August 21 Sermon Notes Ex. 1-Ex, 2:8, Rom. 12:1-8

We've gone through some highlights of the story of Abraham's family in Genesis. now that family has grown numerous, just as God had promised. As time has passed that blessing is perceived as threat by a new Egyptian monarch. the move to becoming a people now becomes the oppression of the new people who can trace their beginnings to Abraham. In dealing with these rich texts, I am emphasizing the keys of the kingdom and Paul's word of being not conformed to this world.

The keys to the kingdom relate to rabbinic authority of permissible and impermissible- locking doors or opening them-rules of the house.
Puah and Shiphrah both names deal with light and brightness declare what they will not countenance. it is a remarkable thing to have those names r3ead in the course of the centuries maybe over 30, they were not conformed to this world and its power structures.When asked by the ruler of Egypt about the seeming abundance of Hebrew children, they outwit him by using his own prejudice against him. They act of of civil disobedience, even at the risk of their lives. Mother of Moses is a new Noah, making an ark, a little ark to put her boy on the water to save him, even though the ruler has ordered it, the life-giving Nile, to be an instrument of destruction for the babies. To protect life, all the women in this account Egyptian and Hebrew defy the orders of the ruler. They claim the keys of the kingdom to declare what line they will not cross.

Be not conformed but transformed-Amish way? Over the years they have gone through a lot of stress and strain over buttons or the type of permissible wheels on a buggy I respect their marks of a community, but I suppose I prefer a cultural non-conformity to the culture when it seems to stand against the gospel message. Niebuhr's church transforming culture He had different models how the church reflects the surrounding culture, or the way of having the church oppose the culture.He saw the transforming image as best-suited ot the kingdom of god images used by and enacted by Jesus. I suppose we cold call it thinking and living outside the box, the box that culture creates and maintains to but blinders on our perspective and even consideration of the the different.
who do you say that I am

Those two Hebrew midwives did so at great risk. Let me close with a far different example. I grew up south of Pittsburgh and Fred Rogers was on TV always for us. He was ordained by the Pittsburgh Presbytery to be Mister Rogers. He wanted to respect children and was a figure of fun to so many. He prayed two hours every day for the many requests that poured into his office. He would make a point of visiting a child when he was on a business trip. He met a mute autistic boy who would first only speak to the TV with him. What impact this gentle fool for Christ had. I love the story of his deciding to take the subway in New York on a business trip and the whole car joined in singing the neighborhood song. His car was stolen in Pittsburgh once. Days later, it was returned in the exact spot with a note on the windshield, if we knew it was your car we never would have touched it. On that same NY trip, a man saw him and shouted, it's mister rogers, I have ot buy a lottery ticket; this has to be my lucky day. (See the Tom Junod story in esquire and his eulogy for Fred Rogers as well).