All Nations Presbyterian Church: Morning Sermon Series

Genesis 13 - Making Wise Choices by Faith

On Sunday morning, we looked at Genesis 13 together. Abram and Lot found themselves in conflict because of their large number of flocks and herds. Instead of enforcing his position as senior family member, Abram trusted God and allowed Lot to select whatever land he wanted to move to. Lot chose what was the most fertile section, but it also included the evil city of Sodom who would be his next-door neighbour. God then reaffirmed his promise to Abram, the promise for land and offspring, even though he had neither of them when the promise was made. This passage challenged us to think about what drives our choices. We can choose based only on what seems good to our eyes, which is often sinful and selfish. Or we can trust God, which allows us to be generous, chasing faithfulness and not greed. The truth is that we have such blessing, even if our lives are not the most blessed in terms of wealth and ease. We can trust that God holds our future and not have to focus on building wealth and chasing only what seems best to us.

Ephesians 2:11-22 - Celebrating God's Growth and Unity

We looked at Ephesians 2 in our combined 30th anniversary service on Sunday morning. This passage described our 'before' and 'after' states. Before we came to know Jesus, we were outsiders, with no hope for eternity. After Jesus saved us, we are insiders, citizens, belonging and with future hope. This has all kinds of implications for us, with one being the church. All in the church are equally important to God. All of us are involved in God's building project. We must maintain God's strategy when it comes to our church: staying faithful to God's message in the Bible, centred on the work of Jesus. Church growth and unity is not due to our cleverness or strategies but due to God's work among us. There is a lot to thank God for, and we should also pray for God's work among us now and into the future.

Genesis 12:10-20 - Abram the Imperfect

On Sunday morning, we looked at the second half of Genesis 12. Abram and Sarai went to Egypt to find refuge from a famine in the land. While there, Abram lied to try to save himself, only to find the situation out of his control anyway. Despite his sin, God rescued Abram and Sarai, even enriching them and bringing them back to the promised land. This reinforced to us what God is like, showing us a pattern we see repeatedly in the Bible. God doesn't save good people who deserve it; he saves bad people who deserve punishment. This passage reminds us that we are never worthy of God's love; it is always grace to the undeserving. Take some time this week to confess anything you need to before God, and to thank him for his grace in Jesus that we do not deserve.

Genesis 12:1-9 - The Call of Abram

On Sunday morning, we looked at the golden passage at the start of Genesis 12. God called Abram to the land, giving him such incredible promises for the future. And Abram obeyed, despite being 75 years old and not having any children. This passage showed us God's grace in calling someone out of the worship of other gods to be his special person; Abram didn't deserve any of this. And it also revealed what obedience looks like, trusting in God's promises even if we cannot see how they might all happen with our eyes right now. God's promises to Abram were fulfilled in stages, with some aspects coming true even in Genesis, but focused ultimately on Jesus and his coming to pay for our sins. We can rest in the fact that we also have been shown such grace and are called to obedience. This week, reflect on the great promises of God, of salvation, of forgiven sins, and of glorious hope. Spend time thanking Him for the grace shown to you.

Habakkuk 2:1-4 - Learning How to Wait

Last Sunday morning, we heard from Habakkuk 2:1-4 together. We especially saw that to deal with the agony of unanswered prayer, we need to learn how to wait. Although we like to get everything we want right away in our modern world, often prayer requires us to wait in faith for God to act, because God’s timing is different from ours. Habakkuk’s prayers were not answered until 15 years and 60 years after he prayed. In fact, Habakkuk may have actually died before he saw the full answer to his prayers. This encourages us to continue praying and trusting in God’s perfect plan and timing, because God may choose to work in 15 or 60 years later, or even long after we are dead. Even when we do not see the full answer to our prayers right now, our prayers ultimately make us wait for the return of Jesus Christ, when all will be made right and the agony of unanswered prayer will be over forever. This week, take some time to ask God for a patient, trusting heart to wait for God’s perfect timing, to persevere in your prayers, and to wait for the return of Jesus Christ.