Well, if you've been here for a while, you know that I'm a huge fan of the musical Les
Miserables.
Actually, I'm a bigger fan of the book.
It's just as hard to slog through the 900 pages to get the richness of it.
But if you're up for the task, it's totally worth your summer reading.
But if you can't get to that, the musical captures many of the great themes.
And one of my favorite characters in it is Inspector Javert.
Inspector Javert, who is known for his beautiful solo stars where he sings of his commitment
to righteousness and law-keeping in the world and how he is called to enforce it.
But one of the interesting things about Inspector Javert that you may not know if you haven't
listened to it as many times as I have is that Javert comes from a very interesting place.
In one scene where he has this conflict or this confrontation actually with Jean Valjean,
the redemptive hero of the story.
They're singing at the same time.
And so it's really hard to hear what he's saying.
But what you learn is that Javert was born in a prison.
And that Javert was, as he grew up, he grew up to hate the place that he came from.
And his commitment to righteousness and his commitment to law-keeping.
And the way that he did it, which becomes clearer and clearer throughout the story,
with no understanding of grace or of mercy or of love or of anything but law-keeping as an end in itself.
He had a hatred for those who would break the law.
He had a hatred for those who were like where he himself came from.
He hated their weakness and he hated their sinfulness.
One of the reasons why he's such a powerful character is because I see that in my own self as well.
That there are times when if I have a really strong and legalistic and critical attitude towards someone else,
if I stop and think,
one of the main reasons why I am like that
is because I see in someone else a weakness or a vulnerability or a sin
that I'm prone to and that I hate in myself.
I remember back in 2005, the Lord brought this home to me.
He unpacked my heart through a series of conflicts and difficult situations.
He said,
Do you see that you are critical towards those closest to you
at the very areas that you are weak
and you want them to be stronger than they can ever be?
The Lord used that in my life in deep ways.
But I wonder if you're like that too if you stop and think about it.
Do you tend to hate in others the weakness you see in yourself?
Do you tend to condemn most loudly the sin that you're most prone to fall into?
And when you do that,
when I do that,
what happens in our hearts?
Our hearts become hardened
rather than become softened in compassion.
When people call us on this and question us,
we become defensive.
We excuse.
We justify ourselves.
Sometimes we feel guilty
that we have become critical and hard-hearted.
But in doing so,
we also feel relief
because it allows us to step back.
Having condemned someone else,
we can step back and say,
okay,
I don't have to have anything to do with you.
It's so easy for our hearts
to turn
on those
who are weak and vulnerable.
To turn on those
who show their humanity
and their frailty
and their sinfulness.
What does God think of that?
What do we think of that?
What does God call his people to in that?
Well, this brings us to our text this morning
as we continue our series in Exodus.
We're going to be in Exodus 22,
starting in verse 21.
If you want to turn there in your pew Bibles,
it's page 63.
As you're turning there,
let me remind you,
Exodus is this grand story,
God's deliverance in chapters 1 through 19,
his deliverance of his people
from slavery in Egypt
and bringing them to the foot of Mount Sinai.
Now he is revealing himself to them
and making a covenant with them.
And if you remember,
a couple weeks ago,
we looked at chapter 19,
verses 4 through 6,
where God comes to Moses
and says,
remember how I bore you out of Egypt.
Remember how I delivered you from slavery.
Now I am calling you
to be my people,
to be a kingdom of priests
in this world for me.
And I will be your God
and you will be my people.
And this is the setup for then
the giving of the Ten Commandments.
These grand principles
on how God's people are to live,
to be a kingdom of priests,
to reflect God in the world.
And then as we keep going,
we're now in this section
in chapters 21 through 24,
usually called the Book of the Covenant,
which is this, again,
dipping into God's instruction
to his people
about how to live as his people.
Last week, if you were here,
Greg dove into a whole series
of different sections
in 20 and 21,
that are in 21 and 22,
I'm sorry,
which were primarily case law, right?
