Light of Christ Journey

Do this to Remember

Paula K. Graves

March 7, 2026

Do you have trouble remembering things? There is a book called 21 Memory Techniques that says, “Do this to remember.” Researchers say we forget most newly learned information within a few hours or, at most, a couple of days. While these techniques can help memorize facts and grocery lists, God put a memory technique in place centuries ago.

Remember God Brought You Out of Egypt

God had to force Pharaoh’s hand to free His people from the slavery of Egypt. He knew the plague of the death of the firstborn would finally force Pharaoh to let His people go. But God wanted to keep His people safe and so gave instructions to paint the blood of an innocent lamb on the doorposts. This would be a sign for the death angel to pass over the people inside. The Jewish nation had to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, so they did not even have time to let the bread rise. Each year God’s people would re-enact this time to remember what God had done.

Exodus 12:¹⁴“This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time…¹⁷“Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. [1]

Remember the New Covenant

As Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, He put a new spin on an old celebration. The unleavened bread now would represent His body, and the wine would represent His blood. God had made a covenant with Abraham, and now Jesus was building on that in a new way to receive forgiveness of sins. Jesus would be the lamb that would take away the sins of the world.

1 Corinthians 11:²³For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread ²⁴and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” ²⁶For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.[2]

Here again, we re-enact what happened on Maundy Thursday when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. Each time we re-enact this, we remember what Christ did for us on the cross. Why do we have to do this to remember? Because we so easily forget.

To learn more, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-unleavened-bread

Defining Membership

Paula K. Graves

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March 6, 2026

We like to shop at a large warehouse retailer, but we must have a membership to do so. Their defining membership is a card that you must show to enter the store. If you don’t have a membership, you can’t purchase anything from their store. Many clubs and even churches have ways to define their membership.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread Defined the Jewish People

Exodus 12: ¹⁹During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel.[1] If you refused to take part in the Festival of Unleavened Bread, you were no longer a member of the Jewish community. The Jewish people defined themselves as the ones whom God freed from slavery in Egypt. This festival set a boundary of who was Jewish and who was not.

This may sound cruel to our 21^st-century ears. We are used to rugged individualism and like to do things our way, not necessarily how the group thinks.

Defining Membership as a Christian

We would say that a Christian isone who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. This not only holds true for our life here on earth but has eternal consequences. John 3: ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in him (Jesus) will have eternal life.¹⁶“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.[2]

There would be those who say this is too exclusive, that we should be able to trust in any god if we are sincere. That sounds like a nice line, but it isn’t Biblical. God established the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a boundary to define membership in the Jewish community. God also defines who will spend eternity with Him by faith in Jesus.

Just as the Jewish people could not free themselves from the slavery of Egypt, we could not free ourselves from the slavery to sin. God provided a way out of both types of slavery. God was willing to step into time in the form of Jesus to pay a price for our sins that we could not pay. He offers this as a free gift if we will only believe.

To hear more about defining membership, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-unleavened-bread

From Generation to Generation

Paula K. Graves

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March 5, 2026

Many people today have taken advantage of DNA testing to gain information from generation to generation. DNA databases tell you, statistically, which countries your ancestors came from. Some people are surprised by how some information has been lost over the past generations.

Unleavened Bread to be Kept from Generation to Generation

Exodus 12: ^14b Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time. ¹⁵For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast…¹⁷“Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent law for you; celebrate this day from generation to generation.[1]

Here God gives Moses instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Whenever God repeats Himself, it underscores the importance of the message. Within three verses, God commands His people to keep this celebration from generation to generation. This means the Festival of Unleavened Bread must be passed down from grandparent to grandchildren and so on.

