8/29. Creation Planet Earth
The Red Thread begins where it ought—in the beginning, with a creation that not only declares the handiwork of God but extols his praise. However, the pinnacle of this creative act is not the stars or the animals or the plants but clearly with the creation of the human person who God has given both a special task and a close relationship above all the rest.
Genesis 1:1-5, 26-31; Psalm 19:1-4a; John 1:1-5
9/5. Adam Eve Cracked Mirror
In an intimate act of creation, God scoops up the ground, shapes it just right and then breathes into its nostrils to bring forth life. Nothing is earned here, only given—the garden, the plants and animals, even Eve comes as a gift. This is Shalom, the way things were meant to be. However, it doesn’t last long before sin enters this perfect world to shatter that image in which we were created.
Genesis 2:7-8, 18-25; Romans 5:12, 18-21; John 1:9-14
9/12. Noah Rainbow
After God looked upon the wickedness of the world, he sadly confesses, “I am sorry that I have made them.” However, instead of wiping out the entire world, God saves one righteous man and his family to begin life anew. He punishes through a flood, but God redeems through a covenant.
Genesis 9:8-17; Hebrews 11:6-7; Matthew 24:35-42
9/19. Tower Babel Tower/Lightning
Remember the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Throughout Genesis 1-11, there is a pattern of Command, Sin, Punishment, and Grace. It’s a pattern that leads each time to a vicious circle. However, that pattern ceases with the Tower of Babel, the insanity ends and God’s Promise soon begins!
Genesis 11:1-9; Romans 7:14-20, 24-25; Luke 23:34
9/26. Abraham Covenant
Abraham is the beginning of a relationship with God that continues all the way through to this day—a covenantal bond. In this binding union, we are called to be descendents of Abraham who bear faithful witness to the goodness that is God. Abraham shows that God wants to pour out his blessings upon us. The lesson for us to draw from Abraham is to take God at his word (scripture, the prophets, etc.) and embrace the love that God seeks to bestow upon us. Even while we stray from covenantal obligations, God does not. He simply loves us too much to leave.
Genesis 17:1-8, Galatians 3:6-9, Luke 16:19-31
10/3. Ishmael Ear
Ishmael seems to get a raw deal. He is blessed by God, but denied entry into a covenant with God. Abraham begs God that Ishmael may “live in the Lord’s sight,” but God says no. When we pray to God, we often seek our own will and desire a particular outcome. As disciples of the Lord, we are called to submit to his will and accept how God decides to act. Our faith cannot be dependent on the degree of fulfillment of expectations we have for God. God does hear our prayers, but it doesn’t mean he will answer them in a manner that meets our wants. Our faith must be based on a willingness to listen to God and truly hear what he has to say to us. Interestingly, Ishmael means “God hears.”
Genesis 17:15-22, Psalm 143, Hebrews 3:12-4:2, Matthew 13:10-17
10/10. Sacrifice of Isaac Knife
No one likes to be tested. Examinations raise our anxiety level and cause us to question our abilities to succeed. The truth is that tests are a part of a life of faith. Throughout history God is shown testing people and seeing how creation will respond. But we should remember that God does not ask anything of us that he himself isn’t willing to undertake. The Son of God is tested continuously in his earthly ministry—by Satan, religious authorities, and the crowds. Unlike Abraham who was stopped, God allowed his son to experience death on a cross. We need to be tested. How else will we know the weak spots in our faith so we can make improvements?
Genesis 22:9-19, 2 Corinthians 13:5-9, John 14:27-31
10/17. Jacob Arm Wrestling
The life of faith is not designed to be a smooth one. It has its ups and downs. There will be times that we must grapple and wrestle with God so that we can grow deeper in our relationship. It is no fun to struggle, but the outcome is highly desirable—further blessings from God.
Genesis 32:22-31, 1 Peter 5:6-11, Matthew 12:22-30
10/24. Joseph Coat
Joseph irritates his brothers by being the favorite son of Jacob and boasting about it among his siblings. Joseph eventually suffers a terrible ordeal because of his brothers’ betrayal, yet it is all part of God’s plan. Eventually the brothers are reconciled in Egypt when Joseph demonstrates a profound degree of forgiveness. Our faith is challenged by the fact that we must boast only in the work of God and rely upon his will first and foremost. Families are gifts from God, but they are not our primary allegiance. Our Lord is. A difficult lesson to be sure.
