Genesis 32:22-31 We...
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Genesis 32:22-31
We might expect religion to make our life with God easier. That wasn't the religion of Jesus, of Jacob, or the religion offered in the Bible. As life is a struggle, so our relationship with God can be a struggle. For every person who zips through life with few problems convinced God is the source of such ease, there's all the rest of us who struggle. Yet, our struggle isn't senseless.
Jacob comes limping away from Peniel knowing something more about a God who cares enough to struggle with him. Harry Emerson Fosdick, great preacher and teacher for the early decades of the twentieth century, had a nervous breakdown in his seminary days that, as he said, scarred him. Out of that painful experience he wrote his little book, The Meaning of Prayer, that proved so important to others that it was reprinted continually in English and translated into eighteen languages. His suffering, like that of Jacob and Jesus, brought blessing to others.
Genesis 32:22-31
The famous black pitcher, Satchel Paige, became famous for saying, "Don't look back. Something may be gaining on you." Jacob knew that his past was presently gaining on him. He had cheated his brother, Esau. He spent years away from his family hoping that Esau would cool his vengeful spirit, but now Jacob was headed home accompanied by his wives, concubines, children, and livestock.
Jacob had just survived a confrontation with his father-in-law, who had resented his departure. Then he heard the news: Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. After sending his family ahead, Jacob spent the night alone wrestling with a "man."
He later learned that the adversary with whom he grappled was no ordinary opponent. Chances are you have wrestled with the Lord over certain decisions. One way not to lose is by doing right during the day. That way nothing can catch up to you during the night.
Genesis 32:22-31
Have you ever tried to sleep using a stone for a pillow? No wonder Jacob had some terrible and wonderful dreams. Wonderful because he had a real encounter with an angel, and terrible because he hadn't fully found his place in serving his God.
Could it be that his grandson, Joseph, came to a new awareness of what to expect from God as he interpreted his own dreams and the dreams of those around him in Egypt? His dream interpretation warned the pharaoh of seven years of famine.
Dreams may simply be a reviewing of earlier experiences or they may be an open channel of communication with God. As Joseph matured, he accepted his dream interpretation as a true gift from God.
I dreamed that God was calling
Calling me to walk closely with him.
The dream gave me the assurance
That I could accept his instruction.
Now is the time to ask God for a vision,
A time when you can ask God for strength
To carry out the dream.
Joseph was a dreamer: God is fulfilling his dreams.
Even today wherever one, or two or three will join hands with others and present
Open hearts,
Open minds,
Open doors;
Behold he stands at the doors we face in life.
Dreams of those who are putting dreams into action.
-- Sam Hahn
Romans 9:1-5
Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, attracted a great deal of controversy for uncritically presenting biblical passages that reflect an anti-Semitic viewpoint. Gibson's own approach to the subject was not that simple -- as seen in his choice of an extra to play one minor role in the film: the Roman soldier who pounds the nails into Jesus' flesh.
The person Mel Gibson chose for this role was ... Mel Gibson himself. The director's million-dollar Hollywood face never appears on the screen, but it's his anonymous lower arm that flashes across the camera's eye, swinging the mallet. It's a role any extra could have played, but Gibson chose to do it himself, for personal reasons. It appears to be his own way of participating in the confession that ought to be the anguished admission of us all, as we survey the wondrous cross. That confession is, in all its dread simplicity: "I killed Jesus."
Romans 9:1-5
Last week we talked about the amazing "Terra Cotta Army," the rows and rows of life- size clay soldiers that lay hidden for centuries beneath a field in China.
Today, in our Romans passage, Paul is grieving that, like the people of China, his people have been given a great treasure, but they seem unaware that:
ï as Israelites, they're God's adopted children.
ï they have God's glory and covenants and law.
ï they have God's worship and promises.
ï they have the patriarchs, and from them comes the Messiah.
Are you and I aware of the treasures that our Lord has given us?
ï He's made us part of his family.
ï He calls us his beloved.
ï He calls us to do his work with him.
ï He's prepared a place for us in his heavenly home.
Are we living as people who've been given such a great treasure?
Romans 9:1-5
Fred shared with his study group an email he had received from an acquaintance. The gentleman writing told of his wife's illness going into more detail than was necessary. His wife had won the battle over cancer several years ago, but now it was back. She would need additional treatments.
Fred explained to the group that he was unsure how to respond, he did not know the couple well at all. He was surprised that he received such a letter. The study group took a few minutes to suggest ways to respond. Dianne said that the letter showed how much the man loved his wife. "That is evident by what he wrote," she said. Other suggestions were made. Anne saw the letter as desperately reaching out to friends for support. Randy suggested that he reply, offering to keep them both in his prayers.
Together they found ways to help Fred. Fred left that evening feeling better, having been helped by his supportive community of faith.
The apostle Paul, writing of the "anguish in my heart" felt the support of other believers. We continue to show our support to people within our congregation as they struggle with personal problems.
