Rev. Zach

Exodus 16:1-18; John 6:47-51 Last week we talked about the way God self-identified to Moses as the one who shall be as they shall be. We were encouraged to know that God hears us in our suffering and God acts with compassion – even though we may not always see it. More than that, God has given us one another to celebrate our joys and encourage one another in hardship, and we can give thanks to God for that, Amen? It may seem like we’ve left some of the story out for those who are familiar with the story of the exodus of the people of God, and truly we have. I encourage you to go back and read the rest to see how it might speak to you through the Holy Spirit. As for our time together today, we have joined the Israelites in the wilderness. You might note that the text calls it the “Wilderness of Sin,” but it just so happens it was named for a geographical region rather than a theological statement. It might even be considered both, but I don’t think it was intentional except through the

Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-15; 4:10-17 [The scripture reading is followed by a skit called “Here I Am, Send Claude” from The Next Voice You Hear – Sermons We Preach Together by David Steel.] “Here I am, send me.” I wanted to start from that point because those words are quite triggering to Presbyterians. Yes, and I’m going to make it worse by acknowledging the Hymn “Here I Am, Lord.” If you did not grow up in our tradition you are probably thinking, “So what?” If you did, you probably won’t hear a word I say, because you are already mentally composing a very angry email about why we did not sing that song today! If you’ll bear with me for a few, hopefully, it will all make sense, even though there are some plot holes with this skit that are not limited to the songs that we will sing together today. What I want to lift up about this skit is that it calls us to be part of the solution. Problems are easy to see, especially if we compare ourselves with the church down the street, or even next do

John 15:1-8; Revelation 1:8, 21:6, 22:13 Today is the last day of a 4 week series on our banners, and we are focusing on the symbols of the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and the Vine with its fruit. Incidentally, some of you may recall that I often pray before preaching that my words either bear good fruit or be struck from your ears that only things pleasing to God come from this place. I started doing that as kind of a disclaimer a while back because I know that some people listen to me as a person with authority – or at least someone who has the responsibility of faithful interpretation of scripture – and I wanted to be clear about the fact that I am, at best, a person making a faithful attempt to connect God’s word with our lives. At my worst, I’m a person who is limited by my own needs and desires, and so my hope is always that something of God still shines through. That is, after all, the meaning of revelation – something of God is revealed in