We Still Celebrate Unleavened Bread 1400 Years Later

Matthew 26:¹⁷On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”[2] Here we can see how Passover, a one-day celebration, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a seven-day celebration, had merged into a single eight-day celebration. People call this festival either Passover or the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

We can see that it is important to Jesus that He celebrate this with His disciples. Luke 22:¹⁴When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. ¹⁵Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. ¹⁶For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”[3]

A New Celebration to Pass Onto the Generations

The disciples had celebrated the festival of Passover/Unleavened Bread their entire lives. But this time, Jesus put a new twist on the celebration. Matthew 26:²⁶As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”

²⁷And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, ²⁸for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. ²⁹Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”[4]

Here, Jesus intends to fulfill the meaning of this celebration with what He will do on the cross. The forgiveness of sins that His sacrifice on the cross will bring will renew the covenant between God and His people. To hear more about celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread from generation to generation, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-unleavened-bread

Sour to Sweet

Paula K. Graves

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March 4, 2026

There are many kinds of bread, ranging from sour to sweet. Sourdough is considered old-fashioned today. But in the time of the Exodus, that was the only type of yeasted bread known. The baker would set aside a lump of dough for the next batch of bread. I have made a sourdough starter, and it definitely smells sour.

Hebrew Terms Reflect Sour and Sweet

The Hebrew term for leavening is chametz, which conveys the idea of sourness.[1] On the other hand, the Hebrew word for unleavened bread, matzah, means “sweet.” There would be no sourdough taste in unleavened bread.

Jesus Changes Our Life from Sour to Sweet

2 Corinthians 5:¹⁷This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! ¹⁸And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. ¹⁹For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. ²⁰So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” ²¹For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.[2]

The Spirit Helps Us Live the New Life

When we begin our new life in Christ, our lives move from being sour to being sweet. Just as the Feast of Unleavened Bread demonstrates the removal of sin by removing leaven from the house, our lives change as Jesus addresses our sin problem.

Romans 8:⁵Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. ⁶So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. ⁷For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. ⁸That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.[3]

Let the Holy Spirit guide and enable you to live the new life. To hear how our lives can move from sour to sweet, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-unleavened-bread

[1] Keven Howard & Marvin Rosenthal, The Feasts of the Lord, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN., 1997, p. 66.

Pierced and Striped

Paula K. Graves

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March 3, 2026

Matzo or unleavened bread is pierced and stiped. For it to bake evenly, it must have holes poked into it. As it bakes, some areas will become browner than others. This gives the matzo a striped look.

Prophecy about Jesus being Pierced and Striped

Isaiah 53: ³He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

⁴Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
⁵But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. ⁶All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.[1]

The Striping and Piercing

John 19: ¹Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip.[2] What kind of whip would have been used by the Roman soldiers to scourge Jesus? It most likely was a flagrum, consisting of several leather straps with bits of lead embedded at the ends. The whipping was done to weaken the person to be crucified to prevent any resistance.[3] Just as Isaiah prophesied, Jesus was beaten before being crucified. This whipping would have left “stripes” on the back of Jesus.

The scourging weakened Jesus to the point that He died before the others on each side of Him. John 19:³³But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. ³⁴One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.[4]

Remembering What Jesus Has Done

So, Jesus was striped and then pierced on the cross. Even the unleavened bread eaten during the days of Unleavened bread pointed to this fact. As Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper on the last evening He spent with His disciples, He compared the unleavened bread to His body. Matthew 26:²⁶As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”[5] We remember what Jesus went through for us each time we celebrate communion.

To hear more about being pierced and striped, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-unleavened-bread

[3] https://askinglot.com/what-did-the-romans-use-to-whip-jesus

Remove the Leaven

Paula K. Graves

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March 2, 2026

In the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Jews were to remove the leaven from their houses. This wasn’t just to clean their homes. In Scripture, leaven often symbolizes sin. God was using an everyday object, leavened bread, to act as an object lesson for His people. He was freeing them from the slavery of Egypt and taking them to the promised land.

God’s Instruction to Remove Leaven

Exodus 12:¹⁵For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes…¹⁸The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month. ¹⁹During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes.[1]

Exodus 13:³So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the Lord has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. (Remember, eat no food containing yeast.)[2]

God was preparing His people to focus on what He was doing, because they couldn’t free themselves from slavery.

