repentance

Good morning friends,
First, I'd like to announce that Sunday's worship will be special. In place of a sermon, the Discipleship Ministries team will present a short skit to reflect on scripture. It should be an especially fun and engaging worship.

In today's reading Israel repents and with Moses help they are on their way again. At the same time, the relationship with God has had some bumps because the sin of idolatry is a major breach of faith. It seems like serious damage has been done, and God and Israel have to figure out how to move forward together. All of our relationships involve forgiveness. In the end forgiveness makes the relationship stronger and it allows us to work through challenges that come up.

God bless,
Sam

Exodus 32:30-33:6

30On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. 32But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written.” 33But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin.” 35Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf—the one that Aaron made.



33:1The Lord said to Moses, “Go, leave this place, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” 4When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. 5For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’“ 6Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.