1^st Sunday in June (Week 23) Israel’s Covenant (Exodus 3:1-17; Luke 9:28-50; Exodus 1:1 – 4:17)

The story of Moses is one of the great stories of the covenant. The same elements are repeated that we saw in Genesis.

·         The people of Israel get into trouble and forget their roots;

·         God does not forget them;

·         God chooses the least likely person as His spokesperson (in this case a wealthy renegade who becomes a murderer);

·         God’s power controls the entire situation, but it takes forever for the people to trust Him.

·         God wins.

Essentially, God is God and the people are rescued, even though it becomes apparent that the people are constantly breaking trust and probably aren’t worth rescuing. Why God keeps on loving these people is a mystery. Of course, the Bible assumes that readers will come to this conclusion in their own arrogance and stupidity, and will take them awhile to realize the Bible isn’t really talking about the ancient Israelites at all. The Bible is talking about you, your situation, and your only hope.

Team Meditation (Luke 9:28-50)

In the internet forums in which I participate, it is common to hear Christian leaders lament that “so-and-so just doesn’t get it!” People seem to find it so hard to catch on to this idea of “covenant” and all the other things implied by “covenant”: faithfulness, trust, grace, forgiveness, hope, and all the rest. The world is trying hard to break the “Da Vinci code” to rationalize and control Jesus … and the just don’t seem to realize that who Jesus really is. They don’t get it. The Egyptians try so hard to interpret the burning bush, rationalize the plagues, and harden their hearts to God. They just don’t get it.

It’s a good deal more humbling, however, to read the Bible story closely and discover that the problem is not that the Egyptians “don’t get it” or that the Pharisees “don’t get it”. The real problem is that the Israelites, the disciples, the Christians, you, me, and all the rest of the self-proclaiming followers of God “don’t really get it” either. We don’t “get it”. We never seem to “get it”. The minute we think we’ve “got it”, we seem to “lose it” all over again!

Now that’s sin! Even Jesus’ closest disciples had the sickness just as bad as everyone else … and their hearts were just as hardened not to admit it. When God speaks from the cloud, I always sense an eternal frustration: “This is my beloved Son! Listen to Him!” I suspect that when Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop, it was really a therapy session for the three most frustrated people in the history of the world. Moses finally broke threw down the Ten Commandments and broke them in disgust; Elijah finally retired in favor of a younger Elisha in frustration; and Jesus had to die to make God’s point. And still we don’t get it. God’s love will just not let you go.

Worship Theme (Exodus 3:1-17)

There are so many amazing things about Moses that it is hard to keep track. We know he had a conscience … and that he had a temper … and that he felt guilty … and that he was a survivor. He also had low self-esteem, and was not particularly courageous. So he was pretty much an average guy. Would you or I react the way Moses did?

If God appeared in a burning bush, would you see it?

We like to think we would, but I am not so sure. How many shepherds didn’t look up? How many decided it was a distant campfire and kept going? How many made a note to surf the internet and learn more about spontaneous combustion and went home to dinner? How many would turn aside? Is it possible that something wondrous and life-changing for us might lie on the other side of the street … or just around the corner … or this weekend? Do we have that expectation anymore? Do we even want to dare to think that the supernatural is glimmering right there beside the natural, or that the sacred is the flip side of the secular, or that our life might have an infinite purpose? Would we turn aside?

If God spoke to us, would we listen?

I think we would hear all right (assuming we turned aside to see) … but would we really listen. Would we take off our shoes … or take to our heels? Ponder the mystery of “I AM WHO I AM”, or read a book on theology? Remember our heritage … or fear for our future? We all know how little we really listen to one another. How realistic is it that we will really listen to The One who is totally and fundamentally different? Self-centeredness is not only about thinking we are more than we are … but making excuses that we must be less that we should be. Could we leave off thinking about ourselves for just a few minutes, and surrender completely to listening to God?

If God commanded us, would we obey?

