Rules For Engagement Series

Rules For Engagement

New Commands and a New Covenant

The Story – Chapter 5

Video Bumper…

Maple Grove…

WELCOME to chapter 5 of The Story, ‘New Commands And A New Covenant…’

A conversation I am calling ‘Rules For Engagement.”

AND LISTEN – if you are new to MG you could not have picked a better time to be here… BECAUSE – we are spending the bulk of the year 2013 (from January – September) looking @ the greatest story of all time. God’s story, The Bible… from Genesis to Revelation.

AND – we are using this book, ‘The Story’ as our guide…

BASICALLY – The Story… is the bible in Chronological order… 31 chapters. About 80% of the bible is found within these 500 pages.

AND MAN – I gotta tell you, that even though we are only a few weeks into this journey, I don’t think I could be anymore pumped up about what is already doing in this place and among His people.

I MEAN – think about… every week hundreds of people are reading a chapter of this book to get ready for Sunday’s conversation…

Last week we read chapter… 5 and next week we will read chapter… that’s right, chapter six.

Families are reading this book together… how awesome is that.

People are discussing The Story in Life Groups

The student ministry and the children’s ministry are talking about God’s Story.

I MEAN – both young and old… and everyone in between is being captivated by the most compelling story of all time… THE STORY - of an all knowing, all powerful, ever present God who has been speaking, acting, listening and moving in human history since the beginning of time. THE STORY – of a loving God. THE STORY – of a Father and Son who will do whatever it takes to bring their people back home regardless of their sins, flaws, failures and mistakes…

JUST THIS PAST THURSDAY - I was hanging out with some guys from The Grove @ 6 am, who were talking about how The Story is already having a huge impact on their lives…

YEAH – there is some serious going on around here. And as the great theologians Bachman Turner Overdrive proclaimed in 1974 on the album ‘Not Fragile’… You ain’t seen nothing yet…

IN THE BEGINNING – God created everything (galaxies, stars, planets, moons, mountains, oceans, rivers… etc)

AS A BACKDROP – for His greatest desire, His greatest passion… So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27

UNDERSTAND - The reason behind everything (behind all of creation) is God’s desire to have a relationship with and do life with His people.

IT – all started in a garden paradise. A perfect environment where God could walk and talk and enjoy an intimate relationship with the people He created. HE MADE – everything available to them, except one thing… AND THEY – choose that one thing that was forbidden… FOREVER – banishing themselves – and us – from God’s presence.

SO GOD – took another approach to doing life with His people. HE CREATED – a nation through who He would reveal Himself. AND AFTER – preserving His people during a famine and rescuing them from slavery in a foreign land…

GOD – was ready to lead His people – through Moses into a new land. The Promise Land… A LAND – gardenlike… A LAND – flowing with milk and honey.

A LAND – where God could build this nation out which he would reveal His presence, His power, and His plan for all people to come back into a relationship with Him.

UNDERSTAND - Chapter 5 of The Story is a huge transitional point in the Scripture, from this point on, God is not going to just interact with certain individuals or just talk to a few people, instead He will begin to share life with all of His people for the first time since back in the Garden of Eden. However, for that plan to move forward certain things needed to be in place.

YES…

FOR GOD - to move His plan forward.

FOR GOD – to take His relationship with the Lord to the next level

FOR GOD – to engage His people in a new and fuller way

HE TELLS MOSES – in chapter 5 of The Story that there some things… things that need to be in place first… Some rules for this new engagement… AND – I want us to talk about those things in our time this morning…

Prayer

A Standard To Follow

AS – Chapter Five of The Story opens up God’s people (all 2-3 million of them) are camped at the base of Mount Sinai… Chapter 5 begins with the following words…