From Glory to Glory

In one paragraph

This sermon was the third in a row of topical messages on the glory of God, preached by Pastor Ray. Building on the previous two weeks, which traced the glory of God from Exodus through the story of Moses and the bronze serpent into John 3, this message moved into 2 Corinthians 3 and 4 to show how God's glory works in the life of a believer. The central claim was that God is actively transforming...

Read together

1. Exodus 20 Moses striking the rock and speaking to the people, used as the starting text two weeks prior
2. 2 Corinthians 4:6 God who said light shall shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts to give the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ
3. Genesis 1:1 paraphrased by Paul as the origin of 'let there be light', pointing back to the beginning
4. Numbers 21 people complaining, God sending venomous snakes, Moses making a bronze snake on a pole so that anyone who looked at it would live
5. John 3:14 Jesus telling Nicodemus that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up
6. John 3:16 for God so loved the world, cited as following immediately after the lifted-up serpent reference
7. 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
8. 1 Timothy 1:15 trustworthy saying deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
9. Exodus 34:29-35 Moses coming down from Sinai with his face radiant, putting a veil over his face when speaking to the people
10. Deuteronomy 18:15 Moses prophesying that God will raise up a prophet like him from among the people
11. 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 the whole chapter read and expounded, contrasting the ministry of the old covenant with the glory of the new covenant and transformation from glory to glory
12. Romans 8:28 all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose
13. Romans 8:29-30 foreknew, predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, called, justified, glorified
14. 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 since we have this ministry we do not lose heart, God who said let light shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts
15. John 17:17 Jesus praying in the garden, sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth
16. Ephesians 5:1-2 imitate God therefore, live a life filled with love following the example of Christ who offered Himself as a sacrifice

Talk about it

1. The pastor talked about Moses's face shining with reflected glory after being in God's presence, and how that radiance would fade until he returned to God. Where in your own life have you noticed something similar, where closeness to God showed in how you lived, and distance showed too?
2. Paul describes the law as 'the ministry of death' and 'the ministry of condemnation,' yet also calls it glorious. How do you hold those two things together, and why does the pastor say you have to understand the bad news before the good news can be good news?
3. The pastor said that reading the Old Testament without looking for Christ is like reading it with a veil over it, and that the veil is taken away when someone turns to the Lord. Has there been a moment when a passage you had read before suddenly made sense in a new way once you were looking for Jesus in it?
4. The sermon described sanctification as a process that 'depends a lot on where we are looking and what we are yielded to,' and said you cannot gut it out but have to yield and obey as God leads. What does that kind of yielding actually look like day to day for you?
5. The pastor closed by saying that what you admire most is what you will naturally move toward, and that beholding Christ is how transformation into his image happens. What habits or practices help you actually behold Christ, and what tends to pull your attention away?