Sermons in Times of Crisis: Twelve Homilies to Stir Your Soul. So, secondly, the God after Jacob outlives our heroes. It has meaning to any tragedy. Sermons in Times of Crisis: Twelve Homilies to Stir Your Soul The Catholic Church today finds itself in the midst of a crisis. That God brings resurrection out of death over and over again so that we can be God’s joyous people. Jacob spent twenty years under the tyranny of Laban, and as we’ll see in the weeks ahead, Joseph spent thirteen years going down, down, down, before God raised him up. Experiencing God in Times of Crisis From the series Finding God When You Need Him Most Crises are a part of life. Now, God answers her prayer for another son, even as she dies giving him life. Edom was never restored like Israel, though some did migrate into an area of Judah that became known as Idumea. 1) Our God answers in the time of crisis (35:1–7) When God says in verse 1, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there,” he is calling Jacob to fulfill a vow Jacob made back in chapter 28. These are notes on the sermon, How To Be Unshakable In Times Of Crisis, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 5 April 2020, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. But he didn’t let the cup pass. Leaders do their very best to keep us calm, and rightfully so, but one cannot help but to become fearful in a time of crisis. We have a rough time admitting when we are in pain. Verse 5: “As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.”, Jacob trusts that God will protect him, tenuous as things are, and so he obeys. Even joy. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2. Storms will confront us many times in our lives, expected and unexpected. The key statement is in verse 3: “Let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”, The God of Jacob is not like the false gods of the surrounding nations. We look to the future with worry and fear. Probably the number one thing I hear from people who don’t go to church, is that those of us in the church too often just pretend that everything is okay. About a century after Solomon, Edom was still under Israel during Jehoshaphat’s reign (1 Kings 22:47; 2 Chronicles 20:2 then 2 Kings 3:8–26). God doesn’t want us to hide how we are feeling. And for all of us who have mothers, we know— there is nothing a mother won’t do for her child. Contributed by Scott Coltrain on Dec 5, 2001. based on 53 ratings. The first, while in Bethel, is the death of Deborah, his mother Rebecca’s nurse (verse 8). What little we earn is go before we receive it. And God offers us each other to walk together and not be isolated and not let the grief and the despair settle in. Stations of the Heart, Richard Fischer The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” (11–12). . Hauerwas prays in his prayer for courage, which he says is just another name for friends. That God offers us relationship through the crisis. Praying in times of crisis is all about Perspective: practical planning, yes, but matched with a bit of distance, away from the tumult of battle so we can hear the still, small voice of God a bit more clearly. God had told Adam to be fruitful and multiply (1:22, 28) and Noah (8:17; 9:1, 7) and Abraham (17:20). When Jacob honored “the God who answers me in the day of my distress” (25:3), and when we remember our God as the one who answers us in our time of crisis, don’t think that Jacob meant, or that we mean, that God always answers how we want and when we want. With the death of Isaac, not Jacob (35:29). Verse 7 mentions the past danger again: Jacob “built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.” And just as God had rescued Jacob from Esau’s pursuit, and from Laban’s (31:22ff. That God calls us into community so we don’t have to live in the hell of being alone. There he had come to Bethel on his way from leaving his father’s house to go into exile at his uncle Laban’s. (This fulfilled what Balaam had prophesied in Numbers 24:18, that some day “one from Jacob shall exercise dominion” over Edom.). The Crisis. Forgive not just seven times, but seventy times seven times. | 4,206 views. And when the people of Israel march from the desert to the promised land, “Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory” (Numbers 20:14–21). Isn’t Jacob the chosen son? .”Then Genesis 5:1: “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” Then Genesis 6:9: “These are the generations of Noah.” Genesis 10:1: the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But there’s one more thing we need to say about what it means for God to answer in our time of crisis. The original commission to humanity and the promises of Abraham are here clearly applied and renewed to Jacob. It is not Isaac alone who makes his own legacy. This mother is not of Jesus’ faith. This is the first of two painful episodes for Israel in dealing with Edom, and