All Nations Presbyterian Church: Morning Sermon Series

On Sunday morning, we started a new sermon series on 'The God who Speaks'. We considered the truth that we cannot just think of God as we'd like, or even discover what he is like by our own efforts. We need God to tell us what he is like. And he has! Creation declares the glory of God to us, but God in his grace has told us far more in his word. He has told us what he is like, what we are like, and what his plans for the world are. And the climax of what God has to say to us is the person and work of Jesus Christ. God's message is one of grace, of us getting what we do not deserve. We are also called to live a certain way and respond well to God's grace. All of these riches have been given to us through God's word. So we should read it, think about it, and live it out. God is speaking to us; let's listen well.

On Sunday morning, we looked at Genesis 16 together. Abram and Sarai had been waiting ten years for the promised son, yet they still remained childless. Instead of continuing to trust God, they tried to make God's promises happen by marrying Abram to Hagar the maidservant. This went spectacularly wrong. All the main players in this account were deeply sinful, and it led to conflict and difficulty for generations. We thought through some marriage-related issues: God calls us to serve him through marriage, not to use marriage towards our sin. Yet, even through all this mess, we saw the grace of God. God saw Hagar in her distress and made promises to her, calling her back. And God sees all of us in our distress too. We are never alone. God cares and sees when no-one else does, and God holds the future.

On Sunday morning, we looked at the covenant God made with Abram in Genesis 15. God confirmed the promises he had made to Abram with an unusual ceremony. While Abram slept, God symbolically walked between the halves of animals laid out. This showed the importance of the promises, and it also underlined that the promises were only dependent on God's actions, not Abram's actions. God then filled out his promises, giving more information and assuring Abram of the future. This whole passage is a great encouragement to Christians. Our future hope is not based on our work, but on God and especially what he has done for us in Jesus. We have confirmation of these promises in the sacraments, and we are encouraged through the word and through gathering with other Christians. We show our trust in prayer, knowing that God remains in charge of our future even on the days we find that hard to see.

On Sunday morning, we looked at Genesis 14 together, with Abram rescuing Lot in a battle against much more powerful kings. Lot was swept up in a battle much bigger than himself, and he was in that situation due to his own choices. Yet he was rescued due to his relationship with Abram, who carried out a most unlikely victory. This reminds us of our situation before God, being in an impossible situation due to our sin, and only being rescued due to God's love for us. When Abram returned back, he faced a choice with two powerful men who greeted him. One, Melchizedek, praised God for his work in salvation, and Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The other, the king of Sodom, offered wealth as a reward. Abram chose to honour God and reject association with the wicked king of Sodom. This choice revealed his heart, and also challenges us. When you face a choice to honour God or chase wealth, or to praise God or choose respect from the world, remember Abram's choice. What seems so attractive today is worth less in eternity.

On Sunday morning, we looked at Genesis 13 together. Abram and Lot found themselves in conflict because of their large number of flocks and herds. Instead of enforcing his position as senior family member, Abram trusted God and allowed Lot to select whatever land he wanted to move to. Lot chose what was the most fertile section, but it also included the evil city of Sodom who would be his next-door neighbour. God then reaffirmed his promise to Abram, the promise for land and offspring, even though he had neither of them when the promise was made. This passage challenged us to think about what drives our choices. We can choose based only on what seems good to our eyes, which is often sinful and selfish. Or we can trust God, which allows us to be generous, chasing faithfulness and not greed. The truth is that we have such blessing, even if our lives are not the most blessed in terms of wealth and ease. We can trust that God holds our future and not have to focus on building wealth and chasing only what seems best to us.

We looked at Ephesians 2 in our combined 30th anniversary service on Sunday morning. This passage described our 'before' and 'after' states. Before we came to know Jesus, we were outsiders, with no hope for eternity. After Jesus saved us, we are insiders, citizens, belonging and with future hope. This has all kinds of implications for us, with one being the church. All in the church are equally important to God. All of us are involved in God's building project. We must maintain God's strategy when it comes to our church: staying faithful to God's message in the Bible, centred on the work of Jesus. Church growth and unity is not due to our cleverness or strategies but due to God's work among us. There is a lot to thank God for, and we should also pray for God's work among us now and into the future.

On Sunday morning, we looked at the second half of Genesis 12. Abram and Sarai went to Egypt to find refuge from a famine in the land. While there, Abram lied to try to save himself, only to find the situation out of his control anyway. Despite his sin, God rescued Abram and Sarai, even enriching them and bringing them back to the promised land. This reinforced to us what God is like, showing us a pattern we see repeatedly in the Bible. God doesn't save good people who deserve it; he saves bad people who deserve punishment. This passage reminds us that we are never worthy of God's love; it is always grace to the undeserving. Take some time this week to confess anything you need to before God, and to thank him for his grace in Jesus that we do not deserve.