Romans 9:1-5
The pastor sat in the living room of the grieving parents. Just a few hours ago, their son, Donald, was killed in a traffic accident. An elderly woman suffered a heart attack while driving, and her car slammed into the car in which Donald was a passenger. Donald's mother, Julie, said to her pastor, "I would do anything to be able to have taken Donald's place."
Paul expresses the same when he says he wishes he could be cut off for the sake of his kinfolk. But alas, we each live our own lives.
Matthew 14:13-21
On my first Sunday as pastor in Myrtle Point, Oregon, Casey and Louise Jones drove twenty miles past other churches to worship with us for the first time. They joined the church and served as faithful church members until they moved away years later.
They believed that God had given me to them as pastor. The coincidence of our arriving the same Sunday in a small-town church was too obvious to ignore. Who else could have taught an elderly couple Greek and Hebrew?
However, I discovered as the years went by, that God sent them as a gift to me. A smart aleck young pastor needed guidance and support. We found that the Holy Spirit operates the same way Jesus did one evening in ancient Palestine. We give Jesus what we have and find out that, like our Lord, we and what we bring are broken and given to others and there's always more than we expected.
Matthew 14:13-21
Several things besides the miracle should grab our attention concerning Jesus feeding 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish. First, Jesus knew how to avoid food riots. The people were hungry and free food would soon be available. I've seen folks under similar circumstances go almost crazy in the effort to get theirs first. Jesus avoided that problem by having the people sit on the grass.
Second, Jesus was well organized. Mark (6:40) tells us that he had the people sit in groups of hundreds and fifties. Third, Jesus blessed (gave thanks for) the food.
Last, some see significance in the number of baskets of leftovers -- twelve. It probably represents the fullness of God's graceful response to our needs. But John informs us that that Jesus had the disciples collect the uneaten food because he wanted nothing wasted (6:12), even food that he'd miraculously created. Be warned. He may hold us accountable for all of our tossed leftovers.
Matthew 14:13-21
One of the true stories told concerning the sinking of the Titanic tells how a woman was told she could have three minutes to return to her cabin and retrieve some of her priceless valuables. She came back not with money, or jewels but with three oranges. Death had boarded the ship and, suddenly, oranges became more valuable than diamonds and riches.
Another stewardship story fits: A poor woman applied to the sultan of Turkey and asked for compensation for the loss of her property. "How did you lose it?" he inquired. "I fell asleep and robbers came and stole it." "But why did you fall asleep?" he queried. "I fell asleep because I believed that you were awake," was the astonishing reply. The sultan was pleased with her trust and returned her goods.
We might expect religion to make our life with God easier. That wasn't the religion of Jesus, of Jacob, or the religion offered in the Bible. As life is a struggle, so our relationship with God can be a struggle. For every person who zips through life with few problems convinced God is the source of such ease, there's all the rest of us who struggle. Yet, our struggle isn't senseless.
Jacob comes limping away from Peniel knowing something more about a God who cares enough to struggle with him. Harry Emerson Fosdick, great preacher and teacher for the early decades of the twentieth century, had a nervous breakdown in his seminary days that, as he said, scarred him. Out of that painful experience he wrote his little book, The Meaning of Prayer, that proved so important to others that it was reprinted continually in English and translated into eighteen languages. His suffering, like that of Jacob and Jesus, brought blessing to others.
Genesis 32:22-31
The famous black pitcher, Satchel Paige, became famous for saying, "Don't look back. Something may be gaining on you." Jacob knew that his past was presently gaining on him. He had cheated his brother, Esau. He spent years away from his family hoping that Esau would cool his vengeful spirit, but now Jacob was headed home accompanied by his wives, concubines, children, and livestock.
Jacob had just survived a confrontation with his father-in-law, who had resented his departure. Then he heard the news: Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. After sending his family ahead, Jacob spent the night alone wrestling with a "man."
He later learned that the adversary with whom he grappled was no ordinary opponent. Chances are you have wrestled with the Lord over certain decisions. One way not to lose is by doing right during the day. That way nothing can catch up to you during the night.
Genesis 32:22-31
Have you ever tried to sleep using a stone for a pillow? No wonder Jacob had some terrible and wonderful dreams. Wonderful because he had a real encounter with an angel, and terrible because he hadn't fully found his place in serving his God.
Could it be that his grandson, Joseph, came to a new awareness of what to expect from God as he interpreted his own dreams and the dreams of those around him in Egypt? His dream interpretation warned the pharaoh of seven years of famine.
Dreams may simply be a reviewing of earlier experiences or they may be an open channel of communication with God. As Joseph matured, he accepted his dream interpretation as a true gift from God.
I dreamed that God was calling
Calling me to walk closely with him.
The dream gave me the assurance
That I could accept his instruction.
Now is the time to ask God for a vision,
A time when you can ask God for strength
To carry out the dream.
Joseph was a dreamer: God is fulfilling his dreams.
Even today wherever one, or two or three will join hands with others and present
Open hearts,
Open minds,
Open doors;
Behold he stands at the doors we face in life.
