Week 1 // Fall Festivals // Festival of Trumpets

1. INTRODUCTION

First virtual hangout: October 6, 2022 @ 8 PM EST

Make sure to engage in the private FB Group: Click Here to access.

Fall Festivals:

September 25-27: Festival of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah

October 4-5: Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement

October 9-16: Sukkot/ Festival of Tabernacles

2. SH’MA

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hebrew: Sh’ma yis’rael adonai eloheinu adonai echad. Baruch shem k’vod malchuto, l’olam va’ed. V’ahavta et adonai elohecha, b’chol l’vavcha, u’vchol nephshecha, u’vchol ma’odecha.

English: Hear Israel, The LORD* (YHWH) our God the LORD (YHWH) is one. Blessed be the name of His glorious Kingdom forever and ever. And love the LORD (YHWH) your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your strength.

*When LORD is spelled with all caps it means that in Hebrew it is referencing the name of God which is YHWH. We believe from sufficient scholarly research the best way to pronounce the name is Yahweh. Many Jews and some Christians have refrained from using the name at all so as to not misuse the name (Exodus 20:7). If you don’t feel comfortable pronouncing the name YHWH, we say Adonai (Lord) to replace it in Hebrew. Many also call YHWH “HaShem” which means “The Name.” 

3. CANDLE LIGHTING

Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Candle Blessing – ALL: “Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who sanctified us in his commandments, and commanded us to be a light to the nations, and who gave to us Jesus our Messiah, Light of the World.”

Let’s pray together: LORD we pray that the lights we now kindle will inspire us to use our lives to heal, and not to harm. To help, and not to hinder. To bless, and not to curse. We ask that You would free us from the selfishness and bitterness that keep us from loving you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Release us from the pride that keeps us from loving our neighbors as ourselves. As we walk into this world as the light of the world, we ask that you would guide our footsteps, protect us from the enemy, and that we would use your light to share your lovingkindness, with the world! Amen.

4. EXAMEN 

About this practice: The examen was started by St. Ignatius who was a Spanish Priest who lived in the 16th century and who founded the Jesuit order. According to Ignatian Spirituality, “St. Ignatius thought that the Examen was a gift that came directly from God, and that God wanted it to be shared as widely as possible. One of the few rules of prayer that Ignatius made for the Jesuit order was the requirement that Jesuits practice the Examen twice daily—at noon and at the end of the day. It’s a habit that Jesuits, and many other Christians, practice to this day.”

Take a few moments to get comfortable and become attentive to God’s presence.

● Reflect on things you’re grateful for today.

● Pay attention to some of the emotions you’ve felt throughout the last 24 hours.

● Take one thing from the past day and pray about it. It’s okay if you don’t know what to pray. Feel free to just spend this time reflecting.

● Take a moment to think about the rest of this day or tomorrow. Is there something you need to give to God to handle? Or is there an area when you’ll need to be more reliant upon the Holy Spirit for guidance?

5. WORSHIp SONG 

VERSE 1
Do what only You can do
With one word, the mountains move
When You breathe, the dead arise
And the bones come back to life
There is power in this room

CHORUS
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there’s life
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there’s freedom
Like a river running wild
Like a never ending fire
Where the spirit of the Lord is

VERSE 2
It’s Your name that tears downs walls
And every enemy will fall
So we will stand and we will fight
That every wrong would be made right
There is power in this room

BRIDGE
You’re moving through our cities
Your spirit fills our streets
We’re shouting to the nations
Your love has set us free!

Dustin Smith, Chris Kuti, Dameon Aranda, Kyle O’Neal
“Where The Spirit Of The Lord Is”
Music From: life.Church worship ©2019

6. LECTIO DIVINA 

Practice On Your Own: Lectio Divina is a monastic practice of meditating and praying through Scripture. This practice also helps us to memorize and internalize Scripture. Here’s how it works: You’ll take the verses below and read through them four separate times (For Psalm 98, just read through once. If you’d like to read through 4 times, then please do!). Each time you’ll respond to one of the questions and we encourage you to write down your thoughts in your journal. Once you’re done, you can return to the video.

“Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
The LORD has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn —
shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.”
-Psalm 98

1. What words speak out to you?

2. What phrases speak out to you?

3. Say a 1-2 sentence prayer based on the verses.

4. Take a moment to reflect and be still.

7. LORD’S PRAYER 

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the Kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory forever.
Amen!”

The Lord’s prayer can be found in Matthew 6:9-13 except for the final line. You can learn more about that final line in this article here.

8. HOMILy 

When was the last time you got really loud? What were you doing? What is the goal or purpose of us being loud?

What we’ll be asking today:

1. What did this look like for the ancient Israelites?

2. What does/did this mean for Jesus as the Messiah?

3. What does this have to do with us 3,000 years later?

 About Rosh Hashanah

Here’s a great article that discusses how this became the new year if you want to dive further.

Background on Leviticus

1. Leviticus is the 3rd and central book in what we call the Torah, which consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

2. In Hebrew, the book is actually titled Vayikra which is the first word of the book and means “Then He Called” which is in reference to Yahweh calling Moses to provide the Israelites with instructions on how to live.

3. Leviticus was written to give laws and ordinances to the people living in the wilderness after the Exodus and what they were commanded to observe as they entered the promised land. As we’ll come to find out, some of these laws were specific to their time and place while some have timeless truths.

