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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues.

Trust that God will make things happen

God is calling us all to new things - and it is by his strength and power that we can do them. (Exodus 3:1-15)

 

Context

• Schools are gearing up to return this week, with a focus on the associated costs to parents
• Tributes have been plentiful following the death of Dolly Parton this week.
• Meta has agreed to pay $17billion after losing a court case asserting that its platforms knowingly caused harm to young people.

 

Reflection & ideas for a sermon, talk or conversation

What will it cost? There are some situations where we are able to stop and assess what we will have to pay for something: choosing a restaurant to eat in, shopping for clothes etc. Other costs just hit us - school uniforms being one of those impossible-to-avoid budget lines for parents. Often, money is something that stops us in our tracks when contemplating a new career path or idea. This might be because we don’t have the money to start something new or because we are tied by the need to continue earning our current income. There can be other brakes to our doing something new: a fear of making mistakes, anxiety that it won’t work out and we will be hurt or look foolish.

Moses has left his princely life behind in Egypt and settled into herding sheep for his father-in-law. He isn’t looking for anything new - and can think of good reasons why God should choose someone else. However, God is clear that the key information is in God’s own nature and power - not Moses’ anxiety or lack of ability. Moses is told to stop looking at himself and to instead focus on the burning bush - on God the great I AM. It is by God’s power and God’s strength that the Israelites will be set free.

So for us, do we have a sense of what God is calling us into this coming academic year? Are we focussed on the potential cost and the difficulties ahead of us or are we looking for God and trusting that He will make things happen?

Moses’ concerns came from himself, but Dolly Parton’s life shows us someone succeeding hugely despite doubts and concerns being thrown at them continually from other people. Parton was continually derided, mocked and belittled but had confidence in her own God-given ability. She succeeded to the point where she could wear the criticisms of others almost as a badge of pride and her foundation donated over $12 million to charity before she died this week.

 

Questions for discussion

• What new things might you be looking at taking up this autumn?
• What reasons do we have for saying no to new things?
• How have you experienced God asking you to do something different?
• What helps you to focus on God ahead of your current situation and difficulties?

Steve Taylor shares the job of joint vicar of St Paul’s CofE Church, Harrow with his wife, Ali. They share their home with their youngest child, two cats, three chickens, and a rabbit.

 

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

School is about to kick off!

Well, at least here in the United Kingdom. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland it has just begun and, if you live somewhere else, it could already be the middle of the school term. Maybe that should have read:

School is about to kick off/has just kicked off/got kicked off a long time ago.

Not as catchy…

Whether you are about to begin school/have just begun school/been in school for ages, there is every chance that the mention of the first day of school comes loaded with a specific set of emotions.

How does the first day back to school make you feel?

Ready and excited? Unsure and nervous? Perhaps a mixture of all these emotions?

In our passage this week, Moses is having a big first day. It is his first day being called to be the leader of the Hebrews. His job is to go to Pharaoh and announce that he will be taking his people out of the Egypt and off to the Promised Land.

He does not feel up to the task. But God tells Moses that He will be with him and that will be enough to face up to any challenge.

Perhaps, as you start this new school year, you can’t imagine what the next few days are going to be like, or perhaps it is the other way around in your head e.g. there is a very clear future of exams, tests and pressure.

No matter how you feel about the journey ahead, remember you don’t go alone. God goes with you, one step at a time.

Chris Neilands is the co-founder of Play it by Ear drama company, based in Belfast.

 

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