1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
– Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV)
This week we begin a new sermon series, Echoes of Promise. Today, I went to the Worship Center to pray in anticipation for Sunday. As I look back over all that has transpired in that room these past weeks, my heart is overwhelmed. God is at work! He’s called us to arms. He’s been working in our own hearts so that we prayerfully battle for the hearts of others. In some ways I didn’t want our last study to end, while at the same time feeling a strong sense of anticipation for what’s next.
What’s next? Genesis is next. We move forward by going back to the beginning. Honestly, tackling Genesis is a weighty endeavor. It’s the origin. The foundation. It provides the basis for all that is and foreshadows all that is to come. It declares the character of our God and allows us a glimpse into His divine design. This series is called Echoes of Promise because the events, truths, and principles in Genesis still resonate among us.
I ended my time in the Worship Center by clapping my hands. It created a splash of sound waves that echoed through out the room. The beautiful thing about an echo is that it’s different from a reflection. A reflection is an imitation of the original, while an echo is the bouncing back of the original sound. And as I stood within the echoes of my original claps, I couldn’t help but think how on Sunday the room will be filled echoes of the original truths of Genesis. You see friends, what makes preaching God’s Word powerful is not the voice of the human speaker, it’s that the truths read from the Bible are the original words of God. My word! That blows my mind!
This Sunday, we'll study God’s promise to a man named Abram. He’s a man not unlike you and me. But God chose him. God spoke to him and made a covenant with him that has echoed through our history and among us today. Friends, please take some time to read Genesis 12:1-9 and allow the truths of God’s Word to echo in your heart.
Sunday is coming. Let’s gather and echo praises to our God!
Take some time to listen to the worship set to prepare your heart.
Love you Church,
Jerry Lingenfelter
Senior Pastor