one they would not soon forget (Judges 11:17–18). May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” (28:3–4). And while it won’t do us much good to wallow in that pain, it is also the case that we so often miss out on being our true selves because we won’t even look at the pain— we always trying to put a pretty face on it so that we won’t embarrass ourselves or our friends. That if he would just be a better person, everything would be fine. The story began back in chapter 25 with the birth of Esau and Jacob who struggled together in the womb (25:22), and God said to their mother, Rebecca, that the older would serve the younger (25:23). He remembers. “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!” That’s one reason for this genealogy in chapter 36. What lesson does Edom teach God’s people? I Samuel 14:1–23. She had struggled to bear children and said to him, “Give me children, or I shall die!” (30:1). Though facing difficult times of crisis, the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk was able to not only rise above and pray, but also rejoice. Prayers Plainly Spoken, Stanley Hauerwas, page 109. For Israel’s life as a nation, Edom served as a kind of control, or point of comparison, to show the electing love of God. Those events are the primary emphasis of these chapters. and Ezekiel (25:12–14; all of chapter 35) and Joel (3:19) and Amos (1:6–2:1) prophesied that it was just a matter of time until destruction would come to Edom as well (also Lamentations 4:21–22). Leonard Cohen, a singer/songwriter died this past week. He is the living God who wants us to turn to him, to wrestle with him (Genesis 32:22–28), not just our circumstances, in our time of crisis. Psalm 46 offers us a foundation for trusting God in times of crisis. But instead of making war, God instructed Israel “to go around the land of Edom” (Numbers 21:4). Genesis 11:27: Terah (Abraham’s father).Genesis 25:12: Ishmael (Abraham’s first son). He’s at a point where there’s really nothing to lose. In times of crisis we must walk in faith and not in fear. And no matter who you voted for, I think we can all agree that our country is deeply divided in ways we can’t even always explain. And this mother doesn’t care. And he is the kind of God who welcome foreigners to join in the covenant love of his Table. When God says in verse 1, â€œArise, go up to Bethel and dwell there,” he is calling Jacob to fulfill a vow Jacob made back in chapter 28. He brought life into a situation where there was only pain and soon to be death. Then we saw last week in chapter 34, how Jacob’s sons Levi and Simeon had deceived and slaughtered the village of Shechem as revenge for the defiling of their sister Dinah. Just as God saw Leah in her crisis (29:31). Jacob then encountered Esau (chapter 33). We have a difficult time admitting when we are in the middle of a crisis because of something that happened to us last night or because of a family argument we had in the car on the way to church this morning. Joy does come in the morning. Give us courage, which is just another name for friends, to stare down the terror in our own and our neighbors’ lives, that we may be your joyous people. When God defeats the Egyptians and brings Israel safely through the Red Sea, Edom is listed as one of the nations that hears, and trembles (Exodus 15:15). There were Idumeans in Jesus’s time, the most famous being King Herod. Stanley Hauerwas, an author and theologian, wrote a book called Prayers Plainly Spoken. The Bible emphasizes getting the facts before you take major actions in your life. And he remembered Rachel in hers (30:22). Praying in Times of Crisis This sermon is re-edited from Timothy Peck’s sermon about 9-11-01 to the Space shuttle Columbia explosion on 2-1-03. Pastor, you know these truths. CRISIS MANAGEMENT. You can think of these as the God of Jacob (25:1–7), the God after Jacob (25:8–39), and the God Beyond Jacob (chapter 36), and with each we’ll find a specific truth. Joseph, gospel, Jesus, The sovereignty of God, faith, faithfulness of God, Abraham, Christian life, sin, faith, faithfulness of God, covenant, truth, youth, The sovereignty of God. I mean really rails at God. Our lives are full of pain. God will live on once Jacob has died, and God will extend his promises, even as death comes for Jacob. Jacob and his household journey south from Shechem to Bethel (v. 5), then from Bethel to Bethlehem (v. 16), and finally from Bethlehem to Hebron, where his father Isaac lived. First, his beloved wife Rachel dies giving birth to another son, Benjamin, as the family journeyed south from Bethel. One remarkable truth this demonstrates for us is God’s concern (and rule) beyond the boundaries of his covenant sons. The prophets Jeremiah (49:7–22) and Obadiah (whole book!) We must appear happy, to be OK, to others and ourselves. And it is not Jacob who makes his own legacy but his