Calvary Chapel Ellicott City | Midweek

We've all heard this one before: “It's my life and I'll do what I want.” We like to think we've got everything under control, but the truth is, when we're left to our own devices, our lives can get messy. The good news is, Jesus offers us something so much better. As our Lord and Savior, He cares for us better than we ever could on our own. Within our message today, Pastor Dan is diving into what it really means to let Jesus take the lead, and why surrendering to Him is the best decision we'll ever make.

Do you ever wish you could just hit the reset button on life and start all over? The year of Jubilee was exactly that for ancient Israel: a fresh start where debts were erased, and people got a second chance every 50 years. Sounds great, right? What's even better is that through Jesus, you're offered that same kind of fresh start, no matter what's in your past, and you don't have to wait 50 years for it! Today, Pastor Dan's going to share how God's grace gives you the ultimate do-over, and why that's such good news.

What does real freedom look like? The Bible tells us that the only way to achieve total freedom is through Jesus. Just like the year of Jubilee brought freedom and rest in ancient Israel, Jesus brings us ultimate freedom from our own sin. He cancels the debt of our sin and breaks the grip it has on our lives. If you've ever felt stuck or weighed down, this is the message you need. Today, Pastor Dan is diving into how Jesus is like the Jubilee Year in the Old Testament. He brings hope and freedom.  

How do we really know we're making the right decisions? When making big decisions, it's easy to rely on our own understanding, experiences, or our gut instinct, but God calls us to rely on Him when making decisions. Scripture reminds us that true wisdom comes from seeking the Lord's direction in all things, and His Word promises to guide us when things feel unclear. Today, Pastor Dan will walk us through how to seek God's wisdom and let His Word show us the way in every decision we face.

What does it mean to keep our faith fresh? We can all admit there are times when we're just going through the motions, attending church or reading Scripture, without really being engaged. But the truth is, our relationship with Jesus should be fresh and renewed regularly, just like the showbread in the tabernacle was renewed weekly. A faith that's fresh changes how we live and how we serve the Lord. Today, Pastor Dan will share how we can keep our walk with Jesus fresh and strong.

Sin has to be dealt with to enjoy the fullness of life God intends for you. You have to deal with the reality of your separation from God because of your sin before you can enjoy eternal life. As you look at the Feast of Tabernacles today with Pastor Dan, you'll get to see what follows when you give your life to Christ. You get to celebrate! The Israelites celebrated their atonement with the Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament, similar to how you can celebrate your forgiveness through faith in Jesus today!

It's a heavy issue to deal with your sin. It brings guilt and condemnation. Without forgiveness, it leads eventually to eternal separation from God. Today, Pastor Dan will encourage you to remember what comes after you turn to Jesus for forgiveness of your sins. It's joy. It's eternal life. It's a time to celebrate! The Israelites had the Feast of Tabernacles to remember God's goodness and grace in bringing them out of slavery and into the promised land! Today, it's celebrating what Christ did for you on the cross!

God's love and forgiveness are reasons to celebrate! It's a reason to have joy in your heart! It was the last feast in Leviticus, and it followed the feast of Atonement. Pastor Dan will explain in today's message that the Feast of Atonement was to deal with the sins of Israel, just like Jesus' sacrifice dealt with the sins of the world. Both led to forgiveness and atonement of sins. After that, you're free from the bondage of sin! You don't have to carry that regret in your heart! You have eternity in Heaven to look forward to!

God loves His people. You can see Him bless Israel greatly in the Old Testament when they were faithful to follow His commandments. Even when they sinned, they had a way to be forgiven through sacrifice. Today, Pastor Dan is going to show you how God's love hasn't changed. He gives His people plenty of time to repent of their sins and turn from them. He sent Jesus to make a way to be forgiven today. When the tribulation comes, it will be a time of mourning over sin for Israel, but it's so they can turn to Jesus.

The tribulation is going to be a difficult time for Israel. The faithful in Christ will be separated from those who aren't. The sheep line and the goat line will be formed. One is bound for eternity in Heaven, and the other for Hell. Today, Pastor Dan is going to tell you about the similarities between the day of atonement in Leviticus and the tribulation period that is to come. The Feast of Atonement was the only one that wasn't a joyous celebration. It was serious and dealt with Israel's sin, just like the tribulation will.

