Chapter 14: Reflection

Guest post by Dave Allen, a "The Story" reader! 

Most of us have heard the saying about some wealthy parent’s child being born with the silver spoon in his mouth, but in Solomon’s son’s case, Rehoboam was born with a GOLDEN spoon, because silver was considered of little or no value in Solomon’s day (p 190). 

Nevertheless, the narrative surrounding Rehoboam’s reign before he had even risen to the throne (cf. 1 Kings 11: 19-13) was not so golden. 

Within the first few days of his kingship, ten tribes ceded from his rule and formed the Northern Kingdom of Israel, leaving Rehoboam to preside over what was left of a great nation – the southern Kingdom of Judah.

On the other hand, Jeroboam (whom God had the prophet Ahijah anoint as king over the larger Northern Kingdom of Israel) brought about disaster upon himself. 

All of his woes were of his own making, to the extent that he will be forever known as “the man who caused all of Israel to sin.” (2 Kings 10: 29). 

Sadly, it didn’t have to be.  God had promised to make him “king over Israel, to reign according to all that he desired, if he would obey God’s commands and walk in his ways – “I will be with thee, and build for you a sure house, as I did for David, and will give Israel to you” (1 Kings 11:38).

In one narrative we have a son, born of wealth and prestige, who seems to have failed as a direct result of the failures of his father (or rather the judgment) leveled because of his father’s sins. 

In the other, a non-nobility, having been given the opportunity of a lifetime, failing of his own doings. 

In both instances disobedience of God’s commands has led to destruction.

A CLOSING THOUGHT

How many blessings and opportunities have we missed through our own disobedience?

Does it seem fair to you that the sins of the father can be visited upon the sons? Or do you disagree that Rehoboam’s reign failed as a result of the judgment for Solomon’s sins?

Reflection: Chapter 13

Guest post by Dave Allen, a "The Story" reader! 

Wisdom, wealth, and longevity. 

Solomon had it all. 

So much so that the famed Queen of Sheba was overwhelmed when she had visited the palace he had built. The food that was on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cup bearers and the burnt offerings he made at temple--they all compelled her to exclaim “Praise be to your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel” (pg. 178). 

He spoke “three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, animals and birds, reptiles and fish and he built the great cities of Israel” (pg. 178). 

So, what went wrong? 

How could the man of whom it is said, “He was wiser anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite” (pg. 178), have been so foolish that he caused the division of the greatest kingdom of the era?

The answer is simple – SIN. 

In particular, King Solomon's love for (LUST for!) women. 

King Solomon, the wise builder of the Lord’s temple, loved women ... more than he loved God.

“Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites…from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites 'You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.'" (pg. 191)

God's desire for right worship and relationship with Him demands that we walk away from the negative (sinful) influences in our lives. In Solomon's case, it should have meant walked away from wives and concubines who believed differently than him. 

But like father, like son .... and Solomon followed in his father's steps along the path into sin,. which began with sexual lust and worshiping women rather than God. 

“He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray” (pg. 192). As Lucado penned, “the irresistible draw of sweet perfume led him to relaxing his guard…it was the beginning of the end” (pg. 191)

A CLOSING THOUGHT

Helen of Troy is said to have had a face that launched a thousand ships, but it was the love of a thousand women--rather than a love of God--that brought Solomon to his doom. 

Chapter 12: Reflection

Guest post by Dave Allen, a "The Story" reader! 

“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war…” (p.161). 

There is a lesson to be gleaned from this line: had David been occupying himself within God’s purpose, fulfilling his kingly duties, he would not have been wandering about on the palace roof in Jerusalem and would never have seen Bathsheba bathing in the first place!

“Adultery.” Many believers these days do not like to think about it, but God commands the same sentence for adultery as he does for murder. 

I oft wonder why when so many of my fellow believers cheer and chant surrounding a murderer’s execution but I have never heard any of them calling for an adulterer to be put to death. Do they believe God’s Law has changed simply because adultery is accepted by secular society? Or perhaps it is because this sin hit a little too close to home for them?

