Sermon: Lent 3A (OT)

23 March AD 2014
The Third Sunday in Lent

Title: Thirst Quenched (MP3 Audio)

Summary: “Massah and Meribah” — Quarreling and Testing — how many markers in your life could bear these names? How many times have you doubted the Lord’s presence, forgotten His blessings, or resisted His guidance?

If God held your rebellions against you, you would certainly dread His current presence. You would turn away from Word and Sacrament and would certainly attempt to flee the Son’s return on the Last Day. Yet because He refreshes us with the Living Water of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we trust that He forgives His people’s quarreling, testing His promises, and fleeing His presence.

He leads us back to the promises of our baptism. He returns us to the preaching of the Gospel and to the blessed communion of His Son’s body and blood that we might be forgiven, refreshed, and restored. He pardons us and returns to work good through us. He will never abandon us in this “Wilderness of Sin” into which we are born but instead shepherds us onward, leading us toward the eternal green pastures and still waters that await His beloved sheep.

Text: All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”

But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.”

And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:1-7)

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Thirst Quenched.

NB: For some reason, a few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio if Windows Media is their default MP3 player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 95:1-9; Romans 5:1-8; John 4:5-26 (27-30, 39-42)

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