If this happens,
this is how you ought to respond.
One of the things
that Greg said last week
is that the laws were given
to God's people
so that they might know
how to live in a fallen world.
We can always mistake,
we can fall into the mistake
of thinking that the laws
were given to establish an ideal.
And there are ideals
and there are principles
and there are characteristics
of God and his people
that come through the law.
But the law is actually given
to people who live
in a fallen world
and who battle against sin.
And what you'll see
in our passage today
is that that continues.
We're no longer in case law.
We're now,
the formal word
that you read in seminaries
is apodictic,
which basically,
as far as I can tell,
means instructional law.
This is what you ought to do,
period.
And as you walk through it,
as we walk through it,
you will see,
and I just want you
to give a tick now.
As we read the passage
in just a second,
I want you to think,
if there were no sin
in the world,
would we need these laws?
So, I just want to put that
in your mind
so that as we're thinking
about it,
so that you'll understand
that this is God's instruction
to us living
in a fallen world,
giving us some direction
on how to do this.
And what we will see
in this passage
is an answer to the question,
how does God want us
to respond to the vulnerable
and the weak among us?
So, let's read the passage together.
Starting in chapter 22,
verse 21,
let's read together.
This is God's word.
You shall not wrong
a sojourner
or oppress him,
for you were sojourners
in the land of Egypt.
You shall not mistreat
any widow
or fatherless child,
if you do mistreat them
and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry
and my wrath will burn
and I will kill you
with the sword
and your wives
shall become widows
and your children fatherless.
If you lend to any
of my people
with you who is poor,
you shall not be like
the money lender to him
and you shall not exact
interest from him.
If ever you take
your neighbor's cloak
and pledge,
you shall return it
to him before the sun
goes down,
for that is his only covering
and it is his cloak
for his body.
In what else
shall he sleep?
And if he cries to me,
I will hear,
for I am compassionate.
You shall not revile God
nor curse a ruler
of your people.
You shall not delay
to offer from the fullness
of your harvest
and from the outflow
of your presses.
The firstborn of your son
shall be given,
the firstborn of your son,
you shall give to me.
You shall do the same
with your oxen
and with your sheep.
For seven days
it shall be with its mother
and on the eighth day
you shall give it to me.
You shall be consecrated to me.
Therefore,
you shall not eat any flesh
that is torn
by beasts in the field.
You shall throw it
to the dogs.
You shall not spread
a false report.
You shall not join hands
with a wicked man
to be a malicious witness.
You shall not fall in
with the many
to do evil.
Nor shall you bear witness
in a lawsuit
siding with the many
so as to pervert justice.
Nor shall you be partial
to a poor man
in his lawsuit.
If you meet
your enemy's ox
or his donkey
going astray,
you shall bring it back to him.
If you see the donkey
of one who hates you
lying down
under its burden,
you shall refrain
from leaving him with it.
You shall rescue it
with him.
You shall not pervert
the justice due
to your poor
in his lawsuit.
Keep far
from a false charge
and do not kill
the innocent
and righteous
for I will not acquit
the wicked.
And you shall take
no bribe
for a bribe
blinds the clear-sighted
and subverts
the cause of those
who are in the right.
You shall not oppress
a sojourner.
You know the heart
of a sojourner
for you were sojourners
in the land of Egypt.
Let's pray
and ask God's help
to understand this passage.
Lord, we thank you
this morning
for your word.
Lord, we thank you
that it teaches us
about you
and the character
of who you are
and Lord,
also how you instruct us
and teach us
and call us
to be a people
Lord,
set apart for you
that we might reflect you
and display you
in this world.
Lord, thank you
for the grace
that you have shown us
in Christ
that we might be
your people.
We pray this morning
for your help
as we listen
to your word.
Lord, may you open
our hearts
to receive your word.
Will you awaken
our minds
to understand it?
