Cornerstone Church

The Israelites stand at the base of Mt. Sinai as God continues to arrest their attention with shocking sights and sounds. There is thunder and lighting. There is fire and smoke. There are many sounds of loud trumpet blasts. The mountain is quaking...and the people are quaking too. In that intimidating and impressive environment, God articulates His righteous ten commandments. These commandments outline what relating rightly to Him and others looks like. With great fear and trembling, the people receive the commandments and begin reckoning with God's standards and their accountability for them. This passage provides another brilliant foreshadowing of the Gospel as it begins to outline the Law through which God's people will be both governed--according to the enforcement of it--and exposed as in need of deliverance--since they will all be in violation of it, in one way or another. They need a substitute, one who can keep the Law, not just the letter of it, but the spirit of it. They also need one who can absorb their penalty for failing to keep it. They need an "Exodus," a "Way Out," and that way out is Jesus. As Galatians 4:4-5 says, "When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law." Jesus is the fulfiller of the Law and the one who sets us free from its demand and curse. He is the one we can trust as we endeavor to love God and others and yet fall short over and over again. He is the Commandment Keeper.

The wilderness journey continues as God's people move on from Rephidim and settle at the base of Mt. Sinai. It is a large, impressive, and intimidating mountain. There is thunder, lighting, quaking, and the loud blasting of trumpets. In that awe-inspiring and fear-inducing environment, God will meet with Moses and begin setting forth the conditions of the Old Covenant. If His people will obey Him, they will be His special people, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, representing Him to the outside world. If they do not, they will surely die. In this passage, God not only continues guiding and providing for His people, He also continues revealing their need for a kind of deliverance that goes deeper than the natural realm. It is more significant than merely deliverance from Egypt. At the deepest level, they need deliverance from themselves, from their unbelief, and their own false confidence in their ability to save themselves. They need another mountain, different from Sinai, a mountain characterized not by distance and death, but by access and life. They need Mt. Zion where Jesus reigns supreme as the One who meets all the conditions, who provides full consecration, and who grants eternal life as a gift of grace. In the Exodus story, God is preparing them, and us, for this greater provision in Christ.

In Luke 12:13–34, Jesus shows that covetousness and anxiety often grow from the same root: the desire to secure our own lives. We clutch possessions, plans, and temporary things because we fear we may not have enough, but Jesus redirects our attention to the faithful care of our Heavenly Father. He feeds the birds, clothes the grass, knows exactly what His children need, and delights to give them His Kingdom. Because our lives are held securely in His hands, we are free to seek His Kingdom, hold earthly possessions loosely, and give generously rather than allowing temporary concerns to consume our time, minds, and hearts. Ultimately, the greatest evidence of the Father's care is the gift of His Son. If God did not spare His own Son but gave Him for us, we have every reason to entrust ourselves, our families, our futures, and all our lesser cares to His wise, loving, and capable hands.

The Israelites have survived one life-threatening challenge after another. They are now entering a quieter season in which they will enjoy a semblance of relief from the surrounding threats. They have food; they have water; and they are not currently under attack. For a time, all too brief, they celebrate the goodness of God to them in providing for their needs and protecting them from their enemies. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brings Moses' wife and children to rejoin them at the camp, and he and Moses enjoy a time of worship together as they reflect togheter on all God has done to redeem His people. Sadly, even as the external stresses are easing, the Israelites immediately begin experiencing internal, intracommunal stresses of personal conflicts with one another. As for Moses, he finds himself in another difficult predicament as he is tasked with presiding over these quarrels. From morning till evening, the people bring their greivances to Moses. It goes on and on. Seeing the taxation this was already inflicting upon Moses, Jethro pleads with him to divide up the work of judgment. Through all this, God is introducing a new challenge. Even when our circumstances are favorable, humans will find reasons to be discontent and to fight with one another. The hardships of life in a fallen world are seemingly limitless. Meanwhile, God remains devoted to His people and will once again provide for them in His way and time, by providing help for Moses, by giving the Law on Mt. Sinai, and by eventually rescuing His people from their inability to fulfill the Law...through Christ. It is another beautiful picture of our need for the Gospel.