Even Moses tried to avoid the obligation. “Who am I?” “They’ll never believe me!” “I’m too shy! Uneducated! Poor public speaker! No talent!” The point is not that we make excuses, but that in fact all of our excuses are very good and reasonable excuses. They are all true! We are inadequate, incompetent, unconvincing, and ignorant. At best we will look stupid … at worst we might get killed. This covenant that God thrusts upon us requires absolute and unending trust. Can we do it?

Moses did it all, and that is what makes him so remarkable. More than this, he behaved this way consistently throughout all the difficulties and challenges of the exodus. It wasn’t just a single, wild, leap of faith. It was a continuous series of leaps of faith … a journey of faith. The great irony is that in the end of that journey, when the Israelites finally reached the Promised Land and were about to cross the Jordan to conquer Jericho, Moses died.

If Moses had known at the beginning how it would end, would he still have done it? You are left with the absolute conviction that he would have done it all over again. It wasn’t about him. It wasn’t even about the journey. It wasn’t even about the Promised Land. It was plainly and simply about God … God’s will … God’s purpose.

Worship Design

One of the most prevalent questions even long-time Christians ask is, "How can I hear God?"  This is, in many ways, the theme for this week's lesson.  Tom refers to three of the most important questions we need to ask and answer for ourselves:

1. If God appeared to us in a burning bush, would we see?
2. If God spoke to us, would we listen?
3. If God commanded us, would we obey?

The movie National Treasure does a good job of introducing the topic of looking but not seeing - and seeing, but not looking.  The first scene between three generation of the Gates family, son, father, and grandfather, sets the stage for the sermon.  In the clip, Grandfather Gates tells the story of a treasure and how it came to be hidden except for clues left in plain sight by the Knights Templar/Masons, and one clue left to the Gates "The secret lies with Charlotte."  Grandson Ben Gates listens in wide-eyed wonder until his sensible father steps into the room, interrupts the story, and tries to put an end to what he sees as a fantasy that has left the family fortuneless. 

For the Christian, the treasure doesn't lie with Charlotte, but with Jesus.  However, it can seem just as elusive as the National Treasure seems to Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), but with dedication to search and to see and understand we can discover the treasure for ourselves - it's in plain sight.

The difference between the fantasy of the movie and the Christian yearning to commune with God is that in our case, the "treasure" is already seeking us.  This presents an exceptional opportunity to help the worshipping community identify the burning bushes all around them (the Bible, mentors, teachers, life-lessons, etc.) and to discuss the difficulties of listening rather than just hearing (hearing God isn't generally the issue - reconciling what is heard against our own desires often is the issue).

You may want to take time to look at some of the burning bush commandments we've already been given: self-sacrifice (Matthew 16:24), giving up all our possessions (Luke 14:33), Jesus and ministry ahead of our families (Luke 14:26-28), and other unpopular and rationalized away teachings.  So often it's not that we haven't heard, but that we're not listening and don't want to be obedient. 

The reward of seeking, seeing, listening, and obedience is indeed great.  Just as Ben Gates found the National Treasure, so too the Christian who dares to tread the path of faithfulness.

Bill T-B

Small Group Discussion (Exodus 1:1 – 4:17)

Before the small group meets, each participant should have read and studied this week's Scripture passages.

In a culture of profit-making, those with great abilities are highly esteemed.  Whether it’s the gifted musician, the talented public speaker, the skilled Formula One Indy 500 mechanic, or the bright 800 SAT student, those with ability seem to get a leg up on the rest of us.  After all, those who have get more and those who haven't get left behind.

That's not how it is with God, though.  God takes the aged and makes them new parents (Abraham and Sarah) and this week, we see God taking the condemned (twice!) and making a deliverer out of him.  They say it takes the right tool for the job, but the mark of genius is to adapt what you have to get the job done.  And the life of Moses could well be the mark of God's genius.

Discuss the following questions in your small group time.

