Moses saunters slowly into the sanctuary, wearing his usual garb, sandals, and carrying his walking stick. He appears calm and somewhat bored.

He arrives at an appropriate spot of relevance at the front of the sanctuary, pauses, looks around and raises his hands slowly in a gesture of control over the congregation.

Moses: Today, I am with you here in Bowsman United Church just as I was many years ago with the Israelites as they journeyed from slavery in Egypt to their promised land. Oh, what a journey, what turmoil, what trials, what tests, what doubts........I shudder just thinking about it.....but I am here to help you see that God is with you always......I hope you can learn not to suffer the hardships that so many of your forebears have suffered simply because they did not trust that God was with them always.

Let me tell you about some of my experiences. God came to me and asked me to go the king of Egypt and persuade him to let me lead my people away from Egypt into their promised land. Me, who was timid, tongue-tied, and slow to speak persuading the powerful Egyptian king to free all his slaves? Some chance of that happening! Yet, God assured me that he was God and gave me miraculous powers to confirm that. Why I was able to turn this walking stick into a snake and back into a stick!(suitable gesture). And then I was able to heal my crippled hand simply by placing it inside my cape and removing it (suitable gesture)......and not only that, I was able to wave my walking stick over water and turn it into blood (suitable gesture). I was convinced, but the king of Egypt did not convince so easily. In fact, he retaliated more cruelly against my people by expecting them to make bricks without providing straw. Oh God, that made me feel worse about my fellow Israelites.....I was failing them, yet God did not give up on me. Many times I was given miraculous powers to continue convincing the King to let my people go. Over and over the Lord brought disasters on Egypt and over and over the Egyptian king cried out:

King: Pray for me Moses, pray that these disasters upon Egypt will cease.

Moses: But each time the disaster ended the king became angry and refused to let my people go.

King: I will never let these people go, never, never......

Moses: Not until God brought upon the Egyptians, death to all the first born sons did the stubborn king allow me to take all the Israelites out of Egypt and even then the stubborn king did not learn. And then, when he decided to pursue us, his best troops were trapped in the converging waters of the parted Red sea. It still haunts me, the cries of drowning men and horses......what terror and tragedy !!

Distant subsiding screams, cries, and shrieks:

Moses: Yes, we survived. The Lord spared our first born sons during the first Passover and we were freed from slavery in Egypt. Wherever the Lord led, we followed. In the Desert Shur after three days without food or water my people began grumbling:

Israelite 1: This water is bitter, yuck it's terrible!

Israelite 2: We can't drink this; what are we going to drink? At least we had water in Egypt!

Israelite 3: And where will we get food? Why are we following you, Moses? We'll probably die out here in the desert.

Israelite 1: I'm dying of thirst already! I need sweet water, water.

Israelite 2: We should never have left. Now look where you've got us, Moses. It's all your fault.

Israelite 3: What are we going to do now? I'm scared! We're going to die; I just know it.

Israelite 1: Moses--we need food, we need water.....where are we going??? We need some answers now. We were fools to believe you; where are you taking us? We're not going to get there, are we?

Moses: Well, God came through again. With my stick, I was able to change the bitter water, to sweet water for all to drink. God provided manna each day for us to eat with even enough on the sixth day so that there would be enough left over for the Sabbath. God provided what was needed.

As we continued our journey we came to the place called Rephidim. There was no water once more. Once more the people began grumbling:

Israelite 1: I'm thirsty, but there is no water. What are we going to do?

Israelite 2: I'm getting tired of this constant worry about water. At least when we were slaves we did have water. Usually.

Israelite 3: My family has no water. I didn't bring them to this desert to die. Enough from you, Moses!

Israelite 2: Water, water, we need water. Where's our water, Moses?

Israelite 3: I've had enough of Moses! He's our problem! Stone him!

Israelite 1: Yeah, stone him; we need water, Stone him, stone him!!

Moses: My people had such short memories; so little faith. They were ready to stone me to death. Again, the Lord came through. I took a group of leaders to a stone upon Mount Sinai and tapped it with my walking stick. Who would believe that water would pour forth from a stone, but it did. Again, when we were thirsty, the Lord quenched our thirst and we knew the Lord was with us still.

My friends, this story happened long ago and far away, but even today this story is for you. What characters in this story ring a bell for you? Do you see yourself in any of them? Perhaps you are like me and don't think you have the gifts to be a leader. Maybe you are like the king of Egypt who is super stubborn and won't give in to the messages God is sending you. Maybe you are like the Israelites, who have little faith, or follow along with the crowd, or panic at the first sign of trouble, or have a short memory about God's gifts and grace. Listen, people of Bowsman, this story is a looking glass for you to look at your own lives. Perhaps by looking at this image, you can more clearly see your own lives shining through in the perspective of God's realm. Are you doing what God would have you do?
And this, dear people, above all else. Know that this story tells us that God is with you always, to watch out for you, to lead you onward, and to be there when you need God's grace. Maybe you won't always like what is in store for you, but in the whole picture, God is your constant guide and companion.

Moses leaves as he entered, but this time with a little bit more spring to his step.