The journey continues for God's people as He meets their basic needs and guides them forward through the desert. While they have what they need, they are not thriving nor amassing power. They are not settling down, or building cities, or developing a powerful army. They are impoverished and vulnerable. And, once again, they face a hostile foe and another threat of death, as the Amalekites look on with a determination to whipe them out. Thankfully, God will come through for them yet again and will grant them victory through supernatural means. It is yet another pointer to the good news of the Gospel and the victory that Jesus secured for us on the cross. What the Amalakites were to the ancient Israelites in the natural world, sin is to God's people in the spiritual world, a threat of death. And as God came through for His people back then through His leaders, Moses and Joshua, God later came through for His people through His Son, the greater Moses and the greater Joshua. Jesus won the war we could never win. He paid for and conquered our sin. He redeemed us. We are free.

The Israelites proceed forward through the rugged desert wilderness and experience life-threatening thirst once again. God has been faithfully providing for them along the way, but the Israelites have suffered; they have felt their weakening bodies and their grumbling souls. Every time they show themselves faithless, God shows Himself faithful. In this scene, it plays out the same way as God miraculously causes water to gush from a rock to satisfy the thirst of every single person and animal in the caravan. As explicitly mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10, this story features another type of Christ who is the rock from which we drink and experience life for our souls.

As they wander through the wilderness, deprived of normal sources of water and food, the Israelites continue wrestling with God and His plan for them. This is not the liberated existence they envisioned. Feeling the frailty of their bodies and the uncertainty of their future, they repeatedly grumble and complain against Moses and against the Lord. And God repeatedly and distinctly provides for them. He gives them miraculous bread from heaven and sanctified rest from labor. He prescribes Sabbath rest whereby they are to do no work on the last day of the week but are simply to rest and receive from the provisions of the previous day. It will be a holy, set apart day for them to reflect on the difference of living life by the provisions of God alone rather than by their own efforts. Once again, it all points forward to the ultimate provision of God through Christ, from whom we receive for our souls, both bread, spiritual sustenance (Jn 6) and relief, spiritual rest (Heb 4) for our souls.

When we left off, the Israelites were on top of the world. God had rescued them from certain death by parting the Red Sea, ushering them through, and drowning all their enemies. In celebration of this miraculous victory, they sang a song of salvation to their God. What a triumphant moment! If we were writing the story, many of us would have stopped it right there. The words "The End" would come up and the credits would roll. But, in God's story, that was not the ending. Instead, God's people went directly from this triumph into a trial, from this amazing high to a significant low. They soon discover that they are without their most basic necessity; there is no water. Once again, they are facing certain death, and once again, they are utterly dependent upon God to provide for them what they do not have. And once again, God will show Himself faithful. He will turn a bitter providence into a sweet one.

In one quick and decisive act, God ushered His people from danger to safety, from death to life, and from slavery to freedom. Miraculously, He parted the Red Sea and brought the Israelites through on dry ground. Then, once the last Israelite was safely on the other side, and once the last Egyptians soldier had entered the Red Sea floor, he brought the waters back in upon them and drowned every one of them. The enemy was destroyed, the threat was eliminated, and the Israelites were relieved. They stood on the other side, looked over the dead bodies of their enemies, breathed a sigh of relief, and sang for joy. Exodus 15 contains Moses' song of deliverance whereby he led the people in singing praises to God for the great victory He had granted. It is a song of salvation, much like the ones we sing because of the great deliverance God has provided for us through Jesus.

God is fighting for His people. They could not fight for themselves, and they could not free themselves. If they were to be rescued, it would have to be God's work, in God's way, and in God's time. He had already unleashed the 10 deadly plagues and had begun pursuading Pharaoh to let the people go. Now, He will lead them out of Egypt...but direcly into a trap. They will be penned in with mountains around them and the Red Sea before them and--once he changes his mind--with Pharaoh's army baring down on them. From a human perspective, it appeared to be a trap and a hopeless situation for Israel. They are like sitting ducks. Surely the Egyptians will massacre them. Thankfully, God will not allow that. He is up to something profound that requires challenges along the way, not just smooth sailing. At the perfect time, He steps in and miraculously parts the Red Sea so that His people may pass through to the other side safely. As for the Egyptians, they will continue in hot pursuit and once they all enter the passage way through the water, God will bring the water in on them, killing them all in an instant. God fought and won for His people. They were free! The same God fights for us today, in the deepest and best of ways. He has freed us not from some external enemy, but from the internal one. He has, through Jesus, freed us from sin. His death and resurrection enables us to pass from death to life, to go from separation from God to a relationship with Him. And in that relationship, we are free!