Lord, will you move
our hands
to obey it?
We pray these things
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
All right.
So, just one more comment
as Greg mentioned
last time.
You know,
this wouldn't have been
the section of Scripture
I would have picked
to preach on this morning.
Like, oh,
let's preach on these ones.
But because we're committed
to preaching
through the Scriptures
and believing
that it has good for us,
that all Scripture
is God-breathed
and is profitable for us,
so we preach through
and we come to this passage
and we think,
what does this have to say to us?
So, we're going to try
to break it down,
the process this morning.
We're going to first
look at the meaning
of the passage.
The second,
we're going to look
at its application
for us as a church.
And third,
we're going to look
at how it connects us
with the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
So, that's basically
what we're doing.
And as we look
at the passage,
I don't know
if you noticed it,
but it has actually
a really beautiful structure.
It has bookends,
it has a center,
and then it has
everything else.
And the bookends,
the starting place,
is this comment
about being a sojourner.
This comment about being,
he says,
you remember
that you were
a sojourner in Egypt,
and therefore,
you ought to
not oppress
or treat badly
a sojourner among you.
Now, a sojourner,
and this is someone
who lived in another land,
someone who,
in an agricultural context,
living in a foreign land,
meant that you often
had no access
to owning your own land
or to cultivating it.
It meant you had
no place in the society,
often legally.
Think about Ruth
in Israel,
or think about Daniel
in Babylon.
These are people
in different parts
of scripture
who were these,
who had moved
and settled
in a different place,
but who were outsiders.
They were resident aliens,
might be the technical
immigration term
that we might use today.
They've moved to live
and to reside,
but they were not
fully citizens.
And so,
God reminds them,
this is what happened
to you.
You moved to Egypt,
and you lived there
for 400 years.
And though initially
you were welcomed
and accommodated
and blessed
by the Egyptians,
over time,
it turned sour,
and you were oppressed,
and you were beaten
such that you cried
out to the Lord
to rescue you
from slavery
and from oppression.
God says to his people,
you remember
what it's like
when those in power
took advantage of you.
So,
you now,
as my people,
need to remember
that I'm a God
who rescues people
from that kind
of situation.
So,
you must be one
who does not
persist in that
fallen pattern
that our world
is so prone to
where those in power
take advantage
of those who don't,
but instead,
you are to treat
them well.
You are to treat
them rightly.
This is the basic command,
and this is the book
end of this whole section.
And I think it's
very instructive
because I think
what we see is that
in all of these
different laws,
the vulnerable
are being exposed
for their vulnerability,
and the command
is to God's people,
don't take advantage
of the situations
where they,
in their vulnerability,
could be abused
or taken advantage of.
And why is this?
Well,
the bookends
lead us to the center.
The very center
of this passage
is actually verse 31.
Look with me again
at it.
And it's kind of
an odd verse.
I want to just look
at the first sentence
of it to clarify
because the rest of it
is a little odd.
But the very center
of this is this idea.
You shall be
consecrated to me.
Consecrated is one
of those religious words
that we use a lot.
We talk about it a lot.
What does it mean?
Well,
what it really means
is to be set apart.
It's actually related
to the word holy
that we read
in 1 Peter earlier.
It's this idea
that rather than
something being
common every day
or sort of mundane,
something that is
set apart
or consecrated
is particularly
belonging to
a sphere of things
that have been
dedicated to God
and set apart
for his purposes
in the world.
And the connection
between the bookends
and the center
is very clear.
God says to his people,
I have rescued you
from slavery
and from oppression
and made you
my people
so that I'm going
to set you apart
from all the other
nations of the world
so that you may be
the place
where I will display
what kind of God
I am in the world.
And so you are
to be distinct
and different
from the people
around you
by following my laws
and by displaying
my character,
particularly in this context,
by how you treat
the vulnerable.
That's the heart of it.
