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Sermon Texts:
Revelation 1:4-8
Exodus 4:1-17
Today we conclude the section of Exodus on the call of Moses. Here we examine the significance of the three signs YHWH gives to Moses to verify that Moses’ message is of divine origin. We also examine how the question of Moses’ identity is answered in relationship to YHWH. We conclude by reading God’s revelation at Sinai through Revelation 1 and see how God’s existence is not so the big question but rather God’s insistence.
Sermon Texts:
Genesis 2:5-8,15
Romans 1:19-25
Exodus 3:12
We continue our study of the call of Moses. Here we examine a single verse. However, this verse directs us to the overall purpose of the Exodus. The point is not simply to escape Egypt or even to receive God’s law. Instead, the Israelites are to worship God. We examine what worship means by studying the Hebrew word avad and see why understanding avad is not important just for the Israelites but also for us.
Sermon Text:
John 1:45-51
Exodus 3:10-17
Today we look at enigmatic name of God. God gives Moses His name YHWH as part of Moses’ prophetic call. This sermon attempts to answer the question of what the explanation of God’s name, eyeh asher eyeh, means and why the name is important to Moses’ prophetic call. We also attempt to explain why Moses is given a sign (that he and the people will return to this same mountain) that will only be filled in the future. Through all these very abstract ideas we learn a very important practical lesson about what it means to be in a relationship with YHWH and why faith is such an important part of that relationship. The calling of Nathaniel in John is used to illustrate this point more fully.
One note, the scripture readings were not recorded as they typically are before the sermon.
Sermon Texts:
Luke 4:16-21
Exodus 2:25-3:12
Today we look at the burning bush and specifically the symbolism behind the image of the burning bush. In the burning bush we talk about how Moses experience the divine pathos of God. We see the role the divine pathos plays in the prophetic call and the need for the church to carry on the prophetic voice particularly in solidarity with the oppressed.
Sermon Texts:
Genesis 16:1-16
Matthew 27:45-56
Exodus 2:23-25
Today we look the conclusion of Exodus chapter 2. These are some significant verse because this is the first time God enters the story in the book of Exodus. In this sermon we discuss how God is revealed in ways very different from our modern western categories of philosophy. Along the way we attempt to answer the question of what God revealing Himself at this particular point in the story tells us about God. In order to answer this question we look at the crazy story of Hagar in Genesis 16. There is also a discussion about placemats from North Carolina fish camps in the 1970s.
Sermon Text:
Exodus 2:1-22
John 4:1-42
This sermon looks at two stories from the life of Moses in which Moses acts to bring justice to the oppressed. One approach is a failure and one is a success. We explore what features differentiate these two approaches and how it fits in with this theme of power we have been discussing. Also we connect the well type scene with the story of the Samaritan woman at the well and see how Jesus epitomizes Moses’ successful intervention at the well at Midian.
Sermon Texts:
Genesis 44:18-34
Mark 10:35-45
Exodus 1:1-22
We are still in Exodus chapter one. This week’s sermon answers the question of how the Israelites became slaves in the first place. At several points we see the text hint that the Israelites may not be innocent victims. Pharaoh is certainly bad, but does that mean the Israelites are without fault? Looking back on the Joseph story we find evidence that Joseph may not be the perfect hero we make him out to be. We see how Joseph and Pharaoh are both trapped in a cycle of violence and oppression. However, we see hope in the most unlikely of places; Joseph’s brother Judah. Judah’s actions break the cycle and allows healing for Joseph’s family anticipating the work of Christ. Again we examine power and how power is meant to be exercised in God’s plan to bring life, abundance, and flourishing into the world.
Sermon Texts:
Genesis 2:18-23
Luke 1:46-55
Exodus 1:15-2:10
Our passage from Exodus centers our a series of three incidents in which a woman or women work in creative and surprising ways to thwart Pharaoh’s plan to kill the Israelites’ babies. We examine the similarities in these stories and then examine them in light of the story of the creation of the woman from Genesis 2. Undoing centuries of misogyny, we arrive at a better reading of the account of God’s formation of the woman and see God’s plan for creation involves the woman as a delivering ally known in Hebrew as an ezer. Far from an aberration simply designed to humiliate the Pharaoh, the stories from Exodus are part of a pattern that illustrate how God’s power is exercised in the world. We see that pattern reach its apex in Mary’s song and in the life and work of Jesus.
Sermon Texts:
Genesis 11:1-9
John 1:14-16
Exodus 8-22
Today’s sermon looks at the Exodus from Pharaoh’s perspective. Why does Pharaoh think the way he does and why does he persist in his plans even as they achieve the opposite results. To answer this question we look at the connection with the Babel story in Genesis 11.
Sermon Text:
Genesis 12:1-3
Mark 8:27-30
Exodus 1:1-14
Today we begin a study of Exodus. This sermon looks at the importance of the connection between Genesis and Exodus and how creation, the covenant with Abraham, and the Joseph story are all “hyperlinked” in the first 14 verses of Exodus. We also notice the mysterious absence of God. Using the same rationale for Mark’s messianic secret we see God demonstrating power not in traditional human ways. Rather we see God acting according to His own character which fundamentally that of a creator who desires life, fertility, flourishing, and abundance for His creation.