Dave spoke last night from Luke 15:11-32, the passage commonly known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Yet we have to note the context of this parable, spoken to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. So often, we focus on the younger son (his defiance, repentance and acceptance by the father), but the attitude of the older son is more like the teachers. It is never fully clear whether he accepts or welcomes the return of his brother – this response has to be supplied by those listening to the story.

We are more comfortable with exploring the idea of rebellion and ultimate acceptance and forgiveness than we are at investigating the apparently ‘righteous’ older brother who nonetheless does not know how to respond to grace. The father wants him to respond well, but the story does not give us a neat ending. We have to be the ones who supply the ending. Will we be like the prodigal son and realise our need for grace? Or will we hold on to grudges, resentment and the belief that we can make it on our own? The choice is ours.

This morning we looked at Genesis 22:1-19, at a test of faith as Abraham was called by God to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. It’s in this incident that we see how much Abraham has matured and grown in faith, as he responds to God without procrastination and with faith, declaring words of faith (that both he and his son will go and worship and he and his son will return and that God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice) rather than the lies which he had spoken when afraid for his life earlier (saying that Sarah was his sister and not his wife.) Speaking in faith is the key to unlocking the miraculous in our lives.

We do not like tests and trials, but James reminds us such things are necessary to bring us to maturity. (James 1:3-4) God does not test us because He is cruel or wants us to stumble, but so that we grow and learn to trust Him more. (2 Cor 1:1-8) Abraham discovered a new name for God from this incident (‘The Lord Will Provide’) and received renewed promises of blessing because of his obedience and devotion.

Speaking words of truth and faith over our doubts enables us to grow and to see the miraculous in our lives. Often, the miraculous may look very ordinary (a ram caught in a thicket is nothing special in itself), but God’s timing and provision, even when wrapped in ordinary clothes, are miraculous. God is able to intervene in our lives in ways that others may call ‘coincidence’ but which we know reflect His favour and grace.

There are many different ways to pray! Yesterday at our ‘Churches Together’, we focussed on different Scriptures looking at Jesus as our living water and also painted representations of these verses to help us to focus our minds on these truths. We drank water and thought about how important it is to quench our thirst (particularly apt after the recent hot weather.) We listened to songs on these themes and we asked God to pour out His Spirit on us and on our land. We prayed for those who have lost their homes recently because of fires and thought about the power of water.

Here are some of the artwork we created:

In January 2013 I sat in our church building and heard a sermon from Stephen Burgin from Luke 9, when Jesus sent out His disciples. God spoke to me through verse 2: ‘Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.’ (Luke 9:2) I did not fully understand what God was saying at that point, but I knew He was calling me to set off on another journey with Him, one that would lead to me leaving the job He had provided for me at Hope House School, a job I loved, working among people I cared for deeply. At that point, Mark Burgin was the pastor here and I thought he would be here for ever. I had to take the scary step of talking to Garry about this call, of talking to my boss about no longer feeling I could stay at the school, and I was probably more shocked by their acceptance of these conversations than I was by God speaking! What made this even scarier at this point was I knew that I was being called to give up things, but I had absolutely no idea what I was being called to. So I identify very much with Abram setting off on a journey, knowing he had to leave all they had acquired and accumulated in Harran but not knowing where he was going or why. It is not a comfortable thing to have God speak to us. Though there is the promise of blessing here – great blessing, the promise that ‘all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’ (Gen 12:3) – there is also much uncertainty, doubt and questions when God speaks to us. We do not have all the answers to our questions; we do not have all the answers to other people’s questions! We simply know that God has spoken, and this speaking revolutionises our lives.

God speaking to people is a miracle in itself, but it is interesting that there is often a long period between this speaking and the fulfilment of His promise. Such was the case for David (anointed king of Israel as a young man but not crowned over the whole country until the age of 37) and for Abraham (whose journey of faith started, it seems, at 75 but who did not see a son born to him and Sarah until he was 100.) During this period between the promise and its fulfilment, it can be difficult to hold on to God. There were many days of doubt and frustration for me between handing in my notice at school and being appointed as one of the pastors here, and most days I had to go about my ‘ordinary’ life, doing mundane things. Yet what God promises, He also does, and so on 4^th January 2014, Garry and I were inducted as pastors here. If you are in the season of the mundane and wonder when you will ever see the miracles happen again, you are called to serve God, to worship Him, to keep on running the race and not give up in that difficult ‘in-between’ time, but keep holding on to God’s promises in faith. The mundane may make up the majority of our lives, but if we will do what God tells us to do, if we will listen to the voice of the Lord and obey it, then we too will see the miraculous in our everyday lives.