4. The laws and ordinances in Leviticus do bear similarities to other ancient Near Eastern cultures, but there are also many ways in which YHWH sets Israel apart. This setting apart in Hebrew is called Kadosh – which means holy. Israel was to be holy and set apart from the world because they were to reflect their God who was also holy. 

Together: Leviticus 23:23-25

“The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the LORD.’”  

Question 1: What did this look like for the ancient Israelites?

Numbers 29:1-6

Nehemiah 8:1

“When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate.”

A (Very Short) Timeline Of Exile

• ca 970-1035 BCE: Reign of David
• ca 930 BCE: Kingdom splits into North (Israel) and South (Judah).
• ca 722 BCE: Northern Kingdom (Israel) Exiled by Assyria
• ca 586 BCE: First Temple destroyed, Southern Kingdom (Judah) exiled by babylon.
• ca 538 BCE Judah Returns (Nehemiah/Ezra)

Nehemiah 8:9-10

“This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Question 2: What does/did this look like for Jesus as the Messiah?

Scriptures On The Messiah’s Return With Trumpet Blasts

Isaiah 27:13; Zechariah 9:14; Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 11:15

Question 3: What does this have to do with us today?

We can celebrate by eating apples with honey as we hope for a sweet and fruitful New Year.

We can celebrate by blowing shofars or making noise. A better way of understanding this is giving loud shouts of praise to the LORD. And it’s a day to take off our normal work and use this day as a Sabbath.

We can celebrate by providing a nice meal for someone else in need or even giving out door dash gift cards. Remind people that God loves them and this is your way of showing that love.

The Festival of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)

1. Is a reminder of the ultimate Sabbath that we will one day get to experience with God and the hope of a new and restored life.

2. We get to celebrate in a joyful way and remember the ways in which God has been faithful to us.

3. We are called to be the good neighbor.

Sometimes the best way to bring Heaven to earth is to provide a meal for someone who is in need.

9. COMMUNION 

You will need the elements at this point if you’re wanting to participate. Please know you do not have to participate if you would rather not. Click here to learn more about communion.

Why do we take communion every week? Because it’s a reminder of what Jesus accomplished for us both on the Cross and in the Resurrection: Forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to our Creator, and new life in the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 11:27-29: “So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.”

Click here to view the different views on communion.

We do not take communion lightly. We do believe that Jesus actually meets us here in this sharing of the bread and cup. Please make sure to take time and answer the questions below before participating.

Scriptures To Consider:

Isaiah 53:4-5
Acts 2:42-47
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Mark 14:22-26
Luke 22:14-20
John 6:52-58 (See article here for more insight)
1 John 1:8-9

10. BLESSING

Blessing (Numbers 6:22-27 + Justin’s Addition): May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you peace. And may you always remember, no matter how dark it gets, Jesus will always be with you. No matter what, Jesus will always be there by your side.

Blessing The Apples & Honey: “Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the tree. May it be your will, Lord our God, that this be a fruitful and sweet year for us. Amen.” 

Want To Get Involved?

Thank you so much for being a part this week! If you’d like to help us out, here’s what was need: 

1. We’re in need of people who love worshipping and can record worship music. Or have their own music already recorded that they would be willing to let us use in these sessions.

2. We’d love for you to lead some of the sections (For example, you would film yourself using your phone blessing and lighting the candle, or saying the Lord’s prayer. And we’re open to other spiritual practices that help you grow with Jesus).

3. If you know how to edit videos, use WordPress sites, and/or love social media and would like to help out, please reach out!

You can email us at [email protected] or use the form on the website here.

Scriptures Used In This Session

2. Sh’ma: Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

3. Candle: Matthew 5:14-16

5. Worship Music
Verse 1: Matthew 17:20; Mark 11:23; Matthew 21:21; Luke 17:6; Mark 11:22; Ezekiel 37; Psalm 104:29-30; John 11:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:52; Revelation 11:11; Acts 2
Verse 2: Joshua 6; Ezekiel 13:14; Deuteronomy 16:20; Hosea 12:6; Psalm 106:3; Proverbs 21:15; Amos 5:24; Isaiah 1:17, 30:18-19; Micah 6:8; Isaiah 61:8-9
Chorus: 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 4:10-14, 7:38
Bridge: Acts 1:8; Psalm 47; Jeremiah 31:7; Psalm 67:4, 68:32;  96:10-13; 100:1-2

6. Lectio Divina: Psalm 98

7. Lord’s Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13

8. Homily
Trumpets: Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6; Nehemiah 8
Concerning The Messiah & Trumpets: Isaiah 27:13; Zechariah 9:14; Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 11:15
Resurrection: Psalm 22:29-31; Isaiah 25:8, 26:19; Hosea 13:14; Ephesians 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15
Eternal Sabbath: Isaiah 25:7-9, 35:10, 51:11; 65:19; Revelation 7:17; 14:13

9. Communion
New Life: Isaiah 65:17-25; Revelation 21:4-5; 2 Cor. 5:17
Freedom: John 8:31-36; Galatians 5:1;13
Holy Spirit: John 14:15-27
Fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:13-26
Taking Communion Wisely: 1 Corinthians 11:27-32
Bread of Life: John 6; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 5:7;
Cup of Redemption: Isaiah 42:6; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Zechariah 9

10. Blessing: Numbers 6:22-27

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