Now, in the surrounding verses
right around verse 31,
you have a couple of things.
He says,
in this heart,
in this,
the core of this consecration
is that you've got
to put me first
in your identity
and in your lifestyle.
And so,
that means you put me first
by honoring the authorities
that I set over you.
First of all,
myself,
don't revile God
and also the governments
that are put over you.
Don't revile,
or the leaders
that are put over you.
Don't revile those
because I have put them
in place.
And then he goes on
and he talks about,
if you look in verses
29 through 30,
this nod towards
the idea of the first fruits,
the first fruits of our life,
the best things,
the most important things,
the richest parts,
go to God.
We give them,
we dedicate
our firstborn children,
we dedicate
our first oxen
and our first sheep
and the first fruit
of our harvest.
And all of these things
as an expression
of our consecration,
God,
we are your people.
This is what he's instructing
the nation of Israel
to do.
In fact,
he even gives a nod
towards the Passover,
it seems,
the eighth day.
Seven days,
the baby shall stay
with its mother,
but then on the eighth day,
remember circumcision
was meant to be done
on the eighth day
as a sign of setting
a human male child apart
for God
and to be a part
of God's covenant community.
And there's a nod
even to that idea
in the setting apart
of the animals
on the eighth day
rather than on the first.
Briefly,
I need to say something
about the rest of 31,
don't I?
Okay,
what's the world
about the dogs?
So,
you know,
I'll be honest with you,
commentators have some
really interesting ideas
about this.
I think the clearest
and easiest
understanding of this
is that
when God
calls his people
to be set apart,
there's a whole
sacrificial system
that he puts in place
and in that sacrificial system,
the meaning of life
and death
and the significance
of blood
in that life
and death picture
is so important
that he instructs them
in other places
to not eat meat
that still has the blood.
You're supposed to drain
the blood from something
before you eat it.
Now,
if you come across
an animal
that's been killed
in the wilderness
by dogs,
that has not been
properly treated,
that is,
set apart,
you have not followed
the way that God
has honored
the significance
of life and death
in the sacrificial system
and pointing ahead
to the life and death
of Jesus
and the shedding
of his blood
for us.
And therefore,
though it might be
really tempting
to pick up a piece
of roadkill
and take it home
and put it on the barbecue,
God says,
no,
don't do that
because that's not,
that's not,
that's not respecting
life and death
the way my people
are supposed to.
That's my best guess.
It's a,
you know,
65% read on it
so you can argue
with me later
if you want to.
But,
so,
the bookends are
you've been sojourners,
God's rescued you.
The center is
you've been set apart
to be my people
and this then flows
into all of the other commands,
the ethics.
And in this section
in particular,
what God is saying is
the way you are
to be set apart
and distinct
is by the way
you treat people
who are weak
and vulnerable.
Widows
and fatherless.
Particularly
in a patriarchal society.
Particularly
in an agricultural society
where a strong back
would have been
an important thing.
Widows
and children
are particularly
vulnerable.
This is not
actually
uncommon,
this is true
throughout human history.
and God
comes
and he says
to his people,
you must not
treat them
badly.
You may not
mistreat them.
Why?
Because I will
hear their cries.
Because I am a God
who is a compassionate God.
And in fact,
I will bring
vengeance on you
if you treat
these
the least of them,
these the vulnerable,
poorly.
I will bring
that back
upon your head.
It's fascinating
in the law.
It doesn't say
the law is going
to kick in
and bring punishment.
God just says
if you do this
I will come
and bring punishment
upon you.
It's a powerful
statement.
It says
God is reminding
them
I have a special
care
so you ought
to as well.
what did that
mean
in that culture?
Well,
it might have
meant providing
food.
It might have
meant
giving them
a place
to stay.
It might have
meant
giving them
a place
to work
for a child
growing up.
It might have
meant all sorts
of things
to care for them.