Genesis 37:1-8, 2 Corinthians 10:12-18, Mark 13:9-13
10/31. “You meant it for evil” (Gen. 50)
(Reformation Sunday)
11/7. Moses ( to Burning Bush) Basket/Pyramid
(All Saints Sunday—promise land)
Do we believe that God continues to work in our lives even with the situation seems to be at its worst? This was a horrible period for the Israelites, not only were they slaves to the Egyptians but now the Pharaoh commanded that all of the newborn Israelite boys be killed. The passage doesn’t speak of Moses’ mother’s faith but I would like to think that she trusted God to work in this horrible situation and he did. Do we have this type of faith? Do we see God even working through death to bring life?
Exodus 2:1-10, John 12:20-29
11/14. Moses Exodus Death and Joshua
There are no lengths that God will not go to teach us patience. The story of Moses and the Israelites spans many pages and is filled with many accounts, it also spanned many years, 40 to be exact. Now if you were to look at a map you would quickly realize it would not take 40 years to travel the necessary distance to reach the Promised Land. This period of time was needed to teach the chosen people patience and faith. How is God trying to teach us patience?
Numbers 14:26-35, Luke 4:1-13
11/21. Kingdom (David) Crown/Shepherd
If God were picking his fantasy football team he most likely wouldn’t pick the same people that we would. When God sent Samuel to anoint David as Israel’s future king Samuel had an idea what a king would look like but God was looking for something different. Do we think that God can use us or do we downplay our abilities? Do we see someone that God can use in those around us or are we too quick to judge? We must remain open to God’s leading because quite often it differs from ours.
I Samuel 16:1-13, Luke 5:1-11
11/28. Advent I. Prophecy David's house
We are very talented and capable of many things but one thing most of us struggle with is patience. On numerous occasions Jesus is referred to as the son of David, but how do we make that connection? Nearly 1000 years before Jesus was born it was prophesied that the messiah would come from David’s family. 1000 years! Imagine that sort of patience. We need to set aside our clock and allow God’s clock to guide our lives.
II Samuel 7:4-16, Mark 12:35-37
12/5. Advent II. Prophecy Jer. 31 Heart
During the Christmas season we sing the refrain, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” This certainly wasn’t the case immediately after Jesus was born and Jeremiah predicted it. Drastic change rarely happens without a fight and this is revealed in these two passages. It pushed us to think where do we need to change in our lives and why are we resistant to it.
Jeremiah 30:1-3, 31:15, Matthew 2:16-18
12/12. Advent III. Prophecy Isaiah Angel Gabriel
God routinely uses people that we wouldn’t expect, from a stutterer, to a fisherman, to a murderer to an unwed virgin. Although the list is long the response is not always uniformed. Could we have the same faith that Mary did? Could we bring into the world God’s son.
Isaiah 7:10-17 or 9:1-7, Luke 1:26-38
12/19. Advent IV Fullness of Time Advent Wreath/Time
Theme: In Greek there are two terms for time, chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to our form of time and where we get the term chronological. Kairos refers to God’s time and can be translated as time or season. We are very fortunate that we can have pretty much anything whenever we want it; we seldom have to wait for anything. Now how does that work with our faith? Simply put it faith were on our terms and when we wanted it it wouldn’t be faith at all. We tend to think that we have all the answers but when it comes to faith we need to trust God’s judgment and surrender our chronos for his kairos.
Galatians 4:1-7, Luke 2:1-7
12/24. Christmas Manger
Uhh, its Christmas! With all of this extra education and seeing the story come into fruition it might be benefitial to talk about anticipation building and leading to a greater appreciation for the gift. A real good reminder for why we have advent and the need that it fills.
Isaiah 9:1-7, Luke 2:1-21
12/26. Wisemen Starlit Desert Trave.
1/2. Flight to Egypt Pyramids
1/9. Jesus at twelve Teaching in Temple
1/16. Baptism and John Water/Dove/Baptism
1/23. Wilderness Alone
1/30. Call of disciples Fishing Boats
2/6. Wedding at Cana Six Clay Jars
2/13. Sermon on Mount
2/20. Healing
2/27. Teaching I (parable)
3/6. Teaching II (parable)
3/13. Feeding 5000 Loaves and Fish
3/20. Water walking or storm Water/Storm
3/27. Who do you say that I am?
4/3 Transfiguration Dazzling clothing
4/10 Lazarus Tomb
4/17. Palm Sunday Palm Branch
4/24. Easter Resurrection
5/1. Road to Emmaus
5/8. Upper room (Mothers’ Day)
5/15. John 21—I’m going fishing
5/22. John 21—Primacy of Peter
5/29. Ascension
6/5. Pentecost Red Tongues
6/12. The Conversion of Paul
6/19. The Return of Jesus Clouds
6/26. The Experience Homecoming