Jesus Removed our “Leaven”

Jesus most probably celebrated an early Passover meal with His disciples on Maundy Thursday. That would make Good Friday Passover. The lambs were killed at 3 pm, the same time Jesus died on the cross. Thus, on the first day of Unleavened Bread, Jesus was in the tomb. Jesus was removing our sin, or our “leaven.”

God had freed the Hebrews from the slavery of Egypt, but now Jesus would free us from the slavery of sin. This is something we could not do on our own. Paul gives us insight into how God frees us from our sin.

Romans 6: ¹⁶Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. ¹⁷Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. ¹⁸Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.[3]

We Should Live as New Bread

Jesus came to redeem and restore us so that we can live a new life.

1 Corinthians 5:⁶Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? ⁷Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. ⁸So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.[4]

To hear more about why to remove the leaven, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-unleavened-bread

Ready to Roll

Paula K. Graves

no comments

March 1, 2026

“ Ready to roll” is an idiom meaning “eager and prepared to take action” or “ready to leave a certain place.” Last week, we learned about Passover. At the first Passover, it was time for the 10^th plague, the plague of the firstborn. God had already prepared His people to be safe by telling them to paint their doorposts with the blood of a lamb so that the death angel would pass over them.

Israel had to be Ready to Roll

On the night of the 10^th plague, God told people they had to be ready to leave Egypt when He told them. Exodus 12:¹¹“These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover…³⁴The Israelites took their bread dough before yeast was added. They wrapped their kneading boards in their cloaks and carried them on their shoulders…³⁹For bread they baked flat cakes from the dough without yeast they had brought from Egypt. It was made without yeast because the people were driven out of Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to prepare the bread or other food.[1]

At the time of the Exodus, the people would have used sourdough to raise their bread. There was no such thing as a packet of yeast in the grocery store like today. Baking bread from sourdough takes several hours to rise, and the Israelites didn’t have time for that, so they skipped the leaven altogether.

Jesus was Ready to Follow the Father’s Instructions

Just as the people were ready to roll at a minute’s notice the night of the first Passover, Jesus was prepared to do His Father’s instructions.

John 5:¹⁹So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.[2]

John 12:⁴⁹I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.[3]

John 14:³¹but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. [4]

Each of Us Needs to be Ready to Roll at God’s Instructions

1 Peter 1:¹⁴So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. ¹⁵But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. ¹⁶For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.[5]

2 Timothy 4:²Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.[6]

We see that the Hebrew people were ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Jesus also only did what His Father told Him. Now, as followers of Jesus, we also need to follow what our God says.

To learn more, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-unleavened-bread-foreshadows-jesus

Only Effective When Applied

Paula K. Graves

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February 28, 2026

Our son had cut his finger on the playground, and it was sore and red. I went out and purchased a tube of antibiotic salve. A couple of days later, his finger looked worse, and I asked whether he had applied the salve. He had forgotten to use it. The salve was only effective when applied to his finger.

The Passover Blood had to be Applied

God had given the people specific instructions. Exodus 12:¹²On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! ¹³But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.[1]

God’s instructions sounded unusual, and the people had a choice: they could simply ignore them or act on them. The blood would only be effective as a sign when it was applied to the doorposts. If there was no blood on the doorposts, the angel of death would kill the firstborn of the household.

The Blood of Jesus is Only Effective when it is Applied

Just as the Hebrews had to apply the blood to the doorposts for it to be effective, we must apply the blood of Jesus through faith for it to be effective in our lives.

Romans 3:²⁰For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. ²¹But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. ²²We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

²³For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.[2]

Have you applied the blood of Jesus to your life by faith? If not, you can do that right now.

Prayer:

Father, Thank You for sending Your Son to be the all-sufficient sacrifice for my sin. I am sorry for my sins and repent of my wrongdoing. I trust the blood of Jesus to remove my sins and plead the blood of Jesus for protection and for an increase in faith. Amen.

