July 2nd, 2017
Devotional
“The Gospel in Storybooks: A Porcupine Named Fluffy” - Genesis 17: 5-15 and John 15:16
Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com
Monday: “You Shall No Longer Be” - Genesis 17: 5-6
Who am I? Woman. Daughter. Lover of God. LOVED by God. Pastor. Complex. Learner. Ambitious. Anxious. Bold. Scared. Timid. Caring. Dependable. Dependent. Loving. WORTHY. Insecure. Innovative. Intelligent. Happy. Fearful. Helpless. Maternal. Self-aware. Sarcastic. Wounded. Thoughtful. Spiritual. Uncertain.
These are just a few of the words to describe who I am. Incomplete, yes, but they give some idea of the shape of my soul, my emotions, my being. But notice that most of those words, most of the things that define me are not things that people can tell just by looking at me.
When God saw Abram and Sari, he saw not only who they are, as broken and beautiful as that was, but also who they would become. When God sees us, it is not just as we see ourselves, as complex as that may be, but as who we are as children of God and who we will become.
What words would you use to describe yourself?
What words do you think God would use to describe you? Who do you think God sees you becoming?
Prayer: God, we thank you that you see us, like Abram and Sari so long ago, both as who we are and who you are helping us to become. We pray, O Lord, that by your love and grace we can be used in a mighty way for your Kingdom. Amen.
Tuesday: “You Shall be Abraham” - Genesis 17: 5-8
Name tags can be deceptive. Sometimes by using name tags, we’re pretending to know people whom we really don't know. Our name is something unique to us and cannot be severed from our personal stories. Our first name holds the story of our life - with its trials, ambitions, and wonderful moments. Our sir name tells an even longer story of our heritage and family. Our nicknames tell of those private and sometimes embarrassing, but always intimate moments. But to wear a name tag skips right over all of that. It allows us to approach someone on a surface level without any intention to get to know them, to hear their story.
For example: When I was at the installation ceremony for a friend of the family who was becoming a District Superintendent, we all had to wear name tags. After a while I forget that I had it on. Until it came to the end of the service for communion and a time of meet and greet. At the alter rail the pastor serving the elements leaned over and addressed me by name. I freaked out and couldn't figure out how this person knew me, until I remembered the tag.
God does not rely on name tags. In fact, God sometimes does not even rely on our given name. God re-named Abram, making him Abraham. And Sari was re-named Sarah. God does not rely on name tags because God can see into our hearts.
What does God see in your heart?
What name does God call you?
Prayer: Lord, you do not leave us where we are. We thank you that sometimes you change our name and other times you change how we see ourselves. We thank you that you see in our hearts and change those pieces that draw us away from you. O Lord, thank you, we pray!
Wednesday: “ Covenant” - Genesis 17: 9-15
A rainbow. Blood brothers. Pinky swears. Marriage certificates. What do all of these things have in common? They are a sign of a covenant. Now it may seem odd to compare pinky swearing to being married, but at their heart they show a binding agreement to either do or not do something. With marriage their are lots of things that are covenant, to be with each other in sickness and in health, to forsake all others, and to be with one another until death, to name a few. With the Biblical covenant of the rainbow, God made one promise to never again destroy the whole earth.
Biblically, covenants were a form of law. When God made a promise, God did not go back on it. Perhaps the most famous Biblical covenant was between God and Abraham, when God promised that Abraham’s decedents would number the stars. That he would be a great nation who would be blessed and they would have a land to dwell in. In order to symbolize the importance of this promise and to seal it God asked for the sign of circumcision. Covenants often were accompanied by a sign to remind people whenever they saw or experienced it of God’s faithfulness. Following the destruction of the earth in the time of Noah, it was a rainbow. Every time the people saw it in the sky they were to remember God’s promise that the whole earth would never be destroyed again. For the people of Israel under the leadership of Moses it was the Sabbath, a time of rest that they never received as slaves in Egypt. A time to wholly commune with God.
For Christians, we look to the cross to be reminded of the blood of the new covenant - the covenant where Christ offered his very life so that we could be reunited with God. We also remember the covenant God made with us through Jesus, every time we celebrate holy communion and recite the words from the gospel of Matthew, that he shed the blood of the new covenant on our behalf.
What do you think of when you see the cross?
How do you remember the new covenant that we have with Christ?
Prayer: Lord, sometimes we stray from your blessing and covenant. We forget the promise we make to follow you. But, O Lord, you keep drawing us back. Thank you, Lord, for the sign of the cross and the reminder we receive at Holy Communion. Continue to remind us of the importance of your life, death, and resurrection we pray. Amen.
Thursday: “Which You Shall Keep” - Genesis 17: 9-15
By showing the outward signs of new names and following the rules of circumcision, now Abraham and Sarah were essentially promising to follow God, wherever God may lead.
My friends and family will tell you that I strongly dislike broken promises. In our present culture,, we seem to make promises left and right that we have no intention of fulfilling. Or we make promises that we try to keep for a short period of time and then give up when it becomes hard. But if there is any place that the words “I promise”, or “I vow”, or “I covenant to” should matter it should be the Church. For God has made an unbreakable covenant with us through Jesus Christ, who we strive to both worship and emulate. Promises matter because they speak to where our heart is. They show the binding truths that we believe are crucial between ourselves, God, and others.
What do you think Abraham’s promise said about where his heart was at?
What promises do we make to the Lord? How do they reflect our hearts?
Prayer: Lord, we come before you today and confess that sometimes we do not live up to the promises we make to you. Sometimes we go astray. Sometimes we let our hearts become clouded by other things. Allow us to renew our covenantal promises with you, this day, O Lord. Set our hearts aright. Amen.
Friday: “I Chose You” - John 15:16
We live in a society where we desire everything to be easy, including getting to know people. But there is a process, that begins with asking people their name and inches forward into more intimate areas. It's a long process. There is a difference between recognizing someone's name and knowing them - knowing their heart.
Maybe the problem isn’t just that we want to have a shallow feeling of connection with others. Maybe the problem is much deeper and we don’t really want to take time to know ourselves. It’s hard work. It’s going to involve sifting through the past and remembering both the good and the bad. And it means doing the even harder work of separating the fiction of how other people have defined you from the truth of what God sees when he looks at you. I challenge you to take time to actually ask God what he likes about you, what he sees when he looks at you.
In today’s scripture we hear that we are loved and chosen by God. That we have a task and a responsibility that flows from God’s trust in us to bear fruit in the name of God. God can trust you because God knows you. God knows more than your name, God knows ever piece of who you are.
Do you believe that you are loved and chosen by God? Why or why not?
Prayer: Lord, help us to see ourselves as you see us, chosen, loved, and trusted. Open up the ears of our hearts so we hear you calling our names. Send us forth, for the sake of your Kingdom, we pray. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Gospel in Storybooks: Corduroy” - Eph 4: 9-10 and John 15: 12-15
Family Activity: Read A Porcupine Named Fluffy. Why doesn’t Fluffy like his name? How do you think God sees the things that we may not like about ourselves?
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