I Love to Tell the Story: The Sacrifice.  There is something about the story of Abraham and Isaac, “the sacrifice of Isaac”…that I have always struggled to understand.  It is a story of obedience, at least that is always the way I have heard it taught.  God asks Abraham to make the ultimate sacrifice, his only son, Isaac.  The one whom God had promised long before God changed Abraham’s name.  Abraham obediently goes off with Isaac in tow to do as the Lord asked.  Isaac goes obediently along, carrying the wood for the altar and allowing himself to be bound and laid upon the altar…good obedient Isaac!  (Yikes!)

But, this is not a story about obedience, though it is the action that God often requires of us.  This is a story of sacrifice.  Abraham held to the promise God made him, that he would be the father of a great nation!  He held to the promise that God would give him and Sarah an heir, even though Sarah was past childbearing age.  Abraham loved Isaac and in Isaac he saw his future fulfilled! 

Here is the question to ponder…was it the promise itself that he held tightly to OR was it the giver of the promise that he tightly held to? God put Abraham to the test!  The test was about sacrifice.  Was Abraham willing to put his complete trust in God? 

What about you?  What are you holding on to so tightly that you are missing the gift we are given by the Giver?  What might God be asking you to sacrifice so that your faith in God grows bigger?

In preparation for Sunday, I invite you to read the story of Abraham and Isaac, Genesis 22.  Bonus reading: Read about the call of Abraham and the promise God made with him; his story begins in Genesis 12.  Extra credit assignment: read Genesis 22 in a few different translations and see how the story that is so familiar comes to life in a new way!

I hope that you will join with me as we continue this summer adventure of looking at familiar stories with “grown-up” lenses. 

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” 

(Gen 22:1-2)

I Love to Tell the Story: The Promise.  There is something about the story of Noah…it is a very familiar story.  A tale as old as time. A common story found in children’s storybooks and church nursery toys.  When you read it slowly and thoroughly it is also a story filled with twists and turns, so many details that every time I read it something new comes to the forefront. 

Did you know Noah was 600 years old when God sealed him in the ark and the flood began.  Not only that but he was 601 when the land dried out and he and his family were able to exit the ark!  We remember the rain fell for 40 days but the waters still rose for 150 more!  Can you imagine what that cruise was like?

Noah’s story is a story of promise.  Genesis 6:9 tells us “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.”   God then tells Noah his plan and makes a covenant with Noah that he and his family will be saved from the destruction.  Through the ordeal God remembers Noah and the waters begin to subside.  Once Noah and his family are on dry ground another promise is made between God and ALL of Noah’s descendants, “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”(Gen 9:11)

This is a BIG promise and one that has great implications for us.  How does God’s promise impact us today?  What is our response to the deeper lesson we glean from Noah and his “walking” with God?   

In preparation for Sunday, I invite you to read the story of Noah and the Flood narrative, Genesis 6-9.  Bonus assignment: read it in a few different translations and see how the story that is so familiar comes to life in a new way!

I hope that you will join with me as we continue this summer adventure of looking at familiar stories with “grown-up” lenses. 

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. 
God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature…I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth…When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

(Gen 6:8, 9:12-16)

I love the Bible stories of the Old Testament: Creation, Noah, Moses, Daniel, and his friends.  There is something about those characters and their stories that seem like old friends.  They are companions that I have walked with my entire life.  Their stories are those that quickly come to mind.  I have often thought of those stories and the lessons they taught me in my childhood and thought about the deeper lessons those same stories can teach me as a grown-up.  From that thought has come the sermon series we begin this week that will carry us through the remainder of the summer!

I Love to Tell the Story: In the Beginning.  It all started out of nothing…God created everything.  And everything was GOOD!  There is such beauty and imagination in the creation story as God formed and fashioned all that our eyes behold.  I love to ponder God’s creativity as he stretched the giraffes neck, painted the stripes on the zebra, selected the bright colors for the flowers and the birds.  The crowning glory to all of God’s handiwork was Adam and Eve.  God walked with them in the garden…I wonder what those conversations were like.

All was well…until it wasn’t!  The second part of the creation story is one of disobedience and disappointment.  When Adam and Eve made a choice, listened to the serpent and gave into temptation everything changed.  Their eyes were opened.  Their relationships altered forever. 

In preparation for Sunday I invite you to read the creation narrative Genesis 1-3.  Bonus assignment: read it in a few different translations and see how the story that is so familiar comes to life in a new way!

I hope that you will join with me on this summer adventure as we look at familiar stories with new “grown-up” lenses.  We will ask the questions: What is the deeper lesson of this story?  In light of this story, how does God still interact with us today?  How does this story speak to me today? 

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.  
But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—
except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

(Genesis 1:15-17, NLT)

As we get ready to celebrate the 4th of July I often like to think about what our founding fathers thought about as they signed a document of treason against the crown.

Our Declaration of Independence was carefully constructed and wordsmithed into the document we have today…it is far from perfect but its words still ring true and something for us to strive towards.  It begins:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I love those words that our country was founded upon – words that hold so much meaning – words that we still have a long way to go in order to live into those truths.  

Over these past few weeks and months I have been thinking a lot about the world – and our nation – and the time that we are finding ourselves in…this moment of time where there is tension and unease around every corner.  Where words are being scrutinized and history is being re-examined through a different lens.  And I have found myself heartbroken by what I see, and what I hear…

I believe there is so much focus on what divides us – our political affiliation, our skin color, our gender, sexual orientation, working class, bank account numbers, age, education, religion, what car we drive, what neighborhood we live in – but very little about what we have in common, what it is that unites us.  

As we approach this National Holiday focused on our freedom and independence (from England) let us also focus on our freedom (from sin) and our dependence (upon God.)  May we look to what unites us and work toward peace and harmony in our lives, our community and our world.

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. 
You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. 
Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

(Eph 4:4-6 MSG)

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