FIRST FRUITS

A season of returning • Sundays, September 6–27 • Fall First Fruits Offering, October 4

This month we a celebrating a season of returning.

From Elul through the Days of Awe, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, God has always used this season to draw near to His people—not to scold them from a distance, but to call them home. That is why we are walking through this biblical calendar together. Not to become more religious – but to become more alive to Him! To remember that the Lord still wants His family gathered, reconciled, watching, and ready.

These four Sundays are a path, not a program. Each week we take one more step toward October 4, when we will bring our Fall First Fruits Offering. First fruits has never been about giving God our leftovers after life is handled. It is the courage to place our first and our best in God’s hands and say, “All of this came from You and I trust You.”

Come hungry. Come tired if you must. Just come. The point of this series is not that we get everything right before the feasts. The point is that we do not miss the invitation from the One who is already coming toward us.

Sunday, September 6
The King Is in the Field
There are seasons when God feels far away, and there are seasons when He comes looking for us. Elul is the second kind. This Sunday we will talk about invitation—the kind that finds you in the middle of ordinary work and asks whether you still believe you are wanted.

Question: If the Lord is inviting you into something, will you be present?

Sunday, September 13
Ten Days of Awe
These are the days when returning is still possible. Between the sound of the shofar (Rosh Hashanah) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), heaven gives us time—to evaluate, consecrate, tell the truth, to put down what we have been defending, to become watchful again. Judgement is more about protection and restoration than it is about destruction.

Question: What “good thing” has quietly become more important to you this season and overshadowed your relationship with Jesus?

Sunday, September 20
Pursue the Return of the Lord
Special Day of Prayer for Israel
Yom Kippur begins at sundown this same day. We will lift our eyes, our hearts, and our voices to the Lord as we pray for Israel, for Jerusalem, the salvation of the Jews, and for the appearing of the Lord.

Question: When you pray “Come, Lord Jesus” do you still mean it—or have you settled for just managing the wait?

Sunday, September 27
Highlights of Sukkot
Pastor Laban Doyle
Sukkot is a joyous holiday that puts a bow on this season. It describes God dwelling with His people in the wilderness, and still choosing to dwell with us now. Pastor Laban Doyle will help us see the feast: the shelter, the gathering, the hope that this life is not the last house we will live in.

Question: How does it feel knowing that God – the Creator of Heaven and Earth – earnestly wants to “dwell” with you?

Sunday, October 4
Fall First Fruits Offering
Bring your best offering day! Not because God needs what is in your hand, but because worshipping God should always come first in our hearts. Come ready to give, ready to celebrate, and ready to leave the season knowing you did not hold back as we conclude this incredible Fall First Fruits season together!

We want to meet Him together.

Pastor Bob
St. John’s DCC