Weekly Teaching
Reflection
September 20th Reflection
The Cost of Nearness explores Leviticus 1–7 as God's invitation to a newly liberated people to learn how to live in his presence. Rather than beginning with judgment, Leviticus begins with an invitation to draw near. The five offerings teach Israel practices of gratitude, generosity, fellowship, confession, restitution, and restoration. The sacrifices were not simply religious rituals; they were forming people who learned to notice what matters and to live differently with God and one another. For followers of Jesus, this story moves toward the God who comes near in Jesus and the invitation for our own lives to become a “living sacrifice.” We aren't simply invited to come closer to God; we are being formed into the kind of people through whom God comes close to the world.
Discussion Questions
What was something from the teaching that surprised you, challenged you, or gave you a different way of seeing Leviticus?
Israel had been liberated from slavery, but they still had to learn how to live as a people. Where do you see that same process happening in your own life; being freed from something while still learning a new way to live?
Not every sacrifice was about sin. The first three offerings involved gratitude, joy, abundance, peace, and fellowship. How does that expand or change the way you think about worship and our relationship with God?
The fellowship offering became a meal shared with others. Why do you think God so often uses meals and tables as places where people experience belonging and relationship? How does this connect with Communion at Restoration?
“We can't separate being right with God from how we treat our neighbor.” Why is this connection sometimes difficult for us? Is there a tendency to think of spirituality as primarily being “between me and God”? What would it look like to take this teaching more seriously?
“Rituals train us to notice what matters.” What are some practices in your life that have actually formed you? Practices that have not just taught you something, but changed the kind of person you are becoming? What are you currently practicing that may be forming you in ways you haven't noticed?
“Gratitude costs something.” What might it look like for gratitude to become more than a feeling or attitude? Is there something God has given you that you are being invited to offer back through generosity, time, attention, service, or relationship
The teaching ends by moving beyond, “Why did they have to kill all those animals?” to:
“What kind of people was God creating? And what kind of people is God still creating?”
What kind of person do you sense God is forming you to become? And where might God be inviting you to become someone through whom his presence comes near to others?
For Practice This Week:
Pay attention to what you're noticing.
Each day, ask: “God, what are you teaching me to notice?”
Then pay attention to one of these five things:
Gratitude: What have I received that I can give thanks for?
People: Who around me needs my attention?
Repair: Is there something I've broken that I need to make right?
Generosity: What do I have that I can share?
Presence: Where might God be inviting me to bring his presence into an ordinary moment?
The goal isn't simply to learn more about Leviticus. It's to let Leviticus teach us how to live.
____________________________
Leviticus Series Practice
Read Leviticus slowly and ask a different question.
As we move through this series, don't worry about understanding every rule or finding an immediate application for every passage. Instead, each week ask:
“What kind of people is God forming?”
Then take a few minutes to consider:
What does this passage reveal about the character of God?
What kind of community is God forming?
What kind of person would I become if I practiced what this passage teaches?
The goal isn't to conquer Leviticus or check it off our Bible-reading list. The goal is to “hear the music and learn to dance with it.”
Practice: Read the assigned Leviticus passage each week with curiosity rather than defensiveness. Write down one thing you notice about God, one thing you notice about God's people, and one way God might be inviting you to become more like Jesus.
____________________________