Jesus was the final atoning sacrifice for your sins. He lived a perfect life, which the lamb without blemish symbolized in the feasts in Leviticus. The scapegoats on the day of atonement were meant to take the sins of Israel away so they could be forgotten forever. Today, Pastor Dan is going to connect the Old Testament scapegoats to Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus took all your sin on Himself when He was sacrificed on the cross, and it's forgiven forever. He was the perfect sacrifice in your place.

The trumpet sound in the end times is when the church age ends. It's when the believers in Christ will be raptured up to receive their new heavenly bodies. They'll get to see the home Jesus prepared for them in Heaven, where they'll get to spend eternity worshipping and praising God. As you'll get to see today with Pastor Dan, that day could be today. It could be tomorrow. It was pointed to all the way back in Leviticus with the Feast of Trumpets. What's important is that you're ready for that day to come.

Some day soon, Jesus will come back and take all the believers with Him to Heaven. It will be the end of the church age. Sounding of trumpets will signify when it happens, and it's referred to all the way back in Leviticus with the Feast of Trumpets. As you look at the ancient feasts today with Pastor Dan, he's going to show you how they all pointed to events in the future that you can read in the New Testament. Some point to events during Jesus' life, and some point to events after, all to give glory to God.

Jesus came to fulfill the law of the Old Testament. He was what the feasts pointed to. As you look at the celebratory feasts in Leviticus today with Pastor Dan, you'll get to see how they weren't just meant for the Israelites in that time. They're for you today. You can see how they worked together to symbolize the life and crucifixion of Jesus, the church age, and Jesus' second coming. All the books of the Bible work together to tell the individual stories throughout and to tell the overarching story of Jesus.

The celebratory feasts in Leviticus might seem at first that they're just times of remembrance for what God had done. They were the times to give thanks back to Him, too. Today, you'll get to explore the other meanings of those feasts with Pastor Dan. They mean so much more when you look to the New Testament, too. The traditional feasts point to the church and to Jesus. They symbolize Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and second coming. The books of the Bible work together to point to Jesus. 

The feast of passover in Leviticus was to remember the time when all the Israelites, with the blood of a spotless lamb on their doorpost, were passed over by the angel of death. Through the blood sacrifice of a perfect lamb, they were safe. They were saved. Today, you'll get to see the parallels of that day with Jesus Christ. Pastor Dan will show you that the feast celebrating the Passover points to Jesus in the New Testament. He was perfect and without sin, so He could be the final sacrifice for you.

God's Word works together in its entirety from the Old to the New Testament to tell of mankind's history and hope for salvation. It all points to Jesus Christ. Today, Pastor Dan will explain how the feasts the Israelites celebrated in Leviticus are part of that picture. Back then, they were to celebrate what God had done for them and to remind the people of God's goodness. Now, you can see how they point to Jesus and His sacrifice, the first church, and to the day He finally returns to earth in His second coming.

Anyone who thinks they've attained a sinless, perfect life in this world has deceived themselves. Likely, they've allowed the sin of pride to take over their hearts. It simply isn't possible in this broken world where we're surrounded by temptation and our own hearts are still being transformed by the Holy Spirit. As Pastor Dan will remind us in today's message, while we can't be perfect and avoid sin completely, we also aren't okay with sin. We're covered by the blood of Christ, and our lives should reflect that.

Sin is so destructive. It perverts the blessings God has given us for our enjoyment and His glory. Just as the prodigal son took his father's inheritance early and wasted it on temporary pleasure, we can do the same with the blessings our Heavenly Father gives us. As Pastor Dan will point out in today's message, we can't live in sin and live with God. The two are completely incompatible. The good news is that God is eagerly waiting to welcome us home and clean us up.

Jesus seemed to prioritize spending time with those in the margins of society. He hung out with fraudulent tax collectors, talked with prostitutes and adulterers, and He touched and healed lepers and the unclean. Many of His harshest moments of rebuke came when He encountered the religious elites and leaders. As Pastor Dan will clarify in today's message, the purpose of this wasn't to show acceptance for their sin, but to meet their need for repentance and salvation.

