by admin | Sep 25, 2019 | Highs and Lows, Sermon Audio and Notes
Unfortunately, we were having one of our own low moments. Technical difficulty prevented us from uploading audio from this sermon.
When you have low moments, moments of fear, doubt, anxiety, stress, etc… what do you do? In the 4th week of Highs and Lows, William Chavula preached a message that gave us a fresh look at Rahab’s story. As she is one of the most colorful characters in the lineage of Christ, when we learn about Rahab, we tend to focus one two things. One, Rahab was a prostitute (and an enemy prostitute no less.) Two, even so, she placed her faith in God. In this sermon, William took us past this surface reading of Joshua 2 and into the hearts behind the characters.
The people of Jericho were trembling in fear at the oncoming Israelites; Rahab responds to her fear in a unique way that results in her salvation. What can we learn from Rahab? When Low Moments come at us, when the world wants to make us melt in fear, we ask three questions.
- What are you hearing? (Whose voices are you listening to?)
- What are you responding to? (Are your responding to faith or are you responding to fear?)
- What are you still doing here? (If God has given you an opportunity to get out of the low place, have you chosen to stay in it? Why?)
Once we have asked these questions, we can respond to our low moments differently. We can respond to our low moments like Rahab, who chose to place her trust in the God of Life rather than in the fear she could see.
In the Highs and Lows series, we are going through the book of Joshua. Together, we examine the ever varying seasons of our lives by using the Bible’s story of the Israelites entering the land of God’s promise as a mirror. Reflected in this story we will find moments of celebration, of crisis, of faith, of doubt, of winning, and of losing. Sometimes we will find highs and lows both in the very same moment. A new generation of Israel wrestles with themselves and their leader, Joshua, to trust God and go where he leads them. We, too, wrestle with our own faith (or lack thereof.) No life is devoid of highs; no life is devoid of lows. And no life is devoid of God if we choose to open up our eyes and seek him, no matter where we are on our journey. Welcome to Highs and Lows.
Catch up: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3
by admin | Sep 18, 2019 | Highs and Lows, Sermon Audio and Notes
We may all love to go places and do things, but do we pay attention to the preparation needed for the going and the doing to go well?
Last week, Joshua received his commission from God. This week, he commands his people to make preparation to fulfill that commission. Sometimes, when we hear God telling us to do something, we think it means we must act right away. And we can think we are supposed to go forward blindly–“just trust”–and he will work it out. But in our hurry, we can neglect steps that God intended us to take. To make a plan is not to demonstrate lack of trust; to carefully prepare is not to give into fear of the future. Let’s learn from Joshua how to say a resounding “YES!” to God’s call and then enact it with wisdom and a trusting and faithful heart.
In the Highs and Lows series, we are going through the book of Joshua. Together, we examine the ever varying seasons of our lives by using the Bible’s story of the Israelites entering the land of God’s promise as a mirror. Reflected in this story we will find moments of celebration, of crisis, of faith, of doubt, of winning, and of losing. Sometimes we will find highs and lows both in the very same moment. A new generation of Israel wrestles with themselves and their leader, Joshua, to trust God and go where he leads them. We, too, wrestle with our own faith (or lack thereof.) No life is devoid of highs; no life is devoid of lows. And no life is devoid of God if we choose to open up our eyes and seek him, no matter where we are on our journey. Welcome to Highs and Lows.
Catch up: Week 1, Week 2
by admin | Sep 11, 2019 | Highs and Lows, Sermon Audio and Notes
In week 2 of Highs and Lows, we return to Joshua and the Israelites in their transition. We meet them again as God repeatedly speaks a strong command over Joshua: Be Strong and Courageous. If you’ve been in the church long enough, you have heard this verse quoted again and again. Often, it is a platitude or a comfort in a tough time. But in this sermon, Pastor Yami points out that this is actually a command the Lord gives to Joshua. Why does he say that? How is Joshua supposed to follow through? How are we supposed to be strong and courageous in the scary transitions of our lives? Check it out.
In the Highs and Lows series, we are going through the book of Joshua. Together, we examine the ever varying seasons of our lives by using the Bible’s story of the Israelites entering the land of God’s promise as a mirror. Reflected in this story we will find moments of celebration, of crisis, of faith, of doubt, of winning, and of losing. Sometimes we will find highs and lows both in the very same moment. A new generation of Israel wrestles with themselves and their leader, Joshua, to trust God and go where he leads them. We, too, wrestle with our own faith (or lack thereof.) No life is devoid of highs; no life is devoid of lows. And no life is devoid of God if we choose to open up our eyes and seek him, no matter where we are on our journey. Welcome to Highs and Lows.
Catch up: Week 1
by admin | Sep 4, 2019 | Highs and Lows, Sermon Audio and Notes
In the Highs and Lows series, we will be going through the book of Joshua. Together, we examine the ever varying seasons of our lives by using the Bible’s story of the Israelites entering the land of God’s promise as a mirror. Reflected in this story we will find moments of celebration, of crisis, of faith, of doubt, of winning, and of losing. Sometimes we will find highs and lows both in the very same moment. A new generation of Israel wrestles with themselves and their leader, Joshua, to trust God and go where he leads them. We, too, wrestle with our own faith (or lack thereof.) No life is devoid of highs; no life is devoid of lows. And no life is devoid of God if we choose to open up our eyes and seek him, no matter where we are on our journey. Welcome to Highs and Lows.
In week 1, we meet Joshua and the Israelites right on the cusp of entering the promised land. This is a moment of commissioning and a moment of transition. From this moment in their history we learn a three part process that can help us in our own transitions: Rise, Rely, Re-focus.
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