Week 1 – Moses – Slavery & Emancipation Harmony Christian Church

🌟Join us for a powerful sermon journeying through Moses' life. What idols do we worship? Let's reflect together. Tune in at Harmony Christian Church. EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give ). Get the fill in the blank bulletins my.harmonychurch.cc/bulletins.



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This morning, I want to take you into the story of someone who is larger than life - so large that nearly 3,500 years later we are still talking about his story… 



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The Story of Moses



Moses’ life is so big, I can’t really do it justice… Instead, what I want to do is take you into three movements.  



I want to take you through the story of Moses, a specific incident from his life, and a challenge for us all.



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MOVEMENT 1:  The Man Moses



He was born into a time of incredible tumult.  The Israelites had been in slavery to the Egyptians for hundreds of years.  Moses is born to an incredibly brave woman who fights against all the odds to save her child.  Through a miraculous set of events, Moses is adopted into the family of Pharaoh - King of Egypt.  Moses is raised in a world of contradictions.  A slave who is a prince.  As he ages he will be moved for his people and in a moment of rage he kills an Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew Slave.  Moses will run away and for 40 years will be an exile.  When he returns it is because of an encounter with God in a burning bush.  God will call him to lead his people out of Egyptian slavery to come into the wilderness to worship God.  It is an epic story, it’s so massive I can’t do it justice.  But



During this time, God will send 10 plagues on the Egyptians trying to get them to release their iron grip on the Hebrew people.



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The last of the 10 plagues was the death of the firstborn son.  



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The Lord sent an angel through Egypt and anyone whose house was not marked on the door frames with the blood of a lamb, their firstborn son died.



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This is called the Passover, because God passed over the Hebrews in this moment and finally released them from their slavery.



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For the next 40 years, Moses will wander in the desert with the Israelites, leading them and shepherding them.



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Through all of this, Moses faces the challenges of leadership and following God…



MOVEMENT 2:  The Specific Incident



The Israelites have been in the desert for some time now.  God has been leading them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  He is providing them with food, and water, He is giving them everything they need.  



Immediately people begin to complain.  



God begins to intervene and he gives what we know today as the 10 Commandments - it is a covenant of relationship.  



It starts like this…



Exodus 20:1-6



And God spoke all these words:



2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.



3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.



4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.



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The covenant is: abide by the law of God, He will bless them. Don’t, and He will curse and leave them to their own devices.



Moses goes up on the mountain to hear from God (because the people begged him to) - God will codify the covenant onto two stones.  He will be up on the mountain for 40 days.  But I want to read to you what happens during that time…



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