The Bible never refers to any sexual orientation as an identity in Scripture. Our identity should not be based in heterosexuality or homosexuality, but in our Imago Dei – which means the image of God in us. He created us, and His design should be the basis for who we are. A part of that design is our sexuality, and that part needs to be submitted to Him. As Pastor Dan will warn in today's message, when we make this behavior the center of identity, it's making it an idol and rejecting our Creator's authority. 

As Pastor Dan continues our study of the book of Leviticus, we'll encounter a law that seems especially harsh in our day and age. Anyone who cursed their father or mother was to be put to death. For many of us, we may think back to when we were young and realize we wouldn't have lived long if this law were still applicable. This law was effective in that it was rarely executed. The men of the community were involved and promoted respect between children and their parents. 

Sin is not something we can just ignore. While we may not be held to all the rules we read in Leviticus, today's passage will give us a clear idea of how God looks at sin and those who ignore it in their own lives and in their community. Thanks to Jesus, we've been given grace and can be made righteous in God's sight, but that doesn't mean sin can be allowed to remain in our hearts. As Pastor Dan will remind us in today's message, sin only brings destruction, and we need to deal with it swiftly and firmly.

Some of the rules we find in Scripture seem very strange in our culture. All these rules can seem outdated and like God was just being nitpicky. Many were specific to the culture that God wanted to implement for Israel, but they had a deeper purpose that teaches us about His character. As Pastor Dan will point out in today's message, God wanted to set Israel apart. Not so they could garner attention for themselves, but so they could stand out in a way that would draw the world's attention to Him.

We've turned into a culture of consumers and spectators. As Pastor Dan will point out in today's message, there are countless videos out on social media where people are experiencing an emergency of some sort, and instead of helping, you see bystanders just watching or even taking videos on their phones. It's a sad state of things. We're called to participate in the work of God's redemption. Sometimes this will look like stepping into a situation and trying to help, even if it costs you. 

This is such a common struggle… so many of us allow our lives to get busy to the point where God starts to take second place. As Pastor Dan will warn in today's message, the Gospel can't properly take root in our lives if our other priorities choke it out. We have to choose to put Jesus first. This is a minute-by-minute, day-by-day commitment. You'll mess up and miss the mark at times, losing sight of the mission, but don't let that keep you from re-centering through times of prayer, study, and rest in Him.

We tend to put sins into categories, considering one sin to be much worse than another. In the Church, homosexual sin has often been classified as significantly worse than heterosexual sin. This is inaccurate according to Scripture. God designed us, and He designed us as sexual beings. He also created and ordained marriage as a covenant that honors Him. As Pastor Dan will warn in today's message, when we compromise on God's design in any way, it's sin and requires atonement.

In today's message, Pastor Dan will examine the rules laid out in Leviticus concerning multiple forms of sexual sin. This can be a very personal and controversial issue. People have attached much of their identity to this aspect of their lives. It's become an idol for many, and their urges and feelings have been given a position of authority they shouldn't have. God is the authority, but He won't force anyone into obedience, and we can expect to experience the consequences when we choose to serve self.

In our culture, we don't particularly like being told what we should or shouldn't do. America was founded on the idea of popular sovereignty – meaning that the people, not the president, king, or governing body, are the ones who hold the real power. This is a great concept when it comes to human government, but as Pastor Dan reminds us in today's message, in God's Kingdom, we're subject to a greater authority, and we need to submit to Him to experience His blessing.

Jesus' life and teachings are a wonderful gift that offers us a model for our own lives, as well as demonstrating who He is and fulfilling prophecy. But as Pastor Dan will clarify in today's message, Jesus' miracles, teachings, and life are not what save us. It was His death on the cross – a perfect sacrifice, where all the sins of the world were atoned for by His blood. Without this sacrifice, the debt has not been paid, and we can't be made righteous in God's sight, leaving us hopeless for eternity.