Dreams of those who are putting dreams into action.
-- Sam Hahn
Romans 9:1-5
Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, attracted a great deal of controversy for uncritically presenting biblical passages that reflect an anti-Semitic viewpoint. Gibson's own approach to the subject was not that simple -- as seen in his choice of an extra to play one minor role in the film: the Roman soldier who pounds the nails into Jesus' flesh.
The person Mel Gibson chose for this role was ... Mel Gibson himself. The director's million-dollar Hollywood face never appears on the screen, but it's his anonymous lower arm that flashes across the camera's eye, swinging the mallet. It's a role any extra could have played, but Gibson chose to do it himself, for personal reasons. It appears to be his own way of participating in the confession that ought to be the anguished admission of us all, as we survey the wondrous cross. That confession is, in all its dread simplicity: "I killed Jesus."
Romans 9:1-5
Last week we talked about the amazing "Terra Cotta Army," the rows and rows of life- size clay soldiers that lay hidden for centuries beneath a field in China.
Today, in our Romans passage, Paul is grieving that, like the people of China, his people have been given a great treasure, but they seem unaware that:
ï as Israelites, they're God's adopted children.
ï they have God's glory and covenants and law.
ï they have God's worship and promises.
ï they have the patriarchs, and from them comes the Messiah.
Are you and I aware of the treasures that our Lord has given us?
ï He's made us part of his family.
ï He calls us his beloved.
ï He calls us to do his work with him.
ï He's prepared a place for us in his heavenly home.
Are we living as people who've been given such a great treasure?
Romans 9:1-5
Fred shared with his study group an email he had received from an acquaintance. The gentleman writing told of his wife's illness going into more detail than was necessary. His wife had won the battle over cancer several years ago, but now it was back. She would need additional treatments.
Fred explained to the group that he was unsure how to respond, he did not know the couple well at all. He was surprised that he received such a letter. The study group took a few minutes to suggest ways to respond. Dianne said that the letter showed how much the man loved his wife. "That is evident by what he wrote," she said. Other suggestions were made. Anne saw the letter as desperately reaching out to friends for support. Randy suggested that he reply, offering to keep them both in his prayers.
Together they found ways to help Fred. Fred left that evening feeling better, having been helped by his supportive community of faith.
The apostle Paul, writing of the "anguish in my heart" felt the support of other believers. We continue to show our support to people within our congregation as they struggle with personal problems.
Romans 9:1-5
The pastor sat in the living room of the grieving parents. Just a few hours ago, their son, Donald, was killed in a traffic accident. An elderly woman suffered a heart attack while driving, and her car slammed into the car in which Donald was a passenger. Donald's mother, Julie, said to her pastor, "I would do anything to be able to have taken Donald's place."
Paul expresses the same when he says he wishes he could be cut off for the sake of his kinfolk. But alas, we each live our own lives.
Matthew 14:13-21
On my first Sunday as pastor in Myrtle Point, Oregon, Casey and Louise Jones drove twenty miles past other churches to worship with us for the first time. They joined the church and served as faithful church members until they moved away years later.
They believed that God had given me to them as pastor. The coincidence of our arriving the same Sunday in a small-town church was too obvious to ignore. Who else could have taught an elderly couple Greek and Hebrew?
However, I discovered as the years went by, that God sent them as a gift to me. A smart aleck young pastor needed guidance and support. We found that the Holy Spirit operates the same way Jesus did one evening in ancient Palestine. We give Jesus what we have and find out that, like our Lord, we and what we bring are broken and given to others and there's always more than we expected.
Matthew 14:13-21
Several things besides the miracle should grab our attention concerning Jesus feeding 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish. First, Jesus knew how to avoid food riots. The people were hungry and free food would soon be available. I've seen folks under similar circumstances go almost crazy in the effort to get theirs first. Jesus avoided that problem by having the people sit on the grass.
Second, Jesus was well organized. Mark (6:40) tells us that he had the people sit in groups of hundreds and fifties. Third, Jesus blessed (gave thanks for) the food.
Last, some see significance in the number of baskets of leftovers -- twelve. It probably represents the fullness of God's graceful response to our needs. But John informs us that that Jesus had the disciples collect the uneaten food because he wanted nothing wasted (6:12), even food that he'd miraculously created. Be warned. He may hold us accountable for all of our tossed leftovers.
Matthew 14:13-21
One of the true stories told concerning the sinking of the Titanic tells how a woman was told she could have three minutes to return to her cabin and retrieve some of her priceless valuables. She came back not with money, or jewels but with three oranges. Death had boarded the ship and, suddenly, oranges became more valuable than diamonds and riches.
Another stewardship story fits: A poor woman applied to the sultan of Turkey and asked for compensation for the loss of her property. "How did you lose it?" he inquired. "I fell asleep and robbers came and stole it." "But why did you fall asleep?" he queried. "I fell asleep because I believed that you were awake," was the astonishing reply. The sultan was pleased with her trust and returned her goods.
