Each month we've been taking your questions about the sections of the bible that we've been reading and then spending some time talking through some possible answers. This month it was Romans & Numbers. You can jump through to the questions at these points:

1. (1:58) What does it mean that Christ has become a servant of the Jews? - Romans 15:8

2. (8:55) What does it mean that "all Israel will be saved"? - Romans 11:26

3. (21:32) Explain the meaning of Romans 14:22-23

4. (34:49) Is there a link between Numbers and the reason that the Lord Jesus refused the wine mixed with myrrh in Mark 15:23?

5. (38:53) Are the tabernacle, the tent of testimony and the tent of meeting, all found throughout Numbers the same thing?

6. (46:31) Why was God angry with Balaam for going with the men when He told him to the night before? - Numbers 22:18-22

7. (59:25) Follow up comments and questions

Group Question:

8. (1:06:08) Why did the Israelites moan about not having meat to eat when they had a herd? They used the 1 year olds as sacrifices but the rest was given to them as food in Deuteronomy 14:4 - Numbers 11:4-5

The people of God in Corinth, like the people of God in Numbers as we discovered last week, had the presence of God in their midst - "They were SO close". Yet they kept looking back to, and living in, the culture they had been called out from and they were failing to live in the fullness of all that God had for them, failing to walk in step with the Spirit - "They were SO far".

This week Chris brought us a word from Numbers 22-23 looking at the story of Balak and Balaam. There we discover that while we have an enemy who wants to break us, we also have a God who wants to abundantly bless us and lead us on into His promise.

What does it really look like for the church to be the church, to be the people of God, with the presence of God in their midst, sharing that with the world around them? This week Matt unpacked some things we can learn about this from the start of the book of Numbers, the first time God send His collective people out into the world literally carrying His presence.

Romans opens by showing us all that God has done for us in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Romans 12 calls this "God's mercy" and says in light of that there is something more for us to step into. Why would we not want to know more of all that God has for us? This week Matt unpacked what we discover from these two well known verses about how we can know more of God's good will for our lives.

Each month we've been taking your questions about the sections of the bible that we've been reading and then spending some time talking through some possible answers. This month it was Leviticus. You can jump through to the questions at these points:

1. (1:23) How frequently were these offerings made/required?

2. (6:49) Lev 21:16-23 - Why were all these people excluded, and for generations to come? / Leviticus repeatedly emphasises the need for physical perfection both in priests and sacrifices. Why was this so important to God?

3. (17:10) What is the salt of the covenant?

4. (24:11) Lev 3:16 - What does it mean "all the fat is the Lords" and why?

5. (28:23) Why kill anything in order to act as a sacrifice/substitute? Why does there have to be death?

6. (35:53) What was the grain offering for?

7. (42:02) Blood is sprinkled on the sides of the altar in most offerings but in chapter 4 it is put on the horns of the altar. Why is this different?

8. (48:43) Why was the blood sprinkled on the sides of the altar in the other offerings?

9. (52:04) In modern day Jerusalem do non Messianic Jews still make sacrifices?

10. (57:41) Why males for some offerings and females for others?

This week Emmanuel gave us an overview of the gospel that is outlined in Romans 1-8, and how there is forgiveness, hope and new life, not because of anything that we have done or can do, but simply because of all that Jesus has done, and that the Spirit is doing.

This Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, and Matt reminded us again that His resurrection is also our resurrection, and we are called out of the tomb and into life.

Last week we talked about how Leviticus starts with a call out of slavery and into relationship with God. In this weeks talk we looked at the rest of Leviticus and discovered that even through all the weird rituals, laws and rules the heart of God is still for His people to know freedom and the fullness of life.

Leviticus is one of those books that can often tie us up on knots, get us a little confused, or even cause us to question most things we've ever thought about God and our faith. It's a weird book. But as we read through the bible we want you to see that there is more going on than maybe you first realised, and that God is still the God of hope, love and grace that you've always known Him to be. So this week Matt gave us an intro into the opening chapters of the book of Leviticus, so that we might truly grasp the heart of God for His people through this book of the bible. And what we discovered is that Leviticus is actually the gospel (the good news) of the Old Testament, and that God has always been a God of good news.