We like to do things our way when we think it's an option. If you look at the history of religion, this becomes more and more clear. The big ones are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, but how many countless branches, denominations, or sects can you think of? Not to mention innumerable cults and smaller religious movements. As Pastor Dan will point out in today's message, God gave very specific laws that all point back to Him – He's in charge – we don't get to just do our own thing.

Many believers, pastors included, would prefer to just skip over Leviticus. What applies to us today, and what only falls under the old covenant? Why did God require these things? These are some of the questions that may pop up as you study this book. The old Law was so complex, and what did they get for it? They just had to go through the same rituals over and over. As Pastor Dan will remind us today, we have it so good because of Jesus, who has given us access to God and righteousness in His sight.

As we've studied the book of Leviticus with Pastor Dan, there have been a few things that've been abundantly clear – God has high expectations of His people, we're incapable of living up to them, and the old covenant was extremely nuanced and complex. Only a few people were allowed to commune directly with God, and only after performing specific rituals. The consequences were dire if they failed. Because of Jesus, every human being has access to God. His perfect sacrifice has torn down all of those barriers.

We often think the best way to convert someone to Christianity is to give them all the proof of Jesus and explain to them all of the theology of sin and Jesus' death and resurrection. However, the most powerful proof of the existence of Jesus is a changed life. Pastor Dan will encourage you in his message today to share with others how Jesus changed your life. How have you been transformed? What difference has Jesus made in your life? That is the most compelling proof of Jesus that cannot be denied.

Why is Good Friday good? It's good because of the resurrection. The gospel, the good news, is good because Jesus rose again. If Jesus stayed dead, it wouldn't be good news. Today, Pastor Dan will proclaim in his message that the resurrection of Jesus is what all of your faith hangs on. Without it, you have no hope. You would be dead in your sins, but because of the empty tomb, you can be made new. You can be transformed from death to life–transformed into a new creation that is alive to proclaim the good news.

Some people try to poke holes in the account of Jesus's resurrection. They say that the disciples only thought they saw Jesus alive again or that they made it up. The problem with those accusations is how close and personal their interactions with Jesus were and that so many people saw Him. Today, Pastor Dan will reassure you of how trustworthy the biblical accounts are. Many of Jesus's followers were put to death for what they believed. They wouldn't have done that if they had made it up.

When we listen to the Easter account every year, sometimes it's hard to truly engage with new ears, isn't it? We think, “We've heard this before.” Going to church on Easter has become a tradition, and we're just going through the motions. In his message today, Pastor Dan will encourage you to let your mind and heart be impacted by the message of Easter. Jesus didn't just die for sin in a general sense. He died for you, and He rose from the grave. That's incredible! Don't let it become ordinary.

Faith is important, but we often think people need to accept Jesus on blind faith. That's not true, though. There are compelling historical truths supporting our belief in Jesus and that He lived, died, and was resurrected from the grave. You don't have to throw logical thinking out the door to believe in Jesus. Pastor Dan will encourage you today to put your faith in Jesus. It's not blind faith, but since you didn't see Jesus come back to life 2000 years ago, there is a step of reasonable faith involved.

That's such an important question. Where do we find peace? It's something we desire greatly, even if we can't articulate it. Some try to find peace through worldly meditation. Others self-medicate to get some peace from inner demons, but things of the world won't bring us real and everlasting peace. Today, Pastor Dan will urge you in his message to seek peace from Jesus. Jesus defeated death and the grave to bring you life and peace. You can cast all your cares on Him and let Him be your peace.

What would happen if a man with the keys was locked in a prison cell? Well, he's going to just use the keys to get out. That's what it was like when Jesus was crucified and locked into a tomb. He is the Author of Life. He held the keys to death all along, so of course, He was going to come back to life! Pastor Dan will share with you today insight into the identity of Jesus. Jesus is eternal and brought the world into existence. He can't be held down by death. Rejoice today in the awesome power of your Savior!

An alternate world in which Jesus died on the cross but didn't rise from the grave is a pretty hopeless world. Praise God that we don't live in that world. We know that Jesus rose from the grave. He is our Living Hope! Today, Pastor Dan will encourage you with his message about the awesome truth of the resurrection. Have you ever felt hopeless? Maybe you've gone through sickness or some other kind of pain in life. Jesus's resurrection means you don't have to live in that hopeless place.

