Preparing with Hope March 12, 2023
disciple: someone who follows Jesus and leads others to do the same.
Each week that I preach, I intend to start the week off by publishing a blog in which I can share with you the passages that I will be teaching from. It is my hope that others will be able to wrestle with the text and prepare for Sunday with me. And most importantly, I hope you're willing and able to share what you are learning with others.
We are starting a new 3-week series this weekend titled, "I AM". We will be studying who God is and who God says you are. We have to begin with knowing who God says He is so that we can trust what He says about us. I think this is a critical series right now. We confuse who we are by what people say about us on social media or by our careers. Hopefully over the next three weeks you'll search through the Bible and listen to the voice of God and hear what He says about you and believe it to be true. I hope that you not only enjoy this series but that you're changed because of it. And while I know that you can watch or listen to these messages online, I hope you choose to join us in person. There is something powerful about doing life together and I don't want anyone to miss this!
We are starting a new 3-week series this weekend titled, "I AM". We will be studying who God is and who God says you are. We have to begin with knowing who God says He is so that we can trust what He says about us. I think this is a critical series right now. We confuse who we are by what people say about us on social media or by our careers. Hopefully over the next three weeks you'll search through the Bible and listen to the voice of God and hear what He says about you and believe it to be true. I hope that you not only enjoy this series but that you're changed because of it. And while I know that you can watch or listen to these messages online, I hope you choose to join us in person. There is something powerful about doing life together and I don't want anyone to miss this!
Prayer.
Stop what you're doing and pray. Take a couple of minutes to allow all of the noise of life to be silenced. And listen to God. What is God saying to you? What does God want to say? Ask God what lies you've been believing and what Truths He is saying about you instead. Ask God to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you study the following Bible verses too.
Observe.
Now read through the verses that we are going to be using for this week. Read through all of the verses once. And then go back through and circle all of the words and phrases that declare who God is. Then read through them again and underline the words or phrases that speak about who you are.
Psalm 9:10
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Exodus 3:13-15
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
Genesis 5:2
He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created
Psalm 139:13-14
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
Pause.
Don't rush through this. Pause. Sit. And listen. What is God saying to you as you read these verses? What is He saying about who He is? What is He saying about you in these verses? Don't rush through this. Take your time. This is important. Sit with God for a few minutes. And when you're ready read through the verses again. Maybe pick a different translation to use.
Application.
Ask the Holy Spirit to change you. We are never the same after we have read God's Word. We are always changed. Is God wanting to change the way you think? Maybe God wants to change the way that you act? God's Word always changes us and calls us to even more change. Take a second and reflect on how the change that God is doing in you and through you.
Get Ready for Sunday.
Begin praying now for Sunday. Pray for those that will be attending. Pray and ask God who He wants you to invite to join you. Pray with expectation for God to do something amazing in our midst this Sunday.
Posted in Preparing With Hope
Tagged with I AM, Psalm 9:10, Exodus, Exodus 3:13-15, Genesis 5:2, Psalm 139:13-14
Tagged with I AM, Psalm 9:10, Exodus, Exodus 3:13-15, Genesis 5:2, Psalm 139:13-14
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Psalm 9:10 He is Trustworthy. He doesn't Forsake us. I am the object of His attention. My thoughts are that because God is there for me, it is worth it to spend time with Him. It makes me feel good to know that I am the object of His attention.
Exodus 3:13-15 The God of his Fathers, I am, God is involved with the generations; God sends us, He is our God. To know God sends us makes me wonder what He wants me to do. Genesis 5:2 God creates, God blesses, God names things; I am blessed, I am man, I was created. Psalms 139:13,14 God creates and works, God's works are wonderful; He created me inside and out, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. How He created me makes me feel worthy.
Basically, everything I'm reading here is helping me to feel better about myself. This is good for me because the childhood abuse made me feel worthless.
I was driving Lexies boyfriend home before the awful news from Wesco, and God was talking to me while I was driving. I have been telling God more about how I feel about things in life in general since He told me to just talk to Him about everything and anything. While I was driving, He was answering some of my concerns about things I had recently talked to Him about. I had told Him how I didn't like the way my life was going and He was explaining to me about how what I didn't like wasn't really about me but about the circumstances around me. He also told me how much He likes me and how He can't wait to spend time with me in the Word not just cuz hey you gotta do this but cuz He likes to spend time with me, like He was excited and just couldn't wait! I was thinking about this because of reading the blog. I kind of forgot about Him talking to me after the police came to my house about Wesco. A few minutes ago I was thinking about Psalm139:13a "You created my inmost being." To me that verse means God had something to do with creating my personality as well as environmental things molding it. And I thought yea of course God likes me, He made me, even parts of my personality like how I love Him and He loves those things about me! He encourages me when He speaks to me like that. He makes me feel better about myself.
Ps 9:10 To KNOW God is to TRUST GOD! Exodus 3:14a Wow what a thing for God to say "I am who I am!" It's like you'll have to seek me to get to know me and while you're doing so, I AM ME!!
Ps 139:13 Thank you God for being with me since I was in my mother's womb!