God has begun the work of setting His people free, by unleashing ten deadly plagues on the Egyptians. The tenth and final plague is the most devastating of all as God sends His angel of death to kill the first-born sons and animals of every household. There is only one way to avoid certain destruction: A spotless lamb must be killed and its blood applied to the doorway. For those households, the angel will pass-over and the people and animals will be spared. The lamb will have taken their place in death and saved their life. It is another awesome picture of Gospel truth, foreshadowing the coming of Jesus, the spotless lamb of God who "takes away the sin of the world" (1:29). Because He died for us, we are set free to live in the provisions of God.

In Luke 4:14–30, Jesus publicly reveals Himself as the Spirit-anointed Messiah promised by God through the prophets. As He announces the arrival of God's Kingdom, He offers forgiveness, freedom, healing, and restoration to those who recognize their need. Yet many who heard Him were impressed by His words without embracing Him as their Savior. This passage reminds us that Jesus is not merely a great teacher or one solution among many—He is the One and Only Savior who has come to reconcile us to God. The question is not whether Jesus is impressive, but whether we truly trust Him as our Savior

Pharaoh has no intentions of letting the Israelites go. He will not cut them loose; he cannot let them be free. The status of his reputation and the advancement of his kingdom depend upon their slavery. If it were up to the Israelites, they would be stuck, completely incapable of liberating themselves. They have no resources and no strength to make their way out. God must intervene...And He will. In chapters 7 through 12, God begins the process of deliverance by unleashing 10 deadly plagues on the Egyptians. Through one miraculous plague after another, God shows His superiority to the gods of the Egyptians and His sovereignty over death and life. In no time, He turns Egypt into a barren wasteland. By these judgments and acts of power, God persuades Pharaoh to let His people go. As He ravages the Egyptians with death, He also preserves the lives of His people, protecting them and leading them out of slavery. Thousands of years later, He will send Jesus to bring about the ultimate exodus whereby we are brought from death to life through union with Him and His crucifixion and resurrection.

In hearing that the Israelites wished to break from their labors in order to worship their God, Pharaoh was incensed. Rarther than granting them freedom, he turned up the heat even more. Not only would they need to keep fulfilling their quota of work, going forward they would also have to gather their own supplies. He wouldn't let them go; instead, he commanded them to "Work harder!" The desperate plight of the Israelites has only worsened. Under the tyranical hand of Pharaoh, their suffering is intensifying. And they are powerless, utterly powerless, to save themsleves. There is nothing they can do. They are dependant upon God. He is the only One who can set them free. Only God's liberating hand can overpower Pharaoh's enslaving hand. As we move from chapter 5 into chapters 6 and 7, God repeatedly reassures Moses that He will indeed, by His saving hand, set His people free. Israel may be no match for Pharaoh, but Pharaoh is no match for God. He will set His people free. He will not be stopped.

The eagerly anticipated time has come for a showdown with Pharaoh. In Exodus 5, Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh to request permission to go into the wilderness for a feast unto their God. He immediately denies their request. He does not know their God and He will not allow his work force to be depleted for the Israelite people to have a holiday. Not a chance! He won't allow them to rest; they must work! In fact, he assumes that their request is simply an excuse to be lazy, to cease their efforts, and to threaten his kingdom and his plans. So, not only will Pharaoh not let them go, he will also increase the demands on them. He will make the work harder. Adding insult to injury, going forward the Israelites will be required to gather the supplies for their building work in addition to doing the building work. Pharaoh is an actual historical figure, and he is also a type of Satan himself, and a type of the voice within each of us which says, "You must work for life!" While in the natural realm, it is true that we must work to accomplish anything in this world and to live, in the spiritual realm, such work is suicide. It is a deceptive denial of the living and loving God who gives life as a gift of grace, not as a wage earned. Sadly, we are all work-aholics who believe the lie that if we just work hard enough, we can please ourselves, prove ourselves, and protect ourselves. There are secular ways of going about it; and, there are religious ways of going about it. And, it is all deadly. It is heavy, burdensome, and enslaving. It sabotages any chance at real joy, or real peace, or real love for God and others.

