Reflections on "Is It Worth the Promise?" Mark 1: 9-20; Genesis 12: 1-9

I wandered quite a bit from where I started on this sermon.  I wanted to begin Lent with the invitation/challenge to step out in faith based on God's promise to bless us and be with us.  As the week progressed, I kept being pulled back to what is so great about the God's promise that would make Abram and Sarai agree to pack up and move.   I'm not sure I answered the question in a specific way, but I was fascinated with the idea that God's promise to be our God gives us the foundation to move forward in faith.  When I finished the sermon, it still felt like I had missed the mark a bit, but I was in the area!

I have been intentional about trying to find concrete examples from people's daily living, which led to the promotion and scholarship analogy.  not sure they hit the point directly, but again, I think they were in the area.

"Is It Worth the Promise?" Genesis 12: 4-9; Mark 1: 9-22; 1^st Lent; Faith journey series 2012

Introduction: The purple reminds us that we are beginning Lent, the time of preparation for Holy Week and ultimately the discovery that Christ has been resurrected.

During this Lenten season, we will explore the Abraham and Sarah story from Genesis, looking at different challenges or special moments they encountered as they lived out their faith.

Part of our study will be to invite each of us to reflect on our faith journeys – see what significant moments we have had that might be similar to what Abraham and Sarah encountered.

But, it will include more than just reflecting on what has happened – it will invite each of us to see how God is at work in the present and future of our lives.

We begin with the call of Abram and Sarai.

Move 1: What great news it must have been for Abram and Sarai

a. God will make them a great nation.

1. Of all the people or families of the world, God has chosen them.
2. they will receive God's blessing.

3. We know from Genesis (think Jacob and Esau's story) that to receive a blessing was a big deal, and this was God's blessing.

4. They will be given a land where their descendants can live

b. Imagine getting a promotion at work or some other great opportunity.

1. your boss comes to you and tells you that of all the employees in the company, you have been chosen for this wonderful job.

2. or of all the high school students, you have been chosen for this terrific scholarship.

100. but, Abram and sarai have to move.

1. Leave their home. Hit the road. Head off to the land of Canaan.
2. Or your boss tells you to send for the moving van because the great promotion will take you somewhere else.

2. or the scholarship offer is from a school on the West coast.

3. the sky is the limit in that moment, but you have to step forward in a new direction.

100. What we learn again and again in the biblical story is that to accept to call to discipleship means change.

1. The disciples -- they immediately drop what they are doing to follow Jesus.

2. Even Jesus -- as Mark (the other gospels tell it a bit differently) tells the story, one verse the voice from the heavens confirms that he is the Son of God; the next verse the Spirit drives him into the desert to be tempted by the devil and joined with the wild beasts. Maybe being the Son of God isn't that great a gig after all.

e. The excitement of the promise leads to the reality of life being radically changed.

Are you in?

Move 2: So what was it that made the Abram and Sarai, or the disciples make the move?

a. Maybe Abram and Sarai were enticed by the promise of land to call their own. They were nomadic people, so perhaps that had some value for them.

b. The disciples? We have the sense they were looking for the Messiah, so maybe that was enough to compel them to drop their nets and follow Jesus.

or the disciples or the even Jesus committing?

100. what about you?
     
     
     1. when you look back over your faith journey and spot one of those significant moments when you leaped, what made you do it?
     2. Or better yet, what would make you do it now?
     
     
     d. At the heart of why we commit to following God is God's promise: I will by your God and you will be my people.

1. Abram and Sarai pack up their belongings and gather their families to leave the land they are in for an unknown land because God has promised to bless them and be their God.

2. the disciples have dropped their nets because Jesus had invited them to join with him in his work. To be in relationship with the Son of God.
   
   
3. You hear God's call, even as you hold fast to God's promise to be your God and know that God has chosen you.

4. It is not a promise that life will be easy. Look at Jesus, who was whisked into the wilderness to be with the wild beasts and confronted by the devil.


4. It is not a promise that God will make you the queen of the world.


5. It is not promise for earthly riches.


6. It is a promise to be our God and to bless us. Again, remember Jesus that Jesus goes into the wilderness. When we find ourselves in the wilderness, we discover Jesus in our midst.

Is it worth it?

Conclusion: I was talking this week with my sister, who lives in Spokane, WA, way up in the NW.

We both have Srs. In high school, so we were talking about looking at colleges with our kids and helping them make that decision.

She was telling me about my nephew's big happenings this week-end. He had a regional Knowledge bowl competition Friday, which meant that he had to take a red-eye from Spokane to NC through the night so that he could be at Chapel Hill to interview for some scholarship at the University of NC.

The university was bringing in Srs. From around the country to participate in activities and have interviews from Saturday until Monday, which means he won't be flying home until Tuesday.

As she lamented how tired he was going to be and so on, I noted, “Well, I'm assuming the scholarship must be worth all this trouble.”

To which she quickly replied, “Oh yes. It's a full ride with special activities for these scholars throughout the academic year and even in the summers. If he gets this scholarship, it will be life-changing. It will be worth all the effort.”

We spend our lives trying to figure out how to figure out how much something is worth and if that make it worth our effort.

We begin our Lenten journey with the affirmation – God has chosen to be your God – and the assertion – God is calling you, or will be calling you soon.

And you get to figure out your answer? Does God's promise to be your God make it worth answering the call?