1. How could Moses qualify as a candidate for the "most unlikely to succeed" award?  What were some of the deficits God had to overcome?  How did God manage to overcome these deficits?
2. Early in his life, Moses had a passion to free his people from their oppression.  Discuss what your early passions were - what did you want to be when you grew up?
3. Moses' first attempt to free his people seemed futile and he fled (2:11-15).  What deterred you from pursuing your passion?
4. God rekindled Moses' passion through the burning bush event, but it was clear Moses wasn't keen on going back and trying again.  What did it take to get Moses to "go back" to reclaim his passion?
5. What abilities did Moses have that qualified him to be a great leader?  Was it Moses ability or availability that brought success?
6. What passions might God be calling you back to?  What would it take for you to become available?

Bill T-B

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 2^nd Sunday in June (Week 24) Israel’s Covenant (Exodus 12:1-39; Mathew 14:1-33; Exodus 4:18-6:13 and 6:28-14:31)

The story of the Exodus is one of the classic metaphors of salvation in recorded history. A people joined by a covenant with God; enslaved and persecuted; miraculously liberated by blood; journey through incredible hardship; demonstrate intrepid faith and courage; and arrive at a “promised land”. Echoes of this story appear in literature from around the world. Strangers who have no idea of scripture, or who have never heard of the Israelites, automatically recognize their own yearning when they hear this story. Among Christians, it will become a prophecy of their own journey from slavery to sin: miraculously liberated by the blood of Christ (the lamb of God); journeying through temptation and persecution; demonstrating intrepid faith and courage; to live forever in a “promised relationship” with God.

Up until this point the acts of God have been impressive. God has honored the covenant with Israel, and rescued the people from famine, war, treachery, and their own foolishness. Yet in a sense it was nothing more than would be expected of any god worshipped by any nation. In ancient times, when one nation enslaved another, it was generally believed that the victor’s gods had defeated the loser’s gods. Presumably the Egyptians thought so, and one suspects that the Hebrews did, too.

In the Exodus, God has gone beyond being “impressive”. This God is a whole new kind of God, not to be compared with the gods of the nations. There is a reason that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh, so each successive miracle failed. Each miracle escalated the power of God. Each one raised the stress level of the Egyptians one more notch. The final miracle, the Passover, springs the captives free … and then miracle after miracle carries them forward … and at the moments when all seems lost, God emerges constantly victorious. This is no run-of-the-mill god. This is a God above all gods. Eventually God will tell the Israelites that he is the one and only God, and that they should love him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. The parents will tell the children of the Passover and the Exodus. And they will say, “Yes! It is true! This is the Lord! And I will cling to him for salvation!”

Team Meditation (Mathew 14:1-33)

Three elements appear continually in Biblical stories: tragedy, community, and rescue. The entire story of exodus is built around these three elements, and then the journey to the ‘Promised Land’ repeats these same elements in sub-plots and character studies all the way through the wilderness. In the same way, the entire story of Jesus Christ is built around these elements, and then each vignette from the life of Christ and the lives of the apostles repeats the same theme: tragedy, community, and rescue.

In this chapter the cycle is again repeated. The death of John the Baptist is the tragedy. Evil once again wins a victory, despair once again tempts us. Jesus goes apart to pray, but the people follow him, yearning for comfort and hope. He has compassion. He calls them once again into community. The miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is like the Passover all over again … symbolic food reminding people of a greater covenant. When the disciples are later caught in the storm at sea, Jesus miraculously rescues them.

In the end, there is only one message that bears repeating. Jewish custom repeats the Passover as a ritual to remind the people of God’s power and the hope that overcomes all adversity. Christian custom is simpler. It is the experience of Christ. The entire Gospel, and the hope of God’s chosen people through history, is summarized in these simple words of Christ the frightened disciples in a sinking board: Take heart! It is I! Be not afraid!

Worship Theme (Exodus 12:1-39)

The Passover is the defining moment of the Jewish people. It reveals more clearly than anything else who and whose they are; what they expect of themselves and God; and what God’s covenant is all about. Jesus’ Last Supper was a celebration of the Passover, but in his life, death, and resurrection the Passover came to have an even more universal meaning. No longer was it a memory of where we’ve been; it is a promise of where we are going.