At any rate, David’s adultery led to the murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband. We in the church do not like to talk about it, so we down play it as “David’s Sin” or even try to romanticize it as “The Story of David and Bathsheba,” but in all actuality it was a crime. 

David, the beloved King of Israel; the apple of God’s eye, was a criminal. He committed pre-meditated capital murder in his attempted cover-up of adultery. He had committed two capital crimes, each calling for the death penalty, and thought he had gotten away with them, until the prophet Nathan showed up at his door:

This is what the Lord says: “Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you….You did this in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel” (pg. 163).

Justice called for David’s death, but filled with remorse, David asked God to forgive him, and “God said yes” (pg. 165). It is my sincerest prayer that we, the Church, having been forgiven by God of our own sins, will strive to remember the mercy and grace God has shown upon us, before we determine to cast an unforgiving judgment upon others. 

As Charles Williams has said of the Lord’s Prayer, “No word in English carries a possibility of terror than that little word “as” in that one clause” – “as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

A CLOSING THOUGHT

Should criminals still be executed if they, like David, have asked for and received God’s forgiveness? 

Chapter 11: Reflection

Guest post by Dave Allen, a "The Story" reader! 

I am beginning to see a trend: 

First, we had Moses, a murderer turned fugitive (Exodus 2:12-15), whom God called to deliver his enslaved people from the bondage in Egypt. 

And now we have David, a soon to be adulterer turned murderer (2 Samuel 11: 17), whom God calls to be the king if Israel. 

What will be next? Perhaps a thief on a cross together with Jesus in paradise (Luke 23:39-43). 

*Lucado has it correct “The Lord does not look at the things people look at, The Lord looks at the heart.” (pg.145)

David, a small unassuming shepherd boy, what an odd choice, to be the next king. Although he has been described as “glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features” (pg. 146), by all human judgment he certainly had no leadership experience that would qualify him to rule the troubled kingdom. 

Nonetheless, this sheep-keeping lad was God’s personal; choice. “Rise and anoint him,” the Lord commanded (Samuel 16:12), “this is the one.” 

So there he was, anointed and called .... and his simple life seems to become more and more troubled, as he spends most of his time trying to avoid being killed by the very king he had been anointed to replace! 

Even years later, long after he had been made king, his life always seemed clouded in sadness. I have noticed this within my own studies. While surveying those who have experienced theophonies (an appearance of God to people), most have reported an un-definable “cloud of grief” as a constant presence within their lives- as if God’s calling has brought them to the particular attention of the devil.

Granted in David’s case, he brought much of his observable trouble upon himself. The important lesson is that he made no excuses. He confessed his sins, accepted whatever judgment God determined, and continued onward toward the fulfillment of God’s purpose.

The nameless criminal is the only person to whom Jesus confirms that he will be together with him in paradise.

A CLOSING THOUGHT

Have you ever considered what Moses thought as God was listing the Ten Commandments and he got to the one that read “Thou shall not murder”? Do you suppose that he thought back to the murdered Egyptian he had buried in the sand?

Chapter 10: Reflection

Guest post by Dave Allen, a "The Story" reader!

It was a dark and troublesome time in Israel when Samuel was born.

The long period of the rule of the judges ends with his birth. He belongs in the Hall of Fame of great prophets, and as such, his appearance signified failure on the part of God’s chosen nation.

Fittingly, as his name implies, he would speak in the name of God (“Samuel,” quite literally, means “name of God” or perhaps “heard from God”). He appears on the scene at a time when the nation’s leadership has become wholly negligent and corrupt.

Eli, himself, had grown old and fat (directly linking his death to the judgment foretold earlier in 2:29) while his children led the people into transgression (1 Samuel 2:22-25). Through his prophet, God pronounced his promised judgment upon the entire House of Eli (3:11-14; 4:10-22) and establish Samuel as God’s chosen Prophet-Judge over all Israel (4:1).

