Draft Sermons

First Presbyterian Church
Las Cruces, NM

Draft Sermon by Rev. Norman Story

"Where Is God In All This?" 2010

Exodus 17:1-7 Luke 12:22-34

Exodus 17:1-7 (NRSV) Water from the Rock

17From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2The people quarreled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ 3But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ 4So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ 5The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’

Luke 12:22-34 Do Not Worry

22 He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, strive for his* kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In Eastern N. Carolina, there are lots of wonderful old churches.

Churches, where for generations, faith has been nurtured,

whose members have consistently, freely and generously

given of their time, their talent and their money.

Where they have worked hard taking care of their church --

so that it looks nice and inviting to outside visitors,

so it will be serviceable for doing ministry,à

and so they live out their faithfulness before God.

Early in my ministry, hurricane Floyd à

blew through our area causing terrible and extensive damage.

Many of those churches, some dating back to the early 1800's,

lovingly built by hand and maintained through generations,

were suddenly under several feet of some very nasty water.

So, what are we to make of it,

that a destructive storm so damages long-faithful churches,

people and places of worship, committed to the glory of God?

Shouldn't God protect His own, protect what was generously given,

faithful churches that have been beautifully maintained

and used for the service, for the worship & mission of God?

I remember walking with elders and pastors through à

once beautiful old churches destroyed by filthy flood waters,

I saw in their sad faces their troubled questioning,

"Is God among us, is God really with us, or not?"

In the Exodus 17 passage, the former slaves from Egypt

are following Moses through the wilderness to the Promised Land.

They have seen the mighty power of God

as 10 plagues forced Pharaoh to relent and let them go.

They saw the mighty Egyptian army drowned and destroyed by God,

and each day, every morning they eat manna provided by God.

Now they face another threatening problem, vs. 1

From the wilderness the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

They are on a journey through the Sinai wilderness as God commanded

- and as God commanded them, they set up camp at Rephidim;

BUT THERE WAS NO WATER ---- not for them,

not for their children, nor for their livestock.

"Hey God, We're out here in the desert

just as you commanded us, trying to obey you.

We are doing what we have been told to do …so God, where is the water?

"God, didn't you read the travel brochures about desert travel,

that in these dry and arid Sinai desert places,

we'll get headaches if we don't drink enough water?

We're trying to follow as Moses leads us, don't you care?

Why aren't things going any better than this?"

Haven't we too wondered and wanted to asked God that question;

"Lord, we are trying to follow and obey your will,

so why aren't things going any better than this?"

In the dry desert wilderness, in their fear they turn on Moses: vs. 3

the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?"

"Ah Moses, if you are really leading us according to God's will,

then shouldn't things

be going better and a little more smoothly than this?"

"Why did God bring us out here, to abandon us now to die?"

"Is is really better to die of thirst in the desert wilderness,

than to have remained and lived in Egypt even as slaves?"

These are the words of some very frightened and thirsty people.

They were angry, disappointed & felt that God had abandoned them.

Many Bible commentators condemn the Israelites for forgetting

so quickly all that God has done for them along the way.

But I think that there is a little more to it than that – in fact,

I have a certain sympathy for those 'faithless Israelites'.

During seminary I was able to visit the Middle East

including some time spent in the remote Sinai wilderness

where we could study ancient Nabatean stone writings.

I remember stopping around 7 pm, it was in the cool of the evening,

and it was still well over 110 degrees.

When we stepped from our air conditioned bus,

we hiked a mile or so through what felt like a blast furnace.

There was absolutely no vegetation, no comfortable shady places.

Everything was all a bleak light beige of baked stone and sand,

incredibly desolate as far as you could see in every direction.

It would have been a most terrifying place to be, had I not known,

that I had a full water bottle in the cool bus waiting for me.

I can understand why the Israelites were grumbling,

for it was a scary and life-threatening problem before them,

and when they turned to Moses, thirsty and frightened,

his response was pretty insensitive to their concerns.

vs. 2 … Moses said to them,

"Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?"

or "Why are you hassling me --- how dare you question God!"

When Kathy and I first moved to Sneads Ferry, North Carolina,

it was a tiny fishing village – so small and remote

that even Dominoes wouldn't deliver pizza that far out.

In the ancient world,

the gods were thought to be something like Dominoes Pizza –

- they only delivered, they only had power and authority

within a certain limited geographical region or area…

… and so the people were questioning Moses.

"Does your God's presence, power and protection

really extend even all the way out to here?,

or have we traveled

beyond the range of the God who freed us from Egypt?

"Is the Lord still with us, even out here in the desert?"

"Is our God still powerful enough to provide,

even out here in this remote desert?"

They had been following exactly as God commanded, so they wonder,

"So why are we suffering with thirst, and why all this trouble?"

"We've been good, so why are we having these problems?"

… and so they wonder and ask,

"Is God among us? Is God with us, or not?"