children, and especially Joseph. Finally, once Jacob got free from Laban (after twenty years! And finally, in Genesis 37:2: Jacob. Jacob plays just as much a part, if not more, than his father. Times will come when an unpredictable event or the unforeseen consequences of some event will require us to make decisions quickly, if only to avoid the negative effect or damage brought about by such an event. We admit that we are grieving. In his book, Reaching For The Invisible God, Philip Yancey points out that when it comes down to it, when crisis comes we have two choices: fear the crisis or fear God. There will be financial crisis where we find ourselves out of work but not out of debt. But during his son Jehoram’s reign, Edom revolted successfully from Israel (2 Kings 8:20–22; 2 Chronicles 21:8–10). This is Romans 9:10–13: “When Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad — in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls — she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.””. And yet they are all transformative. And even though Jacob leaves center stage after this chapter, when will his death come? Responding to a crisis pastorally in the pulpit requires the preacher to exercise discernment drawn from their knowledge of the congregation and the crisis itself. These times of crisis in our lives are most likely not what we would’ve chosen for ourselves, but we can make a choice to use the manual God has given us in how to treat one another. The primary emphasis of this psalm is not on trying to guess when and where storms will come, but to always realize that God is our only true, safe place. Esau was so furious Jacob had to go into exile. His life had been in jeopardy previously. So today, as we come to end of the Jacob sequence, how does it end? Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sermons in Times of Crisis : Twelve Homilies to Stir Your Soul by Paul D. Scalia (2019, Hardcover) at the best online prices at eBay! As he prepared to do so, he was met at night by a man who wrestled him until day break (32:24). In the book of Romans, when the apostle Paul is teaching God’s divine prerogative in choosing whom he will for his blessing and favor, he turns to Jacob and Esau. The first is Genesis 2:4, during the creation story: “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth . So, first, the God ofJacob is the one true God, who answers in our time of crisis. God has shown himself to be the God who hears and answers in the time of crisis. This is especially the case with the Jacob story. And, what is always the most shocking and awe-inspiring, God offers us resurrection— both in this life and in the next. She follows him, interrupts his peace, is persistent in tracking him down, and when Jesus finally does address her and tells her that what he has isn’t meant for her, she has an answer for that too saying to him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Her answer stops Jesus in his tracks. Currently we email the congregation on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday. He said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). 1 JONATHAN. Verse 1: “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. He was of the royal house in Edom.” Why? But verses 22–25 lists the sons by mother, which may reflect the fault lines in the family conflict. In this season of COVID-19 (coronavirus), Preaching Today wants to offer you a word of encouragement and point you towards resources that will help you prepare life-giving sermons that illuminate God's comfort and presence. When we experience a crisis, it is natural to be overwhelmed by negative feelings. You’ll see that key word “journeyed” in verses 5, 16, and 21. Where is God in the Midst of Crisis?, Jen Booth - Read more Christian women spiritual life, faith, and growth. Which has something important to say to us as a young church. The flock is scattering, and while some shepherds bravely set off in search of those lost and wandering sheep, others drive them, and many more, further from the fold. Where do we turn for the beginning of the Jacob story? He sees. All Jacob’s striving and wrestling — with his brother, with his father, with his uncle, with his wives — all that striving had ultimately been a wrestling with God, the kind of wrestling God wants. The valley of the He wants us to wrestle with him by faith, not apart from him in unbelief. The New Testament, the book of Hebrews encourages us “draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:16), then just a few verses later says, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” (5:8). As Israel settled into the promised land, Edom was to be a border, not a foe to cleanse from the land (Number 33:37; 34:3; Joshua 15:1, 21). God loves us; nurtures us; and when we’re ready or sometimes when we’re not but need to be, God nudges us, pushes us, and empowers us to get up. Communities