“God’s Promise: I Am With You” Lesson 2: Exodus 3:1-12, Judges 6:11-27 “To recognize our weaknesses is a great blessing.” How does that statement strike you? Is it odd, a statement of fact or ridiculous? Our culture is all about strength, gifts and talents. (Indeed, if we weren’t so modest, we each could talk about our worthy abilities!) As children, youth and young adults we strive to master skills and learn what we can do well. As adults, we work out of our strengths. Thus, we tend to stay in the comfort zone of our competences. When God calls us to serve, we are summoned to move out of our comfort zones and trust God with the future. This feels awkward and threatening. In Exodus 3:1-12 and Judges 6:11-27, Moses’ and Gideon’s first reactions to God’s call mirror our own feelings about doing something we know we are ill-prepared to do. “You mean me? I am not qualified.” “Is it really you, God, talking to me?” “I am nothing special.” “I don’t speak well.” “No one will … [Read more...]
God with us wherever we are (Horizons 1)
Horizons 1 (selections from Genesis 25, 27 and 28) "God's Promise: I Am With You" You would think God would have better taste than to promise to be with Jacob. In Genesis 25:24-34 and Genesis 27, the portrait of Jacob is less than impressive. Jacob: second-born by seconds, schemer, cheat, betting he can beat Esau, his dense, hairy, impulsive twin. Sly Jacob, stirring lentil stew, simmering, swapping a steaming bowl for ravenous Esau’s birthright: the first-born’s double portion of their father’s goods. Crafty trickster, disguised Jacob taking from their blind father his brother’s blessing: “May God give you dew of heaven, fatness of the earth, grain and wine aplenty. To you I give people serving you as their master.” Agonized, bitter Esau cries, “Bless me also, my father!” A thin, ragged, skeleton of a blessing comes: “You shall serve your brother but you will break loose, breaking his yoke from your neck.” Esau hating and raging against his nasty … [Read more...]
“God’s Promise: I Am With You” (Study preview)
Horizons Bible Study 2018-2019 Think back through your life to the moments when you have known that God was with you. Usually in retrospect, we recognize where God was working in our lives. In officer training, we have asked people to write down the highs and lows of their relationship with God. Summer church camps, worship experiences, illnesses, marriages, the birth of children, divorces and the death of loved ones are often mentioned as times when people have felt that God was particularly with them. In reflecting on the times when God seemed absent, illnesses, divorces and the death of loved ones were also mentioned. People also noted times when church members acted in hurtful and closed-minded ways, causing a crisis of faith. For some, a national tragedy like September 11, 2001, brought many to question the very existence of God. It is difficult to remember that God is with us in the ordinary and tragic. Amy Poling Sutherlun, in this new Presbyterian Women/Horizons Bible … [Read more...]
How are saints like a cross-country team? (Horizons 9)
HORIZONS BIBLE STUDY 2017-2018 “Cloud of Witnesses: The Community of Christ in Hebrews” Lesson 9: In Community with the Hope of the Future (Hebrews 6:9-12; 11:25-12:2) By the time we got to the Letter to the Hebrews, we had been together as a class for seven months. Our small group of 12 people had journeyed through much of the Bible using “Disciple: Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study.” We had laughed, offered insights and shared concerns. We’d already encountered Paul writing to the “saints” in Corinth. Certainly, the Corinthian church was no paragon of virtue. They were mixed up, struggling people who often got it wrong. But they were saints because Christ has redeemed, loved and forgiven them into a new community of disciples. We got to the incredible litany in Hebrews 11 of those who have lived by faith, living with the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Having read of Abraham, Moses and Rahab, our study group shared those in our … [Read more...]
The household of faith (Horizons 8)
Horizons Bible Study 2017-2018 “Cloud of Witnesses: The Community of Christ in Hebrews” Lesson 8: In Community with the Household of Faith (Hebrews 3:1-6, James 2:1-4, Numbers 12:6-8) “Home is where the heart is.” — Billie Letts “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” — Robert Frost “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” — Maya Angelou ”Home” is such a loaded word. We all have feelings, smells, music and people associated with the home in which we grew up. The memories may be full of ordinary comforts: feelings of acceptance and love, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, cherished holiday traditions or the warmth of being snuggled up for a bedtime story. Our recollections may bring us discomfort because of an alcoholic parent or the insidious message that we did not measure up. Reminiscences may make us long to go home or desire to never return. When Scripture … [Read more...]
The benefits of Sabbath (Horizons 7)
Horizons Bible Study 2017-2018 “Cloud of Witnesses: The Community of Christ in Hebrews” Lesson 7: In Community with the Hope of the Future (Hebrews 4:1-11; 6:9-12 and 11:1-3) Rest, respite, a break, time-out, relaxation, refreshment, spiritual nourishment, recreation — all of these synonyms for “rest” are often absent in our daily lives. Yet to dwell on the words even for a moment makes us breathe a little deeper. Americans as a culture don’t get enough rest. The Centers for Disease Control reported that one in three adults get less than seven hours of sleep a night. A chronic lack of sleep contributes to obesity, high blood pressure, depression, slower brain function, slower reaction time, heart disease and diabetes. Lack of sleep impairs our judgment. Simply put, we need rest to function well. We tend to believe that we cannot rest because we have so much to do. Yet, our abilities to do the things that matter are shackled by lack of rest. We want to be good … [Read more...]
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