A Burning Bush & Verbal Plunder
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, January 18, 2025.
Sermon text: Exodus 3
Intro: Henry and I driving home and seeing a fire... "Let's go check it out!" Fire has a tendency to draw people to itself.
Setting: Moses is about 80 years old, been a shepherd for his father-in-law for about 40 of those years. Born an Israelite, raised an Egyptian, now a Midianite by way of marriage.
3 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.”
The bush was on fire. But the bush was not burning.
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.
The bush talks. (Whoever's voice that is is the one who has the power to sustain something that should have been consumed.)
How would you fill in the blank? God is ____________.
1.) God is holy.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
2.) God cares.
10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
3.) God has a plan.
To save His people through Moses... Moses' response? "Who am I?"
We often have objections to God's plan
Many of those objections have to do with our history
Many of those objections have to do with our perceived shortcomings
God's response? "I am with you."
God's presence with us makes us effective for the work He calls us to. Consider what God is calling us to in 2026...
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
4.) God is self-defining.
I AM WHO I AM
Where does your view of God come from?
Are there different versions of God?
Your view of God should come from God.
So the big question remains: "Will they believe Moses?"
18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
5.) God knows the future.
Consider all of this detail! Details about the future being given to an 80 year old shepherd in a desert, referring to what is certain to happen in the future, in reference to a people who are still enslaved in Israel and have been for about 400 years!
Envision the moment when Moses says, "So, let me get this straight... The Israelites are going to plunder the Egyptians... verbally....got it.... "
Application:
Trust
Obey
Discipleship Questions:
Sermon text: Exodus 3
Intro: Henry and I driving home and seeing a fire... "Let's go check it out!" Fire has a tendency to draw people to itself.
Setting: Moses is about 80 years old, been a shepherd for his father-in-law for about 40 of those years. Born an Israelite, raised an Egyptian, now a Midianite by way of marriage.
3 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.”
The bush was on fire. But the bush was not burning.
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.
The bush talks. (Whoever's voice that is is the one who has the power to sustain something that should have been consumed.)
How would you fill in the blank? God is ____________.
1.) God is holy.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
2.) God cares.
10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
3.) God has a plan.
To save His people through Moses... Moses' response? "Who am I?"
We often have objections to God's plan
Many of those objections have to do with our history
Many of those objections have to do with our perceived shortcomings
God's response? "I am with you."
God's presence with us makes us effective for the work He calls us to. Consider what God is calling us to in 2026...
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
4.) God is self-defining.
I AM WHO I AM
Where does your view of God come from?
Are there different versions of God?
Your view of God should come from God.
So the big question remains: "Will they believe Moses?"
18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
5.) God knows the future.
Consider all of this detail! Details about the future being given to an 80 year old shepherd in a desert, referring to what is certain to happen in the future, in reference to a people who are still enslaved in Israel and have been for about 400 years!
Envision the moment when Moses says, "So, let me get this straight... The Israelites are going to plunder the Egyptians... verbally....got it.... "
Application:
Trust
Obey
Discipleship Questions:
- Where does your view of God come from?
- Where should your view of God come from?
- What are some ways we wrongly view God that need to be corrected?
- Of the 5 realities we considered today about God, which one impacts you the most? Why?
- What are some problem areas in your life where God may plan for you to be a part of the solution?
- What happens when we believe the lie that we are self-defining?
- What challenge are you currently facing where you need to remember "God is with us"? And how does that reality help you?
Recent
Archive
2026
2025
August
September
November
No Comments