Today we worshiped at Keystone Church, RLA Learning and Conference Center, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive, Cranberry Twp., PA 16066, 724.201.1035, www.keystonechurchpa.com, Lorin Foster, Pastor.
Scripture – Genesis 22:1-14 NIV
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Bob’s thoughts:
It was nice to see a few familiar faces from our last visit and meet a few new brothers and sisters in Christ.
We could have used a few more signs to help us old folks find the church.
If we’re arriving late I must remember to bring a flashlight so we can get settled in our seats in the dark. When someone came or went, it was a ray of sunshine, literally. I wouldn’t have known that my coffee cup had gotten tipped otherwise. We sat at the back and couldn’t see the low screen and couldn’t stand.
A point from the message that I never considered was that Abraham had to not only bring the wood for the sacrifice but also bring the fire for a couple days’ travel. I’m sure with the pressure of believing he would be using his child for the sacrifice it would be hard to think of bringing along fire.
From sermon points: help me obey, surrender my will, and God will always provide.
With my hand cramping, I was happy to come away with these notes.
Jan’s thoughts:
We arrived a little late due to some confusion on my part navigating the maze in this area. We quickly got coffee and found seats in the back after exchanging greetings with a few people.
I was surprised at how much louder the music was than last time, but we did stay put.
The pastor announced that the offerings for this week and next week would be donated in their entirety to support three different areas of mission this church supports financially.
The current message series is about the names of God, and today’s title was Hope Has a Name. The name he focused on today was Jehovah Jirah which means The Lord Will Provide.
He pointed out that our part requires faith-filled obedience before provision is made. We can forfeit God’s provision if we give up, decide not to believe God, or accept a counterfeit, and that partial obedience is total disobedience. Faith surrenders to God expecting His provision, and when we surrender, God will make a way. God ALWAYS provides for His children.
He suggested we each do a year-end review and ask God in what area we are forgetting that He is our provider.
Our prayer for this church:
Father,
we pray Your continued blessings as Your church surrenders their will to You.
Amen.
