Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Psalm 103:7-14.
Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Psalm 103:7-14.
Bobby: Welcome to the Midweek Checkup. My name is Bobby Gilles, and Lindsey Blair joins me.
Lindsey: This past Sunday, Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Psalm One-Three, verses seven through fourteen. If you’ve forgotten or missed the sermon, it’s time for the Midweek Checkup.
Bobby: Jonah began by reminding us that throughout this series, we are teaching a three-step process as we search the scriptures: What does it say What does it mean? How does it reveal Jesus? Today’s passage said that God showed Moses his character, which is God’s essential nature. But knowing what a verse says is not the same as knowing what it means. In the second step we zoom out a bit and ask questions like Why is this here? What dots is the Bible trying to connect for me? Is this a pattern I see repeated somewhere else in the Bible?
Lindsey: We're looking at the surrounding tiles of the Mosaic to try and discern if something beyond the words is being communicated here. Remember: the Old Testament was written in the Middle East, to a people who told stories around campfires, and didn't read them in libraries. They used various techniques to connect stories and help us remember them. Psalm One-oh-Three is a song that quotes Exodus thirty-four.
Bobby: With our imaginations in Exodus, we think of God choosing Moses at the burning bush, rescuing Israel from Egypt, wandering the desert, arriving at the cusp of the promised land...only to have Israel turn from God and wish for slavery again. The question of meaning is often answered by recognizing patterns. God chooses, God saves, people rebel, and start over.
Lindsey: That's the pattern of Exodus. It sounds like Adam and Eve … and Noah. And Moses and Israel, David and Solomon … This is the melody that carries the symphony of the Bible. When you read this and hear these songs enough, you'll start thinking: we need help. This is the tension people felt for a few thousand years. God has a promise and a plan, but we keep screwing up. We need help.
Bobby: Psalm One-oh-Three also says God does not punish us for all our sins. But wait, Exodus thirty-four says God does. Which is it? Remember, the Bible is a mosaic. If you look at a single tile the Bible might fall apart on you. These stories, these repeating patterns, were meant to prepare us for God's ultimate redemption. He must be compassionate and merciful, but he won't excuse the guilty. How can both be true?
Lindsey: Psalm one-oh-three stirred a longing for the day when we would be given the right to become children of God, and that day dawned at the birth of Jesus. We do not have to be the perfect chosen representative. Jesus was. We do not have to bear the weight of our sins. Jesus did.
Bobby: And now we’re at the last of our three stages of scripture interpretation. The Bible is God's mosaic of redemption in Christ.
When we zoom out from all the individual scenes and repeating patterns, we see the face of Jesus. We learn what the text says, learn what it means, and we see Jesus. This will make the scriptures come alive to you like never before.
Lindsey: Next Sunday, we’ll conclude our series Mosaic: Searching the Scriptures with Wisdom. And it will be Celebration Sunday, as we celebrate the work that we know God is doing at Vacation Bible School this week. The Sojourn Kids nursery will be in operation, but regular children's classes will be closed along with S2 Students and Bible Fellowship.
Bobby: We will use the Bible Fellowship classroom as a wiggle room. The service will include a couple of songs from VBS and the VBS children's memory verse. Join us and bring buddies.