Spring City Fellowship
260920Sunday
Sunday September 20, 2026 10:15AM Service

      • Psalm 150:3NIV2011

  • Let Us Adore
  • Adonai
  • Kadosh
  • Here As In Heaven
  • Nothing Else
  • O Come To The Altar
  • Lord Send Revival

      • 1 Corinthians 9:19NIV2011

  • Our Theme for 2026 is Embrace Transformation.
    We are going to take a break from our series in the book of James to celebrate three Jewish holidays.
    The Fall Feasts of Israel were not just prescribed for Israel but they are called “The Lord’s Feasts”
    Leviticus 23:1–2 ESV
    1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.
    Rosh Hashanah - The Feast of Trumpets
    Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement
    Sukkot - The Feast of Tabernacles
    I don’t preach sermons on the fall feasts every year.
    Some of today’s sermon comes from a sermon I preached in 2020.
    Some of it comes from a summary of the Fall Feasts from 2024
    I thought it was good to include the Fall Feasts in our preaching calendar this year.
    Our theme is embrace transformation, so if celebrating biblical feasts from the Old Testament is a new thing for you, I hope you will embrace it and the transformation it can bring as from the Lord.
    It is good to celebrate the Lord’s Feasts - because we will all be celebrating them in heaven!
    Today is also a communion Sunday and I want to keep my message a bit shorter to give more time for reflection as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
    This morning we are going to come forward to receive communion.
    When Israel would celebrate the feasts, they had to go to Jerusalem to do it.
    Unless they already lived in Jerusalem, they had to leave their home and their business and go to the temple to celebrate the feast.
    There is something about leaving where you are and going that is significant.
    We usually serve communion right in our seats.
    You don’t have to go and get it we bring it to you - that’s convenient - maybe too convenient.
    This morning we are going to ask you to come to the Lord’s table.
    You can come as a family or as a small group - just as they did when they travelled to the feasts.
    Coming requires and action on your part - you are responding to God’s offer and sacrifice of Himself. for you.
    Speaking of sacrifice - worship at the temple in the Old Testament was a real “hands on” experience.
    Literally, you would bring your animal for sacrifice and you would lay hands on it, confessing you sin while the priest is killing the animal on your behalf.
    Leviticus 1:4 AMP
    4 And he shall lay [both] his hands upon the head of the burnt offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the victim], and it shall be an acceptable atonement for him.
    Wow! Talk about a solemn experience!
    Most of us don't even like the idea of being present when an animal is being killed - confessing - and hereby transferring your sin at the same time!
    I imagine that would be an uncomfortable moment.
    But there would also be a sense of relief and release.
    This isn’t one of those offerings that you get to enjoy a barbecue picnic afterward - on this one gets burned up entirely -
    You just have the smell of barbecue and the realization - that should have been me.
    The Day of Atonement is not only a time to confess and offer sacrifice for personal sin -
    it is specifically a time when the High Priest would offer sacrifice, first for his own sin and then for he sin of he people.
    It was a time for corporate confession and repentance.
    Not everyone can afford to bring an offering.
    Not everyone knows how to confess and repent.
    The Day of Atonement is an opportunity to participate in a corporate expression of repentance.
    It was a kind of intercession for sins committed in ignorance.
    And also for the poor who were excluded from the temple offerings by virtue of the fact that they had nothing to bring or because they were ritually unclean.
    Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement is a time when we realize that our sin is not just a personal private matter.
    Our sin affects other people, just as their sin affects us.
    So we come together to God for forgiveness and deliverance.
    Responding to God in unison as His people and ministering to each other.
    It’s an alignment day - a day to align our hearts with God.
    It is a day of reflection.
    It is a day of cleansing.
    It is a day of humility.
    And that is our outline - if you are following along in you bulletin insert or online you can follow the slides on our e-bulletin.
    If you are watching at home - you may want to go to the kitchen and find some juice and bread that can serve as elements for our communion time at the end of the service.
    Let’s come to the Lord’s feast and to the Lord’s table together.

    It is a day of reflection.

    The feast of trumpets is accompanied by feasting.
    Apples and honey are especially symbolic - wishing each other a sweet new year.
    But on this one day, it is not a feast day, but a fast day.
    It is the day that the High Priest makes a sacrifice for the sin of the people.
    Leviticus 16:16 ESV
    16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
    God does not not punish us for our sin as we deserve, but there must be a punishment for sin.
    Justice demands it.
    Sin deserves death - something or someone has to die for sin.
    In this case it is a goat.
    Actually it is two goats - one is sacrifice and the other is let loose to signify bearing our sins away.
    Our part is to participate by pausing to reflect.
    Leviticus 16:29 AMP
    29 It shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month [nearly October] on the tenth day of the month you shall afflict yourselves [by fasting with penitence and humiliation] and do no work at all, either the native-born or the stranger who dwells temporarily among you.
    The Day of atonement happens ten days after the new moon Feast of Trumpets.
    These ten days are supposed to be a time of introspection and self-examination.
    These were called he days of awe - the most sacred time of the year.
    It was a time to turn our hearts back to God.

