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The Fourth Week in February

Writer's picture: Hannah Jones-NelsonHannah Jones-Nelson





We Read…

Can you imagine getting a new name at 100 years old? On the one hand, it would probably feel pretty cool to get a new name from God; on the other hand, changing all of your bank accounts, social media handles, and contact info…you get the idea would take forever. So why did God think that it was important enough to rename Abram and Sarai at this moment? It wasn’t just because they were bored with their old names. No, God entered into a special covenant with Abram and promised that blessings would flow from him because of God’s faithfulness. Generations would remember this story, which we know is true because we are reading all about it thousands of years later. Abram said yes to God, and his life was forever changed. The new names from God were a reminder of this! 


Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. 2 I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” 3 Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, 4 “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. 5 And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham.6 I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you.


15 God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you will no longer call her Sarai. Her name will now be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and even give you a son from her. I will bless her so that she will become nations, and kings of peoples will come from her.”


Psalm 22:23-31

All of you who revere the LORD— 

     praise him! 

     All of you who are Jacob’s descendants— 

      honor him! 

     All of you who are all Israel’s offspring— 

      stand in awe of him! 

    24 Because he didn’t despise or detest 

     the suffering of the one who suffered— 

     he didn’t hide his face from me. 

     No, he listened when I cried out to him 

      for help. 


    25 I offer praise in the great congregation 

     because of you; 

     I will fulfill my promises 

     in the presence of those who honor God. 

    26 Let all those who are suffering 

     eat and be full! 

     Let all who seek the LORD praise him! 

      I pray your hearts live forever! 

    27 Every part of the earth 

     will remember and come back to the LORD; 

     every family among all the nations 

      will worship you. 

    28 Because the right to rule 

     belongs to the LORD, 

     he rules all nations. 

    29 Indeed, all the earth’s powerful 

     will worship him;

     all who are descending to the dust 

     will kneel before him; 

     my being also lives for him.

    30 Future descendants will serve him; 

     generations to come will be told 

      about my Lord. 

    31 They will proclaim God’s righteousness 

      to those not yet born, 

      telling them what God has done.



Romans 4:13-25

The promise to Abraham and to his descendants, that he would inherit the world, didn’t come through the Law but through the righteousness that comes from faith. 14 If they inherit because of the Law, then faith has no effect and the promise has been canceled. 15 The Law brings about wrath. But when there isn’t any law, there isn’t any violation of the law. 16 That’s why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God’s grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham’s descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. 17 As it is written: I have appointed you to be the father of many nations. So Abraham is our father in the eyes of God in whom he had faith, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that don’t exist into existence. 18 When it was beyond hope, he had faith in the hope that he would become the father of many nations, in keeping with the promise God spoke to him: That’s how many descendants you will have.19 Without losing faith, Abraham, who was nearly 100 years old, took into account his own body, which was as good as dead, and Sarah’s womb, which was dead. 20 He didn’t hesitate with a lack of faith in God’s promise, but he grew strong in faith and gave glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised. 22 Therefore, it was credited to him as righteousness. 


23 But the scripture that says it was credited to him wasn’t written only for Abraham’s sake. 24 It was written also for our sake, because it is going to be credited to us too. It will be credited to those of us who have faith in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over because of our mistakes, and he was raised to meet the requirements of righteousness for us.


Mark 8:31-38

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Human One must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts, and be killed, and then, after three days, rise from the dead.” 32 He said this plainly. But Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him. 33 Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, then sternly corrected Peter: “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”

34 After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. 35 All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them. 36 Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? 37 What will people give in exchange for their lives? 38 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Human One will be ashamed of that person when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels.”


 

Abraham was convinced that God would do what God promised, but we can see a different side of the story in Peter. Peter was trying to save Jesus, but he didn’t fully understand what Jesus was saying; he wasn’t sure that Jesus could do what he promised. Who do we relate to today?



We Think…


• What stands out to you in these verses?

• Does anything confuse you or not make sense?

• How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or the church?

• What are you considering? What questions come to mind?



We Feel…


• What emotions are you experiencing today? 


• How are you making space for these feelings?

• Where have you seen God today or this week? 


• What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, a friend or adult that cares for you)?

• What has God made new in your life? In your heart? 

• When have you experienced God giving you a new identity? 


• How has God made you new through different experiences in your faith walk?



We Believe…

Have you ever heard the word “covenant” used? Usually, when we hear this word, it is during a wedding, when the bride and groom enter into the covenant of marriage. But what does it mean? God and Abram entered into a covenant - a serious, binding agreement that involved promises from both sides. God promised to make Abraham a great nation and be his people’s God, and Abram was called to walk with God. God knew that Abraham would make mistakes and that the Israelites wouldn’t always hold up their end of the covenant, but God continued to stay faithful to God’s people.



We Practice…


• How has God worked in your heart to make you new?

• Have you experienced a moment where God called you to be a new person or to do something differently, as we see in Abraham’s story? 


When we have these pivotal times in our lives, sharing them with others is important. This can help hold us accountable to how we need to live, and it can also be a testimony to God’s love and light in us! 


• How has God called you to live? And who have you shared this with?



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