What it did
mean is
don't take
advantage
of them.
don't take
advantage
of their
desperation
to make
them your
servants
or your
slaves.
Don't take
advantage
of their
desperation
leading to
sexual immorality.
Don't take
advantage
of them
by
making
them
do your
bidding
but think
about how
to treat
them well
with honor
and be a
blessing
to them.
He then
goes on
he talks
about the
poor.
He says
don't charge
them interest
because someone
who's already
struggling to
have enough
money
can't afford
to be taken
advantage of
by having to
pay great
interest
for a
loan.
He goes
on and he
says
and if he
gives you
his cloak
as a
surety
right
literally
the jacket
off his
back
he's saying
the coat
off his
back
I'm giving
it to
you
for a
loan
seemingly
for a
day
whoever
would offer
that has
nothing else
to give
right
as a
down payment
or as a
as a
pledge
that he
will fulfill
paying back
the loan.
God
comes and
says don't
take advantage
of that
man.
Don't let
him suffer
at the end
of the day
by keeping
his coat
but give it
back to him
so that he
will live
so that he
can wrap
himself up
in it.
There's a
dignity
that's being
extended
towards someone
in a
vulnerable
position.
God
says this
is how
you ought
to be.
He then
goes on
beginning
of chapter
23
he talks
about the
courtroom
and I
wrestled
with this
for a
while.
Why the
courtroom?
Why does
he talk
about false
testimony?
Then I
thought about
it a little
bit from
the position
of those
who feel
powerless
in society
who feel
like they're
on the
margins
who don't
have access
to the
corridors
of power
and the
influence
of those
who are
well situated
and I
realized
yeah
that's
exactly
right.
The courts
are a
place where
in theory
justice
is done
but in
reality
when we
look at
life in
a fallen
world
how easy
is it
for these
systems to
actually go
wrong?
And this
law doesn't
condemn the
justice system
it just
says when
you're engaging
in the
justice system
when you're
engaging in
it do
it right.
Don't fall
into the
temptation
of using
the power
that you
have to
take advantage
of others.
In 23.2
it says
resist
resist the
power of
peer pressure.
Everyone else
says he's
guilty.
Well
alright I'll
testify he's
guilty too.
I don't
know anything
about it
but sure
I'll do
that.
Maybe you
remember the
case I just
came up
recently the
case of
the five
or six
youths in
Central Park
who were
convicted for
attacking a
woman jogger.
Twelve years
later they were
exonerated but
in the meantime
the justice
system put them
in jail because
they assumed
that these
teenagers
who didn't
have an
alibi
and probably
weren't quite
doing the
right thing
but didn't
do this
wrong thing
went to
jail.
And people
went along
with the
crowd because
there was a
lot of
peer pressure
to get
something done.
And it
took a long
time for
justice to
actually work
its way
out.
We need to
recognize that
this can be
true.
God says
recognize the
power of
peer pressure
recognize the
power of
words.
When you
speak you
must be
careful to
speak only
what is
true.
Do not
let your
words,
your
accusations,
your
insinuations,
your testimony
be false
for the
sake of
manipulating the
justice system
for a
desired result.
that's what
he's saying
in this
passage.
And he
goes on
and he
talks about
bribes.
Beware the
power of
money.
Recognize how
easily money
perverts is
the word he
uses.
Twists the
corridors of
power in a
courtroom.
God says
my people are
to stand for
truth and for
righteousness.
And they
need to be
wise to
recognize how
these power
power dynamics
can be used
in a
courtroom
unrighteously
and they
need to
resist it.
You need
to say
do not
do this.
Finally,
in verses
4 and 5
of chapter
23,
you see
God saying
and you
are to
do good
to your
enemy.
And recognize,
Greg mentioned
this last
week that
there are
places in
the law
where it
just says
don't do
things.
But here
it's actually
a requirement.
It is to
say when
you see
your enemy's
ox,
don't just
walk by
and say,
oh look,
there's Bob's
car broken
down by the
side of the
road.
