Reflexion, A Spiritual Community

If you desire God, many religious experts tell us to learn more and do more – are you reading your Bible enough? studying your Bible enough? is your doctrine sound? • praying enough? going to church enough? volunteering? (are you helping in the nursery?) ◦ are you tithing? supporting missions and other religious organizations? ◦ are sold out enough? (100% isn’t enough, you must be a fictitious 110...

After ten chapters of conflict and suspense, we come to the final showdown – but instead of rushing into it, the action is interrupted with an interlude (Ex. 12:43-13:16, which highlights Passover, the feast of unleavened bread and the dedication of firstborn males) • this is hard on us Attention Deficit readers • we feel bogged down with this “boring” stuff – but the magic of Exodus is, that it i...

Intro: People were constantly coming to Jesus for a miracle Some of them hoped he would heal them – others begged him to heal a friend, a servant, a child • in this same chapter a group of Jewish elders argued on behalf of a Roman officer, If anyone deserves your help, he does, for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us (vv. 4-5) • when John describes first miracle Jesus perf...

While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. If a family is too small to eat a whole an...

The showdown begins The story of the plagues is told in cycles – specific themes (even exact phrases) are repeated Examples include: Let my people go, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, Pharaoh refused to listen, the Egyptian magicians did same with their magic arts, then they will know I am Yahweh/I will show them that I am Yahweh • also is also a pattern that links the first nine plagues The Nile wat...

ntro: At this point in the story, Israel is not yet a nation They are a slave people – their identity is tied to Egypt – oppressed and exploited, they cried out for relief • Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, has heard them ◦ he has stepped into the world to rescue them • at first he sent a request to Pharaoh to release them to him ◦ but Pharaoh responded by tightening his grip on his slaves – no...

Intro: This chapter breaks the flow of the story The scene changes, the pace slows down and the camera moves in for a close-up – we left Moses and Israel last week in a state of emergency • the initial excitement over being rescued has evaporated • instead of being freed, their oppression has been intensified ◦ Israel new-found hope is crushed and Moses is ready to walk away – in spite of all this...

1-5 Moses and Aaron have their first audience with Pharaoh In the message they delivered, they made slight modifications in the script they were given – it was reasonable for Pharaoh to ask, Who is Yahweh? • if Moses had just learned God’s name, we cannot expect Pharaoh to have known it ◦ Egypt had its own plethora of deities ◦ the Pharaoh himself was considered a deity • I imagine Pharaoh thinkin...

Steve shares his personal experiences

Moses returns to Egypt

We pick up where we left off last week God is recruiting Moses for his life’s mission and Moses is trying to dodge it – the two most serious issues have been settled already: • who is Moses? ◦ God’s answer was (basically), That is irrelevant for now ◦ Moses will discover his true self by doing God’s will • who is (this) God? the answer is, Yahweh, the eternal “I AM” ◦ the One who is everywhere and...

In the Book of Exodus, Moses has two extended dialogues with God And both are radiant with profound revelations of God

how comfort tempts us to settle in – the plot in today’s episode is keeping Moses alive • suspense is raised at his birth and resolved three months later • then, in his early adulthood, suspense rises when his life is again in jeopardy ◦ it is resolved when Moses finds a home in the Sinai Peninsula and settles down

Recently, an idea has been nagging at me Namely, that I should be taking you through the Old Testament (maybe not the whole thing) – the New Testament (NT) presents itself as a continuation of the Old Testament (OT) • there are parts of NT we cannot understand with out OT (e.g., the Book of Hebrews) • besides that, there is the explicit statement of Jesus

I had a hard time pulling myself together this morning I’ll just say, yesterday was tough – lingering emotional residue from yesterday – stumbling around in the dark, my first thought was that I did not want to be here • that I’d rather find a quiet spot near the ocean • and just sit with Jesus for awhile ◦ that I could really use his company and his strength and wisdom – but when my brain started...

We have some unfinished business before exiting 2017 We have come to the end of the Sermon On the Mount – the question raised in this last lesson is, What will we do with the Sermon? • Jesus says, “Build something on it. Construct a life” • by the way, it’s never too late to do this – Jesus presents two options, using a recognizable pattern • namely, contrasting characters in the Old Testament wis...

Something ordinary was going on in Bethlehem A woman was giving birth to her first child – a son – she is young, she has made a long journey, and she is far from home • now she caresses and nurtures this new life – I wonder if she is holding on to her awareness of the supernatural presence • or is she preoccupied with exhaustion, busyness, and the ordinariness of it all? • has she momentarily forg...

Sermon on the Mount chapter 7

Matthew 7

What does Jesus tell us about stress?

Continuing the study of Matthew 6, The Sermon on the Mount

Chuck walks us through quite meditation