For the word of God is alive and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit,
joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
HEBREWS 4:12
This coming Sunday will be a reflection service when we look to you, the congregation, to encourage one another with testimonies of how God has been using His Word in their lives.
How might you prepare for that time?
Chances are that you’ll need to jog your memory a bit. Surely along the way, there’s at least one sermon on the life of Abraham that became personally meaningful to you.
How about taking time this week to think back over sermons from Genesis 12-25 (which covers both before and after Advent). Following, are some questions that might prompt some good reflection and discussion.
We’ve been calling this series A Faithful God for a Fallen People. How has seeing God’s faithfulness to Abraham and Sarah in these chapters of Genesis helped you see and understand God’s faithfulness to you in Jesus?
How has seeing the fallenness of the people in these chapters of Genesis helped you acknowledge your own fallenness and need for rescue and restoration?
What has stuck with you most persistently from this section of Genesis? What events or images or statements have come to mind again and again? Why?
How has this series been timely for you in this season of your life? Was there a sermon, in particular, that was just the word you needed to hear at the right time?
How have your prayers been shaped by your understanding of God’s faithfulness and His redemptive plans?
It’s one thing to recall how a sermon impacted you just when you needed it. Think how sharing that with the rest of the congregation might encourage them to walk in faith. Would you pray letting the rest of us know what God has taught you? Perhaps writing it out and reading will make it less daunting. It doesn’t have to be extemporaneous.
You may even want to scroll back through the sermon titles and passages from our sermon page on our website to jog their memories.
Be praying that next Sunday will be a powerful “group sermon,” and that many will be encouraged by the evidence of God at work through our preaching here at Grace.