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Sunday
in
Lent
March
15,
2015
Numbers 21:49
The Bronze Serpent
4
From Mount Hor athey set out by the way to the Red Sea, bto go
around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the
way. 5 And the people cspoke against God and against Moses, dWhy
have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For
there is no food and no water, and ewe loathe this worthless
food. 6 fThen the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people,
and gthey bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 hAnd
the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have
spoken against the LORD and against you. iPray to the LORD, that he
take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the
people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set
it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall
live. 9 So Moses made a bronze3 serpent and set it on a pole. And if a
serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
Ephesians 2:110
And you were kdead in the trespasses and sins 2 lin which you once
walked, following the course of this world, following mthe prince of
the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in nthe sons of
disobedience 3 among whom we all once lived in othe passions of
our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body1 and the mind,
and pwere by nature qchildren of wrath, like the rest of
mankind.2 4 But3 God, being rrich in mercy, sbecause of the great love
with which he loved us, 5 even twhen we were dead in our
trespasses, umade us alive together with Christvby grace you have
been saved 6 and raised us up with him andwseated us with him in
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he
might show the immeasurable xriches of his grace in ykindness toward
us in Christ Jesus. 8 For zby grace you have been saved athrough faith.
And this is bnot your own doing; cit is the gift of God, 9 dnot a result
of works, eso that no one may boast. 10 For fwe are his
For hGod so loved ithe world,9 jthat he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not kperish but have eternal
life. 17 For lGod did not send his Son into the world mto condemn the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through
him. 18 nWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe is condemned already, because he has not obelieved
in the name of the only Son of God. 19 pAnd this is the judgment: qthe
light has come into the world, and rpeople loved the darkness rather
than the light because stheir works were evil. 20 tFor everyone who
does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the
light, ulest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever vdoes what is
true wcomes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works
have been carried out in God.
A Change in Heart, A Change in Perspective
One Sunday morning, the Lutheran pastor noticed Ole
standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque.
It was covered with names and small American flags mounted
on either side of it. The old Norwegian had been staring at the
plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside
Ole, and said quietly, 'Good morning Ole.'
to the voice of God that speaks to our hearts today, Do you trust
me?
The root issue is exposed to us well in the Old Testament today.
The failure to trust God (and Gods intermediary, Moses, is the
basic issue. The aim of Moses was for the people to move forward
trusting that God would keep the divine commitment to lead them to
a new land. When God asks you today Do you trust me?
what will your answer be?
God provided for His beloved people in the wilderness. Food,
shelter, and a hope for a new day and yet they found time to
complain. They didnt like the food God provided. 5 And the
people cspoke against God and against Moses, dWhy have you
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no
food and no water, and ewe loathe this worthless food. You see we
are bent towards this way of being. In our loathing we miss the
point. We cannot even see the blessings of God raining down
on us in the midst of the storms that beat against the doors of
our hearts.
Its time to allow God to break and mold us, shape our hearts and
renew our minds. We need to be open to how he will use us in new
and exciting ways. Change our hearts O God, make it ever new
may we yield to your guidance kind and Good Shepherd.
APPLICATION
1. Its time to refocus and reimagine what the almighty can do!
When was the last time you were excited about church?
What gets you excited about ministry?
Where do you see God leading us as a parish?
16
For hGod so loved ithe world,9 jthat he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not kperish but have eternal
life. 17 For lGod did not send his Son into the world mto condemn the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Yes, Jesus loves me he loves you, he loves everyone in Gonvick.
Now lets go share that word!