Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other (Deuteronomy 4:32-35). In our text for today, Moses is challenging Israel to do her historical homework. Its unlikely Moses would have appreciated some of the dry history textbooks, imposed on high school students. For him, history was alive with the great saving acts of God. These are the stories Moses wants remembered; remembered so that the appropriate lessons can be drawn. The most important is this: there is only one God, he is the Lord God of Israel. As I read Moses' words, I am reminded that early in its history, the church began to meet on Sundays to remember her own history. Our story as church parallels Israel's story. Let's consider these two stories. The essential question is this: has anything like what Israel experienced ever happened before? 'Of course, not', it's a rhetorical question. And arguably, nothing like it happened until Christ himself. Early on, God spoke to Israel directly, "And God spoke all these words…" (Exodus 20:1). With this act, God separated himself from the other gods of all the other nations and identified Israel as a nation unique among the peoples. Gods did not speak directly to their people. Moreover, Israel survived the encounter. "You heard God and lived", Moses reminds Israel. This was another act of God's grace. He desired to have direct contact with his people. Other gods were not interested in such things. They had more important things to do that interact with their worshippers. Humans believed they needed to attract the attention of their god, but only enough to get a few blessings. If a god got to close, there would be human casualties. God's direct speech was too much for Israel. They were afraid and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die" (Exodus 20:19). But God desires to speak directly to us. Thus, God came to us in Christ Jesus. This is the burden of John 1, summarized in the famous words of verse 14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." In Christ, we see the glory of God and we too live. The gospel accounts want us to recognize that in Christ, something greater is happening. Israel was spared from death when they met God. Wherever Jesus went, he brought life: the hungry were fed, the lame walked, the deaf heard, the dead were raised. When we hear God, we are not just spared from death, we are given the life of Christ himself. Jesus promised the Spirit who would teach us everything he had told his disciples (John 14:26). Paul adds, "the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Romans 8:15-16). The miracles Israel saw God perform in Egypt and afterwards, revealed God's omnipotence. He was and is stronger than Pharoah and all his gods. Jesus came, claiming to be God. He came with signs and wonders, showing that he was more powerful than sickness and hunger and even death by raising people back to life. The Gospels present Jesus as the Lord God of Israel, who ushers in the kingdom of God with signs and wonders that climax in his resurrection. Through his death and resurrection Jesus proves his divine identity; he is the Redeemer of Israel. If God's rescue of the Israelites from their slavery to Pharaoh and his kingdom demanded a tremendous act of divine power, how much more our rescue from sin and the kingdom of darkness. This is what Jesus has accomplished for us, and in so doing he has demonstrated that he alone is God; there is no other. That is why Sunday became the church's day. She continues meeting to remember her history and to respond in faith. Moses wanted Israel to remember that only her Lord was God, so that she would believe and live in covenant faithfulness. Christians meet to encourage one another in their faith and in their Christian life. If you have lost connect with your Christian fellowship, I encourage you to get reconnected. Its difficult to go it alone.

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