God Parties: Learning from Jewish Feasts and Festivals. Copyright 2014 by Jeff Myers

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2 God Parties: Learning from Jewish Feasts and Festivals Copyright 2014 by Jeff Myers Publisher: The Youth Cartel Managing Editor: Anne Marie Miller Copy Editor: Linda Noble Cover Design & Layout: Adam McLane Creative Director: Sammy Davis Junior All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTER- NATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. All rights reserved worldwide. ISBN-10: ISBN-13: The Youth Cartel, LLC Born in San Diego Printed in the U.S.A.

3 Contents Introduction 6 Lord, Save Us!... 8 The Saltine Conspiracy There s More Where That Came From No, Really They Aren t Drunk! Wake Up! Heavy Duty You Are Not Alone Week We Wish You a Merry Temple Dedication Tube-She-What? And the Winner of this Year s Miss Persia Contest Is 98 Enough is Enough Blessed To Be A Blessing Author s Note 127

4 Acknowledgements Thanks to Laura Webber, Jeff Bachman and Stephen Paulsen for lending your insights to make this project better. To my family and the youth group students who have shared these teaching experiences together, I m very grateful for you. About Jeff Myers Jeff Myers serves as the campus pastor of RockHarbor Fullerton. Prior to this he spent 20 years working with youth and young adults in churches and through the founding of ReGenesis Rising, a nonprofit ministry that serves young men and women who age out of the foster care system. Jeff, his wife Lisa, and their four kids live and celebrate God Parties in Orange County, California.

5 For Cesar and Liberty

6 Introduction Your Invitation to the Feasts A typical youth group, gathering twice a week, will meet around 600 times in the six years between junior high and high school. That adds up to a lot of lessons, small group discussions, and Scripture. Youth leaders are faced with the question, What in the Bible should I focus on, even repeat, so that students understand the big picture? One pathway to giving students a solid foundation is by exploring the question of why. Why do we celebrate what we celebrate, when we celebrate it? And why is it important to learn about the customs and celebrations (parties!) thrown in the days of old? God Parties answers these questions through journeying through the festivals rooted in the Jewish tradition. These festivals were cyclical components of worship and learning for the community. God Parties provides a simple curriculum that focuses on each festival and includes teachable insights into the history of each feast, its relationship to New Testament teaching, and the significance of Jesus. God Parties takes these big concepts and breaks them down into lessons that incorporate ancient traditions with relevant application for today s teens. God Parties helps students to better grasp the Hebraic backdrop of Jesus world by giving you enough historical background to make teaching these ancient truths possible without burying you in too much detail. These ancient rituals are multifaceted and there is much more to learn about them than what is here. There is still a lot of information contained in each lesson. Decide how to best tune the lessons to your group, and as they cycle around the next year, you can add or subtract, depending on what fits your student group best. Don t feel overwhelmed by the amount of information (and Hebrew!) in these pages. Take each festival one at a time. It s not about getting them all done, but spending time living in and through each one, letting them transform you, the leader, and your students. This is your invitation to celebrate the feasts on a yearly basis. Many of these experiences come from the same traditions Jesus knew as He celebrated the feasts. These lessons will reinforce key truths of the Christian faith while connecting students to their rich faith heritage. Students will enjoy these lessons because they bring together Old and New Testament teaching in ways that get them talking, eating, and experiencing their faith like never before. The lessons incorporate ancient practices and modern exercises designed to engage students in the learning process. Remember, most of these lessons are big parties. They are celebrations of who God is and what He does, designed for the church community to experience together. So have fun with

7 Your Invitation to the Feasts them. Use laughter, food, music, and confetti to break through stereotypes of church being stuffy or boring and point to the God who invented celebration. The goal for using this curriculum is to provide a tool for biblical understanding that leads to closeness with Jesus. It provides context and uses traditions and exercises meant to bring about this end. I do not mean to suggest that keeping the feasts will aid or add to what Jesus has already accomplished on the cross for salvation. It is my desire that you would use this study to introduce your students to the rich heritage of faith we are part of and that, over time, you would customize the practice of these traditions and rituals in a way that speaks to your context. Jeff Myers God Parties 7

