Sermon Guide: Exodus 3:1-6 "The Burning Bush & The Blood"

Key Passage

Exodus 3:1–6 ESV

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

A Note on Holiness

At its root, holiness means to be set apart. In the Bible’s original languages (Hebrew and Greek), that word is the foundation for all kinds of other important words we’ll encounter in the Bible:

• Sanctuary (a holy place)

• Sanctify or Consecrate (to make something holy)

• Saint (a holy one)

When you read in the Bible (especially in the New Testament) about your holiness or your sanctification, remember: it’s not primarily about shaping up your life. Holiness is about making you fit for the presence of God. And that happens through the cross of Christ, not moral reform.

Those who have been objectively made holy by the blood of Christ (“declarative sanctification”) are fit for the presence of God, because of Christ. Yet those who have been set apart in Christ will also, more and more, begin to subjectively conform to his holiness (“progressive sanctification”).

Sermon Overview

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not primarily about how we are freed from sin and forgiven. It’s primarily about how God made a way to dwell with us forever. The good news doesn’t end at the cross; nor does it end at the empty tomb. The story reaches its full conclusion at the burning edge of the first New Creation dawn, when heaven and earth fully unite and we are right in the midst of God’s eternal, glorious presence forever — enjoying him, and being enjoyed by him. Entirely and utterly caught up into Blessedness himself.

So one vital part of that gospel message is that Jesus frees us from sin, and in him we are forgiven. But there’s so much more!

Similarly, it’s so easy to think that the book of Exodus is all about how God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. But it’s not. That’s just the prelude. Exodus is primarily about how God made a way to dwell with his people.

Sermon Structure

Main Point: God has made a way for broken, sinful people to be fit for his holy presence.

#1 The Tension

• God’s Holiness

• Our Sin

#2 The Resolution

• The Love of God

• The Blood of Christ (Passover Lamb)

• The Blood of Christ (The Most Holy Place)

Questions for Discussion & Reflection

1. The story of the burning bush introduces a new tension in the plot of Exodus: how a holy God can dwell with a sinful people. How do you experience a tension between God’s holiness and your sinfulness in your own life?

   
   

2. Most of us struggle with either a grand view of ourselves — thinking that we’re doing pretty alright — or with a small view of God. Which do you tend toward? What steps can we take to begin addressing that and adjusting our view appropriately?