Sadly, in his old age, Samuel too, failed to pronounce judgment and correction over his sons whom he had appointed as judges. And because they, as with Eli’s son’s, had become corrupted (8:1-3) their perverted judgment (among other misdeeds) compelled the elders to demand that Samuel appoint a king to rule over the nation – convinced that a king would provide better judgment (8:4-5).

The “people thought that having a king like everyone else would solve their leadership problems” (pg.135), and they would not heed Samuel’s warning.

We often see a similar pattern within our own national leadership.

With an increased consistency, the headlines announce discoveries of the latest examples of governmental negligence and corruption (it never matters which party happens to be in office).  Television networks air entire specials focusing upon whatever the newest scandal may be, and church goers all over the country sit around complaining about how the nation’s leaders have “taken prayer out of schools, God out of the justice system, and Jesus out of the center of our lives”, never fully recognizing that we, citizens of the United States of America, much like the people of Samuel’s day, have demanded to govern ourselves- we wanted a government of the people, and God granted us our desire. We got exactly what we asked for.

We have a worldly government, and a worldly government can be expected to do worldly things. Perhaps rather than looking to elect a new political leadership, the Church would do better to pray for God to send us another Samuel!

A CLOSING THOUGHT

Why is it that whenever God starts a move toward correcting his wayward people, the religious elite always assume that someone is drunk (1 Samuel 1:14; Acts 2:13)?

Chapter 7: Reflection

Ya gotta love Joshua.  He made being faithful look easy, didn’t he?  God said to do it and Joshua did it.  

God said not to do it and Joshua didn’t do it.  

And look how God blessed him for his faithfulness. 

At the beginning of the chapter, God has a little chat with Joshua and tells him some of the blessings that are to come, and then God promises to be with him as He was with Moses.  

God says, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”  Then he tells him one more time, “Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (pg. 89). 

What an awesome promise God gives Joshua, and all Joshua has to do is be strong, courageous and obey, which is exactly what Joshua did.  Because Joshua was faithful, God gave him very specific instructions about how to deal with Jericho, Ai, the 5 kings of the Amorites, and all the royal cities.  As a result of his following God’s instructions, we read:  “So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses” (pg. 99). 

It is clear that the result of faithfulness is blessing.  

So why doesn’t everyone just obey God and receive God’s blessings?  Why aren’t we faithful all the time so that we can receive God’s blessings?  It seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  Faithfulness = Blessings. 

The key is at the end of the chapter in Joshua’s address to the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel.  He tells them:  “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.  Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped…and serve the LORD.”  

Then Joshua gives them a choice:  “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (pg. 101).    Joshua says, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

There it is.  

We, too, have a choice every day.  

When you get out of bed every morning, you have a choice whom you will serve.  Will it be your boss when he/she asks you to do something just a little bit immoral?  Will it be your friends when they want you to do something you know your parents wouldn’t approve of?  Will it be the culture that is constantly challenging our Christian beliefs?  

OR…  will you make the decision each day:  “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD”?  

Think about where the blessings come from and then choose carefully.

Chapter 6: Reflection

Wandering

At the end of Chapter 5, we read that “God taught them who he was and what he required of them,” (pg. 70) yet a number of times in chapter 6, God calls the Israelites a “stiff-necked people.”  

Why?  Because they believed…and then they didn’t….and then they did….and then they didn’t….(you get the picture!)  

God guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  He rescued them from slavery.  He performed miracles in their presence.  He was with them on their journey.

So they worshiped and celebrated all the time because God was with them, right?  NOT!  

Instead, they complained about their hardships.  They were hungry; they were thirsty.  They wanted food, so God gave them manna to eat. Were they grateful for that gift?  Sure, for like a minute!  Then they got sick of it and wanted meat to eat.  Don’t ya just love God’s response:  “Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it.  You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month – until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it.”  That ought to fix them!

No wonder God called them “stiff-necked” people.  

I (Tina) got to thinking about what God might call us today.  How about “wishy-washy”?  We are all about being grateful for what God is doing in our lives….until we, or someone in our family, get sick.  “Why me, God?”  We are all about singing praises to God and worshiping Him….and then we leave church and get back to “the real world.”  

