EM Worship Service (9/30/18)

[Summary]
God delivered the people of Israel from Egypt and it was not mere deliverance. God's purpose was to make them a nation that serves God. So the salvation of Israel is not coming out of Egypt but it is becoming the people of God. In order for them to be, they need to know God and how to live. This is where the Leviticus comes. This book teaches about the sacrificial offerings and feasts, and through those the Israelites were able to keep their relationship with their Savior.
Leviticus 1 talks about the burnt offering. And we can think three things from this. One is that our salvation is not an one-time event but a continual relationship. God made this regulations about the burnt offering is not to receive the offering itself, not to be respected. Rather, God is teaching this in order for the sinners to be able to approach God. This is a huge thing. These regulations are not for God's own sake but for the sinner's sake. In fact, God did not want the meat sacrifices and smell in the first place. That's why God nullified through his precious son's blood. 
And secondly, our center of worship is God. The center of the sacrifices to the idols are the desires of those who give sacrifices. They give their offerings to their chosen god in order to receive what they wanted. To whom, with what, and how to give sacrifices are determined based on their desires. However, here God determines what would please holy God. 
Lastly, God wanted them to burn all of it, unlike other sacrifices. This is the shadow of what Christ would do to open the gate for the sinners to approach God. It was through complete death. So by burning all of it, they can know how holy God is and how serious our sins are. And based on this rules, Christ completely died. He burnt all of himself. And now God asks us to burn all of ourselves for God. 

[Announcements]
1. After service, we had a BBQ at Mr. Eugene's new house! Thank you for everyone coming!