The following is from my sermon on Exodus 13:1–16 entitled, "An Inaugural Sermon."

__________

Seminaries teach about it. Students read about it. Ministers work at it. Parishioners at times endure it. The world does not understand it. God’s Word commands it. What is it that causes all this commotion? Preaching. What is preaching? How would you explain it to your neighbor if asked? Let me say that I believe the greatest paragraph ever written on preaching and that I believe summarizes not only my belief and practice but that of the Reformed churches is from the Second Helvetic Confession, chapter 1, paragraph 4, written by Heinrich Bullinger in 1561:

Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is preached, and received of the faithful; and that neither any other Word of God is to be feigned, nor to be expected from heaven: and that now the Word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches; who, although he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the Word of God abides true and good.

In preaching we hear, receive, and need to expect the very voice of God himself through the means of sinful men. Can you understand why preaching is so vital to our faith and worship?

It was the same way in the days of Moses and the Israelites. Our text takes place right after the exodus from Egypt. And what was the first thing the narrative says happened? The church listened to Moses’ inaugural sermon to the newly freed people of God! Although this section of chapter 13 may seem disjointed and unorganized, there is a literary structure to it that gives us our three points today. Notice that in verses 1–2 the Lord speaks to Moses. This is a superscription over the entire text that gives the authorization for Moses to preach. Then in verses 3–16 we have Moses’ speech, which addresses the laws for the feast of Passover and the laws for the consecration of the firstborn. In reading these verses we come away impressed that the overall theme is the centrality and vitality of preaching the Word to the people of God. In this inaugural sermon, therefore, Moses challenged the people of God to respond to the gospel of the exodus in three ways, and the Holy Spirit today calls us to respond to our redemption in Christ in the same way: hear the Word, obey the Word, and teach the Word. 

Hear the Word (vv. 1–2)

God calls us to hear the Word. Notice that our text begins, “The Lord said to Moses” and this is contrasted with verse 3, which says, “Then Moses said to the people.” Verses 1–2 act as a superscription over this section of chapter 13. This means that it is like a heading that gives the reason for what Moses is about to say to the Israelites.

Even before Moses could preach he had to hear the Word of God from God. Of course this is the same as it is with ministers of the Word. When we were on vacation recently I was asked, “So how do you do it? Does a message just come to you?” I answered that God does speaks to me and I seek to deliver his message. I had this man's attention. But then I went on to that God speaks to me through his written Word! When a minister reads the Word prayerfully he enters the presence of God, and when he comes out to preach that Word, he should come out like Moses did when his face shone. He should come out with conviction, passion, and urgency.

So Moses and ministers must hear the Word, but since verses 1–2 were written down not only for later generations of Israelites to read, but especially "for our instruction" (1 Cor. 10), they apply to Israel and to all hearers of the Word in the same way. So how can you hear the Word week after week? Let me give you three practical ways.

First, you have to hear it expectantly. Do you come week after week expecting to hear the voice of God? This is what happens when the Word is preached: "When this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is preached." But let me say even more personally, do not come expecting to hear God's speak generally, but come expecting his particular word for your soul?

Second, you have to hear it faithfully. Remember, while you hear the voice of an evil and sinful man—your pastor—you hear in truth the very Word of God. And you must embrace his word with faith! Because this is so difficult for us, listen and learn from these words: "The Word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches; who, although he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the Word of God abides true and good."

Third, you have to hear it prayerfully. You must not only pray Monday through Saturday for your minister to preach the Word and that you will be enabled to hear it, but since the act of listening to the sermon is an act of worship you must be in an attitude of worship right now. When you hear the Law in the sermon you must humble your heart and confess your sins to God, and when you hear the Gospel you must rejoice and be glad in his salvation!

This Lord's Day (Nov. 23rd), a good friend of Oceanside URC, Dr. Michael Horton,will be preaching for us in the morning service. Dr. Horton is a professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, host of the radio broadcast, The White Horse Inn, and editor of Modern Reformation magazine.

In the evening, Mr. Jon Moersch, a charter member of OURC, graduate of Westminster, and current candidate for the ministry in the URCNA, will exhort from the Word of God.

You can read about this Lord's Day's (Nov. 16th) sermons here.

Next Lord's Day (Nov. 23rd), Dr. Michael Horton will be preaching for us in the morning. Dr. Horton is a professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, host of the radio broadcast, The White Horse Inn, and editor of Modern Reformation magazine. In the evening, Mr. Jon Moersch, a charter member of OURC, graduate of Westminster, and current candidate for the ministry in the URCNA, will exhort from the Word of God.

Yesterday morning (Feb. 24) we continued through the book of Genesis with chapter 35, Jacob's Journey. I had originally intended three points for this sermon, but as I announced, I cut out the last point because I felt it was important to explain something significant. My application of the second point (The Lord's Promise)—yes, I said application, that is, the use of the exposition of the text—was the significance of Genesis 35 for our worship.

Genesis 35 is a wonderful picture of true biblical, Christian worship. I gave six uses after expositing the story:

First, worship is initiated by God since it was God who said, "Arise . . . make an altar" (v. 1). Therefore we are come humbly and relying upon the work of the Holy Spirit to enliven us for worship.

Second, worship is a holy event that necessitates our preparation. If these believers prepared by revoking their foreign gods and by changing their garments, how much more should we in the New Covenant, who ascend the heavenly mountain, prepare our bodies and souls?

Third, worship is a covenant renewal, therefore it is repetitive. This means that we should embrace the rhythm of the liturgy as divine wisdom since God knows we need to be constantly instructed how to pray, how to think about him, and how to approach his presence. Further, this renewal aspect acts as a teacher for our children from the earliest infancy and we should use the liturgy as reference point throughout the week.

Fourth, worship is a dialog in which God speaks and then we respond. Since we are born Pelagians, and are prone to think that we come to worship to offer to God something that will make him respond to us, the liturgy's pattern of call/response, grace/gratitude, instills in us the graciousness of God.

Fifth, our response in worship is one of dedication and invocation. As Jacob built and altar and poured oil upon it, materials that were costly and took time to prepare, so our response should be fitting in dedicating ourselves and offering up well-thought-out worship.

Sixth, we notice that this worship in the form of a renewal of the covenant occurs in the midst of Jacob’s arduous journey and in the midst of the transitory nature of this life. Worship comes in the midst of the deaths of Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac. Worship comes in the midst of our fallenness as we see Reuben have a sexual relationship with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. What this means is that worship is our refuge during our journey. Worship is our rest during our journey. Just as Jacob was called by God to arise, go up to Bethel, we are called to go up to the heavenly Jerusalem to find refuge from life’s tribulations and struggles and to find true, lasting rest from our weariness in this sin-torn life.

I'm in the process of uploading sermon audio and text on the sermon page, and have placed all the sermon series, titles, and texts from most of my sermons here at OURC. I started preaching here in June 2000, so in almost eight years here I have preached roughly 550 sermons. Wow! I had no idea it was that many.

All this goes to show how many opportunities we have to participate in the means of grace week in and week out.