Leviticus 1-3; Psalm 25:12-22; Acts 13

Leviticus 1 - Laws regarding Burnt Offerings
From the herd:

• Male without blemish
• Worshiper to bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting
• Worshiper to lay hand on its head - a personal sacrifice, not impersonal
  
• Priests to slaughter the bull and dash its blood against the altar
• Priests to flay and cut up the offering
• Priests to arrange the parts on the altar, washing the entrails
• Priests to turn "the whole into smoke."

From the flock: Same as bull, except it's slaughtered on the north side of the altar

Birds:

• Turtledoves or pigeons -- the priest:
  
• Wrings its neck
• Drains the blood
• Removes the crop and throws it at the east side of the altar (the place for ashes)
• Tears it open by the wings
• Turns it into smoke

Leviticus 2 - Grain Offerings

• Choice flour
• Worshiper pours oil and frankincense on it and brings it to the priest
• Priest keeps a handful, then throws the rest on the altar
• If baked - unleavened cakes or wafers and oil
• If cooked on a griddle - flour and oil, broken up
• If cooked in a pan - flour in oil
• Priest keeps a token portion, offers the rest
• No leaven or honey to be burned
• Salt always included with the grain offering

Leviticus 3 - Offerings of Well-Being
From herd:

• Male or female without blemish
• Worshiper lays hand on head of sacrifice
• Offers fat on entrails, 2 kidneys, appendage of liver

From flock:

• Male or female without blemish

"All fat is the LORD's. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood." [Interesting how we still tend to honor the blood restriction, but not the fat restriction. It might be good if we still offered our "fat" to God.]

Psalm 25:12-22
v. 14 - "The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them."

Acts 13
2 - Holy Spirit: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." [How did the Holy Spirit say this?]

3-4 - The Antioch church "sent them off"; the Holy Spirit "sent them out."

9 - "Saul - also known as Paul" - is called Paul from here forward.

6-12 - Elymas: God blinds the one trying to blind others to the truth. [Question: Did Paul perform this miracle, or was he just prophesying what God was about to do to Elymas?]

5 - Cyprus - to the synagogue

14 - Antioch of Pisidia - to the synagogue on the Sabbath

16ff - Paul's sermon

• Starts with what they know -- Hebrew history -- and concludes with the resurrection of Christ
• Response: "Come again next Sabbath."
• Many Jews and devout converts follow them
• The next Sabbath, seeing the crowds, the Jews 1) are filled with jealousy; 2) blaspheme; 3) contradict Paul and Barnabas
• Paul's response: "We're going to the Gentiles."
• Gentiles are glad, "and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers."
• Jewish persecution drive Paul and Barnabas out of the region, to Iconium
• They are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. Persecution obviously indicates they were making an impact.