Sermon Series: Character and Characters
Abraham Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it, the tree is the real thing.” This fall we in worship and again on Wednesday night in our Wednesday Dialogues, we will be exploring some of the larger than life characters of the Hebrew bible as we seek to grow in our own Christian character.
Throughout history the church has looked to the exemplars of faith to guide and shape our lives.
October 20, 2019
GENESIS 2:4B-25 THE GARDEN OF EDEN
Despite humanity’s disobedience and expulsion from the Garden of Eden, God does not abandon us. Notice that in the story the covenant changes but it does not disappear. From the very beginning, God’s posture toward humanity is and always has been one of covenant and love.
October 27, 2019
GENESIS 18:1-15; 21:1-7 ISAAC BORN TO SARAH
God makes a promise to Abraham and Sarah that is beyond belief. At her advanced age, Sarah would become a mother for the first time. God promises to make their family the beginning of a generations long blessing and God is as good as God’s word. Promise is at the heart of God’s relationship with us. Not necessarily promises of stuff or the promise to give us our every wish. Rather God promises to be our God and invites us to be God’s people; a people of blessing. And God is as good as God’s word.
Sept. 22, 2019
GENESIS 32:9-13, 22-30 JACOB WRESTLES WITH GOD
No life of faith is without its difficult moments. Jacob’s story is, in many ways, a reflection of many of our own lives. We wrestle with God. The amazing thing about God is that even in those moments when we fight against God, God does not let us go. God does not forsake us. And God does not withdraw God’s foundational love and grace.
Sept. 29, 2019
EXODUS 1:8-2:10; 3:1-15 MOSES AND THE NAME OF GOD
Moses is met by the voice of God and for the first time we learn God’s name. YHWH or “I am.” God’s very name is being itself. Beneath everything that we are and everything that is, there is the creator God.
Oct. 5, 2019
DEUTERONOMY 5:1-21; 6:4-9 HEAR, O ISRAEL!
Known as the Shema, the prayer of Deuteronomy 6:4 is a central prayer of Judaism but it has largely been lost in Christian worship. Yet those words are ones that affirm so much about what is foundational in our faith. God is not an impersonal deity unconcerned with our lives. God is our God. God is not one of many competing Gods using us as pawns in some cosmic game among titans. God is one, all, everything.
Oct. 12, 2019
RUTH 1:1-17 THE STORY OF RUTH
The witness of Ruth’s life is the witness of loving devotion. Ruth demonstrates in her life with Naomi the kind of love God shows for us and we are called to show for God. Just as Ruth is steadfast in her devotion and will not abandon Naomi although convention would let her, God does not abandon us even when our sinfulness merits it.
