Moses & the Burning Bush: Ex. 3:1-15

Burning Bush, by Realistic Imaginations

Here is a re-telling of the story of Moses at the burning bush, suitable for use with children or in an intergenerational setting.

God Calls Moses:
A Re-telling of Exodus 3: 1-15

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro.  He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he noticed something very unusual – a bush on the side of the mountain was on fire.  It was completely engulfed in flames…but it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses thought. “Why isn’t that bush burning up?”

When God saw Moses coming to take a closer look, He called to him: “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses said. “Do not come any closer,” God warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Then God told him, “I have seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress, and am aware of their suffering. So I am going to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people out of Egypt.”

“Me?!” said Moses. “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

God answered, “I will be with you.”

But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.


For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for August 28, 2011 (the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 17A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page. 

 

For other intergenerational resources for worship, click on intergenerational worship in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.