Oops.
Well,
Bob ruined
my lawn
last year,
so I don't
care.
I'm just
going to
keep going.
He says
no,
when you
see the
ox,
you have
to return
it.
And when
you see
his donkey
crushed
under its
load,
you go
and you
help him
so that
the donkey
can stand
and so
that the
load
can be
borne.
God
says if
you're
going to
be set
apart,
you're
going to
love
even
those
who
hate
you
when
they
are in
a
vulnerable
or a
needy
position.
This
is what
it means
to be
God's
people,
he says.
To be
set apart,
to be
my
priests
in this
world
is to
not
take
advantage
of those
who are
vulnerable,
to not
harden
your heart
against
them,
nor to
simply
stand
by and
say,
it's a
fallen
world,
I know
it's
really
hard,
good luck
with that,
but to
actually
engage
properly
and
powerfully
and
meaningfully
in
blessing
and
helping
fighting
against
injustice,
showing
care
and
compassion
and
doing
what
is
right
even
when
it's
costly.
Israel
would have
been a
wonderful
place
to live
if these
things had
actually been
true,
wouldn't
it have?
People
would have
come
to the
nation
because it
was a
place
where they
know
this is
where
they would
have been
treated
well.
So this
is what
God has
called his
people to,
to be set
apart.
This is the
meaning of
the passage
as we've
seen it
in its
original
context
of Israel,
the nation
state that
God is
creating
and leading
to establish
in the
promised
land.
This leads
us to
our second
point and
our second
question,
which is,
okay,
so how
do we
understand
how to
apply this
today?
And we're
going to
keep saying
this so
that hopefully
it will
just soak
in,
right?
The major
thing we
want to
say is you
cannot draw
simple straight
lines from
the Old
Testament law
to our
context today,
but we need
to think
carefully about
what God
has done.
In the Old
Testament,
Israel was a
nation state,
and these
were laws
governing how
that nation
state was
to inhabit a
physical place
in a physical
government and
a physical
society.
Now,
what we see
in the sweep
of history
is that
with the
coming of
Christ,
God's
people moves
from this
identity of
being a
nation state
to being a
transnational,
international,
multi-ethnic
body that
does not have
a government
and does not
have a land
per se.
but lives
in all
lands so
that people
from every
tribe and
tongue will
come and
worship Jesus
so that the
kingdom of
God will
extend to
the ends
of the
earth.
And because
of this,
we need to
not draw a
straight line
from the
Old Testament
laws to,
for instance,
our governmental
laws today.
It does not
mean that it
doesn't say
anything to
that.
It may say
lots of
things.
It may
give us
principles and
characteristics that
are going to be
good for our
government and
for our
country.
It may reflect
ways in which
as much as the
kingdom of God
will come on
this earth as
it is in
heaven, it
will be a
blessing to
our world.
But as we
think particularly
about this issue
of how do we
think about God's
care, God's
people caring for
the vulnerable and
the weak,
think, let's
look at a
couple of
thoughts about
how we want to
think about that
in principle and
in practice here
at Trinity.
First of all,
Galatians 6.10
says this,
so then as we
have opportunity,
let us do good
to everyone and
especially to those
who are of the
household of faith.
And John 13.35
says, by this,
all people will
know that you are
my disciples if you
have love for one
another.
one of the
really interesting
things is as you
get technically
into the definition
of sojourner and
part of what you
see is that the
sojourner has
actually become a
part of the people
of Israel.
When they've come
and dwelt in the
land, they've
actually said, I
will submit to the
laws.
They might be
called proselytes,
those who have
converted to Judaism.
It seems that that's
the primary meaning
of that word as
it's used throughout
the Old Testament.
And this points us
ahead to what we
see in the New
Testament, which is
that our first
application of this
principle needs to
be in the church.
God's people must
love the vulnerable
and the weak among
us in our church,
first and foremost.