As Moses stands in the dust with God before the burning bush, he is vulnerable and exposed. In their interaction, God is revealing to Moses what he believes about himself, i.e. who he thinks he is, and what he believes about God, i.e. who he thinks God is. As the conversation proceeds, it becomes increasingly clear that Moses has some major misconceptions about Who God is and who he is. One of the many things God is up to is making more clear who He Himself really is, The Great I Am, and making more clear who Moses really is as one created by, loved by, and provided for by God.

Since there is a God, nothing is more important than Who He is and What He is like. In this part of Exodus, He introduces Himself to Moses personally as the great "I Am." He is the true God, the living God, the everlasting God, the One who always has been and always will be. He is the God who loves His people and is committed to their freedom. As Moses stands vulnerable and exposed before Him at the burning bush, God reveals Himself with greatest clarity as the great "I Am" who has always been with and for His people and who has both the plan and the provisions to set His people free. He will execute His plan with perfection and to completion, in His way and time. Just as God worked in the lives of Moses and the Israelites, He works in our lives as well, showing us the desperation of our predicament and the sufficiency of His redemption. He shows us the various ways in which we are enslaved and He reveals Jesus as the One who alone can set free. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

God met Moses in the dirt, where he stood with uncovered feet and an exposed heart. From a miraculously burning-and-yet-not-consumed bush, God spoke to Moses, declaring His faithfulness and plan to rescue His Hebrew people from Egyptian bondage. Moses had spent 40 years in obscurity in a place called Midian. Previously, in his younger days, he felt destined for a life of significance. He believed he would be an advocate for his people, but when he took mattters into his own hands and murdered an Egyptian, the Hebrews did not applaud him. Sensing rejection, hearing that Pharaoh was aware of his act, and fearing for his life, he fled to Midian where he spent those many years in the lowly, seemingly unimportant position of tending to his father-in-law's sheep (cf. Acts 7). But when the time was right, God intervened. He appeared in that burning bush and called out to Moses to begin fulfilling His plan of setting His people free. God has His way of revealing Himself to us as well. In His perfect time, He uses our life circumstances and struggles to invite us to honesty and vulnerability; He confronts our pride and our unbelief; He reveals His character of faithfulness, love, mercy, and grace; and He teaches us to live by faith in His provisions for us through Jesus Christ, rather than by our own efforts. He persuades us of the truth that sets us free.

What do you have in common with Pharaoh? There is probably more than you realize. As he ruled over Egypt there were many things that had to go his way, or else! He was the most powerful man in the kingdom, but he was also the most insecure. He was the scariest and the most scared at the same time. We all have ways we want things to go in this world. If we're honest, we often believe we need things from the circumstances and the people around us, things that make us feel valued and things that make us feel fulfilled. All it takes is some disruption, some intruder, some threat to our kingdom and we react. We seek to exercise control and to fight for our comfort. The good news is just as God sent Moses to free His people from the clutches of Pharaoh back then, He has sent Jesus to set us free from our own Pharaoh-like hearts today. He comes to show us that our well-being is found in His prominence, His plans, and His provisions, not our own. He has come to deliver us.

We all find ourselves sometimes in places where we ask, "How did I get here?" There are many factors that determine where we end up in life, some within our control, some outside our control. There are decisions we make, people we meet, and experiences we have that all play a part in getting us where we are. The story of Exodus acquaints us with the reality that God is over all these circumstances, sovereignly orchestrating all things for His glory and our good. He is guiding us along, even causing us at times to be stuck, in order that we might learn to trust in Him. In God's good plans for us we are right where we belong in order to see His provisions for us, both physically and spiritually. Jesus came, lived, suffered, and died that we might know without a shadow of a doubt that our Creator God loves us, that He is always with us, and that He will always give us exactly what we need.