Jesus is the sacrificial lamb, whose blood spares us from judgment. Jesus is also the new Moses, whose guidance leads us to heaven. And in the end Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise himself, for wherever Christ is, there is the Promised Land. Anyone can participate in this miracle; anyone can be chosen; anyone can join in the covenant. All that is required is to connect with Christ.

So when Christians read the story of the Passover, they are reading an analogy rather than a history. They are reminded of their slavery to sin, and that strictly speaking they deserve the judgment of God just as much as anyone. Christ is the sacrificial lamb, whose blood protects them from death. They circumcise their hearts, passing through the water of Baptism as the Israelites passed through the waters of the sea.

The historic affirmation of the covenant from a Christian perspective is that “Christ died for me.” It is difficult to put this into a simple explanation, for there are so many ways it can apply to an individual’s life experience. It is best to understand the statement in light of the Passover experience. Here I am, trembling in my home, in the certain knowledge that death is at my very doorstep. There is nothing I can do about it. I don’t deserve not to die. The only hope is the blood on the lintel of my home. So it is with Christ. His blood is on the lintel of my heart. He intervenes, steps in front of me, rescues me from imminent death by the sacrifice of his own life. He is the last, but utterly reliable, hope. He died for me.

Like the Israelites long ago, I am no longer my own person. My obligation now is to keep the faith. I will repeat the story to my children, and my children’s children. I will walk through any wilderness, challenge the walls of any Jericho, and follow God’s commandments, because I owe God everything. Christ died for me.

Small Group Discussion (Exodus 4:18-6:13 and 6:28-14:31)

Remembrance

Before the small group meets, each participant should have read and studied this week's Scripture passages.

The power of the Passover Celebration and Communion is that they aren't just metaphors.  They are both reenactments of real-life events.  They are both more than just remembrances.  They are signs of covenants that are written in history and written on the hearts of those who embrace the covenants.  However, these covenants were not written without the cost of spilled blood.  In the Passover Haggadah the spilled blood is recalled by drops of wine spilled on the Seder plate.  In communion the spilled blood is recalled by a common cup.  These are not "pretty" reminders.  There are no rainbows here.  Remembering is more than a nod to history.  In our sanitized church settings where things like blood and war and onward Christian soldiers have been hidden behind curtains, this week's conversation may be less than comfortable.  Remember, however, that this isn't a new phenomenon.  In John 6 Jesus faced the same issue (see 6:48-61 for a synopsis) and apparently lost all but the faithful twelve.  This might be the week for a screening and discussion of The Passion of the Christ. 

Discuss the following in your small group time.

1. The saying "There's a silver lining around every dark cloud" is predicated on dark clouds.  What were some of the dark clouds the Israelites had to endure before they experienced the silver lining of exodus?
2. Hardship is a common theme throughout the Bible.  Paul lists his hardships as a faithful disciple in 2 Corinthians 11:23-33.  Share a hardship of the faith you've experienced in the past.  If there were was a silver lining on the morning after, share that experience as well.
3. When hardships are experienced, many of the faithful find the strength to endure by remembering an event of God's deliverance in the past.  What is the core promise or biblical event that you turn to in hardships?
4. What was the cost of the covenant made to the Israelites?  What was the cost of the covenant made to the church?
5. How do the two covenant meals reenact the cost of the covenants?   Does your current communion rituals "bring home" the covenantal cost and meaning?  If not, what could make it more faithful in reenacting the passion?

Consider celebrating communion as you close this week's small group time.

 Worship Design (Exodus 12:1-39)

Worship makes a difference best when it's been an experience.  The Passover is an experience that's relived in the Jewish communities around the world - it's much more than just a remembrance.  The readings from the Haggadah and the meal itself immerse the participants in events past and now brought into the present.  The Passover meal was, and is, more than just a meal.  Every morsel and every ritual carries meaning and memory of thousands of years of community history. 

