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Yesterday was Missions Emphasis Sunday in our church. We heard God’s stirring call to go forward with the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We heard what we should do, how we should do it, and why we should do it. We heard from two inspiring missionaries who have obeyed God’s call and who have gone forward with the Gospel into a closed country in Central Asia. In all this, God was calling us once again to go forward with the Gospel. It was instructive, inspiring and energizing.

But now Monday morning is here and we fear and hesitate. Forward looks much more difficult and much less appealing today. Fear is easier than forward. But, in Exodus 23:20-33, God has a message that will give us confidence to move forward. God moves us forward by going forward before us.

Sermon Notes on Proverbs 11:30.

Sermon Notes on Colossians 4:2-6.

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We’ve all been through times when we’re extra-busy and rest is rare. The demands of work are take over our life with little or no time off. But even in normal times, work can dominate our thinking so much that we forget to look after ourselves and others. God is squeezed out in the stress.  God saw that tendency in Israel too and, in Exodus 23:10-13, provided a special remedy for over-work or over-thinking about work. It was this. Take the year off!

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Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded on September 5, 1980, in California by Candace Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver. Its mission is to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired driving policy. MADD claims that drunk driving has been reduced by half since its founding. It’s an encouraging example of how God uses painful stories in our past to write better stories for others. There’s another reassuring example of that in Exodus 23:1-9.

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What would God say and do if he was Mayor of Portland? The actual Mayor of Portland refuses to punish rioters who are destroying his city. The rioters are not arrested or if they are, they are released within hours to re-join the riots again. Evil is not being punished which means the weak are abused, lawlessness and anarchy abound, and wickedness grows rampant and triumphant.

What would God say and do if he was mayor of Portland? Exodus 22:16-31 gives us the answer. God protects the innocent by punishing the wicked. Let’s see how God does this by learning who God is.