Who Am I?

Ex 3:1-15, NIRV (emphasis, mine)

Moses and the Burning Bush

3 Moses was taking care of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro. Jethro was the priest of Midian. Moses led the flock to the western side of the desert. He came to Horeb. It was the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him from inside a burning bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire. But it didn’t burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I’ll go over and see this strange sight. Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

⁴ The Lord saw that Moses had gone over to look. So God spoke to him from inside the bush. He called out, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am,” Moses said.

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.” ⁶ He continued, “I am the God of your father. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard that, he turned his face away. He was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have seen how my people are suffering in Egypt. I have heard them cry out because of their slave drivers. I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to save them from the Egyptians. I will bring them up out of that land. I will bring them into a good land. It has a lot of room. It is a land that has plenty of milk and honey. The Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites live there. ⁹ And now Israel’s cry for help has reached me. I have seen how badly the Egyptians are treating them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh. I want you to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. They are my people.”

¹¹ But Moses spoke to God. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” he said. “Who am I that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

¹² God said, “I will be with you. I will give you a sign. It will prove that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship me on this mountain.”

¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the people of Israel. Suppose I say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And suppose they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am. Here is what you must say to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord is the God of your fathers. He has sent me to you. He is the God of Abraham. He is the God of Isaac. And he is the God of Jacob.’ My name will always be The Lord. Call me this name for all time to come.

Verses marked NIRV are from the New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Object:

Mirror

Word of the day:

What

Message:

Have you ever had to think of an excuse to get out of doing something? Did the dog eat your homework? Did your alarm forget to go off? Did a power outage shut down your computer and you lost your documents? Would any of you like to share an example of a time you came up with an excuse for when it was time to set the table for dinner, time to practice the piano, or time to clean your room? (Allow children to answer.)

God had an important job for Moses. God chose Moses to lead the Hebrew people out of slavery. Moses didn’t want the job, so he thought up many excuses about why he wasn’t the right person. But for every excuse Moses gave, God promised help to solve that problem. After a while, Moses ran out of excuses.

God has important things for us to do as well. Can you name something important that we can do for God? (Allow children to provide suggestions.) Those are all excellent ideas. We can show others that we are Jesus' followers and understand who we are by loving people who are different from us. We can be patient. We can be kind and give to others. Even when our brain is telling us the right thing, it is still easy to think up excuses. But God has an answer for every excuse we can make, and God will help us to do what is right. When we learn to listen and follow God’s direction, we won’t need excuses.

Do any of you know what I am holding in my hand? (Show children the mirror and let them respond.) That’s right! I have a mirror. When do you need a mirror? (Again, allow responses.) That’s correct. A mirror shows the reflection of “what” we look like. Today’s worship word of the day is “what.” God has important things for us to do. I would like to hold the mirror in front of your face and invite you to ask God what important thing God wants you to do. One at a time, I will hold the mirror in front of you, and I would like you to say, either quietly or out loud, as you look into the mirror, “God what do you want me to do to show others your love and guidance?”

This week, I encourage you to not make excuses but rather follow God’s direction and do what is right in God’s eyes.

Prayer:

God, thank you for having such high expectations for me. Forgive me for the times when I think of reasons not to do what you want me to do. Help me to do what is right. Amen.