    Turn our hearts back to God.

    What is this about “afflicting yourself?”
    The day of atonement is a glorious time of being pardoned from sin, but we don’t take that lightly.
    Yes, Jesus pain our debt - but we also want to learn what it means to follow Him.
    Matthew 16:24 ESV
    24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
    We need to learn to deny ourselves in order to follow Jesus.
    That should not be a new thought.
    The Jews have been doing it every day of atonement for over a thousand years.
    Jesus paid for our sin, but we still need to learn how to tell ourselves “no!”
    No, I am not going to sin, because that isn’t what God wants me to do.
    No, I am not going to give in to temptation, because that is not consistent with who God made me to be and who I am becoming in Christ.
    No, I am not going to wallow in self-pity and shame, because that is from the sin of my past, Jesus is making me new and has given me a new future in Him.
    The day of atonement is a day set aside to remind us to make that shift from being self-centered to being Christ-centered.

    Practice repentance.

    Repentance is not something that you do quickly or something that you do only once.
    Isaiah wrote about how the feasts, or fast in this case, had become something other than what God intended.
    Isaiah 58:5–7 ESV
    5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
    Repentance is not the same as remorse.
    Remorse means you feel sorry for what you did, but feelings can change.
    Repentance means that you have changed your mind and your actions follow.
    That is why it is good to give some time to reflection and repentance.
    If it’s just a passing feeling, you may feel differently tomorrow.
    But if you are willing to stay and listen while the Lord shows you your heart, you are more likely to come out of that encounter a changed person.
    Even more, if you are able to take some action steps to apply what you have learned.

    It is a day of cleansing.

    Leviticus 16:30 ESV
    30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.
    On of the concepts that is central to the day of atonement is that of holiness.
    Holiness means to be set apart. To be kept apart from things that could make you unclean.
    This was long before we had an understanding of germs and viruses, but the thinking is the same.
    Wash frequently, change your clothes, keep your distance.
    On the day of Atonement the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies three times.
    He would bathe and change his clothes a total of five times.
    The High Priest would bathe in view of all the people (actually it was behind a curtain) but everyone was to know that he was clean.
    The people who were involved in various parts of the ceremony would bathe and change their clothes before and after their duties.
    I think anyone attending the ceremony would come away with a greater appreciation for personal hygiene.
    But do you practice good spiritual hygiene?

    Practice spiritual hygiene.

    The real point of all the washing is that we become aware of our sin and that we know when we have been cleansed.
    The annual feast were set up so that people would regularly be reminded to come to God in confession and repentance.
    The early church had a practice that they called the Examin.
    It was a spiritual discipline - usually a prayer at the end of the day.
    It was a time to reflect on the day and to confess to God where we have failed.
    But it was also a time to recognize God’s grace and where He was present to keep us from failing.
    We can spend a lot of time and energy in reflection and repentance - but there comes a time where we just have to release it to God and call it done.
    If you are waiting for a time where you no longer experience temptation - you may be waiting a long time.
    If you think that you are never going to fail again, even in some small way, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and defeat.
    Yes, it is possible to walk in victory over sin, but what that looks like is not that you are never tempted or never fail -
    but that when you are tempted or if you fail, you get up and you get right back on track.
    Be cause you are not defined by your failure - that is not who you are.
    Any confusion, temptation or relapse you experience is just a momentary set back - your goal is still clear.
    2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
    21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
    You are already made righteous in Christ - your High Priest who atones for you.
    You don’t have anything to prove.
    What you do, you do in response and in gratitude for what He has already done for you.

    You are covered.

