FAST 2026 | Week 3 | Solidarity Sunday
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
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ISAIAH 58
1 Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” -
Solidarity Sunday is all about the body of Christ being against racism. Today we want to highlight a specific kind of racism that has ebbed and flowed throughout history and seems to be gaining traction in our culture today. Today we want to be very clear that at the Rock, we are against all forms of antisemitism and Jew-hatred.
Antisemitism has had a unique ability to shape shift throughout history. At first Jews were hated because of their religion. After the enlightenment period, Jewish people were hated because of their race. In the early 20th century, Jews were hated because they didn’t have a state of their own. Joseph Stalin claimed they were unable to be loyal to a government and desired to undermine the countries they were in. Hitler accused them of wanting to take over the world, and then he invaded Poland. Now today, the only fashionable reason to hate the Jewish people is because they have a state and they desire to defend it.
This is not about picking a geopolitical side in a conflict, nor does it mean the government or nation state of Israel gets a blank check or is above criticism (In the same way ancient Israel was never above criticism or the justice of God). It does mean, however, that we must filter our thoughts about the nation of Israel and the Jewish people through Scripture and God’s continuing covenant fidelity.
We believe there is a consistent voice throughout church history and precedent throughout Scripture that affirms three things about Israel and the Jewish people:
• There would be a return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.
• The election of the Jewish people for God’s purpose is permanent and stands as the irrevocable promise between God and the Jewish people, regardless of whether they know Jesus. (This does not guarantee salvation, which only exists within Jesus, but it recognizes election as promised to the patriarchs and confirmed by Paul in Romans 9-11)
• There will be a mass conversion event where the veil is removed from the eyes of the Jewish people, and they will nationally recognize Jesus.
The unconditional covenant made to Abraham in Genesis 15 guaranteed both spiritual blessings to his spiritual descendants and material blessings to his physical descendants. Both of these realities can and do exist simultaneously and Biblical prophecy illustrates God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises as well as His heart for restoration.
We also believe that there is more misinformation and propaganda about the Middle East than most geographic areas in history, and because of that suggest that if you want to know more, you should personally go with us on a trip to the land that Jesus walked.
