Exodus 14

Hello beautiful church,

This Sunday is Welcome Day!

And I am genuinely so excited to see everyone.

After a summer of travel, vacations, changing schedules, and hopefully a little rest, there is something wonderful about coming back together and beginning a new season of community and ministry.

And apparently, we are beginning with Exodus 14 and parting the Red Sea.

Naturally.

If you have been with us over the last few weeks, you know that we have been making our way through some of the colossal stories of Exodus—the burning bush, Passover, and now one of the most famous stories in all of Scripture.

The Israelites have escaped Egypt.

They are free.

And then they arrive at the sea.

Pharaoh's army is behind them. The water is in front of them. They panic. Moses cries out to God.

And God's response is fascinating:

“Why do you cry out to me?”

In other words: MOVE.

Moses is told to lift his hand and go forward.

I've been sitting with that all week.

Because we spend a lot of time asking where God is.

Where is God when we need something to change?

Where is God when we cannot see a way forward?

Where is the God who once parted seas?

These are not questions I am afraid to ask. I think our faith should be able to withstand them.

But I also wonder whether sometimes the question comes back to us:

What is already in your hand?

What if liberation is not simply something God does for us, but something we are

empowered to participate in?

And then Jesus tells a story in Matthew 18 about a man who receives an unimaginable amount of freedom and what he chooses to do with it.

So, this Sunday, we're going to talk about what happens after freedom.

What does freedom produce in us?

What kind of people do we become on the other side?

And what might become possible for someone else because of the freedom, grace, resources, voice, and possibility we have already received?

I have a feeling this is going to be a fun one.

And because it is Welcome Day, there will be plenty happening after worship as we celebrate the beginning of this new season together.

So come back.

Bring the kids.

Bring someone with you.

And if you're new to GCCC, this is a wonderful Sunday to come and see what we're all about.

I'll see you Sunday.

And apparently, there will be a Red Sea.

And fish.

Don't ask.

Maria