Midwives, an Ark, and Needing to Belong
Adoption • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 7 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
The sacrament of belonging resides as the heart’s greatest desire.
The sacrament of belonging resides as the heart’s greatest desire.
Songs, poems, stories, books, movies that speak of “HOME” stir within us a desire whose power and presence is unrivaled.
In the Bible, when “belonging” is described, “FAMILY” is the metaphor of choice.
In the Bible, when “belonging” is described, “FAMILY” is the metaphor of choice.
Adam and Eve in — one flesh belonging
Mary and Joseph in Matthew and Luke’s earliest chapters — Jesus is set in a family to belong.
The final chapters of Revelation — Jesus the Groom, The Church as the Bride, and Jesus’ followers as his children — we as siblings!
Finding and defining family and belonging culturally is tough...
Finding and defining family and belonging culturally is tough...
Ozzie and Harriet… Leave it to Beaver...
Lucy and Ricky… My 3 Sons… Brady Bunch… the Love Boat… Roseanne & Cosby (those have both turned into messes)… Modern Family...
You think those family stories are weird or sad or less than ideal, you should read the Bible!
You think those family stories are weird or sad or less than ideal, you should read the Bible!
What the story seems to be for belonging...
What the story toward belonging becomes… through God’s only begotten Son… and all of the rest of God’s sons and daughters are...
Adopted
Adopted
The Hebrew word for adopted never appears in the Old Testament.
The Greek word for adopted appears only 5 times in the New Testament — all 5 uses by the Apostle Paul.
And yet, it is theological and familial theme that flows through the entire Bible and through the pages of our lives as we seek and long and pray and desire a place where we “Belong.”
And yet, it is theological and familial theme that flows through the entire Bible and through the pages of our lives as we seek and long and pray and desire a place where we “Belong.”
To launch our Adopted Series, I want highlight 3 realities all orphans need in order to share in the sacrament of belonging.
To launch our Adopted Series, I want highlight 3 realities all orphans need in order to share in the sacrament of belonging.
I want to highlight these from the story of the most famous adopted person in the Bible: Moses.
I want to highlight these from the story of the most famous adopted person in the Bible: Moses.
1. Every orphan has a Shiphrah and Puah in their life.
1. Every orphan has a Shiphrah and Puah in their life.
The Pharoah’s command:
15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock.
Ex 2:15-17
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.
Orphans — or would be/should be orphans -- never arrive conveniently.
Orphans — or would be/should be orphans never arrive conveniently.
Timing, setting, circumstances… never ideal.
Stories from O Hills — one story after another of a rough context.
What life could Moses expect in that setting, time, circumstance?
Shiphrah and Puah feared the Lord more than their context.
2. Every orphan is carried, at some point, in a Ark.
2. Every orphan is carried, at some point, in a Ark.
There are 2 Ark’s in the Old Testament:
Noah
Moses
1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.
Every orphan has to be carried, by God, to their next destination.
Every orphan has to be carried, by God, to their next destination.
For some orphans, the story is storybook.
For other orphans, the story is bumpy, painful, and disappointing for all involved.
No irredeemable harm has come or will come to you — wherever your Ark has or will carry you.
No irredeemable harm has come or will come to you — wherever your Ark has or will carry you.
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
3. Every orphan has to find where they belong.
3. Every orphan has to find where they belong.
Moses leaves home to find home.
We do this in all sorts of ways… and the people, places, and things that we will accept as settings to belong is amazing. There are soooo many Foster parents out there.
What we need… what we long for… what we want… is a Father.
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.