The tripartite movement of tragedy, community, and rescue is replayed in the meal and should be a key theme to the worship service - with a heavy emphasis on the first two parts.  There is a tendency to want to hasten through the tragedy and even through community in order to get to the rescue.  People like Stephen King know how to milk the suspense associated with tragedy.  People like most of us would write a two paragraph "thriller" because we can't stand to wait while the suspense lingers.  We demand resolution.  Now.  Perhaps that's why the annual Passover meals took (and still take) hours and hours to finish.  The wait for the death angel to slip by the home is not inconsequential.  And it's why this worship service needs to dwell in the experience of suspense for most of the time.

To create this experience begin by using the clip from The Village when the bell from watch tower begins ringing because the mysterious and dangerous creatures have been spotted in the village.  The villagers hide for their lives and the tension is high as the creatures enter the houses looking for….  The scene creates a tension not unlike the Israelites must have felt as they crouched hiding in their homes while the death angel crept from house to house.  It would be good to extinguish as much light as possible for the screening and perhaps the lights should remain down for the rest of the service in order to heighten the tension.

You can help the participants experience the tension of the exodus tragedy in a number of ways during the service.  Waiting and enduring silence is not one of our culture's strong suits.  Sprinkle the service liberally with both of these - for instance, you might want to consider starting the communion service (the church's Passover Meal) but really dragging it out.  We're not talking about the "long version" in the UMC Hymnal.  Instead, consider using bread maker in the worship space (perhaps on the altar/communion table) to make the communion bread for the evening - and time it so that it is finished baking just in time.  The smell of the baking bread will help create some suspense - some longing - for communion.  Then use Luke 22:14f for the communion meditation when Jesus declares that he had "eagerly desired" to share Passover with his disciples before he was to die.  Emphasize the eagerness, the wait, the suspense.  Break the bread.  And then go on to something else while the scent of freshly baked and broken bread fills the room.  To heighten the suspense, use silence as the "something else."  Allow plenty of time so the congregants can truly experience the tension.

There are plenty of other ways to help the congregation experience the suspense of the exodus.  As you sprinkle these throughout the gathering, share the stories of the exodus - and the wavering hope that the blood of the lamb will spare them.

Bill T-B

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3^rd Sunday in June (Week 25) Israel’s Covenant (Numbers 20: 1-13; John 4:7-42; Numbers 11:1-14:25; 17; 20; 22; 27:12-23)

The journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land has come to symbolize the journey of life itself. Why did it take so long (some 40 years of wandering)?

It was because God was testing the people of Israel, refining their faith through tribulation, defining their identity to make them unique in the world. We often speak of “defining moments” in a person’s life. The exodus is the defining moment for Israel. We, too, are being tested in our own life journeys.

The exodus journey was punctuated by repeated affirmations of the covenant; rebellion, resistance, or denial of the covenant; God’s righteous anger and ultimate forgiveness; and renewal of the covenant. This balance between righteousness and compassion is the story of faith.

Team Meditation (John 4:7-42)

John 4:13-14   ¹³ Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again,  ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Water is a symbol of saving grace. When the Israelites were dying of thirst in the desert, Moses struck a rock with his staff (seemingly the most hopeless place to seek water!). God caused water to gush from the rock and save the people. When the Samaritan woman was perishing in her own sinfulness and met Jesus beside the well, Jesus spoke of himself as the source of the water of life (in his homely appearance seemingly the least likely person to provide salvation!)

The life of Jesus constantly recalls the experience of ancient Israel … and interprets it as a sign pointing toward, and fulfilled in, the experience of Christ. Moses rescued the Israelites from thirst … and someone greater even than Moses is here! The waters of Meribah refreshed the people temporarily, but the waters from Jesus will refresh people forever. The entire Old Testament becomes a story, the deepest meaning of which is only revealed in Christ.

Worship Theme (Numbers 20: 1-13)

The event at Meribah became a defining moment in the life of Israel. There had been complaining before this about the exodus through the desert … but never such outright rebellion. There had been examples of God’s saving power before this on the journey … but never so miraculous as water gushing from the rock. No suffering is so great, but that God’s mercy cannot overcome it.