    Leviticus 16:32–34 ESV
    32 And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. 33 He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses.
    All this time we have been using the word “atonement” but what does it mean?
    Atonement simply means to cover.
    It’s first use in the Bible was of the pitch that covered Noah’s ark, making it waterproof.
    God also made coverings for Adam and Eve out of animal skins to cover their shame and their nakedness.
    The blood was to cover the mercy seat, the representative presence of God, so that God’s Holy Presence would not result in the death of corrupt humanity.
    There’s a problem here. Sin is never fully dealt with in the OT.
    The same sacrifice has to be done year after year.
    By the time of Jesus, the High Priesthood was becoming increasingly corrupt.
    High Priests in Jesus’ day were appointed by Rome, usually after receiving some payoff or favor.
    Imagine how conflicted the people must have been at each Yom Kippur, wanting God to atone for their sin but also knowing that the High Priest was anything but holy.
    Not only that, the Holy of holies was empty.
    The Ark was missing since the exile
    Only the foundation stone remained and the blood was sprinkled on it.
    The glory had departed.
    The whole sacrificial system was a foreshadowing of Christ and His atonement.
    Hebrews 10:1–4 ESV
    1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
    The point that the author is making is that if the Day of Atonement really worked, they wouldn’t need to keep on doing it year after year.
    Yom Kippur is able to cover sin, it is not able to remove sin.
    Yom Kippur is able to enact the sending away of sin through a goat, but Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
    Yom Kippur kept the knowledge of God’s holiness and the problem of sin fresh in the minds of the Jews until God sent a Savior.
    Yom Kippur foreshadows that Savior and what He accomplished on the cross for our sake.
    The Old Testament Day of Atonement made us aware of the problem and pointed to a solution - but Jesus made the solution a reality becoming the sacrifice for sin.

    It is a day of humility.

    Leviticus 16:31 ESV
    31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever.
    The Day of atonement was to be a day of fasting and of rest.
    There’s that word “afflict” again. Is the Bible being harsh?
    Other translations say that you should deny yourself.

    How do you deny yourself?

    It simply means to control your impulses.
    Fasting is one way that we learn to say “no” to our desires by exercising our will against the impulse of hunger.
    Resting can be a kind of fast too. We often feel like we always need to be doing something.
    Paul teaches us the sin comes from giving in to the desires of our fallen human nature which he also calls the flesh.
    If God offered forgiveness without any discipline or change, what would be the benefit of that forgiveness?
    God’s forgiveness is meant to change you.
    But in order for it to do that, you are going to have to learn some discipline.
    We do that when we turn our moments of reflection into a regular habit.
    We regularly ask God to search our hearts and to forgive our sin - even a wayward thought.
    That is turning an alignment day into a practice of alignment.
    Repentance and forgiveness is not a one-time event - it is a lifestyle.

    How do you receive forgiveness?

    Hebrews 10:11–14 ESV
    11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
    Christ’s work is done and this scripture says that He is now waiting for the result to be fully realized.
    Theologians often speak in terms of the “already” and the “not yet.”
    Jesus has already paid for sin, but sin is not yet eradicated.
    You are already forgiven and made righteous, but you are not yet made perfect.
    You are already justified, but you are not yet sanctified.
    You are already in Christ, but you have not yet become all that Christ has made you to be.
    This is where our study in James encourages us to embrace the tension of our present reality and turn it into momentum for transformation.
    Elijah House is an inner healing ministry, we identify sinful responses in our lives and pray for forgiveness.
    But one of the first things that we learn is that this ministry does no new work.
    Jesus has already done the work of healing, redemption and restoration through His death and resurrection.
    We are applying that work to specific areas of our lives that do not yet resemble what Christ has already done.
    Forgiveness is not something we can earn.
    It is not something we even deserve.
    It is not based on anything we have done, but what Christ has done for us.
    All we can do is receive it.
    So what is it that we should be doing?
    Hebrews 10:19–25 ESV
    19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

    Communion/ Questions for reflection:

    1 Corinthians 11:27–32 ESV
    27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
    As we prepare for communion, the scripture says that we should examine ourselves. Are you allowing God to to search your heart now so that you don’t have to be afraid to stand before Him at the final judgement? Is there anything that you want to confess to him now?
    1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV
    23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
    2. As we take the bread, remember Christ’s body which was the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He did not need to offer a bull for himself. He was already walking in victory over sin. Where do you need a victory? What are some specific action steps that you can take?
    1 Corinthians 11:25–26 ESV
    25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
    3. The blood of Jesus not only covers sin; it effectively removes sin. When we take sin to the cross, we never take it back. That goes for both our sin and the sin that is committed against us. What are you bringing to the cross today? What are you leaving behind?

      • Leviticus 23:1–2ESV

      • Leviticus 1:4ESV

      • Leviticus 16:16ESV

      • Leviticus 16:29ESV

      • Matthew 16:24ESV

      • Isaiah 58:5–7ESV

      • Leviticus 16:30ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:21ESV

      • Leviticus 16:32–34ESV

      • Hebrews 10:1–4ESV

      • Leviticus 16:31ESV

      • Hebrews 10:11–14ESV

      • Hebrews 10:19–25ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 11:27–32ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 11:23–24ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 11:25–26ESV

  • Nothing But The Blood
  • You Hold It All Together
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