"We begin our Exodus series with a message entitled, ""Finding Your Place in God's Story."" We humans love stories. We love movies and books and plays. We are drawn to characters and plotlines. We are captivated by all different kinds of stories, war stories, love stories, funny stories, and even tragic stories. It is part of our being created in the image of God, the preeminant story teller. Human history is the telling of His story. It is the greatest of all stories. It is a redemptive story about God setting us free by drawing us to Himself. The ancient Exodus account is part of that story, and it has all the elements of a good story, interesting characters, conflict, plot twists, and redemption. It is about God raising up Moses and freeing the Israelites back then, and it's about God sending Jesus to free us today. As we study, we will see that their story is a lot like our story, and that the same God who loved them and led them to liberation is up to the same in our lives. We will find our place in God's story."

This morning, the sermon was entitled Pressed Into Comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3–11), we saw that God—who is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort—does not remove pressure from our lives but uses it to transform us. Through seasons of deep distress and even despair, God exposes our self-reliance and presses us to depend on Him, the One who raises the dead. True comfort is not found in escaping hardship but in experiencing God's presence, promises, and care. As He comforts us, He also reshapes us into instruments of comfort for others, reminding us that He has delivered us, is delivering us, and will deliver us again—all for His glory and the strengthening of His people.

Because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, the deepest search of every human heart—for meaning, satisfaction, and life—is brought to an end in Him. While people pursue countless lesser "saviors" that promise relief but ultimately fall short, the resurrection proves that Jesus alone fulfills what we are truly longing for and accomplishes the salvation we actually need. This gospel was not unexpected but foretold and faithfully fulfilled, calling for more than casual belief—it demands a real, enduring confidence that holds fast to Christ in every circumstance. Therefore, the only fitting response is to entrust ourselves fully to Him, placing all our hope in the One who alone gives true and lasting life.

This morning we observed Palm Sunday by considering the "Triumphal Entry" of Jesus, where He entered Jerusalem surrounded by excited onlookers, hailing Him as King. It was a sort of royal coronation as, in that moment, the people recognized His right to the throne of Israel. They shouted out with great enthusiams, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" (21:9). One of the remarkable things about this event was its display of divine gentleness. In unique and stunning fashion, and in fulfillment of prophecy (cf. Zech 9:9), Jesus rode into town on that day "gentle, and mounted on a donkey" (21:5). The same Christ who created all things and who sustains all things and who had recently demonstrated His divine power through many miracles, even raising one man from the dead (cf. John 11), chose the most lowly and humble way to show Himself that day. In a world full of people impressed with feats of strength, Jesus demonstrated astounding gentleness. Surrounded by people naturally obsessed with making themselves a big deal, Jesus made Himself a small deal. And, in a moment of divinely granted clarity, some people in the crowd recognized that humility as glorious and as a sign of true royalty. Thus, they hailed Him as their King. Meanwhile, the Pharisees who were outraged by the whole thing, implored Jesus, "Rebuke your disciples." To which He responded, "If these become silent, the stones will cry out!" (Luke 19:39-40).

In a world filled with conflict, there is no shortage of blame. Each person is convinced of their own righteousness, yet only God is perfectly righteous and pure in His motives. While God may use human agents to accomplish His purposes, wherever people are involved, sin, selfishness, and brokenness are present. In such a world, the book of Jeremiah offers a wise approach to life: live life freely where God has placed you, seek the good of your community, and remember that true hope and restoration come from God alone (Jeremiah 29:4–14). The book of James further reveals that external conflicts are not merely circumstantial, but flow from deeper internal struggles within the human heart (James 4:1–3). Nowhere is this inner conflict more evident than in those who experience war. Even when a service member fights in a just cause under proper authority, the tension between duty and conscience can leave lasting wounds. These unseen struggles—often described as moral injury—reflect a deeper conflict within the soul. At times, obedience to authority requires actions that carry lifelong weight. Yet these wounds are not beyond healing. The God who makes all things new cares deeply for those whose souls are in turmoil and brings true restoration. If we long to see peace in the world around us, we must first recognize the war within us. Lasting peace begins not on the battlefield, but in the human heart—through the transforming work of the Prince of Peace.

We live with a form of dual citizenship. Our ultimate reality is found in the eternal Kingdom of God, where Christ reigns and where righteousness, peace, and joy characterize life with Him. At the same time, we live in earthly societies that are broken, conflict-filled, and governed by imperfect human authorities. Scripture teaches that God sovereignly establishes governing authorities to restrain evil, maintain order, and promote the general good of society—even when those authorities are flawed. While earthly governments may wield the sword to execute justice and protect the vulnerable, the character of God's Kingdom is revealed most clearly in Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself and gave His life as the Lamb of God. Christians must therefore learn to live in this tension: submitting to governing authorities, seeking justice and peace in society, and valuing the humility, love, and righteousness of Christ in a world marked by conflict.

