Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement – October 6, 2019

“…he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (see Hebrews 9:26-28)

We do not want our sins and failures near us. We want them to go far away. We want the consequences of what we do, individually and collectively, to be removed. Sometimes we project them onto others; sometimes we allow others to bear our burdens for us.

Wednesday, October 9th, 2019. Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. In an ancient ritual, the life of a goat was taken to symbolically atone for the sins of Israel. Another goat – a scapegoat – was sent out into the wilderness, to symbolically remove peoples’ sins.

This is in the background when we observe the Sacrament of Communion. But beyond the blood of bulls and goats, as the writer of Hebrews tells us, the sacrifice of Christ carries our sins far away, and once for all.

What does it mean for us who follow Christ in the midst of a “scapegoating” culture, that he fulfilled the sacrifice, the atonement?

NEXT THREE SUNDAYS

• October 6 – YOM KIPPUR; Hebrews 9
• October 13 – GRATITUDE; Chris Fulkerson preaching
• October 20 – SURPRISE

YOUNG CHURCH

• Big Kids
• Godly Play: CREATION; Genesis 1-2:3