Moses: A new sermon series for the Summer

Published:

Wed Jun 17 '15

Author:

Liam Thatcher

Tags:

exodus, faith, leadership, Moses, preaching, promised land, sermon, trust

Last autumn we preached on the final chapters of Genesis; the story of how Joseph clung on to his fragile dreams, even when life took unexpected turns. This Summer, we want to pick up where we left off, and turn to the book of Exodus.

At the end of Genesis, Joseph and his family were living like Kings in the nation of Egypt. Pharaoh had told them “the land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and brothers in the best of the land!” (Genesis 47:3-6) But flip over the page in your Bible, and Exodus tells a quite different story. The population had exploded, and now rather than welcoming the people of Israel, the Egyptians saw them as a plague, and put them to work.

It was in this context, at this bleak point in time, that God decided to raise up a child, Moses, to lead the people out of slavery.

Over this summer, we will be preaching on the story of Moses. It’s a story full of hope. It’s not just the tale of one man, or even one family, but of a whole nation who are looking to God for rescue, comfort, strength and freedom. It’s got all the hallmarks of an epic; conflict and resolution, impossible situations and miraculous provision, and even a road-trip from the despair of Egypt to the hope of the Promised Land.

And we also think it is an important story for us at this point in our church’s journey. As we are preparing to start new services in different parts of the city, we will face all sorts of challenges, but also a whole raft of new opportunities. Many of the lessons Moses had to learn, will be incredibly pertinent to us:

How can we trust God in the face of seemingly-impossible situations?
How can we stay together as we journey into uncharted territory?
How can we raise up new leaders at every level?
How can we keep developing in faith, when the future looks uncertain?

This will be a practical series, with lots of lessons on faith, leadership, prayer and pioneering. We trust that as we work our way through this book, it will equip us for all that lies ahead. You can find out more of what we will be covering through the calendar.

Recommended Reading

If you would like some reading in advance of or alongside the series, here are a few recommendations:

Exodus. Perhaps fairly obvious! But the book of Exodus will be the main book in which we will be basing the sermon series.
Straight to the Heart of Moses, by Phil Moore. 60 bite-sized chapters looking at the whole Moses story in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Really great if you want to read a short chapter a day.
Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication, by Charles R. Swindoll. A great portrait of Moses, with some brilliant insights into some of the key moments in Moses’ life and leadership.
Moses: The Making of a Leader, by Cleland Thom. A short and inspiring book on how God developed Moses as a leader. Out of print now, but you can still pick up a second-hand copy.

Image: Storm light (3) by Mor, used and adapted under CC BY-NC 2.0