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A 4 Part Sermon on 4 Unrelated Stories
There are parts of the Bible that lend themselves more to teaching/preaching than others.
Today's passage, Exodus 4:18-31, doesn't lead to a smooth sermon.
It's a series of four short stories.
Each of these stories has its own little buildup and conclusion.
Each of these stories has its own message.
I'm a little worried you'll leave today remembering nothing.
It's too much to try to keep in your head.
But even if that happens, I trust that meditating on the Bible, delighting in it, will be a source of blessing to you today (Psalm 1).
Sermonette #1: "How to Say Goodbye"
(J.
Gerald Janzen, Exodus, was really helpful here):
(18) and Moses went,
and he returned to Jethro his father-in-law,[1]
and he said to him,
"Let me go, please,
so I[2]will return[3] to my brothers
who [are] in Egypt,
so I[4]can see if they are still alive,"
and Jethro said to Moses,
"Go in peace (shalom),"
Let's start by thinking about Moses' words to Jethro.
Moses asks for permission to return to Egypt, on the off-chance that some of his Hebrew brothers are still alive.
Is that why God is sending Moses?
Moses here hides God's mission from Jethro.
He doesn't want to tell Jethro what's really going on.
Why?
My guess is that, in part, he's not sure Jethro will believe him.
I've heard other stories about Jesus calling people to big ministries, and they hide that from their family.
With one guy, his parents found out when they read the newspaper, and their son was in it.
When God does really remarkable things through you, you may find yourself hiding that from the people closest to you, at least for a while.
Let's turn to Matthew 10:32-39 (NRSV no reason):
32 “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
When Jesus calls you, one of the things that sometimes happens, is that families turn on each other.
Your family think you're doing something stupid.
Your family rejects you, disowns you.
So maybe it's not just that Jethro may not believe him.
Maybe there's also fear of what Jethro will do.
Now, how does Jethro respond?:
and Jethro said to Moses,
"Go in peace (shalom),"
One of the hardest things to do in life, is say a true goodbye to someone.
And we know that with some people, it's more difficult to say goodbye to than others.
A man I know became pastor at a church, at a time when the church was not doing very well.
There were a lot of hurt and broken people.
The church was divided, and unhappy, and unproductive.
This pastor came, and he brought healing with him-- more through who he was, than anything he said.
Less than two years after he became pastor, Jesus called him somewhere else.
And that same church became filled with a lot of hurt people.
People struggled with him leaving.
They feared what would happen to them.
They focused on themselves, and their own needs, and how the pastor blessed them.
But the focus wasn't so much on the pastor.
To be honest, the focus was probably more on the fear of losing momentum, and people, and money.
If we take this story about the pastor, and bring it back to Exodus 4:18, we get a feel for how we should understand it.
Who is Moses to Jethro?
Moses is a valued member of his family.
He's the one who takes care of the flock.
He's the one who is married to one of his seven daughters, and has given him a grandchild.
In a non-socialist society, Moses is Jethro's Social Security.
So imagine that you're Jethro, and Moses comes to you, asking you very nicely, for permission to go, and return to his brothers.
How do you hear his words?
What do you focus on?
Yourself?
The pain and hardship that this will cause you? (so Laban, Genesis 31-- could probably make this a whole sermon by itself)
Or do you focus on the other?
I'm not going to get this quite right, but a wise pastor once told me that he viewed everyone in the church, as someone given to him by God for a time.
Every person was a part of his flock, temporarily.
And at some point, Jesus may call them somewhere else-- and that somewhere else, may be to a different church in town.
When that happened, this pastor wasn't offended by it.
He didn't take it personally.
Instead, he wished the leaving people well.
He blessed them, and let them go in peace/shalom.
That pastor, to me, is a model of wisdom.
And he is an example for us to follow.
At some point, some of you may feel called to serve Jesus somewhere else.
And that somewhere else may be the church across the street, or down the road.
And you may be a valued, productive member of this family.
You might be a key volunteer, who runs a program, or who is a key part of the worship team.
We will miss you.
But if you feel called, know that we let you go in peace.
We will offer you a blessing in Jesus' name.
We will pray over you, if you'd like.
And we will do our very best to focus on you, and Jesus.
Not on ourselves.
If you go, go in peace.
Sermonette #2 (Exodus 4:19-22): "God wants you to serve Him"
This brings us to verse 19, which marks the start of our second short story.
It's a slightly awkward transition.
Most scholars think there's multiple sources involved here, one way or the other.
But, at any rate, let's start with just verse 19:
(19) and Yahweh said to Moses in Midian,
"Go!
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