Exodus 1:8-2:10 - The power of a name

Matthew 15:21-28 - when we make mistakes, we have a chance not to leave them "undone," but to learn from them and change.

Genesis 32:22-31 - change comes to us gradually worked in us both by God and by the people around us.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 - God works our soil so that it is ready for seed and asks us to do the same for people around us.

Genesis 22: Does God really test us like this?

Luke 11:1-45 - Jesus weeps with us AND begins renewed life and the Kingdom of God now.

John 9:1-41 - The story of the man born blind offers us a chance to look at ourselves and see if we have our eyes closed and thus are walking in darkness. The light of Jesus shines further than we often think, and it might be time to open our eyes.

John 4:5-42 - The woman at the well shows Jesus reaching into other cultures to touch them where they already know God.

Genesis 12:1-4a; John 3:1-17 - Sometimes God calls us to do hard things, and it may feel as if we're turned loose without guidance, but the Spirit is always blowing gently in the background if we will still our hearts to listen.