Egyptian godsAmunet – the primordial goddess, depicted as a cobra snake or a snake-headed womanBes – God of war, music, and protector of homes and children.Geb – god of the Earth, first ruler of EgyptHathor – cow or cow-goddess of the sky, fertility, and loveHorus or Heru – falcon-headed god of the sky war and kingship.

Khnum – ram-headed creator god who causes the Nile flood.Ma'at – goddess who personified the order and balance of the universeIsis – goddess of magic, motherhood and fertility and consort of Osiris, represented as the throne80 plus ranging from eras and dynasties

Pharaoh• Son of the Egyptian god Ra• Great house/ Royal Palace• Scepter was a cobra to protect

him from his enemies• “good god”

“Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.” - Exodus 5:2

PharaohHardened (chazaq) ק ַז ָח�• (V) to be or grow firm or

strong, strengthen• Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-zak')“I am the LORD, …I will free you …and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. …Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.” Ex 6:6-8

PharaohHeart (Leb) ב ֵל�• Heart: inner man, mind, will,

heart• Phonetic Spelling: (lay-bawb')• Word Origin lebab ב ב� -lay) ֵל%

bawb)“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.” Ex 7-14

Water to blood 7: 22 O Pharaoh’s resolve remained strong Frogs 8:15 P Pharaoh hardened his heartGnats 8:19 O Pharaoh’s resolve remained strongFlies 8:32 P Pharaoh hardened his heartLivestock 9:7 O Pharaoh’s heart remained hardBoils 9:12 Y Yahweh strengthened Pharaoh’s resolveThunder & Hail 9:34 P Pharaoh sinned yet again and hardened his heart, 9:35 O So Pharaoh’s resolve remained strongLocusts 10: 1 Y I have hardened Pharaoh’s heart, 20 Y Yahweh strengthened Pharaoh’s resolveDarkness 10:27 Y Yahweh strengthened Pharaoh’s resolveFirstborn 11:10 Y Yahweh strengthened Pharaoh’s resolve

6Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ Exodus chapter 6

"I believe in God. I'm not a religious fanatic. I

can't remember the last time I went to

church. My faith has carried me a long way. It's Sheilaism. Just my own little voice...It's

just try to love yourself and be gentle with

yourself. You know, I guess, take care of

each other. I think He would want us to take

care of each other.“

SheilaismThe term derives from a woman named Sheila Larson, who is quoted by Robert Bellah and Richard Madsen in their book Habits of the Heart as following her own "little voice" in a faith she calls "Sheilaism".Picking and choosing what works best for you from whatever sources you deem worthy of borrowing from.• “Permeates our individualistic conformity and continues to

demand that our institutions dramatically change to accept us as we want to be.”

• Highly individualized religious experience as proof of a larger decline in the importance of religion as a whole

In honesty, at first read my heart is frequently

hard toward Millennials who have

adopted their own version of Sheilaism.

“You know try to shine a little light.”

But, But, have they heard the truth about

Jesus? Or are they just tired of a cultural indoctrination of

niceness?

I have noticed that a rather large percentage of the “young married” [Denomination X] (I am in my mid-40s) in our area do not attend church regularly. Are there particular reasons that you and your family have chosen not to attend church? Do you think you will attend again when your husband’s schedule is more predictable or as your son grows older? I have concern for the future of the [Denomination X] Church if we lose so many young families. Do you think they will come back to the church in the years to come? Is there anything the rest of us can do to welcome them back?

I grew up [Denomination] (I’m in my early 50s) and of course we have all seen the younger generation leave for college and never come back. These are all great kids. They’ve come from good families and went to church all their life. (I know that doesn’t make you a Christian). I can tell from your writings that you are a thoughtful and kind person and I would never question your morals. I like your honesty and my question to you is this: Why should I encourage my daughter to go to a Christian college when statistics show that she will probably lose her virginity, drink too much, not go to church while she is there, and will very likely question Christianity and not attend any church when she returns?

Church. Sigh. …. Kate Baer“I will be the first to admit that part of the problem with twentysomethings and church is that we’re bored. We wake up early and put on a skirt only to be met with baby dedications and a sermon that is 27 minutes too long. We sigh over sharing time and roll our eyes at long-winded announcements. As a friend recently put it, “We don’t like church because we’re a bunch of arrogant jag weeds.”There’s also the whole business of cynicism. youth pastors who turned out to be pedophiles, preachers who turned out to be adulterers, spiritual leaders who give advice on subjects they know nothing about, Christian fundamentalism at its worst. We see the crazies on the news with their hateful signs at abortion clinics and military funerals and we shudder. We hear people we know, people we love make hurtful, absolute statements in the name of Jesus and we cringe.

Church. Sigh… Kate BaerChurch has become a stigma. If all of a sudden we are “Christians” going to “church,” we make the rest of the world cringe.My friend Carrie wrote, “I love the story of Jesus so much, but get so angry and depleted when it gets boxed up; Our generation is at a turning point. Despite our cynicism and lazy Sunday morning sleeps,[behavior] we are people grasping for a real and inspired life. We want a church less about church and more about community. We want a church with reached-out hands instead of clenched fists. We want real. We want relatable. We want compassionate and inclusive. We want to talk about things that matter now.

In Revelation, the Lamb, shows us a different side of God’s redemptive wisdom! Jesus has lifted divine judgment from us.The fact does remain that Pharaoh is a sobering lesson for those of us who, in our freedom, claim Yahweh’s name, “I will be who I will be,” choosing to worship ourselves.