From Glory to Glory

In one paragraph

This sermon was the third in an unplanned series of topical messages on the glory of God. Pastor Mark traced a line from Moses coming down Sinai with a shining face, through Paul's argument in Second Corinthians 3, to the promise that Christians are being transformed from one degree of glory to the next by the Spirit of the Lord. The series started a couple of weeks earlier with Exodus 20 and...

Read together

1. Exodus 20 Moses striking the rock instead of speaking to it, and not being allowed into the promised land
2. 2 Corinthians 4:6 God who said let light shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ
3. Numbers 21 Israel grumbling, God sending venomous snakes, Moses lifting the bronze snake on a pole as the means of salvation
4. John 3:14-15 Jesus telling Nicodemus that as Moses lifted up the snake, so the Son of Man must be lifted up
5. John 3:16 God loving the world and sending his Son that whosoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life
6. 1 Timothy 1:15 the saying is trustworthy that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
7. Exodus 34 Moses coming down from Sinai with his face shining after speaking with God, putting a veil over his face
8. Deuteronomy 18:15-18 Moses prophesying that God would raise up a prophet like him, the Messiah, from among the people
9. 2 Corinthians 3 believers as epistles of Christ, the ministry of death versus the ministry of the spirit, Moses's veil, and transformation from glory to glory
10. Romans 8:28 all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose
11. Romans 8:29 those he foreknew he predestined to be conformed into the image of his Son
12. Romans 8:30 those he predestined he called, justified, and glorified
13. 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 Paul renouncing hidden things of shame, preaching Christ not himself, God shining light of the gospel of the glory of Christ
14. 1 Corinthians 1:18 the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but the power of God to those being saved
15. Ephesians 5:1-2 benediction calling believers to imitate God and live a life filled with love following Christ's example

Talk about it

1. Pastor Mark talked about Moses not even knowing his face was shining after being in God's presence. What does it tell us about God's glory that Moses had to be told about it by others, and have you ever seen something like that in a person without them realizing it?
2. Paul compares the old covenant to the new covenant and says there is no contest between them, yet he still calls the law glorious. Why do you think it matters that he honors the old covenant even while saying the new exceeds it so far?
3. The sermon described the Pilgrim's Progress scene where Moses strikes Christian with the law every time he tries to get up on his own. Where have you felt that in your own life, and what finally moved you from trying to stand under the law to resting in the gospel?
4. Pastor Mark said we naturally become more like whatever we admire and look at most, and that beholding Christ in scripture is how the Spirit does His transforming work. What gets in the way of that kind of looking in your daily life?
5. The benediction from Ephesians 5 calls us to imitate God and live a life filled with love, but Pastor Mark said that is pointless without the Holy Spirit. What does that mean practically for how you approach trying to change something in yourself?