Our culture has taken prayer out of schools, God out of our justice system and Jesus out of the center of our lives.  Do you stand up for your faith in the midst of these circumstances? 

Well, do you?  

Many times it’s much easier to go with the flow, isn’t it?  It’s much easier not to rock the boat, isn’t it?  Go ahead, be honest. 

Wishy-washy. 

We know what we’re supposed to do and not do.  We know what God expects of us.  And yet when we ask ourselves the question:  “Why do we still do those stupid things?”  we respond like Aaron in the cartoon above:  “I dunno.” 

Friends, let’s take from this chapter the challenge to step up our Christian game.  I challenge you to think of 3 ways that you can stand up for your faith this week; ways that you can take a stand for Jesus.  

I know you can do it!

Sermon: Chap 5

Intro  

One time and only one time can I remember my parents washing my mouth out with soap. (Yes, I was a goody-two-shoes, without a doubt. I used to cry when they even threatened to spank me!)

On this fateful day, I happened to say a word, in their presence, which I probably learned on the bus but didn’t yet know was not the kind of word that should be repeated. So as a reminder not to say that word EVER AGAIN, they washed my mouth out with soap.

(For the record, washing my mouth out with soap was a very effective punishment--I don’t think I’ve ever said that word again. Maybe if you ask me nicely after church, I’ll tell you what the word was--but I’m NOT going to say it in the pulpit for fear that one of YOU will want to wash my mouth out again!)

At any rate, in our Scripture reading today, we find the inspiration for every parent’s favorite punishment when unsavory language comes out of a child’s mouth--washing it out with soap. Well, it’s not exactly the same thing, but it’s awfully close, which you’ll see in a second.

We’re going to look at the incident of the Golden Calf. While Moses is up on Mt Sinai, hanging out with God and receiving the 10 Commandments, his co-leader and brother Aaron is left alone trying to manage those pesky Israelites. Moses is gone so long, the people begin to feel abandoned by him … AND by God. So in their minds, they do the next logical thing--they ask Aaron to build them a god to worship since the one they WERE worshiping seems to have disappeared.

Chapter 5: video recap

REFLECTION: Chapter 5

Consecrate is a word you don't hear used often these days but it's very important in this chapter of "The Story."

According to the footnote on page 60, to consecrate is "to dedicate a person or thing to God's service."

Dictionary.com expands on that definition a bit by saying it is "to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity." As in, we "consecrate" a new church building.

You get the gist, right? Take someone or something valuable and make is sacred by dedicating him/her/it to God.

In this chapter, we read about God's command to Moses to consecrate the people in preparation for a meeting with Him, a fairly unheard of event. In this case, the consecrating entails ritual washing of their clothes and bodies. One might also guess that there was to be some spiritual preparation involved in this as well.

And frankly, this consecration and the face-to-face meeting with God freaked the Israelites out. And then they chickened out, sending Moses out instead.

Another well-known story of consecration (or dedication) details the story of Hannah and the son she ached to bear. Once Samuel (whose name means "I asked God for him") was born, she dedicated him to God through the priest Eli saying,

 “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”

Consecration flows out of overwhelming gratefulness, marking someone or something as special, sacred, holy. It is a person or thing which is given (as much as a person might give another person!) into service to God. 

It is a preparation for something amazing which is about to happen to the consecrated person or thing. A way of getting ready to be an instrument of God's peace and love ... or maybe even an instrument of God's judgement.

Have you ever felt this kind of overwhelming-ness? That total surrender to God of a person or a thing you love that much in order to prepare them for something amazing?

I bet you have but maybe you didn't have a name for it. But now you do! Consecration--to dedicate someone or something to God.

If you haven't done this before, what are you waiting for? What are you willing to consecrate today?

REFLECTION: Chapter 4

It seems like when I (Allison) sit down to write one these little reflections (and sermons), I can't manage to get past first page of each chapter before I find a phrase that captures my imagination.

Last week, I was caught up in the story of Abraham and Sarah and the idea of God blessing them (and us) in order that they (and we) may be a blessing to others. [In fact, if you want to see just how stuck on that I got, check this out.]

