Today's sermon works like this: Pr Jared will talk for a few minutes with some videos playing in the background. Next, Pr Jared will give you some questions to reflect on and discuss. You can pause the recording just like a normal video on YouTube or Facebook, and take as long as you like to go through the questions. When you’re ready, press “play”, watch Part 2, pause it, discuss the questions, do the same for Part 3, and then you’re finished. We’re finishing our sermon series on the “I AM” statements of Jesus. Jesus uses this phrase seven times: I AM the of life (John 6:35) I AM the of the world (John 8:12) I AM the (John 10:9) I AM the good (John 10:11) I AM the and the (John 11:25) I AM the , the , the (John 14:6) I AM the (John 15:1) Today we’re going to discover where the phrase “I AM” comes from and what it teaches us about God. Read: Exodus 3:1-14 PART 1: EVERYTHING'S GONE WRONG Verse 1 says, “Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro”. “Tending” = “actively looking after”. However the Hebrew text says that Moses was “watching” the sheep. The verb for “watching” describes continuance. Therefore a good translation would be: “Moses was watching, and watching, and watching the sheep”. Moses' life is at a dead end, and that’s when God turns up and says, “Now you’re finally ready to work with Me”. Discussion Questions: Has there been a time in your life when something has gone terribly wrong? What happened? Did God feel close, or far away? Why would God wait until everything has gone wrong before He steps in and does something? (Think of the story of Lazarus) PART 2: MOSES' CONVERSION In Verses 2-4, Moses is in the wilderness, he sees a bush on fire, and he decides to “go over” to it. In Hebrew this phrase “go over” indicates that there was a ravine or valley that Moses had to cross to get to the burning bush. Why does God appear as fire? You don’t believe in fire, you experience fire. Fire changes whatever it touches. So does God. Discussion Questions: What does the word “conversion” mean? What was your “burning bush” moment? What made you say, “I want a relationship with Jesus, not just head knowledge”? PART 3: I AM In Verse 3 Moses wonders, “Why isn’t that bush burning up?” This fire isn’t dependant on anything to keep it burning. This fire fuels its own existence. This fire answers Moses’ big question in Verse 13. The name “I AM” is something that doesn’t quite make sense to us. It’s not a normal name, it’s not a noun. It’s the verb “to be”. You could translate it as “Tell them I AM has sent you” or “Tell them that Being itself has sent you”. The fire shows us what God is telling us: “I have no beginning or end. I always am. There’s never a time when I was, there’s never a time when I will be, because I always am. No one and nothing created Me, because I am the one who created everything. All existence has its existence in Me.” God keeps telling us what He’s like throughout the whole Bible: “I AM the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I AM the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the Almighty One.” (Revelation 1:8) “This is what I AM says – Israel’s King and Redeemer, the I AM of Heaven’s Armies: “I AM the First and the Last; there is no other God but Me.” (Isaiah 44:6) “I, yes I, am I AM, and there is no other Saviour.” (Isaiah 43:11) “I am I AM; that is My name!” (Isaiah 42:8) “I am I AM, and I do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) ‘I AM the Lord. There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Saviour. There is none but Me.’ (Isaiah 45:21) Nothing created God, but God created everything. God depends on nothing, yet everything depends on Him. It’s a challanging concept to comprehend, but Jesus made it simple, and personal. He said: “I AM the bread of life.” “I AM the light of the world.” “I AM the door.” “I AM the good shepherd.” “I AM the resurrection and the life.” “I AM the way, the truth, the life.” “I AM the vine, you are the branches. Without Me you can do nothing.” The stories around these seven I AM statements show us what Jesus is like. In John 8, the religious leaders are arguing with Jesus: “How dare you contradict us! Don’t you know who we are? We are children of Abraham! Are you greater than Abraham?!” Jesus responds: “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” Jesus is I AM. When you see Jesus, you see God. When you see Jesus’ love, compassion, mercy, grace, patience, and kindness, you know that’s exactly what God is like. When you hear Jesus say, “I’m bringing judgement,” you realise that this is the best news ever because Jesus tells us that “everyone who believes in Me will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Discussion Questions: Which I AM statement means a lot to you? Why? What is the 9th I AM statement in the Gospel of John? (John 18:5)