I AM: Identity & Calling in the Life of Moses // Part 1 // Exodus 1 // Ryan Murphy

his week, Ryan Patrick Murphy opens a new mini-series on identity and calling in the life of Moses, drawing from Exodus 1–2. Beginning at the very first verses of Exodus — the genealogy of Jacob's sons — Ryan unpacks what it actually means to discover your calling, your destiny, and your kingdom assignment in the context of God's grand redemptive story.

Walking through the early chapters of Exodus, Ryan unpacks four key insights for discerning kingdom destiny. First, calling is not about self-discovery or personal fulfillment — it's about being swept up into God's bigger story of redeeming every nation. Second, your destiny is hidden in the way darkness has assaulted you — just as Moses's personal trials became the very terrain he led Israel through, our wounds and wilderness seasons are often the seeds of our greatest kingdom assignments. Third, our kingdom assignment is discerned, not decided — it is heard, not chosen — because following Jesus means surrendering our plans to His leading. And fourth, our history is not a liability but a treasure: Jesus doesn't delete our past, He redeems it, and the parts of our story we've most wanted to leave behind are often the keys that unlock freedom for others.

The theological anchor of this message is a simple but liberating reframe of what "calling" actually means. Ryan distinguishes carefully between destiny (to glorify God and enjoy Him forever), calling (to love God, love others, and make disciples), and kingdom assignment (the unique, season-specific context where God places us to serve). This framework releases the pressure of searching for some elusive singular purpose and instead invites every follower of Jesus to see that they are already in their assignment — and that their history, including the painful and shameful parts of it, is not disqualifying material but raw material in the hands of the world's greatest Redeemer.

The invitation of this message is to stop avoiding the parts of your story that carry shame, fear, or unanswered questions, and to bring them to Jesus — who is, above all, the best Redeemer of all time. Ryan closes with a tender ministry moment, calling the room to surrender their question marks to God and to trust that where darkness has most fiercely assaulted them, Jesus is most ready to bring freedom — not just for their own sake, but so they can lead others into the same breakthrough. Whatever is wrong in your context — in your family, your workplace, your relationships — may be the very place God is commissioning you to make right.