This fall we are preaching through our third full sermon series. Our first series was a study of the book of Ephesians (the foundational document of the New Testament church felt like an appropriate place to start). Over the summer, we turned our attention to 9 different marks of Christian maturity (discipleship characteristics that our church is designed to help one another grow into). This fall, we have been working our way through the book of Exodus. We landed on Exodus for three reasons:
One, in many ways, the story of Exodus is the story of the entire Bible. We see the narrative arc of creation, fall, redemption and restoration laid out in one, single book. It is almost impossible to understand the New Testament without the underlying framework of the Exodus story. Jesus is the new Moses who has come to set the captives free. Jesus is the spotless lamb who was sacrificed in order to protect his people from God’s judgment. Jesus is the new law-giver that creates a set-apart community of believers. Understanding the book of Exodus provides invaluable insight and context as we consider the theology of the New Testament.
Two, it has become obvious within our own community, that we are all slaves to something; whether it is sinful habits, shame from our pasts, or anxiety about our futures, we all feel a sense of captivity to these domineering slave masters. Therefore, it is exceedingly good news to be reminded that God loves to free people that cannot free themselves.
Three, while we must be repeatedly reminded of the reality of our freedom, we must also be reminded that our freedom is not for the purpose of personal autonomy, it is for worship. We are not only set free but we are also set apart – to be a holy, counter-cultural, nation of missionaries who demonstrate and declare the glory of the God who saves people who can’t save themselves. We are not our own, we were bought with a price and in a Bible Belt culture where the dominant religion is fraudulent Christianity, we must live lives that are consistent with who God is and what He has done.
We would love for you to jump into both our worship gathering (Sunday evenings in the First Pres Opelika chapel at 5) and our house churches on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, as we help each other remember that we are both set free and set apart.