Dear Gather Family and Friends,
A summer unlike any we’ve ever known is opening its arms to us. After 15 long months of isolation and hyper-vigilance, we’re experiencing the first tastes of freedom. It’s time to get out and about! No doubt, many of us suspect this experience of captivity and fear has probably altered us in ways we can’t understand yet. Over time, we’ll get there. But for right now, being free matters most. The Hebrew slaves of Egypt must have felt the same way. When time came to pick up and move out, they had nothing left to lose and everything to gain from trusting their divinely appointed leader, Moses.
Especially for those of us whose vision of the biblical account is marred by Charlton Heston mixing it up with Yul Brynner in The Ten Commandments, it’s easy to assume the slaves’ deliverance is purely a God thing. And as liberation Christians we’re right to imagine divine concern for Israel automatically places God on the side of the impoverished and oppressed. But the authors of Exodus emphatically tell us history’s most famous freedom ride begins not with godly wrath, but rather with the protests of the enslaved. “The Israelites were still groaning because of their hard work. They cried out, and their cry to be rescued from the hard work rose up to God,” we read in Exodus 2:23.
The first big lesson of Exodus isn’t “hang around passively and God will intervene.” It’s closer to, “Raise your voice! Make some noise!” And it’s in that spirit that we’ll launch our summer-long travels with Moses and the Israelites. Each week will burst with intriguing moments (most of which never made it into the movie) and more than a few surprises. Plan now to be with us each Thursday at 7:30pm CDT for a wonderful time of learning and sharing together.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82424012625
Meeting ID: 824 2401 2625
Or dial 1-312-626-6799 using the same meeting ID.
I’m really excited about this series and can’t wait to share it with you!
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Tim
We need your help!
As we think about the future of Gather, please let us know what gifts you bring and would like to share with the community. There are many roles that have to come together to make Gather happen every week. This includes setup, technical support, worship, managing handouts and information, coordinating drinks, and teardown. We need your help. Please let us know what type of service you’d be interested in!
Watch God Work,
Tim & Shea
As we prepare to become a vibrant worshipping community, we invite you to enjoy a Spotify playlist that captures the kind of worship we hope to embrace. Give it a spin while you’re driving. Make it your workout jam. Add it to your devotional time. Most of all, feel yourself becoming part of a sacred village of believers who love their God and one another!
Check out the Gather Worship Playlist here.
