This Sunday is mother’s Day.  I hope we all have plans to make our moms feel special.  They certainly deserve it.  Something else special is happening at BBT.  We’re coming back!  I am so excited!  We understand if you don’t feel comfortable doing that yet, and we plan to open the conference line for at least part of the service.  We’ll broadcast the message live on Facebook as we have done for the last couple of years, and of course we’ll put up the audio podcasts.    This is where our currently small number helps us a bit.  There’s plenty of room for sitting apart from the people you didn’t come with.  We encourage everyone to wear  a face covering to protect those among us who may experience more serious consequences should they catch the virus.  Remember that a healthy person may not even show symptoms and yet be contagious.

I have to credit my lovely wife with the idea for this week’s message.  I’ll admit, at first i didn’t see it.  The text comes from exodus 2;1-10.  If you grew up in Sunday school, you know the story.  The Israelites were living in Egypt after Joseph arranged to provide for them there during a famine.  Over time their numbers grew, and the Pharaoh became afraid of them.  So he made them slaves and ordered the death of their mail children.  When Moses was born, his parents concealed him as long as they could.  Then his mother put him in a basket and placed in in the Nile.  A daughter of the king found them there and took him as her own, setting the stage for God’s next mighty act some 80 years later.

Now to me that doesn’t read much like a heroic act.  It is part of the history, but what is noble about abandoning your baby, even if god did turn it into something good?  Then I remembered that the author of Hebrews considered what Moses’ parents did an act of faith (Heb 11;23.)  What did I miss?  Come find out!  This part of the story doesn’t even give her a name, but this mom changed the world.

I really hope you will come.  I understand caution and we’ll conduct ourselves accordingly, but there comes a point when the response to the threat is no longer in proportion to that threat.  The debate on that subject is likely to rage for months if not years, but meanwhile life must co on.  We can’t cower in our homes forever or the consequences of that will soon be far more devastating than the virus would be.  Be strong and courageous!  Trust God and live life!

Love y’all,

Larry