8 The Saltine Conspiracy The Feast of Unleavened Bread Hag HaMatzah [Hog-Ha-MAHT-zah] Watch this Video The Big Picture Read Exodus 12:14-20 This study draws the connection between the extreme measures taken by Jewish families to rid their households of all leaven and the benefit of the same meticulous effort of identifying, confessing, and removing the sin from one s life. Leaven, like sin, grows and puffs up, and a little can have a big effect. The feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread are closely related yet distinct, even being referred to interchangeably in Scripture. While Passover commemorates the way God led the people out with the final plague on the firstborn, the Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrates the way the Israelites quickly shed the bondage of slavery and entered new life as a free nation. This practice is illustrated in the way the Israelites left Egypt so quickly that they didn t have time to wait for their bread to rise.

9 The Hebrew word for leaven is hametz, which literally means sour. Yeast or leaven is a natural organism that grows and reproduces in dough. A byproduct of this process is carbon dioxide gas that causes bread to rise. If even a tiny bit of leaven gets mixed in with a lump of dough, it will multiply and cause the whole loaf to rise. In Scripture, leaven is a symbol of sin and evil. Consider the parallel of searching the home for leaven with the act of meticulously hunting down the sin in one s life. How valuable this practice is for a Christian to honestly and carefully consider even the smallest sin in every corner of her life? The next step then is to identify and eradicate the sin. This is accomplished in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Only the blood of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit can deal with the sin in our lives, yet Scripture calls us to put to death the deeds of the flesh and live obedient and righteous lives in Christ (Romans 8:9-13; Colossians 3:5-10). As it says in Philippians 2:12-14, we are called to obedience and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and at the same time it is God who works in us to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. We are to cooperate with the cleansing work of God in our lives as He shapes us into the image of Christ. The goal in this lesson is for students grasp the importance of urgently leaving the old life of sin in order to fully live into the new relationship with Christ. Critical to this process is allowing the Holy Spirit to help them identify and begin to deal with the sin in their lives and to develop a practical understanding of confession and repentance. Learning Objectives Students will understand and experience the elements of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Students will understand the parallels between the search for leavened bread and our practices of confession and repentance. Students will understand the importance of urgently leaving the old life behind in order to fully live into new life in Christ. Students will make a search for sin in their individual lives as well as corporate sin in the youth group. Students will write a confession of sin and demonstrate repentance as they place a confession in the bag to be burned. God Parties 25

10 Leader Preparation Personal Preparation As the teacher, go through this lesson and its exercises first, asking God to speak into your own life. Reflect on the concept of the roots of sin. What sinful struggles are actually symptoms that indicate deeper sickness? Oftentimes, it s easy to focus on topics like gossip when gossip is actually a symptom of selfishness, insecurity, or refusing to love each other. Will you search the corners of your heart and life with the Word of God, asking the Holy Spirit to give illumination? The Christian life is not about sin management; the Christian life, like the Israelites leaving Egypt, is about rejecting every bit of an old life that was in bondage to sin. Celebrate the real freedom you now have in Christ from slavery to sin. That freedom is just as real as the freedom the Israelites felt when their literal chains came off during the exodus. You ll Need Candle and lighter Wooden spoon Feather Paper bag Table on which the candle, wooden spoon, feather, and paper bag are displayed Metal container in which to place items to be safely burned Hand-washing station Copies of paper with space for writing and an image of bread for each student Handouts with information provided about confession and repentance Prizes Copies of My Heart Christ s Home by Robert Munger for each student Handouts with reflection and discussion questions for each student Ten marble-sized pieces of bread hidden around the room Crackers or matzah bread for students to eat during your introductory remarks God Parties 26

