Dear Cornerstone Family,
The slow walk we’ve taken through Proverbs 3 this month has ministered deeply to my soul. Gauging the steady stream of feedback from you, it appears I’m not alone in that. I praise the Lord for the very obvious ways His Spirit has been speaking through the Word to us, and I hope it’s just the beginning of the work He’ll do in and through us as we submit ourselves to His Word this year.
Beginning next week, we will begin a lengthy sermon series in arguably the most important Old Testament book. Now, let me be careful. In saying that one book of the Scripture is “most important,” I am not suggesting that some parts of Scripture are more God’s Word than others, nor am I suggesting that some sections of the Scripture are unimportant. Paul tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Clearly, whether it’s Micah or Matthew, we need every word of God’s Word. Period.
At the same time, we can safely say that some books, sections, or parts of Scripture play a particularly central (important) role in the unfolding of redemptive history. A role other books simply do not play. Again, in saying that, I’m not denigrating one part of Scripture or wrongfully elevating another part; instead I’m recognizing the variety of roles and purposes different books, sections, and parts of Scripture play in the progress of redemptive history.
And if any book can be said to play a central role in redemptive history, it’s the one we’re about to enter together. What book am I speaking of? Well, some of you have already guessed it––Exodus! From a baby in a basket to the burning bush, from plagues to crossing the Red Sea, from pillars of fire to the Ten Commandments, from manna from heaven to water from the rock, from the Ark of the Covenant to the architecture of the tabernacle: Exodus has it all and then some. There are villains and heroes, signs and wonders, plot twists and a breathtaking finale. By the end of it, you’ll understand why Leland Ryken says, “Exodus is the greatest adventure story ever told.”
But more than an amazing story, Exodus introduces us to the paradigm for salvation in redemptive history. Everything that comes after Exodus in the Scripture references it in some way and echoes it, ultimately leading us to the new and better exodus that comes in and through Jesus Christ.
Please, please, please begin praying for God to use this series as yet a further exodus in our community. Pray that more people will be led out of bondage into freedom through this series, and that every one of us will be increasingly readied for the coming final exodus: when the bondage of sin and death is no more, and we cross over the Jordan one last time and make our home in the forever Promised Land, the New Heavens and the New Earth.
I can’t wait to study Exodus with you!
Grace & Peace,
