Summer is here. The schools have broken up for the of term, uni students are desperately looking for summer jobs, and many people will be heading off on holiday.
The Living is easy?
Gershwin in his famous song Summertime tells us that in this season the “living is easy” [FYI – the lyrics were by DuBose Heyward, not Gershwin]. While summer can certainly be an opportunity to “re-charge our batteries,” I wonder if we take the “living is easy” vibe into our relationship with God and switch off a little? It is certainly a temptation, but it would be a mistake – for God wants to meet with us as powerfully in July as He does in January.
Unsung Heros
While we don’t want to “slack off” over summer, it is an opportunity to do things a little differently.
This week we’ll kick off our Summer Sunday Morning preaching series which we are calling Unsung Heros.
Narrowing down the unsung heroes in the Bible is no mean feat. There are too many to list, so please don’t be too disappointed if your favourite unsung biblical hero does not feature in our summer series!
Sarah
This week we will think briefly about Sarah (previously Sari). Her story runs from Genesis 11:29 through to Genesis 23 where we read of her death and burial by Abraham. While she comes in and out of the narrative as a named person, her story is so entwined with the story of Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac, that she is never far from our thoughts. Indeed, there are times, Genesis 22 in particular, where her absence from the story raises lots of question – where was she, did she know what was happening, did she consent to this? – questions to which we can give no definitive answer.
Our Focus
Our focus this Sunday will be those aspects of Sarah’s story where she is not hidden in the narrative but is visible. While Sarah’s appearances are brief, what emerges is the story of a complex character who, despite the position of privilege and power she holds within the confines of the patriarchal structures and culture of her day, knows God’s grace and enjoys divine favour in very trying circumstances.
That’s not All
The sermons as part of this series will be shorter than normal (not that the sermons are normally long!). Not because these unsung heroes are unimportant, or because “the living is easy”, but because we want to ground the series through hearing the testimony of what God is doing today.
So, this Sunday we’ll hear from a couple of people as well as the sermon.
See you on Sunday.
Brodie
PS. For a bit of fun, which version of Gershwin’s Summertime is do you like best?
Option A
Option B
Option C
Option D
Unsung Heroes