11 References to the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Scripture Exodus 12:14-20; Exodus 13:3-9; Exodus 23:15; Exodus 34:18; Leviticus 23:6; Joshua 5:11; 2 Chronicles 30:13,21; Ezra 6:22; Matthew 26:17; Acts 12:3; Acts 20:6; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Focus Group Discussion Do you remember when you became a Christian? This may also be referred to as your spiritual birthday. If you re willing, share that experience with the group. Leader For some of us, the moment we became a Christian was a deeply emotional experience and a very real event. Oftentimes, the realities of daily life creep in and that memory and the excitement of a real commitment to Christ can tend to fade over time. The devil is waiting to take advantage of our fading. He schemes and calculates strategies he can use to minimize and destroy a new relationship with Jesus. There is a temptation to renounce our faith, whether because of weak commitment or the temptation of demonic forces. (See Matthew 13:18-23.) Sometimes, we are even tempted to blow off our commitment to God and go back to living in sin. What impact would it have on us if God told us to have a party every year to remember when we surrendered our lives to Jesus and He gave life to our souls? The Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of how quickly the Israelites left their slavery in Egypt. They were literally running away from their enemy and his bondage. This celebration can help us to remember what it means to leave our sinful lives behind and live in freedom. God Parties 27

12 Exploration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread 1. Introduction Do This Pass out crackers or matzah bread for students to eat. Explain that there is no leaven or yeast in the dough, which makes them crisp instead of soft like bread. Leader Today we are going to learn about the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This traditional feast has been practiced for thousands of years. Remember our Christian faith has roots that go deep into the history of the nation of Israel. God commanded the Israelites that on the day after Passover, they were to begin an observance of what is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days they could not eat any food containing leaven. This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do. Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. (Exodus 12:14-17) Every year during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, observant Jews clean their houses, wash their walls, scour their kitchens, and use special dishes, all in an extreme effort to entirely remove every single tiny speck of bread and leavened products from their houses. Why? When God instituted this feast, He commanded that no yeast should even be seen in their whole land (Exodus 13:7). We will take part in this practice and afterward, I will explain the significance. God Parties 28

13 2. Search for the Leaven Leader Search for 10 pieces of bread hidden around the room. When you find them, bring them to me. (Offer prizes to the finders, if you wish.) Students Do This Search for bread and bring the pieces back to the table where the candle, bag, wooden spoon, and feather are displayed. Leader You might be asking, What s the big deal about bread? Remember in the story of the exodus, on the morning after the Passover the Israelites had to leave Egypt so quickly that they didn t have time to let their bread dough rise (Exodus 12:33-34). It may seem strange, but similar to the ritual of Communion, this activity connects us to the ancient roots of our faith and to deep truth. In the Bible, leaven, or yeast, is a symbol of sin. The symbolism of this feast is the meticulous discovery and removal of sin from one s life. More specifically, the Israelites needed to hurry away from their lives of slavery to the Egyptians. When someone surrenders his life to Christ, he too, should have a sense of urgency in leaving a life of slavery to sin to draw near to Jesus. 3. The Candle, the Feather, the Wooden Spoon, and the Bag Do This Bring the pieces of bread that have been recovered to the table. Scoop the pieces of bread into the wooden spoon with the feather and place them in the bag. Leader In observant Jewish homes, this feast is taken so seriously that families practice a ritual of cleansing. The ritual involves thoroughly moving through the household to make absolutely certain every piece of food containing leaven is found, discarded, and even burned up. Walls are cleaned, carpets are cleaned, vacuum bags are thrown out, pockets are emptied, and the entire kitchen is thoroughly scrubbed. In fact, some trace the modern practice of spring-cleaning to this ritual. Then the night before the feast, the Search for Leaven, called bedikat chametz, is performed. During this time the mother hides several pieces of leavened bread around the home. The father lights a candle and then takes a feather and a wooden spoon to search for the bread. When he finds a piece of bread, he uses the feather to sweep the bread into the wooden spoon, then places it in a bag or linen pouch to be burned up the next morning. The purpose of this practice is to carefully examine the whole house and remove even the smallest bits of leaven. God Parties 29