don’t often know their own ability to offer grace, their own strength to stand up, their own power to partner with God until they face a time of crisis. Love yourself. Rachel was the daughter of Laban that Jacob had been so smitten over and worked not just seven years but, in the end, fourteen, to have as his wife. CHRIST OF EVERY CRISIS March 22, 2019 Save Article. God also invites us into community. Note: “God had permitted matters to be … brought to a crisis that He might rebuke the perversity of Saul and teach His people a lesson of humility and faith. This completes the southward journey of this chapter from Shechem in the north, down to Bethel, then Rachel dies on the way to Bethlehem, then down to Hebron. Growth in grace and opportunity for ministry follow Christians in the wake of crises. The second example Moses gives us here is that he experiences real Power when he prays. This is a crisis unlike anything recent generations have ever experienced. OUR TEXT TODAY WILL REMIND US AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, THAT THE LORD OUR GOD DESIRES & EXPECTS US TO BE A THANKFUL OR GRATEFUL PEOPLE IN ALL TIMES, IN ALL CIRMCUMSTANCES OR SITUATIONS IN LIFE. For example, William Carey, the father of modern missions, left us a legacy of faithfulness to God. Genesis 37:2: “These are the generations of Jacob.” In other words, the lives of the children play a significant part in writing the stories of their fathers. We discovered that in times of Crisis God is right there. Loving one another. This is a process which can take time, and time is often in short supply when crisis comes. They don’t answer. So much for Perspective. We refuse to remember because memory is just another name for pain — dull, meaningless pain that makes us numb. Job does this well. The Signs of the Times, July 26, 1905. ... bishops and priests ascended the pulpit and delivered sermons that met the pressing needs of their own times, sermons which should be read and remembered by Catholics of all times. Do not commit adultery. But you would have us be passionate people, filled with the Spirit, possessed by memory. So Genesis 36 does have something vital to say to us about our God. I didn’t say the manual was easy, all of these things are hard. As Hauerwas so eloquently put it, “we are to stare down the terror in our own and our neighbors’ lives so that we may be God’s joyous people.”. Our lives are full of pain. Do not murder. Once born, the twins struggled against each other. How true that is that our courage most often comes from community— people who remind us of who we are and how God is calling us. The verses in Habakkuk 3:17-10 do not actually use the words thanks or gratitude, but it certainly could be implied. And in that moment Jesus turns and sees her for the first time and he says to her, “Woman, great is your faith.”, Even when Jesus got it wrong, he was able to turn, to repent, if you will, and to make it right—immediately. Crisis can defeat us. Job’s friends are the worst. God promises to be in relationship with us. As David leaves Jerusalem, he speaks with one of the military leaders traveling out of the city. Even though it had been decades, God had not forgotten the vow. Chapter 35 is a journey. We do have to decide how to respond to it and let our response be a gift to God. Because it’s true. He will hear you. How amazing it is to see people in our lives choosing to use their response in a time of crisis as an opportunity to share a gift with God, with the community, and with themselves. But instead of giving up or blaming someone else, he yells at God. It didn’t make the pain any easier, but it sure was a gift he never knew he needed or wanted. First, we have Job. For the last while, we have been occupying ourselves with the details of Joseph’s relationship with his brothers and his father. Patton Oswalt, the actor and comedian, has been publicly grieving because his wife died about six months ago. They are baby toys. And at the end of the Joseph story, when Jacob blesses his sons, he says to Reuben, his firstborn, “You shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!” (Genesis 49:4). Practice hospitality. In fact, this is not the end of the story for Jacob’s and Esau’s descendants, the Israelites and the Edomites. The emphasis is on knowing the God who is the source of protection and rest in the midst of the storms. Now her nurse, whom Jacob has known as a family member his whole life has died as well. And listens. May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!”. And even if it wasn’t for our nation, we all know what it is like to face personal crisis and communal crisis, to have something happen in our lives or in the lives of those we love and to be faced with our own mortality and our own ugliness. He is not like Laban’s household gods. But he will see you. 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