Champions

Have you wanted something so badly you can practically taste it, only to fall just short of reaching of your goal? That’s the final story of Moses in a nutshell. After leading the Israelites to the precipice of the Promised Land, he dies just before crossing over and uses one final sermon in the book of Deuteronomy to pass the torch of faith to the next generation. This week, we’ll at the life-altering importance of Moses’ words to the Israelites and to us.

If there’s anything that the last year has taught us it’s that life is highly unpredictable and it’s impossible to know what gigantic challenges await us when we start a new school year. If anyone knew about gigantic challenges in the Old Testament, it was David. He was barely 15 years old when he took down the giant, Goliath. And yet in spite of his age, inexperience, and lack of strength, God gave him everything he needed. This week, we’ll look at lessons from the life of David and how we can face our own unexpected Goliaths in the coming year

It feels good to be on the mountaintop. As believers, we love that feeling: God’s presence all around us; God’s power surging within us. On those days, we’re absolutely fearless. No doubts. No hesitation. No challenge can slow us down. It’s like there’s nothing we can’t do.

Then all of a sudden, something (someone?) shows up and threatens to take it all away from us. Some new crisis emerges; and instantly, we forget all about God’s power. We forget about what God has done for us in the past. One moment, we’re standing on top of the mountain. The next moment, we’re digging our fingernails into the ledge, hanging on for dear life. Alone and afraid.

Sound familiar?

Why do we do this? Why do we constantly ping-pong back-and-forth between the extremes of faith and fear? Because we’re human. So, what’s the answer? If we can’t stay on the faith mountaintop all the time, is there perhaps some way that we can at least avoid falling prey to worry and discouragement every time we feel threatened?

Maybe the answer has less to do with our emotions and more to do with our purpose. When God met the frightened prophet Elijah in the wilderness, he didn’t tell him not to be afraid. He told him to forget about his feelings for a moment, and to focus on doing what God had called him to do. Sometimes, that’s all we need to help us overcome fear and get us moving again.

Deborah was a leader, a strong one. She was a champion in every sense of the word—steady, successful, fierce, resilient. But are these the things that matter most? The story of Deborah teaches us what the heart of a champion really looks like, a heart that is willing to come alongside people, to pass the torch of faith, and to trust God. This week at VBS we learned the power of God that can help us do hard things, give us hope, and make us better friends. We’ll close out VBS this Sunday as we look at how we trust God and God’s power through the eyes of Deborah.

Nearly 3,500 years later and Moses is still one of the most recognizable names in the world. Even if you’ve never stepped foot inside a church before, chances are good you’ve at least heard of the greatest hero of the Old Testament. And yet, if you look at his resumé, his ascension to greatness is wildly improbable. So why would God choose someone so ill-equipped as Moses to carry the torch of faith?. This week we’ll look at what God requires of us to answer the call of faithfulness.

In the book of Genesis, the story of Joseph is the ultimate rags to riches story. Sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph somehow used his God-given gift to catapult himself to the second-most powerful position in all of Egypt. So, what do you do when, years later, the brothers who sold you into slavery come to Egypt looking for help? Is it the ultimate opportunity for revenge? Do you send them away empty-handed? Or do you put into practice the most difficult thing we can be asked to do? This week, we’ll look at the power—and difficulty—of forgiveness.