We are living in a society that seems more divisive and fractured than ever before...at least in our lifetime. All it takes is one scroll down our Facebook feed and we are reminded how polarized our culture has become, especially when it comes to politics. We scan our screens and we are barraged with political opinions and protests, as our friends on the left blast our friends on the right and vice versa. You can feel the tension and hostility through your phone. Sometimes you keep moving, you stay above the fray, and you make it out relatively unscathed. Other times, you take the bait. Your mind races and your emotions surge as you fill the comments section with your disapproval and counter-arguments. "I'm right. They're wrong. And they are going to hear about it," you think to yourself. Why can political debates be so emotionally charged and relationally destructive? Why are we so divided today? Is it because of Covid? Is it social media? Is the divisive rhetoric of this or that politician to blame? The Bible reveals that there is something deeper beneath these non-stop battles, something in the heart that only God can address. In today's message, we take some time to think through God's truth on why we fight, quarrel, and divide in these ways and how the love of God for us through Jesus is our only real help and our only real hope.

As the author of Hebrews brings his letter of exhortation to a close, he ends with a wishful yet confident plea, like a prayer, that God will equip His people for the challenges before them. Contrary to what his readers may have been tempted to think, trusting in the simple realities of the Gospel—which he has unfolded for them throughout the book—provided their greatest security in an insecure world. There was no true help to be found in returning to Judaism or any of its traditions or associations. They were instead fully supplied through the finished work of Christ alone. While singular trust in Him may have seemed too simple, or worse yet, too passive, it was actually the key to a life of fruitfulness, well-pleasing to God. Likewise today, the all-sufficiency of Who Jesus is for us and what He has done for us does not render us lazy, fruitless, or ill-equipped for life's challenges, but renders us productive, fruitful, and fully equipped for them. It is a guarantee, settled within the everlasting covenant God has established with His people through the blood of Christ. It is Jesus' sacrifice for us, not our sacrifices for Him, that ultimately secures us in this world. More than anything else, learning of this security is what God uses to produce fruitfulness that brings good to us and glory to Him. Like the author of Hebrews, we can trust God to "equip [us] in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever" (v. 21).

In this message on Hebrews 13:15–19, Pastor Robert Clark emphasizes the call of Hebrews to place our full trust in Christ alone, without hedging our loyalties or diversifying our hope. The writer of Hebrews is utterly persuaded of the superiority, sufficiency, and singularity of Jesus—our once-for-all sacrifice, unchanging Savior, and secure hope in an unshakable kingdom—and urges believers to be persuaded (πείθω) and to yield (ὑπείκω) to the faithful proclamation of this same Christ. Safety is found only in union with Him, outside the camp, where confidence replaces fear and faith preserves the soul. This persuasion expresses itself in "lips that confess His name" and "lives that reflect His generosity," as the Word of Christ creates faith that clings to Him and overflows in love toward others. The central question remains: if Jesus alone is our eternal security, are we fully persuaded to entrust ourselves—without contingency plans—to Him?

Tucked within his closing thoughts for the Hebrews, the author includes another brilliant Gospel gem that highlights the uniqueness and value of fellowship with Jesus. Referencing Old Testament imagery of things like the tabernacle, the altar, the animal sacrifices, the priests, etc., he once again demonstrates how Jesus is the fulfillment of all those historic icons and practices. Specifically, he zeroes in on the tradition of sacrificial animal carcasses being taken "outside the camp" due to their uncleanness and cursed status. In God's redemptive plan, this ritual is a divinely prescribed foreshadowing of Jesus being despised, rejected, and expelled from the religious community as He bears the sins of His people on the cross. The author invites His readers to realize the value of Jesus, to accept their cursed nature and status as sinners, and to find the best kind of fellowship with Him "outside the camp." That is where we come to know Him and to experience His love and forgiveness. Nowhere other than with Him--with our sovereign Creator and loving Savior--do we find the true belonging and true inclusion our souls long for.