Yet part of this defining moment is that failure to trust also has dire consequences. There is a price to be paid. We know that the Old Testament stories of Israel can be understood as analogies for our own experience as the church.

• The church is laboring through life, following the great commission to multiply disciples, and struggling against all odds to arrive at the Kingdom of God … the Promised Land;
• The church staggers under the weight of responsibility or the enormity of the challenge, and complains that God has abandoned them to their fate;
• God miraculously rescues them, refreshing the church with the water of life, the very presence of Jesus the Christ.

Yet there is a price to be paid. The veteran church leaders themselves may die before the Promised Land has been reached. Their lack of faith has delayed the coming of God’s Kingdom … and it is only their children, and indeed it is only the newcomers who may see the Kingdom in the end. We see in Old Testament story a New Testament promise: the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.

Small Group Discussion (Numbers 11:1-14:25; 17; 20; 22; 27:12-23)

Before the small group meets, each participant should have read and studied this week's Scripture passages.

Moses seems to have inherited a band of children as he tried to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  At almost every turn during these readings there's some sort of rebellion and complaining.  Listen carefully and you can almost hear the whining: "If only we had meat to eat";  "If only we'd died in <country-region w:st="on">Egypt</country-region> - or in the desert"; "Why did you bring us out of <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Egypt</country-region></place> to this terrible place?  There's no water to drink."  And yet, the Lord had delivered them step by step up until then with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.  

God made a great promise and was delivering on that promise, but the people simply couldn’t - or wouldn't - see it.  They weren't willing to wait on the Lord.  They wanted the benefits of the Promised Land now.  Even seeing the Promised Land wouldn't suffice.  No matter what the Lord provided, it wasn't enough.  And so rebellion and disobedience reigned. 

Discuss the following in your small group time 

1. Why do you think it was so difficult for the Israelites to trust God to take care of their needs?

2. The Israelites complained a lot.  What specific complaints did they make in these passages?

3. Of the complaints, which were complaints about personal preferences rather than survival?

4. How did the Lord respond to their complaining?  In terms of provision?  In terms of discipline?

5. The results of the Israelite's inability to trust God was that the those who had been freed from <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Egypt</country-region></place> would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land.  Their fears and complaining distracted them from realizing God's plan for them.  What fears and complaints keep the church from realizing God's plan for it?

6. What fears keep you from realizing God's plan for your life?

Bill T-B

Worship Design (Numbers 20:1-13)

Tom points out that the Meribah story is analogous to the church's experience: Struggling to fulfill the Great Commission and reach the Promised Land; Staggering under the weight of the burden; And finally, God miraculously rescues and refreshes us.  It seems that most of us tend to relate better to the first two points and are fairly soft on the last.  The hit television show Revelations is a case in point - the popularity of the program reveals that the church is waiting, perhaps not so patiently, for the "end times" that we are certain will bring deliverance and refreshment (never mind what Amos wrote in 5:18-23 or that Revelations ended with the birth of the anti-Christ).    The task of the church presses upon us so greatly that we may have let the burden drive us to the ground where we sit, wallow, and whine that our culture is so hot, dry, and poised against us that we simply can't go on.

So we wait not so expectantly for revival and refreshment.  However, notice that the refreshing waters at Meribah were but a temporary fix.  They only refresh the assembly long enough so that they can pick up their burden again and trudge on through the sand.  But the refreshment is enough to get them moving again.  So too with us.  The faithlessness of the church has delayed our own entrance to the Promised Land and we must take up the weight of the Great Commission and continue our trek toward the <place w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">Kingdom</placetype> of <placename w:st="on">God</placename></place> knowing that we ourselves might never realize the promise, but that if we are faithful, perhaps we'll at least get a glimpse.

To design a worship service around this theme consider using a clip from The Flight of the <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Phoenix</city></place>.  The movie's theme is about hope in the face of overwhelming difficulties.  A plane with a cargo of roughnecks from a dry oil well goes down in the middle of the desert.  The survivors have to decide between conserving their resources and waiting for rescue or to use the resources to build an airplane from the wreckage that will lift them out.  Use the clip where there is a rather heated argument between the captain <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Frank</placename> <placename w:st="on">Towns</placename></place> (Dennis Quaid) and the rest of the survivors about whether or not to attempt the impossible or to wait.

