{ a call to celebrate }

Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

ROMANS 12:15 (NRSV)

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23 (NRSV)

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, and drink sweet wine, and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

NEHEMIAH 8:9-10 (NRSV)

On the second day the heads of ancestral houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to the scribe Ezra in order to study the words of the law. And they found it written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the people of Israel should live in booths during the festival of the seventh month…(The Festival of Booths – ending TODAY on theJewish calendar!)

NEHEMIAH 8:13-14 (NRSV)

…the seventh, and last festival on the biblical calendar, as recorded in Leviticus 23. Also known as Sukkot in Hebrew, God wanted the Israelites to observe this festival by living in temporary shelters for seven days as a reminder that when their ancestors were in the wilderness, God provided them booths to dwell in. It was a time of rejoicing…because (this was) when the harvest season was over; God had provided more than enough food for the people to survive. Now it was time to…thank him in worship!

THE FESTIVAL OF BOOTHS

And there was very great rejoicing. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, (Ezra) read from the book of the law of God. They kept the festival seven days; and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.

NEHEMIAH 8:17-18 (NRSV)

Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with rejoicing, with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. The companies of the singers gathered together from the circuit around Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal, and from the region of Geba, and Azmaveth; for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. And the priests, and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates and the wall.

NEHEMIAH 12:27-30 (NRSV)

And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader.They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women, and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

NEHEMIAH 12:42-43 (NRSV)

1. The FAITHFULNESS of God2. The SOVEREIGNTY of Jesus3. The EMPOWERMENT of the Spirit4. The HOPE we have in/through the Trinity

WHAT WE ARE CELEBRATING

{ a call to celebrate }

Pray, and ask God to show you:

- What do I have to celebrate?- What do we have to celebrate as a church family?- What do we have to celebrate as a city/state/nation?- What is hindering your ability/willingness to

genuinely celebrate, and thank God for?

SOUL TRAINING EXERCISE

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:to loose the chains of injustice, and untie the cords of the yoke,to set the oppressed free, and break every yoke?Is it not to share your food with the hungry, and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh, and blood?

ISAIAH 58:6-7 (NRSV)

{ a call to celebrate }