14 Symbolically, the candle is the Word of God that shines a light on our sin revealing it for what it is. Psalm 119:105 says, Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. The feather represents the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh literally means holy wind ) who illuminates the Scriptures to us, convicts us of the sin in our lives, and transforms us from the inside. Some Messianic Jews (Jewish people who believe Jesus is the Messiah) recognize the wooden spoon as symbolic of the cross. The leaven, symbolizing sin, is then placed on the spoon (the cross) and done away with. Think about the parallel of yeast with sin in our lives. Just like a small bit of yeast leavens an entire loaf of bread (1 Corinthians 5:6), a small sinful choice can grow and quickly become a big problem. Left unchecked, a sinful thought will give birth to an action that grows into a habit; and before you know it, becomes a lifestyle ultimately resulting in death (James 1:15). Whether literal death, a life of suffering sin s consequences, or even death of a healthy conscience, sin destroys lives. Jesus said, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10). We cannot experience a new abundant life of freedom if we refuse to leave the bondage of the old, dead, sinful existence. This is why the Feast of Unleavened Bread is so relevant to Christians today. Corporately, sin that is present in the body of Christ, the Church, can also easily spread. Small sinful attitudes and actions can and will contaminate our lives and relationships. Furthermore, someone can look at the sin of another Christian and be influenced by a bad example. Jesus warns sternly in Matthew 18:6-9 against causing another to stumble. When we are slaves to a sin in our lives, we hinder our effectiveness in contributing to God s work in the world. In that case, we cannot offer our full potential to the Church. The result is the Church suffers. This lesson really shows us our need for what Jesus did by taking our sin to the cross and crucifying it there. Remember that everyone struggles with sin. In fact, struggling against it and not surrendering to it is a sign that the Holy Spirit is forming a person into the image of Jesus. You may have heard someone talk about making a decision to follow Jesus. Did you know the root of the word decide means to cut off? (See Hebrews 12:1-2.) Let s take a few moments to understand the meaning of confession and repentance because these are keys to cutting off the old life of sin in order to fully embrace our life in Christ. Confession Scripture instructs us to confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9) and to others (James 5:15-16). Note the context of these passages, which will shed light on the reason for this. To confess means to own or admit as true. Doing this with God and with trusted people brings God Parties 30

15 sin out into the light where healing can take place. Here are some principles to consider when entering a time of confession: God is holy (Isaiah 6:3-6). Therefore, making excuses, rationalizing (for example saying, I had a good reason to cheat ), or minimizing (saying, It wasn t that bad ) are empty arguments. When a person takes responsibility for a wrong attitude or action, real healing can take place. The next step is humbly declaring, I need the blood of Jesus to cover me, and the Holy Spirit to renew my mind and give me strength to overcome it. Since God already knows our struggles and our need for Him, confessing, or saying the same, aligns us with what God already knows to be true. Repentance To repent means to change your mind, turn, change direction, or turn from your sin. In one sense, repentance is confession in action. Like the Israelites hurrying away from their slavery in Egypt, repentance is actively turning away from our sin. It is common for a person to be aware of a struggle in her life and want to stop but not know how. The reality for Christians, according to Romans 6:1-18, is that sin s power over us is broken (see James 1:13-15). If this is true, what can be done about habitual sin? What help is available to me to help me leave the old life? It s a process to be sure. We need to use the resources available to us. God gives us these tools: The Purifying Holy Spirit Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Give the Holy Spirit free access to the secret parts of your life. Ask Him for victory in areas of bondage to sin. The Word of God Psalm 119:9-11 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Memorize Scripture relating to the struggle. Ask a leader to help you find verses that apply to your situation. Other Christians, The Body of Christ (the Church) Proverbs 27:17 As Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Galatians 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourself, or you may also be tempted. God Parties 31

16 We receive God s grace through people, and we also can extend it to others. Having a safe community in your life where you can be real is essential for growth. We all need people who will speak the truth to us in love and encourage us to be our best (Hebrews 10:24-25). Find a trusted leader and ask for help with this. Your Conscience The Holy Spirit living inside one s body affects the heart and mind. David showed why he was called the man after God s own heart when his conscience prompted this response to his sin: David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing. (2 Samuel 24:10) Paul, in Acts 24:16 says, So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. A healthy conscience is like a filter. It identifies those things that should not be in one s life. Do This Allow time for students to prayerfully join God in searching out the sin in their lives. Read one or more of the passages below to prompt this. Leader We are going to take some time to prayerfully join God in searching out the sin in our lives that is keeping us from the fullness of new life that He desires for us. We want to do this with the same intensity a Jewish family has as it searches for yeast in the home. Write down those things that come to mind on the paper provided. This is hard work but it is important for growth. The Bible says the heart is deceitful. So what we ask is that the Holy Spirit reveals our sin, rather than relying solely on self-examination. Our tendency is to hide our sin from God and others like Adam and Eve in the garden. Ask yourself, What do I do that I don t want anyone to know about? As I read three Scripture passages, allow these words to prompt your heart. Trust the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Think of this as a time of God s cleansing and healing, not as a time to let the enemy heap guilt on you. The reality is sin is destructive to us and to others, and it keeps us from the life God wants for us. We are all broken and need healing from one thing or another. So it is important to enter this time knowing we have a common need for Jesus and a common need for support and encouragement from each other. Psalm 51:1-4, 10 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and God Parties 32