THIS week, I didn't make it past this sentence (in "The Story," page 43):

"Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt." 

There's something very powerful about this sentence--something about a loss of perspective that makes my heart ache a little bit.

Somehow, history was lost. Memory was lost. Identity was lost.

In the middle of the muddle of everyday things, over the course of years and years, God's people drifted and drifted and drifted. And suddenly they found themselves being ruled by someone "to whom Joseph meant nothing."

The power of Joseph's story meant nothing now. The idea of "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" meant nothing ("The Story," page 42, Genesis 50:15-20).

Perhaps what makes my heart ache the most is that this happens so easily. Time and again we read about the Israelites forgetting about God and all He had done for them. They get so wrapped up in their individual lower stories that they forget all about God's upper story: how God is faithful and loving and chasing after them to bring them closer to His side.

They forget.

And we forget too.

We get wrapped around the axle of our lower stories and lose sight of God's upper story just as easily. (It's that whole darn sin thing again.) We forget who we are (beloved children of God) and to whom we belong (the Creator and Sustainer of the universe) and how we are to live (loving God and loving neighbor).

You know what we need to remember? Not to forget. Not to forget who we are and whose we are and how to live.

I can't say it any better than Deuteronomy 6 says it:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 

7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 

8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Don't forget. Teach your children and grandchildren and the children at your church and in your neighborhood to love the Lord with all their heart and soul and strength. Talk about it at home; talk about it in public; think about it before you go to sleep and when you wake up.

Model it for others.

Whatever you do, don't forget. Please don't forget.

Don't forget the power of Joseph's story--don't forget the power of God using the bad guys for good purposes. Don't forget the amazing story of God delivering his people from the hands of a king "to whom Joseph meant nothing."

Our prayer for you is that these 31 weeks with God and His "Story" will be a time of permanently imprinting His love for you on your heart. Of sealing these words of love inescapably on your soul. Like a tattoo, on the inside.

Enduring words, for all times.

Remember who you are, Whose you are, and how to live.  


TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER
So, what's one thing you can do today to make sure you don't forget and become someone "to whom Joseph meant nothing??"

Reflection: Chapter 2 ... SOVEREIGN

Have you ever wanted something (or someone) so much that you were willing to go to crazy lengths to get what/who you wanted?

If so, you're not alone. Let me introduce you to Abraham and Sarah, an octogenarian couple who really, really wanted to have a child.

In fact, God told them they would have a child. Not only that, but also that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. They were ecstatic. And a little bit incredulous.

But because they wanted the child so darn much, it was pretty hard to continue to believe God's promise since no child appeared on the scene. Not that day. Nor the next. Or the next. (You get the picture.)

With each passing day, as they waited for God to deliver on His promise, they got a little older and incredulous-er. Thinking Sarah's elderly body might be the problem, they took matters into their own hands to help God out. Remember last week when we talked about how God's image in us is blurry? Here's a good example--they knew that God would keep His promise but they just couldn't wait.

(If you haven't yet, read how well their Plan B worked out here HERE.  PS It didn't.) 

It turns out Sarah wasn't the problem, not really. And Abraham wasn't the problem either. SIN was the problem--impatience and envy and thinking they knew better than God.

Fortunately for them, their God--and OUR God--is sovereign.
God is in complete control.
Of everything.
Of His promises and the ways He keeps His promises.

And even when we try to help things along--or rather, HURRY things along--we will never ruin God's plan.

Complicate it, yes. But ruin it? Not in a million years.
Thank God.

QUESTIONS--feel free to leave your answers in the comment! 
Time to 'fess up: when have you tried to "help" God out by hurrying things up? What was the result?

Reflection: Chapter 1 ... SIN

"sin" (noun)  1. transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam

Beautiful place to live? 

CHECK.  

Food on the table? 

CHECK.

Work to keep them busy during the day? 

CHECK. 

A helpmate to keep them warm at night? 

CHECK.

