Sermon series: In the Wilderness
A good number of churches make apply of sermon series, and a lot of thought and preparation goes into these. Wouldn't it be a good thought to share them?! To offset this off, John Allister, vicar of St Jude'due south, Mapperley in Nottingham, shares details of a recent sermon series on the people of God travelling through the wilderness, and detail addressing the temptation to grumble and complain.
Why Address This Issue?
The Bible famously does non requite us much in the style of directly practical guidance—where we should alive or whether it's better to be a teacher or a doctor. It focuses far more on problems of character— what sort of people we should be every bit Christians. It is the same with churches. The Bible gives us a few instructions nigh what our gatherings should be similar, but it does not tell the states what design of services to have or whether it'due south more important to run a toddlers group or a student cafe. Instead it focuses more than on culture , which is roughly the corporate equivalent of character. Is the civilization of the church loving or judgemental? Is it friendly or confrontational?
Interestingly, the theme of culture mattering more than strategy as well comes out in much secular leadership literature—Patrick Lencioni'sThe Advantage or Jim Collins'Smashing By Choiceexistence good examples.
One of the most mortiferous aspects of culture that a church building tin can have is that of grumbling . It strips people of the joy that should be theirs in Christ and it destroys leaders. As a leadership team at St Jude'southward, we realised that a civilisation of grumbling was a big trouble in the church and had been for decades. So we decided to practise something most it.
Preaching from Numbers
Probably the near important passages in the Bible that deal with grumbling are the ones detailing the journey the Israelites took from Arab republic of egypt to the Promised Country, as told in Exodus 15–17 (Egypt to Sinai) and Numbers eleven–xiv (Sinai to the Promised Land). Information technology's also referred to in a number of other passages such equally Psalm 95, one Corinthians 10 and Hebrews 3–4. One of the major sources of inspiration early in the preparation of the series was Jeff Manion's bookThe Land Between, and a talk he gave from it at the Global Leadership Elevation in 2010.
This serial also gave u.s.a. some valuable time to spend preaching through Sometime Testament narrative. The Bible tells united states of america that all scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3.16). The Old Testament was the Bible that Jesus himself grew upward with and used, yet all too often churches and preachers fail it. We don't desire to do that, and we want to model how to handle it in a godly way so that the people in the pews have more confidence in reading it for themselves.
The situation of the Israelites in the wilderness has for centuries been seen as similar to that of Christians today – what is often called the now and the non nonetheless. We have been rescued by God from slavery and oppression. We have his presence with usa and a foretaste of the hereafter joys, but we exercise not yet have the fullness of the good things that have been promised to united states of america. We are no longer slaves in Arab republic of egypt, but we aren't in the Promised Land nonetheless.
Resources
Practiced preaching commentaries on this role of the Old Attestation are rare. Books I used were:
Alec Motyer, The Message of Exodus (BST) – the section on Exodus sixteen-17 is proficient but much too cursory
Douglas Stuart, Exodus (NAC) – quite a heavyweight commentary, a lot of item
Gordon Wenham, Numbers (Tyndale) – good only too brief
Timothy Ashley, Numbers (NICOT) – a lot of detail, much of it non specially useful for the preacher
Iain Duguid, Numbers (Preaching the Word) – brilliant, clearly designed for preachers. I disagreed with Duguid about 20% of the time, but both like-minded with him and arguing with him were very helpful!
Jeff Manion, The Land Between – I plant it a wonderful inspiration to start with, merely the more I dug into the text, the more I found to disagree with. His talk at the GLS was brilliant though as a single sermon on Numbers 11.
Of those, I bought The Land Between and Duguid specifically for preparing this serial; I had the others anyhow.
In many means, I constitute good songs more inspiring on these passages, which is unusual for me. In particular:
Guide Me O G Swell Redeemer,William Williams
In the Wilderness, Michael Carte du jour.
"In the Wilderness" is the literal translation of the Hebrew title for the book of Numbers, and I used it as a title for the series.
What Did the Serial Await Like?
There were nine sermons in the series, on nine nearly consecutive Sundays one autumn.
- Exodus 16:ane-18 – Bread from Heaven
God has led his people into the wilderness for a specific reason – he wants his people to learn that they need him far more than they demand food or drink. He wants his people to learn to walk with him, trusting him as their God, and that they can meet this past the mode that he feeds them. The passage itself is carefully structured to emphasise this.
- Exodus 17:i-vii & Psalm 95 – Difficult Hearts
The people were faced with a selection, though they didn't realise it. They looked like they were running out of water again, so they started complaining and accusing Moses of leading them to die in the desert.
Their real problem, though, was that they were hard-hearted. They hadn't let anything that God had done for them over the terminal 3 months or then affect their hearts. If they had been soft-hearted towards God, then they would have looked at the plagues, the Red Sea, the Passover, the twice already he'd provided them with water (Ex 15) and the daily provision of manna and i-off provision of quail (Ex xvi). They'd have seen that God provided for them and cared for them; they'd accept let his love modify their hearts, and they'd have started to trust him. As it was, they doubted whether he was even with them (Ex 17:7).
