Bilbo Baggins led a quiet, well-ordered life in a hole under the hill, until Gandalf appeared at his door with an invitation to a journey he would never have chosen for himself. So it was with Moses: an ordinary day with the sheep is interrupted by a burning bush and God’s calling, which he answers with a series of excuses born of fear (Exodus 3-4). The sermon shows that to every one of our “who am I?” God gives a single answer: “I will be with you.” Listen and discover that the right question is not who you are, but who is the One who sends you.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Before God tells Moses about the mission, He tells him to remove his sandals and introduces Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Why does this order matter, and what does it say about calling (Exodus 3:1-10)?
- Moses asks, "Who am I?" and God answers, "I will be with you," revealing His name "I am who I am." What did this name tell Moses and the enslaved Israelites about who God is?
- God meets an eighty-year-old shepherd on an ordinary workday. What does this story say about the place of your everyday life and your age in God's plans?
- God uses the staff Moses is already holding in his hand. What ordinary thing in your life could God use for His glory?
- The sermon showed that beneath Moses' fear lay resistance, yet even in His anger God gives him Aaron. How do you tell when your "I'm not good enough" is humility and when it is an excuse?
- What fear is holding you back from the next step of obedience right now, and how can you trade the question "Who am I?" for "Who is my God?" this week?
