Acts 7:20-36
"At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father’s house. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
"When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’
"But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord’s voice: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
"Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
"This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the desert."
Take the time to read beyond our selected text. To better understand the context please read Acts 6:8 - 7:60. As Stephen defends himself he helps us enter the Exodus Story. The story is found originally in Exodus 12-14.
How does Stephen describe Moses?
How did God work through the misunderstanding/disappointment Moses experienced with his fellow Israelites?
Find a quiet place and try imagining the burning bush experience (see Exodus 3).
What has God seen and heard?
What does God want Moses to do?
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Wow, Lipscomb just beat IU!
I'll try be a little more active this week in my blogging activity.
The boys and I went to the "meaningless" Colts' game today. We enjoyed it and found meaning there, so that's a good thing. This game was my Christmas gift to my three sons. I bought tickets a long time ago. Ben, Luke, and I went up last night and spent the night with Lester and Maddie.
We got up this morning and worshiped with the North Central Church of Christ. I really enjoy worshiping there; probably because I don't have to do anything or be concerned about anything. They have a singing group of about 8 folks who sing each of the four parts of the songs. I like the way that sounds.
After church we hit the Golden Corral for an awesome breakfast bar. Then it was on to the game. Wow, Lucus Oil Stadium is an impressive structure!
After the game we dropped Luke at IU. He joined up with others from church to watch IU play Lipscomb. He should be home soon.
How did last week go for you? I had a really nice Christmas. It was different this year with Lester being married. We made a few changes/adjustments, which were fine. It's not so much about specific days; it's more about events and relationships.
Wow, I'm having trouble getting into the flow of working this week. Oh well. It will all pile up and being waiting for me at the end of the week. Yuk.
One thing I forgot to mention about worship on Sunday was seeing some old friends. David and Phyllis Myers were at worship on
Sunday. His sister live in Indy, and they were there to see her. David's niece is a freshman at Lipscomb; she and Luke are friends.
For those who don't know: David was the minister here back in the late 80s. He was well-loved.
Has anyone seen my motivation?
I think I lost it somewhere.
Well I think I heard motivation is taking a year or two off, see it got used by some folks who's motives were not pure and so motivation is letting hope and indurance and truthfullness lead the way this yr.
So I say have a nice vacation motivation, see you when those folks get a little dose of what's right and true and pure. In the mean time God will take care of the rest of us.
I hope one of those folks didn't steal my motivation with an intention to misuse it.
Hope, truthfulness, and perseverance are good things indeed.
Does anyone have any New Year's Resolutions?
Post a Comment