Message Notes
Celebrate Church
Today's Songs:
Joy - Rend Collective
The Joy of Our Salvation - The Way Worship (listen)
How Can I Keep From Singing - Tomlin
Resurrecting - Elevation
Nothing Is Holding Me Back - Brian and Katie Torwalt
Remember, you can find all the songs from this week and previous weeks in a publicly shared, accumulating playlist on Google Play and in weekly playlists on YouTube (like this one).
Summary: The Christian life ought to be a life of celebration, of jubilation, of exultation, even exhilaration.
Key Scripture (Ezra 6:13-22):
The Temple Finished and Dedicated
13 Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. 14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia; 15 and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
16 And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.
Passover Celebrated
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. 20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
By the decree of God, the people finish rebuilding the Temple and they celebrate. They dedicate the Temple, install the priesthood, and then conduct the Passover. It is a time of great celebration.
We ought to celebrate the Work of God.
Key Scripture (Zechariah 8:14-15): 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.
It is God who sent Israel into exile. It is God who stirred the heart of Cyrus to return the people. It is God who dispatched Haggai and Zechariah to prophesy and stir the people to action.
Important Takeaway: God works corporately, but He also works in the lives of individuals.
We ought to celebrate the Word of God.
Key Scripture (Psalm 119:111): 111
Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
The preaching of the Word of God through Haggai and Zechariah is what prompted the people to respond.
- God saves us through the Word of God (Romans 10).
- God guides us through the Word of God (Psalm 119:105).
- God calls us to act through the Word of God (James 1:22)
We ought to celebrate the People of God.
Key Scripture (Isaiah 44:23): 23
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified[a] in Israel.
Together, Israel celebrated what God had done.
- They installed the organization God had granted them.
- They celebrated growth as they added to their numbers as people from the land took the Passover and separated themselves from the uncleanness of the land.
Important Takeaway: We ought to celebrate the church structure God has given us. We ought to celebrate Church growth.
We ought to celebrate the Lamb of God.
Key Scripture (Ezra 6:21-22): 21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
