Does it feel like you can never figure out what God wants you to do? Many times, it seems like God is playing hide and seek with us as we search for His will. But is that actually the truth? We’ll see in this story from Israel that God desires to make His direction for us clear and memorable. And He is the One responsible for making it so. Our problem is not so much that God doesn’t show us as it is that we don’t want to listen or respond. After the events surrounding Korah’s rebellion, God takes a moment to do something that lives on long after this moment. His symbols are powerful reminders that God wants us to know and remember His instruction. We are invited to follow by faith!

Some stories in the Old Testament can feel like they are showing us a God of anger and violence. Certainly, the Living God is not someone who cannot be reduced to something less than who He is, and part of His existence is righteous justice. When we read stories like the one we’ll read this morning, we can get stuck on how high the price is for sin. But today, we’re also going to see that most stories like this also include an element of God’s patience and grace. If you’ve ever felt like you were living in the fallout of your sin, the end of this story is a reminder that our Lord is full of grace and ready to rescue you beyond what seems possible.

Have you ever noticed someone’s accent? Isn’t it interesting how our patterns of speech are distinctly affected by where we live? Even if you move away from your hometown, you still hold onto some of that accent. But you also start picking up some of the way your new hometown talks as well! We are more influenced than we realize by the people around us. If you work with negative people all day long, chances are you feel the pull toward what is negative. In so many ways, we need to be aware of the impact people are having on our lives. And in the case of spiritual influence, we want to choose wisely in the influences that guide our journey. In this part of Israel’s story, people who want to be spiritual leaders have pointed others in an ungodly direction. Now we see clearly the fallout for these men and those who choose to stay close to them. The warning to move away is an evidence of God’s grace and goodness in giving them (and us) a chance to move away from people who are pulling us in the wrong direction.

Restarting Numbers – Facing Dysfunction

The story we’ve seen so far led Israel to a rebellion that stopped the Lord from taking them into the Promised Land immediately. If you thought that this would be enough for Israel to learn to trust God and stop turning away from His instructions, you’d be wrong. As we continue looking at the stories of Numbers, we’ll see that Israel’s years of slavery stay with them and the ugly comes out again and again. But it never stops God from treating them as His people and eventually receiving His promise of a land to call home.

Korah’s Rebellion: Why Should We Follow You?

(Numbers 16:1-19)

Some people are born leaders, others just think they are. You probably know someone who thinks everyone should follow their advice. They seem to know what you should do in every situation, even if their advice seems out of touch. A natural response to those who imagine themselves as leaders is to think, “Why would I follow you?” This is what some of the Levites said to Moses as he leads them in the aftermath of Israel’s refusal to enter the Promised Land. They even blame Moses for the fact that they are still in the wilderness. We’ll see that one sign of dysfunction is that we are unwilling to follow leaders God places in our lives. And we’ll see how Moses responded to the challenge these men bring against his leadership.

Whether you’re an introvert, extrovert, or somewhere in between you may be all “peopled” out after the holidays. Dialing back the social calendar can offer some respite, but it is never a long term solution. In fact, we need each other. Our need for community and God’s plan to bring us all together are themes that run all the way from Genesis to Revelation. This morning we’ll track that theme and camp out on a few specific ideas that will help us utilize the community God has given us in Hope Christian Fellowship. You’ll also be challenged to step into the role God has for you in this community.

Most of our morning this day will be filled with music from our choir. We are going to have ‘Bonus Christmas’ because the whole Christmas thing probably ends a day too soon. And then we’ll take a few minutes at the end and look at a part of the story of Jesus’ childhood that’s hard to read. There are refugees running from death in fear. But in all of it, we see the reality that Joseph follows the Lord’s instructions and waits to be safe. But this safety isn’t probably as ultimate as we would think. And that’s why the Christmas story has lasted for thousands of years and is still changing lives today!

Christmas is THIS WEEK! Part of what makes it so meaningful is the wonder that surrounds it. We are often so jaded that we miss the moments that can gather our attention toward the profound and what moves us deeply. This morning we’ll enjoy our elementary kids program and then we’ll look at a part of the first Christmas story that reflects both the wonder and worship of Jesus’ birth. As we wait for Christmas, we can feel the anticipation of the look on a loved one’s face when they see the surprise we have prepared for them. We can be filled with eagerness for a candlelit Christmas Eve service and the notes of a well-loved Christmas Carol filling the room. But the root of all this wonder is a baby born that stirred both wonder and worship in some foreigners who traveled far to meet the newborn King. Let’s see their story again and remind ourselves why we worship!

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to meet God face to face? We probably have ideas of how we’d feel depending on what we think He’s like. For those who are Christians, we should be looking forward to that moment with excitement and confident hope! But for anyone unsure of what that encounter will bring, it could be a very fearful thought. Throughout the centuries before Jesus’ birth, God’s people were waiting for this very moment. They had been told that God Himself would come to them, and that was their hope. We’re going to talk today about WHY it was so full of hope for them, and how different that was (and still is) from any other concept of deity that existed in their time. And we’ll be invited to celebrate the wonderful news that God has come!

We are all waiting for Christmas. Some parts of that are really enjoyable: we get to see Christmas lights night after night and listen to music that fills us with wonder. But other parts are not so great. We feel the pressure to shop for the perfect gifts, while our schedules seem to overload more than ever. For many, we’re trying to figure out how to manage all of our social and family desires and obligations around Christmas. Waiting isn’t always fun. And that’s true far beyond Christmas. Today we’re going to look at a moment in this story when we can see how real the story of Mary and Joseph is in the waiting. And we’ll see what the Christmas story tells us about waiting as the children of God. There’s a lot more hope in waiting than we usually experience so let’s see what the Lord has to show us!

As we kick off Christmas season, it brings into focus the family we do (or don’t) have in our lives. We’d all like to have the type of family that is full of fun and life and brings joy to our hearts – especially at Christmas. But many of us don’t have that. Instead, our family contributes to the mess in our lives. If any part of your family life is difficult, you may find it interesting how Matthew begins his telling of the story of Jesus’ life. Let’s take a look at this introduction and notice what he includes and what we can learn from it about the story of Jesus and of Christmas.