Habig's LiveJournal (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} habig) wrote,@ 2004-09-05 17:32:00 |
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"Ladies and gentlemen, the goat has left the building."
-Pastor Randy Peugh
This morning church was really good. Randy talked from Leviticus 16, which talks about the Day of Atonement. On that day the high priest of Israel would bring out two male goats and a ram. He would offer the ram as a sacrifice for his own cleansing, then would cast lots to determine which of the goats would be the sacrifice, the offering to the Lord, and which would be the scapegoat. The goat chosen as a sacrifice would be offered up to the Lord. But then the scapegoat, the other goat, would be brought out. The high priest would place his hands on the goat's head and confess all of the sins of Israel, "putting" them on the goat's head. Then a man would be appointed to lead the goat out into the desert...and release it there.
There is so much visual imagery in that ritual. The sacrifice of the goat, illustrating the death that comes as a result of our sin, and the expulsion of the live goat to the desert, carrying our sins, never to be seen again.
To drive the imagery home, Randy brought in a live goat to church this morning, and we brought out a high priest and burned some incense and participated in a full on sacrificial ritual. LOL just kidding, but he really did bring in a goat that a couple people led up on stage while he was preaching. As he preached about the scapegoat and the atonement practice of ancient Israel, and then transitioned into the way that Jesus atones for our sin, it was just so vivid to see the symbol of the live goat right there on stage. Then as he talked about how the goat was sent away, never to be seen again, he had the people holding the goat walk it off stage and out the door. There was nothing special in that act, but it symbolized something so profound...that when we let Jesus atone for our sins, it's as if they've been placed on a goat's head and sent out to the desert forever. Our sins become "as far as the east is from the west."(Ps. 103:12) And the beauty of knowing Christ is that He makes it possible to be atoned by Him moment to moment...we don't have to wait a whole year for a sacrificial ritual; we can simply come to Him as we are and accept His grace on our lives.
Just some thoughts from this morning.
-Pastor Randy Peugh
This morning church was really good. Randy talked from Leviticus 16, which talks about the Day of Atonement. On that day the high priest of Israel would bring out two male goats and a ram. He would offer the ram as a sacrifice for his own cleansing, then would cast lots to determine which of the goats would be the sacrifice, the offering to the Lord, and which would be the scapegoat. The goat chosen as a sacrifice would be offered up to the Lord. But then the scapegoat, the other goat, would be brought out. The high priest would place his hands on the goat's head and confess all of the sins of Israel, "putting" them on the goat's head. Then a man would be appointed to lead the goat out into the desert...and release it there.
There is so much visual imagery in that ritual. The sacrifice of the goat, illustrating the death that comes as a result of our sin, and the expulsion of the live goat to the desert, carrying our sins, never to be seen again.
To drive the imagery home, Randy brought in a live goat to church this morning, and we brought out a high priest and burned some incense and participated in a full on sacrificial ritual. LOL just kidding, but he really did bring in a goat that a couple people led up on stage while he was preaching. As he preached about the scapegoat and the atonement practice of ancient Israel, and then transitioned into the way that Jesus atones for our sin, it was just so vivid to see the symbol of the live goat right there on stage. Then as he talked about how the goat was sent away, never to be seen again, he had the people holding the goat walk it off stage and out the door. There was nothing special in that act, but it symbolized something so profound...that when we let Jesus atone for our sins, it's as if they've been placed on a goat's head and sent out to the desert forever. Our sins become "as far as the east is from the west."(Ps. 103:12) And the beauty of knowing Christ is that He makes it possible to be atoned by Him moment to moment...we don't have to wait a whole year for a sacrificial ritual; we can simply come to Him as we are and accept His grace on our lives.
Just some thoughts from this morning.
