Spark Cast

We all complain. Do we all complain about not having water and dying in the desert? Those seem like legitimate complaints. So, why is this episode looked down upon as a low point in Israelite history. Perhaps because their complaining is more about their loss of identity and relationship with YHWH.

So, what is it? Literally, that manna is "What is it?" In Exodus 16, we do not get a name for this flaky white substance. What we do get is the understanding that it is "bread" from heaven. What we will discover is that this word has rich meaning and significance for the narrative of the story, and what YHWH is communicating to us.

The song that is sung after the parting of the Sea of Reeds is perplexing. But there is a clue, and a connection found in the description of Miriam's song at the end. They both resonate with similar themes and together they exhort us to exemplify the same kind of faith, the faith that stands and sees what God is going to do.

The true miracle at sea is not the parting of the waters, but rather, the birth of a nation. The Exodus imagery, throughout its narrative, is telling a story of Israel is being born again. And this kind of new birth is, for all of us who have experienced the compromise of life, a welcome and celebrated new beginning.

The death of the first born son. In the words of a child, "unfair." What is going on in this last plague, the culmination of the ten? In this message, Pastor Mark shares his insights and personal stories that helps us navigate this challenging plague.

The plagues of Exodus are seen as miracles, judgment, and as a denouncement of the gods of Egypt, including Pharaoh. In addition, the plagues are telling the deeper story that began in Genesis. While Pharaoh's hardness of heart brought about an undoing of God's good creation, corrupt powers of this world do not have the last word. The goodness and justice of God does.

As we enter the section of Exodus that introduces the plagues, we are challenged with the idea that these are not actually "miracles" that necessarily prove God's power. No doubt miracles occur. But these plagues are described in the Bible, not as miracles, but as "signs & wonders," and "acts of judgment." And the reason is profound, for the first act of liberation is not freedom from oppression, but empathy, to know that someone has seen your suffering, and understands how you have been a victim of injustice. That is what the signs and wonders do. They communicate judgment to Pharaoh, and empathy to the Israelites.

The Resurrection of Jesus, the most significant event in Christianity, and the most important event in history is about more than the supernatural and miraculous. It is about diverse worlds coming together in one unified existence and reality, old and new, death and life, mind and heart, data and meaning. And as the resurrection brings all of these together, we see just a glimpse of what it means to have hope in the ultimate coming together, heaven and earth. And as God has joined all of these things together in the resurrection, "let no man separate."

We all have expectations. What we think, hope, and presuppose will meet our predictions. But the expectations the people had of Jesus on this day, Palm Sunday, the day we celebrate Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, left Jesus in tears. In this message we discover why, and how Jesus defied those expectations.

All of us have had the "wind knocked out of us," through tragedy, disappointment, or failure. All of us have desired to stand before God and cry out, "Why?!" Not only do the Scriptures permit this, but it is encouraged. And as we cry out to God, we hear back from his reply, "I will free you, deliver you, redeem you, and take you."