Despite their long history

of God 's unfailing love and faithful provision for their needs

yet in crisis, they immediately turn on Moses and God,

stridently doubting, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

The truth is , that question and its many forms and variations,

may be the most important question any human can ever ask.

- Is God, powerful enough and actually present enough to be with me,

to guide and strengthen me and bring me through, even this?

Can God really heal my sickness, and provide for my needs?

Can God comfort my deepest grief and terrible loneliness?

- Is God, is God's love, grace, promise and purpose

still available to me and with me even after I have sinned;

what if I have fallen and failed badly and hopelessly,

is God still with me, even then?

Can God truly make a difference, even now, in the 21^st century?

Can God really effect the difficult circumstances of my life?

Does anything actually change or improve when I pray?

So how does God answer?

Where does God promise Moses that He will be found? vs. 5-6

The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb.

I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb.

… so God provided water in abundance for the people to drink.

When we are thirsty in our dry wilderness, troubled anxiety places,

the question is not really our hot parched circumstances,

but our confidence, and assurance that God is with us,

that God is standing there in front of us,

right there with us, on our rock at Horeb.

* That's the word I think we need to hear today, for these are not

the easiest times for Christians or for mainline churches.

Some of you may know that part of the research for my dissertation

involves interviewing a number of Presbyterian pastors.

I am hearing stories about lots of long-faithful, aging churches

which are struggling and going through difficult times.

For many, membership and contributions are way down,

and frankly, some of them seem not likely to survive.

Our world, our nation and especially our youthful culture

have changed, and continue to change ever more rapidly…

… and we Presbyterians need to adjust and do a better job

at telling the old, old story in more compelling ways

that the younger generations can hear and receive.

We need to communicate the same gospel message, that doesn't change;

but we must find ways to share it more effectively…

…as the old and familiar are not working as they once did…

and so Christians in struggling churches are asking,

"Is God among us, is God with us, or not?"

The promise is, and the truth we've experienced in this church,

is that God is with us, that God is standing there in front of us,

standing right here with us, on our rock with us at Horeb.

It is just as Jesus promises in his sermon of Luke 12:27~31

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you… your Father knows what you need. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Jesus is saying to that crowd,

don't worry so much about the passing things of this world;

for our lives are far more than that,

so don't let anxiety or fear about $ govern your life.

- don't focus just on the material stuff of budgets & bank balances;

- don't be governed by a world view of scarcity, greed and fear,

for ours is the God of abundance and blessings,

- know that our God is with us and will surely provide.

Back in Egypt,

Pharaoh was always counting bricks, and there were never enough.

Pharaoh taught the slavery of scarcity, of always needing more.

In contrast, Jesus teaches about God's abundance and blessings.

Its not a matter of scarcity, but a question of our priorities,

for we will find a way for the things we truly believe in;

people do find a way to pay for and get what they really want.

Money is really not the limiting factor, the more honest question,

is, are we are committed enough to find and figure out a way?

If God has opened the mission door, are we receptive to God's call?

Is that our priority and are we committed enough to follow?

… and if we are,

then I want to be in the company of God's people serving.

Here's the application I see for us, for this is a special day:

so let's celebrate with enthusiastic joy and gratitude

for all that God is blessing and accomplishing in our midst.

Look at all this church is doing faithfully and well,

the lives we are touching with God's grace and compassion,

… and is there any doubt but that indeed,

God is standing before and with us, and we are with God?

The promise made through Moses is relevant to us and sure,

I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. …

… so keep going, for I have not, nor will I ever abandon you.

Today, let this promise be a to us, a call and a challenge,

to consider with care, the priorities of life we are living,

and are we headed in the direction God wants us to go?,

and can we imagine, can we envision

that God is calling us to move into a more faithful future?

In hope we can trust, confident that God's promise is sure,

I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb.

God is always faithful, but sometimes we are not,

for sometimes we can be ungrateful, untrusting and a bit whiney.

Therefore, as we think about our situation and our future,

look expectantly for God's good and purpose in all things…

… asking, what is God showing us, and teaching us,

and where are we being called to grow and deepen?

What would God desire and have us to do in this situation?, and,

asking how can this challenge, best serve to glorify our Lord?,

and what decision would bring us most closely nearer to God?

This day, we are being called:

called to be more attentive to the Spirit of the Lord,

and focus on things beyond just ourselves and our desires.

called to be more grateful to the Lord God,

for in thanksgiving we can see beyond ourselves, our desires.

called to be more trusting of the Lord,

and look beyond ourselves, or on our own strength and reserves.

called to be more responsive to the Lord,

to hunger to be nearer to God, a longing beyond our own selves.

As we read from Hebrews in the meditation today: (Hebrews 10:23,35)

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours.

Send comments, suggestions, and requests to Alex. F. Burr or send e-mail to aburr @ aburr.com.
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Last update 2010-03-15 21:16:18