink back. Let us not be those who seek to make God in our own image, but let us be those who seek to be his image bearers in this world. To the blessing of all." [43:12] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)