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The Crown of Honour (John 21:1-17)

By Easter, Talks

Shortly after Jesus rose from the dead, he approaches Peter, just as he did the first time he met him: on a beach, as he’s fishing. Peter is his failed disciple, who denied his Lord three times. But in four episodes, Jesus revisits Peter’s failures, and redeems them. Jesus meets his disciple at four points of shame, in order to gently restore him to honour.

The Crown of Shame (Matthew 27:24-44)

By Easter, Talks

Before he was lead to the cross, Jesus was mocked and abused for calling himself king. But on the cross, Jesus was lifted up as the true king of his strange and upside-down kingdom: where there is power in weakness, glory in shame, and life in death. On the cross, we can see Jesus’ complete brokenness and vulnerability. And we can see that he knows exactly what it’s like to be us. Whatever we’ve faced, God knows, and God can meet us there.

The God Who is With Us (Exodus 33-40)

By Exodus, Talks

Finally, by the end of Exodus, the tabernacle has been meticulously constructed, and God’s glory dwells with his people. God has brought his people from slavery to worship. But while the truth of Christ was veiled to them, we can behold his face with unveiled eyes. While God dwelled at a distance, he tabernacled amongst us in Christ, and if we trust in him, his Spirit dwells within us.

The God Who is Merciful (Exodus 32)

By Exodus, Talks

Just after making a covenant with God, Moses goes up the mountain, and the Israelites fall into idolatry. They make an idol of a golden calf, and begin worshipping it as if it’s God. This leads to an incredibly dramatic scene of intercession and divine judgement. And because of Moses, the mediator between man and God, some of the Israelites are spared.

The God Who is Relational (Exodus 21-24)

By Exodus, Talks

What does the Law of Moses have to say to us today? We can make the mistakes of applying it directly to our lives, or ignoring it altogether. But through the lens of the cross, we can see its true application for us today: that this law was showing us that God was more holy and more loving than we could ever live up to on our own.

The God Who Saves (Exodus 14-15)

By Exodus, Talks

The Red Sea is the first time in the storyline of the Bible where God talks about getting glory, and it’s a paradigm for salvation in the rest of the Old Testament. And we can see so much of God’s grace and power in it. In this one scene, God is both creating a people and destroying a people, in a great image of re-creation and un-creation through the water.

The God Who is Life (Exodus 12)

By Exodus, Talks

As God’s plagues come to a terrifying conclusion, we see the first Passover happen before our eyes. And as God himself visits Egypt, the only thing coming between Israel and death is the blood of the lamb. This lamb is showing that death has already happened for the household, and is a shadow of the great reality of Christ, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

The God Who is in Control (Exodus 7-10)

By Exodus, Talks

When Pharaoh refused to let God’s people out of slavery, God sent 10 plagues to his country. But why? Why not start with the final plague, that actually worked? Because something greater is going on here: God is showing his power as the Creator, against the false gods of Egypt. And at the same time, God is showing the undoing of creation. This shows that the plagues aren’t only random acts of judgement, but that they are meant to save. When we refuse to worship God, we are warring against our Creator, and we are inviting chaos and uncreation into our lives.