We have changed as we are "in Christ." We have died to sin and have raised again. We now need to learn how to live in Christ. In this sermon we will look at:

1) You Have Died

2) You Were Resurrected

As the Israelites left Egypt and moved to the Promise Land, God tested them, they failed but then received God's grace.

Tests- the Israelites undergo two kinds of tests- 1) tests of need- a. for water b. for food c. for water and 2) tests of command- to obey God’s commands surrounding the gathering of Manna. They were tests of whether they would trust and obey God.

Failures- the Israelites failed the tests- all of them- they did not trust God’s plan and goodness and provision and they did not obey his commands. Instead, they grumbled and put God on trial and questioned his goodness and his presence with them.

This week we look at the song Moses and the Israelites sang after the crossing of the Red Sea:

1) What About the Song

It’s a Celebration Song

It’s a Personal Song

It’s a Corporate Song

It’s a Godward Song

It’s a Formative Song

2) What the Song is About

Yahweh’s Power

Yahweh’s Wrath

Yahweh’s Salvation

Yahweh’s Sovereignty

Yahweh’s Love

Today we will be talking about the parting of the Red Sea. Here are some things to think about:

What Israel Does

Fears

Questions

Forgets

Doubts

What God Does

Leads

Protects

Fights

Saves

What Israel is called to do

Do not fear

Stand Firm

See Salvation

Be Silent

Key verse- 14:14- “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

Today we will look at the Passover Lamb. There are three points:

1) The Passover Experienced- God’s warnings, instructions, the killing of the firstborn and the deliverance of God’s people from Egypt.

2) The Passover Remembered- in the Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Redemption of the Firstborn

3) The Passover Fulfilled- in Jesus- he is the true and better Passover Lamb who delivers us from our slavery to be God’s holy people.

What was God's purpose in the plagues and the exodus? Let's find out....

1) The Essence of God’s Aim- God’s aim is to make himself known- to show his glory through Pharaoh, the Israelites and the exodus. Everything he does is aimed at this. We see this supremely at the cross where he gloriously displays his wisdom and justice and power and love and grace.

2) The Extent of God’s Aim- God’s aim is to make himself known in the widest scope imaginable. Here we see he is seeking to make himself known to 1) Pharaoh and the Egyptians 2) the Israelites and their descendants and 3) the whole earth.

Today we are going to talk about the first nine plagues. We can divide this sermon into three parts:

1) Yahweh Judges Pharaoh

2) Yahweh Judges the Magicians

3) Yahweh Judges the gods of Egypt

Things don't always go as expected, even in ministry. As we look at the life of Moses, let's see how he responds to trials and disappointment:

1) Expect it to Be Hard- Moses and the Israelites seemed to believe that getting out of Egypt would be easy and immediate. They shouldn’t have- God had told them it would be hard and that it wouldn’t happen right away. We need to realize that it is often difficult and painful for follow Jesus and things don’t always happen in the timeframe we would prefer.

2) Guard Against Wavering- crushed expectations can lead to wavering and doubt- we start to wonder if our old master was better- this was the Israelites- they had believed and now they were calling themselves Pharaoh’s servants. Moses himself wavers as well.

1) God’s Passion for His People to Be His- God cares about his people- he wants them to be h is own- to be with him- to worship him. This is seen in how he interacts with Pharaoh.

2) God’s Passion for His People to Be Pure- God cares about the purity of his people- about them being holy and set apart for him. Moses missed this and was only delivered through blood.

There are three ways Jesus is at work today:

1. The Living Christ is Ruling as King- which gives us comfort in the midst of the craziness and brokenness of our world

2. The Living Christ is Building His Church- which gives us confidence and hope in the face of various obstacles and our weakness.

3. The Living Christ is Interceding for His People- which gives us freedom and joy in the face of our sin and our neediness.