What are we to do, as people of faith, when we face ongoing, lingering, and long-term challenges, hardship, and suffering? What are we to do when it feels like God is not providing help, deliverance, or relief? The book of Habakkuk helps us in these times by giving us guidance, understanding, and hope.
Habakkuk, the prophet, is crying out to God for help and salvation based on his situation and circumstances. We read about his lament, a prayer of complaint, in the opening four verses of Habakkuk.
This marks the beginning of our new eight-week series, "How Long, O Lord?" Join us as we journey with Habakkuk in seeking answers to our prayers of lament. Through engaging in a dialogue with God, Habakkuk discovers the power of faith in the face of waiting for God's intervention amidst prevailing wrongdoing and wickedness.
In this first message we delve into Habakkuk's initial prayer, reflecting on the challenges of waiting and confronting injustice. There is a link in the sermon notes for a special video from the Bible Project that provides valuable insights into the themes of the book of Habakkuk.
When Jesus said, “I AM” (ego eimi), He was identifying with the name of God. God first revealed His name to Moses when He manifested Himself as fire from a bush. Moses asked God what His name was, and God answered, “I AM, WHO I AM” and told Moses to tell His people that “I AM had sent him” (Exod. 3:13-14, see also Isaiah 41:4, 43:10, 48:12).
Jesus powerfully and profoundly empowered Peter to experience healing and restoration through the love he received from Jesus and his own love for Jesus. Jesus then shared with Peter the events that would unfold at the end of his life, urging him to stay committed and follow Him no matter what challenges lay ahead. This message extends beyond Peter to all individuals, emphasizing the importance of following Jesus wholeheartedly. As we reflect on these concluding words in the book of John, we are encouraged to prioritize following Jesus unreservedly, staying focused on Him, and becoming active participants in His unfolding narrative.
Jesus knows the perfect timing to reach you and speak into your life and into your situation. His timing is always right, and the waiting, the wondering, and sometimes the wandering are all used to develop our understanding and shape our soul into His image. He sets up the circumstances perfectly to accomplish and communicate His goodness and good plan.
There is a progressive pattern of Jesus’s post-resurrection encounters recorded in the Gospel of John. In each interaction, Jesus helps each person and group of people to believe in Him by giving each what is needed to help them overcome their doubt and disbelief, from the ones with the least doubt to the one with the greatest.
Easter comes early for us as our series on John progresses, just as spring is trying to do the same! In this message, we are invited to see into the empty tomb, hear Jesus call our name, and be entrusted to share His story. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, God has caused us to be “born again” into a living hope! We rejoice in the love, power, and truth in Jesus the Christ.
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