The parallels of the church, the movie's survivors, and Israelites in the desert are clear.  Sit, whine, and wait or attempt the impossible.  The Promised Land awaits those who have the moxie to pick up the burden and move on.

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4th Sunday in June (Week 26) Israel’s Covenant (Deuteronomy 10:12-22 and 11:18-21; Romans 7:4-25; Exodus 15, 20, 32, 34; Deuteronomy 10:10 – 11:32)

Throughout the history of Israel, the problem with the covenant is that it is so hard to keep. Time again Israel falls away, and time and again they reap the sorrow of their transgressing, and time and again God forgives and rescues them. Will the never learn?

St. Paul has a answer to that question which is surprising … and alarming. Paul says that they (and we) will never learn, not matter how hard we try, no matter how seriously we study, and no matter how disciplines our behavior. The problem with the covenant, Paul says, is not just that it is hard to keep, but that it is impossible to keep. The problem is deep in our hearts. We are radically sinful, not just educationally deficient. It’s going to take more than obedience to save us from final condemnation and death. It’s going to take an “act of God”.

Team Meditation (Romans 7:4-25)

Romans 7:22-25  ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self,  ²³ but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.  ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Alcoholics and other addicts understand what Paul is trying to say. No matter how much he knows, understands, and learns; not matter how hard he bears down, holds himself accountable, and tries; he can’t do it. You can have a Ph.D. in psychology, and still not stay sober. You can follow the diet, and still fall back on the drugs. You can work harder than anyone to live a moral life, and still end up failing. There is something that keeps us from health, and something that keeps us from goodness. It is our own selfish nature. It is the nature of humanity to be fundamentally selfish.

An alcoholic knows that only the intervention of a Higher Power will ultimately rescue him/her for the addiction. A Christian knows that only the intervention of God through Jesus Christ will rescue her/him from sin. The covenant still important, but the bottom line is that our salvation depends on grace and not on deeds.

Worship Theme (Deuteronomy 10:12-22 and 11:18-21)

Deuteronomy 10:12-13  ¹² "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  ¹³ and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I command you this day for your good?

Of all the seven deadly sins, the one that gets most Christians is “sloth”. We are lazy. We don’t work at being Christian very hard. We are so used to getting everything as a gift, and depending on God to rescue us if we get into trouble. “What?” we say. “You mean I have to work? Get a job? Earn a living? Be a Christian? Get my hands dirty in the mission of God?”

However we interpret the Ten Commandments and the overall covenant with God, the reality is that we are called to take responsibility. We are supposed to rigorously align every moment of every day, every activity and every word, every strategic move and every tactical choice, with God’s will … and nothing else. It’s that “nothing else” that is so tough. We are a “both/and” kind of people. Our goal is to please God and please ourselves, and if it comes to pleasing God first, we at least want our self-interest to be a close second. When you combine self-interest and God’s mission so closely, you are bound to get it wrong once in awhile … and too often.

As we anticipate the nest great story-line of scripture (“David’s Legacy”), the one thing we can assume is that Israel has its work cut out for them. God’s covenant has set a high … a very high …standard of expectation. Can Israel’s leaders live up to the challenge? Could we?

Worship Design

We love the underdog.  We live to see those who have no chance triumph over long and overwhelming odds.  It stirs our spirit and our heart; we stand in awe of those who achieve the lofty ideal.  But the fact is, most of are more interested in watching the underdog (and cheering them on) than we are in being the underdog.  Most of the time we'd rather not even try. 