I'm thankful for this
church because I see
it.
Because I see you
loving one another
and caring for one
another.
I see you reaching
out.
I see you sacrificially
giving of your time
and of your money and
of your resources to
love one another in
many ways.
I see us living
out the principle
that we would be a
church that loves the
least of these among
us.
We must still ask
ourselves, is there
more for us to do?
Do we really embody
this as fully as we
might?
Is there more for us
to grow?
How are we doing at
caring for the widows
among us?
How are we doing
coming alongside the
single mothers?
How many of us are
coming out of jail and
putting our lives back
together?
About some of our
elderly.
I think of the
internationals.
Many of you have come
and are sojourners in
America.
In this sense.
And you are even
sojourners in our
church.
And it feels
different.
I know what it's
like to have been on
the other end.
To move to another
country and to go to
church in places where
lots of things were
unfamiliar.
And I've experienced
the church showing a
kind of hospitality and
a warmth and a
welcome.
I pray that would be
true for us.
pastor Greg prayed
earlier for the
overseas ministry
study center.
Our partnership with
them is an opportunity
for us to love people
from all over the world
who come to New Haven
for a time of rest and
refreshment and renewal.
And every year we have
people from OMSC who are
part of our congregation.
I pray and hope that you
would look for them.
Look to get to know
them and to welcome
them and to care for
them.
I think that our
tendency in our
culture today is less
to truly mistreat
people as much as it is
to just ignore them.
I think it's easier for
us to just see the
people who are like us
who are easy to relate
to because of that and
to gravitate towards
those relationships.
One of the observations
that I make about our
church often is that and
maybe you can test and
see if this is true.
Almost everyone I talk
to who's been a part of
this church for a little
while says well this
church is for and then
they name some group that
they're not a part of.
It's for the university.
It's for the town.
It's for the marriage
with children.
It's for the university
singles.
It's for the and it goes
on and on and everyone
feels like they're an
outsider and a minority
in this church.
And part of that is
because of the blessed
diversity that we have
that we have all these
different people in our
church.
But let me simply
disabuse you of there
is no core at least
that I understand in this
church.
All of us need to
continue to reach out
to one another.
To continue to show
hospitality.
To continue to look for
those who are weak and
vulnerable and to welcome
them and to care for them.
I think however it's a
mistake to see that the
only application of this is
in our church.
Because I do believe that
there's a very clear call
for us to not only do
this within our church
and first and foremost
in our church as Galatians
6 says.
But also to do good to
the world.
To be the neighbor.
To love our neighbor.
Not just in the church
but in the world.
That this is what God has
called his people to do.
So how do we do that?
How do we in our culture
today think about the
vulnerable and the weak?
I'm just going to run
through, rattle off a
list of opportunities
that you might think
about.
You could get involved in
caring for the unborn
and unwanted babies
by connecting with the
Hopeline Pregnancy Resource
Center in Connecticut.
You could get involved as
some of our, in our
congregation have in foster
care and adoption to
care for children without
families that are able to
take care of them.
You can get involved in
ministries that are working
to stop the sex trafficking
that's happening in the
world.
Love 146 is a great
organization and it's based
here.
If you don't know more
about it, it's a great
organization working to be
involved in rescuing those
who have been enslaved into
this terrible, terrible
abuse of the week.
If you don't know it, New
Haven is a refugee
resettlement city.
One of the designated ones.
There's a ministry here
called Iris that helps
called, shoot, I forgot it.
International refugee
resettlement.
Oh, okay.
Greg can tell you what it is
afterwards.
But it's, but they do
great work and we've had
people in our congregation
who've been a part of what
they do in helping resettle
people from some of the
hardest places who are
seeking asylum, who are
refugees from situations of
political or social
oppression.
We have an opportunity to
welcome sojourners into our
city.