A God who walks with them and talks with them? CHECK. 

Adam and Eve were so stinkin' blessed -- they lived in paradise in perfect fellowship with God. So why in the world would they want anything else? Why in the world would they give in to the serpent's temptation? 

Why bite the forbidden fruit? 

For that matter ... why do WE want something other than what we have? Why do we look around and long for a nicer car or a bigger house or a better paying job? 

In a word? One little, ugly word? SIN.

We humans are made in God's image ... but we are not God. The image of God can be seen in us, but it's like looking in a foggy bathroom mirror--it's there and we can sorta see it, but it's blurry and distorted. 

We are created to be like Him--but our sin distorts God's image and makes it blurry. And that blurriness means we are given the choice of how what to say and do. And that 7 times out of 10 ... OK, 9 times out of 10, we choose to disobey God.  

This blurry image makes our eyes rove and our hearts wander, coveting the house, spouse, servant, and ass of our neighbor. (See?) And it makes us want something other than what God has given to us and provided for us in our lives. 

Why would Adam and Eve want anything other than the paradise they had? Because they were broken bearers of a blurry image of God ... and in this event we call "the Fall," they passed that sin down to the rest of the race. (#thankyouverymuch)  

And now, we all live as exiles from Eden, longing for the day when, like the thief, we will be with God in paradise. 

QUESTIONS--feel free to leave your answer in the comments! 

On a scale of 1 to 10, how big of a problem is sin in your life? How often do you think about your sins? 

Do you feel like an exile from Eden because of sin?  What exactly does that feel like? 

National Speaker in Our Backyard!

Sun, Sept 21 @

Paris Presbyterian Church

7:00PM

Come and hear a powerful testimony of conversion!

Warren Marcus is a Messianic Jewish Believer in Yeshua since October 1974. His fundamentals are based in loving God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength and his neighbors as himself. He is the Director / Producer of the Sid Roth Show called "It's Supernatural", the #1 Christian TV series in the world. Marcus was the creator of the popular Children's cartoon Series "Superbook" and "The Flying House" both were the first Christian animation ever for CBN. 

He worked as Director / Producer of the 700 Club for a decade and started Pat Robertson's Christian Record label the had big time Christian Artists on it like Stephanie Boosahda, Roger Wiles and Cathie Taylor who were all pioneers of the Christian Music Industry. 

Marcus went on to be the first Christian Film maker, director, and produced some of Christian TV's biggest hits and cross-over films such as 'Don't Ask Me Ask God". He then went on to be the Producer of the Jerry Falwell 'Old Time Gospel Hour" and helped clean up PTL when it fell. He ran the Inspirational Christian TV Network for several years but his passion is teaching people how Christ was in every book of the Bible from Old Testament to the New Testament and teaching them how they can know that they know that Christ is the One True Messiah. 

Warren has become one of the most popular speakers in the Christian world and has seen great revival all over the world as he travels and ministers the Word of God. 

"To read without reflecting ...

... is like eating without digesting." Or so says Edmund Burke.

We tend to agree.

What good is it just to sit, turning page after page of "The Story" if there is not some intentional time set aside for thinking about, chewing on, marinating in the words on the page? What good is it to read and not reflect on the reading?

Once a week, we'll be posting "Chapter __: Reflections," usually short little pieces based on something from the chapter of the week. Perhaps it will be a story we never noticed before, or a connection we never made before, or a huge revelation we may be a bit embarrassed to admit we never saw before.

Often times, these reflections will be springboards into the upcoming week's sermon. It would be super-duper helpful to us for you to add your input to our reflections. If we ask a question, don't be afraid to answer. If we say something you disagree with, don't hesitate to tell us, while speaking the truth in LOVE, of course! ;-)  If it feels like we're talking directly to you, give thanks for the Holy Spirit and let us know!

These "Reflections" are meant to help you live into the words on the page, to help what you read once a week (or maybe once a day??) to seep into the way you live your life.

We want the 30 minutes you spend reading "The Story" to profoundly influence the other 1410 minutes of your day. (Yes, I googled that.)