The Gathering

Moses dies overlooking, but never getting to enter, the promised land. Why? While Moses didn’t enter the land, he played a critical role in the people getting there. Similarly we live and strive to serve God. Sometimes we get to see the fruit of that work, oftentimes we don’t. Nonetheless we are called to trust and hope that the work we do makes a difference.

The arrival and time spent at Mt. Sinai was a turning point for the Hebrew people - symbolically, spiritually, psychologically, and socially. God had to bring the people all the way down (south) to Sinai before God could bring them back up to the promised land. At Sinai, the people were reborn, with a new identity, new practices, new ways of understanding themselves. We grow up with all sorts of scripts given to us about who we are, how we live, and what is possible for us. But in Christ, we are reborn into a new creation, complete with a new identity, new practices, and new ways of understanding ourselves.

A recurring theme in the wilderness was the people complaining about Moses and his leadership. As a young leader, Moses was sensitive to these criticisms and complaints. But overtime, Moses learned that he couldn’t lead by trying to please all of the people all of the time, but rather by staying focused on what God had called him to do. Values and vision, not popular opinion, guided him. We inevitably will learn this lesson the hard way, that life is better lived through clarity of purpose, vision and call, not opinions of others.

When God calls Moses out of the burning bush, Moses is a fugitive shepherd trying to reinvent his life in Midian. He does not feel able or equipped to do anything on behalf of God. So he objects, continually, to the call God puts on his life. But God has to teach Moses that the one who calls will also equip. Similarly, we are rarely equipped for something before we are called to pursue it. The call from God comes first, and we will usually feel inadequate to pursue it. But God equips those that God calls.

Moses’ story begins with the heroism and sacrifice of those that came before him. Shiprah and Puauh, his older sister, and his own mother all risked their lives to defy Pharoah and save the lives of Hebrew newborn boys. We too don’t get to where we are alone. The work, sacrifice, and generosity of those that came before us lay the foundation on which we stand. You didn’t get here alone.

At the end of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount we are given a choice: which path will you take, which voice will you listen to, which builder will you be, and will claim the name only or do the will. Jesus lays the choice at our feet. Do you want to continue living according to the wisdom of this world, or will you follow me?

As disciples, what direction are we to follow? How does Jesus, once again, flip the script on the misconstrued ideals for living our lives?

Today we are going to begin at the beginning. Because Jesus begins his sermon in a memorable way. He begins by describing what a disciple of the Kingdom looks like, kind of a list of the kind of people who can see the Kingdom most clearly. Jesus presents a list of different people who are blessed, happy, fortunate, because they can see the kingdom most clearly. That list of blessed people has come to be known as the beatitudes.

Next week marks the official 6-month celebration as the Metro East site of The Gathering! This Sunday, we’re stepping away from our sermon series format so I can speak to you about the site. I want to share a vision of where God is calling us to over the next year, and that looks: INVITATION. Today, we are diving into Jesus’ calling and mission to invite people to hear and experience the authentic Jesus and His Gospel.

If money is a tool to be used, how exactly do we use it without letting it take over our hearts? How do we balance providing for our families without becoming greedy? One of the greatest theologians of the 18th century, John Wesley—the founder of the Methodist movement—preached a famous sermon called "The Use of Money." In it, he laid out three brilliantly simple, yet incredibly challenging pieces of advice for how Christians should handle their finances. These aren't just historical footnotes; they are fiercely relevant to how we live today.