In the old covenant, the people of God had to come to Him with their sacrifices to a place that was set apart and holy. Even then, only a select few could actually approach God. It was complex but incomplete. The sacrifices made weren't perfect and they really only symbolized the atonement that God had promised to bring. As Pastor Dan continues our study in Leviticus today, we'll be reminded that in the new covenant, we are made holy, and the sacrifice of Jesus completely covers our sin.

The woman with a permanent issue of blood who touched Jesus's garment was breaking the rules, and according to today's passage in Leviticus, she should have made Him unclean. It was quite a risk. She had also likely touched numerous people as she approached Him. But she believed it was worth the risk, and He rewarded her faith. As Pastor Dan will point out today, that's the amazing thing about Jesus – He is the fulfillment of every law, and when we trust in Him, He makes us clean.

Nothing is hidden from God's sight. He's not limited by time or location – He's everywhere, all of the time.  We don't see Him or hear Him, so we tend to ignore His presence. Because of this, we allow ourselves to be deceived into thinking that no one sees the sins we commit in secret. As Pastor Dan will remind us in today's message, God sees all of it. He even sees our hearts and the sins that are below the surface. It breaks His heart and dishonors Him, all while destroying you from the inside out. 

Sin is not something to take lightly. We tend to categorize sin into various levels. A white lie, for instance, may be easily forgiven if it was made with good intentions, while adultery or theft are considered much more serious. Some sins do cause more harm to others, but all sin leads to destruction and dishonors God. As Pastor Dan will challenge us today, we need to flee from sin and when we catch a glimpse of it in our own families, we need to deal with it graciously but quickly. 

Sin comes in many forms, but ultimately it comes down to the attitude of your heart towards God. When you focus your life on serving yourself, your heart is pointed away from your Creator, leading to a life full of sinful actions. As Pastor Dan will explain in today's message, the Levitical system outlines the need for a sacrifice to atone for our wrongdoing. The animal sacrifices were not enough though, only Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was capable of atoning for the sin of all of us. 

If Jesus fulfilled the Law, do we really need to worry about entire books of the Bible that are almost exclusively dedicated to it? As Pastor Dan continues our study of the book of Leviticus in today's message, we'll be reminded of the importance of studying these rules and rituals. Not only do they highlight our incompetence as sinful humans, desperately in need of a Savior, but they offer beautiful symbols of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross and the way that He cleanses us of unrighteousness.

As Pastor Dan will remind us in today's message, leprosy in the time of Leviticus was a death sentence. Not only was it incurable, eventually leading to a slow, uncomfortable death, it caused instant death to your social life.  You were kicked out of your community and prohibited from contact with the clean. This is what sin does to your soul. It's an eternal death sentence and it isolates you while it destroys every part of your inner being. But Jesus wants to touch you and make you clean for eternity.  

Sin is inescapable in this broken world. Jesus offers salvation and redemption for those who trust in Him, but as long as we walk in these earthly bodies, we'll be burdened by the consequences of sin and its entanglement. As Pastor Dan points out in today's message, we can experience joy and hope in the life that Jesus provides, but we can't expect sin to completely go away until the day He makes all things new. One day, He'll restore things to the way the Creator intended them to be.

Leviticus is complex. The rules we find here can be confusing. Today's chapter is focused on dealing with lesions on the skin. It fell to the priests to determine whether it was just a surface-level issue or a deeper issue of leprosy. Many would assume God's guidance on this matter was for the sake of protecting the community from contagious disease – which is a good byproduct of these rules - but as Pastor Dan clarifies in today's message, the primary focus was on their relationship with God.

Sometimes the pastorate can appear glamourous. You get to be in the spotlight, up on stage with everyone listening to you and your vote seems to count for more than the average churchgoer. There are some pastors who take advantage of this and bask in the limelight, but for many, it's a different story. As Pastor Dan will point out in today's message, many of those pastors you see up on stage are likely to be found clearing a clogged toilet or vacuuming up a mess in the foyer when the congregation clears out.