9 Readings – God’s Voice OR Our Imagination?

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9 Readings – God’s Voice OR Our Imagination?

How to tell if God is calling / drawing / tugging at / communicating with you:
#1: God’s message / communication with you will sound like it comes from a place of love.
#2: God’s voice will help you understand how to better love God, love yourself, & love others.
#3: God will lead you to places of need where you can serve others.
#4: God will draw you to be a light of justice, kindness, and humility.
#5: God’s leading often appeals to our “natural” (i.e. God-given) interests and abilities.

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Genesis 12:1-9; 15:1-6 – Abraham’s Call Story

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Genesis 12:1-9; 15:1-6 – Abraham’s Call Story

firmly believe that God has positioned and equipped us with everything we need to get to the next step. We need to be using all of our senses to detect God’s leadings. We need to trust that, as a loving creator, God wants the best for us and for our community. We need to share our life and faith stories with each other so that we can be encouraged, we can encourage others, and we – working and talking together – can more clearly understand where God is leading us next.

Two weeks ago, we sang Amy Grant’s, Thy Word, a song inspired by Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” We can take only one step at a time. Even the great Jesse Owens ran and jumped one step at a time. When we make ourselves available to God and seek God’s leading, we also need to muster the courage to trust God’s leading light and take that next step. If we do so, if we emulate Abram’s unwavering faith in and commitment to God, then we allow God’s life-changing, world-changing Spirit to move in us and through us. When God’s Spirit is freely moving, our lives and our community will be forever transformed and thus better able to accept the Good News of God’s love and experience the Kingdom of God here and now.

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Honoring All, Keeping the Peace – Genesis 23

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Honoring All, Keeping the Peace – Genesis 23

The freedoms and liberties God’s grace offers us also includes responsibilities. For 4,000 years, the story of Abraham burying Sarah has taught us how to honor the bodies of our loved ones who no longer have God’s Spirit stirring within them. It’s a beautiful and moving story of attitudes and values: respect and generosity. When we hold each other and every part of our community with the same degree of care, concern, and respect that Abraham showed, THAT is when we usher in the Kingdom of God, a kingdom where everyone can enjoy the freedoms and liberties we hold dear.

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Here I Am! A Life of Obedience – Genesis 22:1-19

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Here I Am! A Life of Obedience – Genesis 22:1-19

Today’s text is an ancient Bible story – the legend of Abraham obeying God’s command to sacrifice his son Isaac. It’s a troubling story that challenges how we understand our relationship with God. It challenges how we approach Scripture and how we let it guide our thinking. And it challenges us to reexamine our desire to follow God’s lead while also using our God-given common sense. In today’s case, the main point is that when God speaks to us, we need to listen and follow God’s lead. And when we do, God provides what we need.

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Trusting Our Creator – Genesis 21:1-21

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Trusting Our Creator – Genesis 21:1-21

Some of the best advice ever given to me is this: “Don’t worry about the details; focus on learning the concepts. When you understand the concepts, you’ll be able to figure out the details regardless of the situation.”
The concepts in this week’s story are: 1) God is the Creator of All, 2) God is Approachable, 3) Do not be Afraid, 4) God Never Abandons Us
Actively LOOK for ways to include people who are marginalized or rejected. WORK to include them in... everything. If we do that, if we reach out to others the way God reached out to Hagar, we will be beacons of hope, we will be light in the darkness, and we will certainly create the “Peace on Earth” we pray for each week!

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Extraordinary Living – Genesis 18:1-15

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Extraordinary Living – Genesis 18:1-15

When we do what is possible – what is ordinary, God can do the impossible – the extraordinary through us. If all of us take just one step forward each week in our efforts to love God, love ourselves, and love others, I am convinced that we will personally experience extraordinary moments of emotional and spiritual growth which will lead to our community being transformed before our very eyes. And we can do this knowing that God is taking those steps with us.

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