While writing this, I got a phone call from my daughter.  She was getting ready to take a math placement exam at college, a subject she struggles with and has avoided since high school.  She wanted to know, "Is it possible that God will give me the answers to the test and I'll breeze right through it?"  She wanted me to say, "Sure, pray hard and the Lord will give you all the right answers."  What she didn't want to hear was the truth.  The only people who breeze through a math test are those who have studied hard, have learned and understand the mathematic theorems, formulas, and concepts, and who don't experience test anxiety.  My daughter struck out on three out of three counts. 

Keeping the covenant is hard work and North America Christians are, as Tom pointed out, lazy.  We cling to "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" and conveniently forget about "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me."  For most of us, not only is it easier to get forgiveness than permission, we think it's easier to get forgiveness than to be faithful.  Indeed, we're counting on it.

To bring this point home in worship consider some radical changes in the worship setting.  If it's at all possible, make the worshippers as comfortable as possible.  Replace the normal tables and chairs with couches, overstuffed easy chairs, and recliners.  If you serve refreshments or a meal for this service, recruit wait-staff to attend to the worshippers' every need (if you don't do meal service, at least consider refreshments for this particular service).  Let your imagination soar in creating the most cushy worship space - bring in a masseuse, play soft background music, provide pillows, etc.

Next, begin singing some of the new and old favorites that praise God for the ease of the faith.  For instance, consider singing the old gospel song Down by the Riverside ("Gonna lay down my burdens; Down by the riverside…").  As you sing, encourage the congregation to remain seated, to relax, and the servers should continue making them comfortable them in every possible way. 

Then run a clip from the movie The Last Starfighter (1984).  The clip to use is when Alex (Lance Guest) and the alien Grig (Dan O'Herlihy) are in their starship hidden behind an asteroid after the Rylan Armada has destroyed all of the Federation ships - except theirs.  Alex reflects on the overwhelming odds and says, "It'll be a slaughter."  Grig responds, "Interstellar!" and says that he's always wanted to face overwhelming odds and triumph in a blaze of glory.  But Alex (who looks incredulous) says, "No - we'll be slaughtered." 

From this point on the teaching shifts to explore our expectation of an peaceful, easy Christian life and the reality that being a Christian is hard work. 

You may want to close with the story (perhaps apocryphal) about Alexander the Great.  One night before a battle when he couldn't sleep he went out for a stroll and came upon a sentry who was sleeping.  This was a capital offence and the young man could have been immediately slain.  As Alexander drew closer the man woke and the general asked, "What's your name, soldier?" 

"Alexander," the soldier replied.

Thinking that the soldier had misunderstood the question, the general asked again but got the same response.  Becoming angered at what he suspected was the soldier's insolence, he demanded, "Soldier, what's your name?"  But when the soldier meekly replied, "Alexander," the general stepped back in thought.  After a moment of reflection, Alexander the Great turned on his heel retorted, "Either become a better soldier or change your name."

Bill T-B

Small Group Study (Exodus 15; 20; 32; 34 and Deuteronomy 10:10 - 11:32)

Before the small group meets, each participant should have read and studied this week's Scripture passages.

These passages reveal many of the specifics of the covenant God made with the Israelites.  No graven images.  Honor your parents.  Love the foreigner.  Give the firstfruits of your labor.  The list goes on.  And on.  And on some more.  In fact, the list was so extensive and comprehensive that it appeared to be an impossibility to keep.  It wasn't long after Moses delivered the Law that the people cast the golden calf and it was pretty much downhill from that.  Keeping the law seemed to be an overwhelming task, and yet it was not only the expectation, it was the mark of the covenant.

Discuss the following in your small group time 

1. Start off your discussion by making a written list of all the laws in these chapters.  If possible, use a flipchart, a whiteboard, or a large piece of paper so everyone can see the growing list.

2. Which of the laws would be (or are) easy for you to keep?  Which of them would be (or are) difficult?

3. What changes would you have to make in your life if you were required to keep all of these laws all of the time?  What kind of an effort would you have to make to keep them all?

4. Read Matthew 22:36-40.  If you were required to keep all of these laws, what changes would you have to make in your life?  What kind of an effort would you have to keep them all? 

5. What changes do you need to make in your life to keep all of these laws all of the time?

Bill T-B