To hear how the blood is only effective when applied, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-passover

Celebrate to Remember

Paula K. Graves

no comments

February 27, 2026

Each year we celebrate our wedding anniversary. We celebrate to remember all the blessings we have received in our marriage. Sure, some times were better than others, but with God’s help, we have made it through over 37 years together.

God’s Commands to Celebrate

God was very intentional in Leviticus 23, naming seven holy days each year dedicated to Him. Four times, in verses 14, 21, 31, and 41, God tells the people: 14 b This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.[1]

Why would God command that each generation celebrate these festivals? Verse 39 says, “Remember.” And verse 43 says, “This will remind each new generation.”[2] God knew how quickly His people forget.

The Hebrew people had witnessed the 10 plagues. They had seen the parting of the Red Sea and received manna from heaven. Yet they were willing to go back into slavery. Numbers 14: ¹Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. ²Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron… Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”[3]

God had given these regular times of celebration to refocus the people on what He had done for them.

Jesus Tells Us to Remember

One of the last things Jesus did with His disciples before His death was to celebrate Passover. There, He used the common elements of bread and wine to apply to His body and blood. He would soon be sacrificed on the cross. The Old Testament festival of Passover would have a new meaning. It must be celebrated so we remember the New Covenant with Jesus.

Communion, the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist are all names of the celebration. Remembering what Jesus has done for us refocuses our priorities. As humans, we soon forget and are distracted by the world. Our Lord has instituted this sacrament to build our faith and to bring us forgiveness.

Celebrate to remember. To hear more, listen here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-passover

Why Blood in the Passover?

Paula K. Graves

no comments

February 26, 2026

Blood has been thought of as the source of life in the Bible. Why blood in the Passover? The death of animals established the Old Testament covenant. In Genesis 15, God made a covenant with Abraham.

Genesis 15:⁹The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side;…¹³Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. ¹⁴But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth…¹⁷After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. ¹⁸So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day.[1]

Blood in the 10^th Plague

An innocent lamb died as a substitute sacrifice in the place of the firstborn of the house. They painted the lamb’s blood on the doorposts so the death angel would pass over the house. In the first Passover, the blood on the doorpost served as a visible symbol of the residents’ faith. This meant they had accepted God’s plan for their rescue and had put their trust in God.

This blood-smeared ritual was a one-time event. Every year after this, the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the altar first in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. Thus, the blood was shed for purification and redemption.

Jesus’ Blood Shed for Us

Animal sacrifice established the Old Testament covenant. In contrast, the blood of Christ shed on the cross established the New Covenant.

Hebrews 9:¹³Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. ¹⁴Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. ¹⁵That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.[2]

Both covenants required the shedding of blood for purification and redemption. Throughout Scripture, blood is key to bringing atonement or making amends for human sin. The sacrifice of animals was only a temporary solution until Christ, the perfect Lamb, made His sacrifice on the cross. The blood of the Lamb of God brings us forgiveness as we believe and trust in Jesus.

Why blood in the Passover? Find more here:

https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-festival-of-passover

Remember God Brought You Out of Egypt

Remember the New Covenant

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The Festival of Unleavened Bread Defined the Jewish People

Defining Membership as a Christian

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Unleavened Bread to be Kept from Generation to Generation

We Still Celebrate Unleavened Bread 1400 Years Later

A New Celebration to Pass Onto the Generations

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Hebrew Terms Reflect Sour and Sweet

Jesus Changes Our Life from Sour to Sweet

The Spirit Helps Us Live the New Life

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Prophecy about Jesus being Pierced and Striped

The Striping and Piercing

Remembering What Jesus Has Done

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God’s Instruction to Remove Leaven

Jesus Removed our “Leaven”

We Should Live as New Bread

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Israel had to be Ready to Roll

Jesus was Ready to Follow the Father’s Instructions

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The Passover Blood had to be Applied

The Blood of Jesus is Only Effective when it is Applied

Prayer:

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God’s Commands to Celebrate

Jesus Tells Us to Remember

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Blood in the 10th Plague

Jesus’ Blood Shed for Us

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Blood in the 10^th Plague