MEETING AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Exodus 19 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Exodus 20 v1

MEETING AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD 9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud,so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Exodus 19. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. Deut 4:12 7 The voice of the Lord strikes     with flashes of lightning. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;     the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks[c]     and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!” Psalm 29

MEETING AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD The Christian life is Union and Communion with God. Our experience of that union does require response. Its as if the holiness of God is nuclear. We need a balanced understanding of God, who he is and what he is like. 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Exodus 20

MEETING AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD The Offer of Life or Death 11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

MEETING AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD 5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”[a] 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ROMANS 10

MEETING AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy 18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[c] 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”[d] 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

MEETING AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

MEETING AT THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD Remember these thoughts: I carried you on eagles wings. I saved you. The Lord speaks and communicates The Christian life is a Union and Communion with God that requires a response God’s holiness is nuclear We do not come to a mountain of fear but a mountain of joy. Jesus, not Moses is the mediator of a new covenant.