Prelude
Hymn
“Let Justice Roll like a River” NS
28
OR “When Law and Love in Tension Lie” R-6
Welcome
Call to Worship: Romans 12:4–8
*Hymn
“There’s a Spirit in the Air” HS
214
OR “Merciful God” NS
37
*Opening Prayer
*Response
Focus Moment: Exodus 1:8—2:10
Tell the story of Shiphrah and Puah and explain how when they recognized
a wrong command, they brought justice through civil disobedience. Shiphrah
and Puah were willing to take a great risk to do the right thing.
Disciples’ Generous Response
Each Sunday, as part of the Disciples’ Generous Response, we ask you to
integrate the message of “share equally” between Local and World Ministries
Mission Tithes. Offertory stories are provided to keep the church in touch
with how contributions to Mission Tithes spread the peace of Jesus Christ.
Please use the stories, testimonies, and up-to-date contribution information
as part of your offertory ministry. Visit
www.CofChrist.org/offertory
to print a copy, or
contact your pastor, congregational financial officer, or worship
coordinator for a copy.
Blessing and Receiving of Mission Tithes
Sermon
Based on Exodus 1:8—2:10 and/or Romans 12:1–8
*Hymn
“Listen” NS
30
OR “O How Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit” HS
322
*Closing Prayer
*Sending Forth: Doctrine and Covenants 36:2h–i
*Postlude
The Exodus scripture begins with a description of a common human
manifestation: fear. The new king of Egypt sees in the greater numerical
strength of the Israelites a threat to his own power and that of his nation. So
the king schemes to stop the growing imbalance of power and numbers, so that his
fear can be alleviated. He tries to persuade the midwives to kill all male
Hebrew offspring, thus reducing both the number of potential soldiers available
to revolt against Egypt as well as the number of males to father children.
But the king’s plan is thwarted by the midwives, whose greater allegiance is
to God. They simply refuse to follow the king’s edict—obviously at great risk to
themselves. Not to be defied, Pharaoh (the king) commands that all Hebrew boys
be thrown into the Nile—and presumably be left to drown.
Against this tale of evil being wrought against God’s people, Exodus 2 begins
with the story of the birth and upbringing of one of the Hebrew nation’s
greatest leaders: Moses. His mother hid him for three months, but finally in an
act of great courage (or some may say foolishness), she places her infant son in
the Nile in a basket and waits. She is, ironically, doing what Pharaoh has
commanded. Yet it is the king’s own daughter who saves Moses and unknowingly
reunites him with his mother. This is a story of God’s justice and victory over
evil forces, a story of life winning out over death.
In Romans, Paul admonishes his listeners to be transformed, rather than
conformed. The distinction here is crucial. The world today, just as in Paul’s
times, lures people into conformity with what is popular, material, and
beneficial to those in power. In contrast, the way of God and Christ is
unpopular. It rejects the drive for material prosperity and the using of another
for one’s personal gain. The call to transformation is the call to renewal
through the discernment of God’s will in our lives.
God’s will is clearly laid out in the life and teaching of Jesus. Here we
learn that all people are of worth and that injustice is never to be tolerated.
Every person is to be welcomed into God’s kingdom and is entitled to a fair
share of the earth’s resources needed to meet life’s basic needs. Paul’s call to
be transformed is the call to give God our all, which is the essential meaning
of presenting our “bodies as a living sacrifice…” (v. 1).
