"Prayer and the Presence of God" (9:00 am)

While Moses is up the mountain before the Lord, Israel "sinned a great sin" (Ex. 32:31) by molding and worshiping a golden calf. Israel now faces a significant crisis of uncertainty: Will the Lord's presence remain with them? Initially, the answer is bleak. God says, "I [the Lord] will not go up among you [to the promised land], or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people" (Ex.33:3). In this precarious place in Exodus 33, Moses intercedes for Israel and the Lord changes his mind (vv. 7-17). Based on this text, Pastor Ted taught on the influence of intimacy. In the first service, Pastor Ted emphasized that intimacy with God is contagious. Everyone likes to stop and watch a fire burn. When people are intimate with God, others will stop and notice. We see this when the Israelites see the pillar of cloud descend at Moses' tent. They would stop and watch, each person rising and bowing down at the entrance of their own tent, as God "spoke to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend" (Ex. 33:11). And as Moses spoke with God, he used his intimacy with God for the sake of the people (see esp. 33:16). We too are called not only to a deep, intimate relationship with the Father, but to also exercise the influence that comes with intimacy for the sake of others. The influence Moses has ultimately leads God to renew his covenant with Israel in the very next chapter. In the second service, Pastor Ted focused on Joshua in this story of Moses' intercession. When Moses spoke with the Lord, his "young assistant, Joshua" would accompany him. When Moses left the tent, the text says that Joshua stayed (v. 11). The influence of Moses' intimacy brought Joshua into Moses' tent where he could see God talk to Moses. From this, Pastor Ted made the point that there is great responsibility in our intimacy with God. "The next generation is watching, listening and posturing themselves like Joshua around what we say and what we do." Pastor Ted concluded the second service with a corporate prayer over the Church and over Pastor Jon and his family, whose intimacy with God has significant influence in the life of the Church