The Lord of Time

Yesterday was a holiday. What holiday? New Year's Day. NYD is kind of a strange holiday. People are usually in a festive mood and begin celebrating on the evening of December 31, New Year's Eve. Many people gather with friends and family to celebrate, and some churches have what are called watch-night services. But what are they celebrating? What are they watching? The clock. NYD doesn't celebrate the birthday of any famous leader or any great event, just the changing of the calendar from one year to another. People don't usually think deeply about it, but NYE and NYD celebrate TIME, and specifically the progression or advancement of time. New Year's Eve and Day thus provide an opportunity for us to reflect on the truth that our God is the Lord of time. This morning we want to begin a series in the book of Exodus. Exodus is a continuation of the book of Genesis, and the Hebrew text actually begins with "And..." Exodus begins by recognizing the passage of time and several significant changes that have occurred as time has advanced according to the purposes of our God.