17 done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 1 John 1:5-10 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 4. Burning of the Bag Do This Allow students to write their confessions on the papers provided and invite them to place them in the bag with the bread to be burned. Place the bag, feather, candle, and wooden spoon in the container with the papers, and light them on fire. Leader Deuteronomy 4:24 says, For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. God hates anything that will destroy us namely our sin. And His holiness consumes it like a fire. 5. Hand Washing Do This After students place their papers in the bag to be burned, give them the opportunity to wash their hands. Leader First Corinthians 10:1-2 speaks of the Israelites passing through the Red Sea as a type of baptism. Baptism is a symbolic cleansing. Hand washing reminds us of the reality of the spiritual cleansing that occurs when the Holy Spirit is present in one s life. We recognize that this is a difficult process. But asking God to forgive, cleanse, and set us free is exactly what He loves to do for His children. Ask God for continued healing. Reach out to leaders for accountability and support. God Parties 33

18 Application Do This Create a handout with the following questions. If possible, give students 15 minutes to write out their answers and then invite them to share their thoughts with the group. Questions for reflection and discussion 1. God instructed the Israelites to leave Egypt so quickly that there was no time for the leaven to rise in the bread dough made in their households daily. Describe how sin can grow like leaven in a person s life. Why is it so important to run from sin? 2. Have you ever heard a Christian say sin is sin, meaning there is no difference between a big sin and a small sin? In what way is this an accurate statement? In what way is it inaccurate? Read 1 John 1:5-10. Who is the apostle John addressing in this passage? You ll recognize verse 9 as a much-quoted verse. Keeping the audience in mind, what is this verse instructing us to do? Read 1 Corinthians 5. Is there sin present in your youth group that, if left alone, would potentially become destructive? If so, what actions will you take? Using the prompts below, talk about the difference between the symptoms of sin and the root sickness of sin. Why is it helpful to understand the difference? What is the root of sin? Like sneezing is a symptom of having a head cold, stealing, for example, is a symptom of sin, specifically not respecting another person s property. Symptom: Disobeying/disrespecting parents Sin: Rebellion; lack of trust like Adam and Eve didn t trust that God had their best interests in mind Symptom: Cheating Sin: Laziness; fear of failure; willingness to go too far to get what you want in life Symptom: Lust, pornography, sexual involvement outside of marriage Sin: Lack of self-control; not respecting the other person and using them for your own pleasure. Ultimately this reflects an attitude that reduces your value as a person and says, I m not worth respecting myself in this area. This denies your intrinsic value and who God says you are. God Parties 34

19 Symptom: Ignoring others needs Sin: Too busy to consider others; not trusting God to take care of you if you give to help someone else; too self-absorbed to get involved Symptom: Bullying Sin: Not valuing people Symptom: Getting drunk/using drugs Sin: Wanting to escape and not deal with the realities of life; rebelling against the law; ultimately adopting an attitude that reduces your value as a person and says. I m not worth taking care of myself. Denying your intrinsic value and who God says you are. Optional activities and discussion During the exodus, the Israelites exited Egypt and miraculously crossed the Red Sea. First Corinthians 10 refers to this moment as a type of baptism the whole nation experienced. Discuss baptism, slavery, freedom, new life, and leaving the old life of sin behind in light of the Feast of Unleavened Bread Provide copies of Robert Munger s My Heart Christ s Home for students to read and discuss. How does the story in this book illustrate the traditions of the Feast of Unleavened Bread? God Parties 35