One of the Sundays I attended church while I was at TK, the message was titled Show and Tell. It was mid-August, and school in Illinois had started. The pastor explained that God Shows and We Tell.
⇒God SHOWS us his grace, his power, his creation, everything we need to know, and
⇒He wants us to TELL others about it.
In the old testament, God showed up all the time with miracles, healings, making covenants, walking among men. In the new testament, God showed up all the time with miracles, healings, making covenants, walking among men. And Jesus brought about the biggest Show and Tell in history through the cross and resurrection.
That Sunday at Calvary Church, the pastor used verses from Genesis 22 about Abraham and Isaac. God had asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, so the two of them set off for Mt Moriah. Isaac went along willingly; well, at least it doesn’t say anything about him not going willingly. They’re walking along with their wood and fire (a torch of some kind?). Isaac says, “we have fire and wood, but where’s the sacrifice?” And Abraham replies, “My son, God will provide for himself a lamb…” Isn’t it interesting that Abraham would say God will provide for himself, and not say God will provide for us?
They continue walking and when they get to the top, Abraham builds an altar, lays the wood on, binds Isaac and places him on the altar. He’s ready to slay his son, when God SHOWS UP. God shows up in a big way speaking from the heavens. God always shows up in His timing. Most of us know that God stopped Abraham. Then he provides a ram caught in the brush.
Most likely they sacrificed the ram and headed back down the mountain. The Bible doesn’t say what happened after that. The pastor was imagining the conversations that followed. He talked about how knowledge was passed down by word of mouth in those days, and a lot of times that meant Grandpa telling stories by the fire. He asked us to imagine Abraham telling the grandkids about his trip up the mountain that day, leading them in suspense until he proclaims, And then God showed up!
After a few rounds of this, one night he
starts in, have you kids heard about the
day Isaac and I walked up Mt Moriah?
And one of the adults groans, Come
on Dad, not that one again. They’ve all
heard it. But then a little voice pipes up,
We want to hear it again! We never get
tired of hearing how God shows up!
Which person are we like – the
one who groans or the one who
wants to hear the gospel again?
As the pastor wrapped up, he said, It’s a
blessing and an honor to tell the story of
Jesus and about what God is doing in our
lives. He referenced Hebrews 11, where
many people are listed as having been
faithful to God in living and sharing. And
he mentioned chapter 12; I looked it up
and found these subheadings: Jesus,
Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith, Do
Not Grow Weary, and A Kingdom That
Cannot Be Shaken.
What are we telling others?
