After Abraham’s encounter with the three heavenly visitors, Genesis 18:16-33 records how the Lord spoke with Abraham, probably revealing to him in the process the forthcoming judgment that would fall upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham’s response was to intercede on behalf of the ‘righteous’ who dwelt in those towns – no doubt motivated by the danger that his nephew, Lot, would find himself in. The exchange between the Lord and Abraham is both remarkable (in that Abraham was allowed to speak so openly to the Lord and challenging (reminding us that there are many who live now under the Lord’s righteous judgment).
Author: Philip
PYV’s North Camp is coming!
The start of the September school holidays are not so far away now, and with their arrival comes… PYV’s North Camp!
You can click on all the details of the Camp, including the venue and costs and registration here.
In the meantime we are happy to play ‘host’ to the North Camp Leaders’ Training Day, tomorrow! May God richly bless the day of learning and preparation!
‘Abraham: Humorous steps’ (Genesis 17:15-18:15)
There are times in life that call for laughter, but in Genesis 17:15-18:15, after God told both Abraham and Sarah of the fact that they would soon be parents, perhaps laughter wasn’t the best kind of response. Understandable of course, but not the best response. They had reasons to doubt the truth of God’s promises, the major one being their advanced age, but in this up and down journey of faith, trusting what God said is still so necessary!
‘Abraham: Confirming steps’ (Genesis 17:1-14)
It was now many years after the disastrous arrangement by which Abram fathered Ishmael through Sarai’s maidservant Hagar. The record of Genesis 17:1-14, reveals that Abram received a new revelation of the Lord, a new name from the Lord and a new covenant sign from the Lord. These were all gifts of God’s grace to his servant and all were for the purpose of stretching his faith and lifting his eyes to prepare him for what was going to be humanly impossible, but possible with God Almighty (El Shaddai).
‘Abram: Stumbling steps’ (Genesis 16:1-16)
After Abram experienced the dizzying heights of the events on Genesis 15, he came crashing back to earth and reality in Genesis 16:1-16. Though God had promised Abram a great nation of descendants, he and his wife Sarai (at her instigation) concocted a plan for Abram to father a child through Sarai’s slave girl Hagar. Sadly, the plan they concocted wasn’t the plan God had in mind for the fulfillment of the promises He had in mind in chapter 12. When it comes to taking ‘matters into our own hands’, the lessons we learn from the chapter are sobering.
‘Abram: Salvation steps’ (Genesis 15:1-21)
The account of Genesis 15:1-21 is vital in the unfolding story of Abram and for the rest of the story of the Scriptures. After winning the victory over the all conquering kings in Genesis 14, in this chapter the Lord made clear to Abram all over again the realty of the promises He had given him. To do this, God showed Abram the stars in the sky, telling him that their number (beyond counting) would be the number of Abram’s descendants. Abram believed God’s promise and because of that faith he was counted as being among those who are ‘right with God’ – by grace, through faith.
‘The parable of the barren fig tree’ (Luke 13:6-9, Peter Phillips)
The parable of the barren fig tree in Luke 13:6-9 belongs to Jesus’ words at the end of Luke 12 and his response to the people who told him of the death of certain Galileans killed by Pilate’s soldiers, and continues theme of our urgent need to make our peace with God. The people of his time could interpret the signs of changing weather, but not ‘the present time’ in which showed He was their Messiah and King. Despite this, and using the news of the day, Jesus persisted in calling people everywhere and immediately to repentance.
‘Relying on the real hero of Acts’ (Acts 1:1-11, Ryan Smith)
We currently live in a super-hero obsessed culture and it can often affect the way we think about sharing the message of Jesus. We can fall into the trap of thinking the apostles are like ‘super-Christians’ and sharing Jesus is for other ‘super-Christians’, [pastors, trained-evangelists, extroverts, people gifted in talking and sharing]. We often think “I’m ordinary, I’m unimpressive, I’m unequipped, I can’t do it, Jesus can’t be expecting anything from me”. But according to Acts 1:1-11, Jesus is the real hero of the book of Acts. We don’t need to be super or a hero, but just need to be used by Him.
‘Abram: Righteous steps’ (Genesis 14:1-24)
After making a vital decision concerning what Abram would seek in life, his peaceful existence must have been shattered by the capture of his nephew Lot by warring Kings of neighbouring nations. Genesis 14:1-24 tells the story of how Abram risked all to rescue Lot from these victorious and powerful kings, but also how Abram soon was met by both the King of Salem and the King of Sodom. His response to both of these Kings indicate that Abram was growing in stature as a man of faith.
Hohidiai Choir to visit Bendigo
You probably won’t be able to locate Hohidiai on a map. That’s because it isn’t a place as such. Hohidiai is the name of a wonderful ministry in the North Maluku Islands of Indonesia where through the provision of education and free health care, many lives are being changed.
You can read about it all here and also get a taste for the sounds and music of this part of the world by coming to hear the Hohidiai Choir who are on tour (even to Bendigo!) with a variety of hymns, songs, traditional dances and testimonies.
You can catch them at the Kangaroo Flat Baptist Church, Church Street, Kangaroo Flat, on July 17th at 7pm. There will be a stall with traditional Indonesian items for sale and an opportunity to donate as well.