Hard times are a great opportunity for us to trust God's goodness to us and praise him for everything he has already done for us. Let's worship him full-heartedly!
- Numbers 11:one-9 – The People Mutter
The headings we used for looking at this passage were:
- Lament is Contagious – it started in the hangers-on rather than the Israelites, simply they let themselves get infected. How oftentimes do we do the same?
- Complaining Distorts the By – they looked dorsum to their time in Egypt and just remembered the food, forgetting the slavery, mistreatment and massacres of their children!
- Complaining Distorts the Present – the passage shows us how good manna was, but the Israelites objected to it anyway. Information technology'southward actually important to remember all the means God has been good to us and praise him for those.
- Complaining Forgets the Future – they are meant to be on a journey from Arab republic of egypt to the Promised Land, only they have completely lost sight of their goal. We need to keep our sights on our final destination to help u.s. in the present!
- Numbers 11:ten-17 Moses Complains
These verses represent a turning indicate for Moses. Before this, he has saved the nation three times past praying for them. He never does that once again; instead we proceed on seeing challenges to his leadership. The people'southward lament breaks him. Worst of all are their unrealistic expectations – they expect him to do what but God can, and he starts to await the same of himself, then finds himself unable to meet those expectations and instead becomes suicidal. How can we cope in that sort of state of affairs? 1) Hold onto God for rescue two) Be realistic – what is our job, what should other people practice and what can only God do? iii) Go on coming back to the gospel – our just priority is to follow Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30)
- Numbers 11:24-thirty God'southward Antidote to Grumbling
In a remarkable incident, God answers some of Moses' prayer past providing more than leaders for the people. Specifically, he pours out his Spirit on 70 elders. Nosotros see that the Spirit gives us a deeper experience of God, the Spirit enables us to speak for God (e.g. Eph five:18-21) and the Spirit means everyone is important just no-1 is indispensable. Are we feeling like grumbling? Ask God for a deeper feel of his Spirit, ask God for opportunities to encourage others and see if you tin can find others to carry the weight of things you don't feel you tin practice.
- Numbers 11:18-34 Angry Birds
We oft remember that God is Love, and rightly then. But the Bible also shows us that God is Light, and there are passages like this one that show united states that he all the same judges sin. What tin we see virtually our God of dearest?
We see that God judges the worst offenders to requite the rest of the people a hazard. The annual quail migration was passing once again. 1 year earlier, God had taken a patient mental attitude to their complaining and provided them with quail. Only now they accept most reached the Promised Land. Fourth dimension is running out, so it is time for more of a boot-camp approach. The worst offenders die, in the hope it will save the residual of the nation from suffering the same fate. We see too that God's judgement works through the natural consequences of the people's sin. Ps 78:27-31 makes information technology clear it was the people who ate far too much quail who died, as a consequence of their ingratitude and gluttony. Simply far beyond God's judgement here, we see that if we trust Jesus, God has himself taken the punishment that we so richly deserve.
- Numbers 12 Complaining and Bigotry
We see yet another complaint confronting Moses from the people. This time it is his own family grumbling, and their grumbling leads them into racism, specifically confronting Moses' black married woman. God'due south response is dramatic – he gives Miriam a skin disease which makes her unnaturally white and cuts her off from God's people. Grumbling often leads to scapegoating, prejudice and fifty-fifty racism. God didn't tolerate it and then and he won't tolerate it now.
- Numbers 13-xiv Beefcake of a Disaster
The people had the perfect opportunity to enter the Promised State, and they blew it. The problems outset in Numbers 13.27 – the scouts don't look at God but instead look at the opposition. They then responded in fearfulness and let their fear distort the facts (vv 31-32). The fright then affected their sense of self-worth (v33). So they grumbled and doubted God. His response (14.11) was to say that they had treated him with contempt. We sometimes do the same when we accept the world's opinion of u.s. rather than God's. Joshua and Caleb instead evidence us what real faith looks like – they see the opposition through the eyes of religion and God responds in generosity (14.24). What challenges do we face? Exercise we come across them with the eyes of fear or organized religion? Practise nosotros care for God with contempt, or do nosotros follow him wholeheartedly?
- Matthew 3:14-4:11 Jesus in the Wilderness
Matthew has been presenting Jesus as the True Israel – the embodiment of the Perfect People of God. Israel failed in the wilderness. Jesus deliberately re-enacts information technology – Israel survived on their own food for twoscore days; Jesus goes without food for 40 days. He faces the same sorts of temptations that Israel did, but he realises that if God is with him he doesn't demand to worry nearly provision – unlike Israel who thought they were going to starve to death; he doesn't feel the demand to prove that God is with him – unlike Israel who asked whether God was with them or not; Jesus could not be bought off even in commutation for the whole world. And then we demand not be afraid when facing the devil'south schemes – we have Jesus with u.s. and in u.s.a., and he has utterly beaten the devil and his schemes. In Jesus, God accepts us completely and without reservation.
If y'all would similar to know more nearly this series, contact John through the St Jude'due south website. If you accept a sermon series you would like to offering, send me a message through the contact folio or on Facebook.
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