In the coming year we are challenged by some strategic planning to see God’s power in us in the coming year in four ways. They are the mission of the church which is based on our purpose to be God-honoring in all that we do as a church. The four areas we will focus on the year ahead is God’s power to gather, God’s power to grow, Gods power to go, and God’s power to give (time, talent, and tithe).
In 2018, Christmas shoppers amassed an average credit card debt of $1,054 on top of all the other debt they may carry from mortgages to car payments to other already accumulated debt. Paying only the minimum amount required would take the cardholder until 2023 to pay off just the purchases from Christmas. Our national debt is over $23 Trillion. How can we as a nation or as individuals pay off our debt? There are some ways to do so, but it takes a lot of effort through fiscal responsibility and management. There is another debt that everyone of us owes, that we can never pay back. It is the debt of sin. The good news is that through the message found in the gospels God sent a payment for our sin in the person of Jesus born over 2,000 years ago. He came to save the lost and to be our Savior, but salvation isn’t in His birth, although His birth is essential to be our payment. The payment would be made when He died on the cross for our sin. No wonder we sing joy to the world, the Lord has come. This Christmas, do you know Jesus as your personal Savior. He came to save YOU from your sin.
What does it mean that in Jesus, God is with us? How important it is for us to know why the angel came to Joseph and explain what had taken place to Mary as important for all mankind, that now salvation would be possible through this baby they were to name Jesus. God had stepped into time to become a man to live with us and then die for us.
Life has its trials. We might call them famines. They’re times of testing and Isaac is going to go through some. Isaac teaches us some important lessons about trusting God in every situation, especially during the famines of life. We see how he responds, so how will we respond? To Isaac God has given His presence, His promises, and His provision, but they are only possible if we obey.
We learn some timeless principles from Isaac and Rebekah about prayer in this passage. We also learn some principles about the struggle between the old and new nature from their twin boys, Esau and Jacob. Glean some truth from this passage for daily living
Throughout history the prophecy given by God to Hagar in Genesis 16:11-12 and reiterated in Genesis 25:18 at the death of Ishmael has continued to play out that the descendants of Ishmael would be hostile toward their “brothers”. That said, and in spite of their hostility, there is hope for them through the saving grace of God for any who call on Christ to be saved. Our task as followers of Jesus is to spread the good news to any and all who need to hear about Jesus. After all, even we, at one time, were the enemies of God. Let’s be ready to give an answer for the hope within us.
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God’s plan is always carried out according to His timetable and His way. The lesson of faith that we learn from this chapter is that “God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me. He will be my guide, hold me closely to his side” (Lyrics by Don Moen – God Will Make A Way). The servant sent by Abraham will walk by faith and trust God to lead him to a successful end to his journey. How well are we learning that lesson?
It is inevitable, unplanned, and unpredictable. I’m referring to the when and how of death. It will happen to all of us and in our passage we come to see how Abraham handled his grief. The Bible speaks of five different kinds of death. There’s not only physical death, but spiritual death, a second death, a death to death and a death to fleshly desires. Find out more in today’s message.
Abraham is faced with a tremendous test of faith. God asks him to give up the son of promise – to son he loved. Everyone of us has an Isaac, someone or something that God is asking us to give up. Essentially it’s not only a test of faith, of trusting God, but one of love. Do we love than person or that thing, more than we love God? We learn some valuable lessons from Abraham about his faith and his love for God above all else. Are you willing to give up your Isaac?
The account of Sarah and Hagar depict for us what happens when a person trusts Christ. Sarah casting Hagar out is a picture of our being a new creation in Christ, casting out the old nature. If we are a new creation, have we truly cast out the old?