Home
Pastor Jason What is home to you? Better yet, who is home to you?
You are probably thinking about a house, a city, a neighborhood, family members or maybe even a roommate or really good friend. Listen to how Israel answers the question in Psalm 90 through Eugene Petersen’s translation called The Message:
God, it seems you’ve been our home forever; long before the mountains were born, long before you brought earth itself to birth, from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God. (v1-2)
God is their home. God has been their home for as long as they can remember….forever! Pretty interesting way of thinking about home, isn’t it?!
Other translations of this passage speak of God in terms of being Israel’s “dwelling place” for “all generations.” The idea is that God has been with Israel, provided for Israel, sustained and protected Israel for so many generations that it seems like forever.
The writer of Psalm 90 claims “You are God” because God is and has been God for generation after generation. It’s kinda like a line from one of the good old gospel songs that the Master’s Men sang at our concert this past Sunday:
Gimme that old time religion.
It was good enough for my mother.
It was good enough for my father.
It was good enough for my brother,
and it’s good enough for me.
Maybe you’ve been in church all your life because your parents passed on their faith to you. Maybe you struggle with church and with God – running away because of a bad experience of pain or hypocrisy. Or maybe you are somewhere in the middle – reluctantly wanting to find God, to be part of a faith community, but being feeling lost and out of the habit.
Wherever you are on your journey, consider the questions again: What is home to you? And who is home to you?
If family is one of your answers, then how might the faith of your family through its generations be a part of you in ways you might not realize? In other words, if God has been there for your family through their faith from generation to generation, then isn’t your story one that begins in this way:
Once upon a time, there was a family that lived with God and followed His son, Jesus Christ.
And if God is part of the beginning of your story, then it begs the question: What part does God play in your chapter of the story today?
Is God your home? If you answer yes, spend some time describing what home is like.
If you answer no, then have you run away from home? Have you gotten lost? Are you looking for the way back home? Are you finding that way back home? What could it feel like to come home again – to family, to church, to God?
If You Missed Sunday’s Sermon…
Read or listen to Because – Context Matters – Matthew 25:1-13
God’s Words for This Week
Judges 4:1-7 – Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was a leader of Israel at that time. (CEB, v.4)
Psalm 90:1-12 – God, it seems you’ve been our home forever; long before the mountains were born, long before you brought earth itself to birth, from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God. (The Message, v.1-2)
1 Thessalonians 5:1-13 – Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. (CEB, v.9)
Matthew 25:14-30 – His master replied, ‘Well done! You are a good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’ (CEB, v.23)
This Week at Hood
Monday, November 13, 6:00 pm – Women’s Circle 2
Wednesday, November 15, 6:00 pm – Choir Practice
Thursday, November 16, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Pastor Jason at The Cellar for Drop-In Coffee & Conversation (108 N Wilson St)
Sunday, November 19, 9:15 am – Thanksgiving Breakfast – Invite a Friend!
Sunday, November 19, 11:00 am – Worship
Sunday, November 19, 12:00 noon – Annual Congregation-Wide Meeting
Sunday, November 19, 6:30 pm – Community Thanksgiving Service