Exodus 15, 1-3
Something to read
Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
King James Version
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: "I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
New Revised Standard Version
Something to think about
When I was a small boy, I thought my dad knew everything. I’d ask him things when we were walking to school, and he’d always be able to explain them. When I was ten, I found out I knew something he didn’t, and I was gobsmacked. My world changed. During my teens, I knew that my parents really knew nothing at all, and was astonished to discover in my 20s how much they’d learned...
It’s easy to dismiss the older generation and think that our music and ways of worship are better. Miriam knew who to praise for their deliverance because the older generation had passed on the knowledge of the God who had led Abraham to the Promised Land, who had been with Joseph in the early years in Egypt, and who had now led Moses and Aaron to set them free.
Something to do
Think about the older people from whom you learned things when you were younger. Try to see their faces in your mind, and hear their voices. Is there a particular person from whom you heard the gospel story in a way which grabbed you for the first time? Now think - could you be the one who has passed the story on to others in the same way?
Something to pray
God of our history, thank you for being there through the long centuries. Thank you for the stories and wisdom gathered by our forefathers, by which we have learned to follow Jesus. Give us hearts to receive, minds to understand, and lips to tell, so that we may eagerly and lovingly pass on the treasures we have inherited.
In the name of Jesus our living Lord,
Amen.
Today’s contributor is the Rev Tony Buglass, a Methodist minister, and Superintendent of the Upper Calder Circuit, made up of nine Methodist and one United Reformed Church, between Luddendenfoot and Walsden in the Hebden Bridge area