Not only OMSC, but I don't
know if you know this, but
every Sunday afternoon
there's an Eritrean and
Ethiopian congregation that
meets in our church
downstairs.
An outreach to the
immigrant community from
that country.
If you ever go up on
Prospect Street at 10
o'clock on a weekday
morning, you will find
that if you don't speak
Mandarin, you may have a
hard time having
conversations with people
up there.
Because there's a huge
community of overseas
Chinese who are here
studying.
And their grandparents are
here taking care of their
kids.
And we have a
partnership with Calvary
Baptist Church here in
New Haven, a Chinese
church.
Reaching out to Chinese
speaking.
Sojourners in our city.
Friends, there are other
ways for us to care for
those in our city who are
in need.
The children, the mentoring
program that's run through
Bridges of Hope is a great
opportunity.
And I'm proud of our church
for the number of people
who have gotten involved.
But there's still a need.
As you're thinking about
your investment for next
fall, think about being a
mentor and investing in the
lives of some of these
kids.
Think about being involved
in the Christian Tabernacle
Summer Camp program this
summer.
Greg mentioned it earlier.
There's a mention in the
program about it.
You have an opportunity to
volunteer and to be a part
of that outreach to the
Newhallville community
through in partnership with
Christian Tabernacle Church.
church.
And friends, every Wednesday
night there are a small
group of people from this
church who go to Columbus
House to meet, to love, to
give dignity to those who are
in transition, who are at
present without a home.
home.
You can be involved in that.
There are great opportunities
for you to take steps to show
God's care for the vulnerable in
our city.
May it start here in our
household, but may it expand and
overflow into our city so that
people might know what kind of
God we serve.
Now look, none of us can do all
of this.
Most of us could only do one of
these.
But that's okay.
If each of us said, what will
you be involved in?
How will you show God's heart?
How will you not allow the
fullness and the busyness of
your own life that's centered
around you to blind you to the
opportunities and to the call
that God has put on your life?
To be God's priest in this
world.
To be holy as God is holy, set
apart by his compassion and his
love for the vulnerable.
Friends, this is how we ought to
think about it in our church and
in our culture today.
But then how do we connect this
with the gospel?
Well, we know this clearly.
There's a consistent pattern that
God's laws are instructions to us
to live a particular way because
of what God has done for us.
And friends, what this passage
reminds us is that spiritually,
fundamentally, we know that we
too were sojourners.
That is, we were alienated from the
kingdom of God and outsiders because
of our own sin.
Because of our sin and rebellion and
rejection against God, we were
aliens and strangers to God and to
his kingdom.
And God, in his mercy and his grace,
sent Jesus Christ.
And he came and identified with us as
an outsider so that he might bring us
in.
He came and showed compassion to us,
not merely judgment and condemnation.
He came to rescue us from the alienation
that we experience because of our sin so
that we might be his people in the world.
That he might set us apart then to be
those who, in our holiness, would not be
self-righteous in condemning of others,
but would show compassion and mercy.
Romans 5, 6 says this,
for while we were still weak,
there it is, in our weakness, in our sin,
at the right time, Christ died for the
ungodly.
And friends, that's every one of us.
And so if we find ourselves becoming
disgusted or condemning of the weak and
the vulnerable, perhaps we need to go back
and remember our own sin and the way that
God treated us.
How he sent Jesus to rescue us.
How he showed mercy to us.
So that we might be a people who would
show mercy to this world in Jesus' name.
Let's pray.
Lord, thank you for this word,
for the exhortation it is.
Lord, we pray that you might help us
to hear it
and Lord, to respond in obedience to it.
Holy Spirit, I pray you would be even now
pricking our consciences and helping us see,
Lord, ways in which we have not been
full of care for the vulnerable and weak
among us.
In our church and in our community.
Lord, would you also lead us.
Lord, help us to see where the places are
that we can take steps of obedience
to serve you and to love others in your name.
Lord, we pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
All right.
Come on in, kiddos.