Please turn in your Deep Commitment either online or in worship this Sunday if they yhave not already done so. Here is a link to the online Deep Commitment Card. Please offer to have conversations with folks if you sense resistance in making a Deep Commitment. If I can be of support to you as you witness the importance of our Deep Commitments please email or call me.
We’ll begin a four-week worship series on troubling texts from the Bible this Sunday. We have chosen stories from the Hebrew scripture which are often neglected because of the difficulty of the content. Our hope is to wrestle with these stories and see what meaning may lie hidden beneath the difficult circumstances of the women’s lives that are depicted. This week our worship will feature musicians Jason Chu and Joe Kye along with the artwork of our artist in residence, Erik Castellanos.
OUTLINE: Closer Readings of Troubling Texts
A four-week worship series on troubling texts from the Bible.
October 30: Hagar’s Story
Scripture: Genesis 16:1-16; 21:9-21
November 6: Tamar’s Story
Scripture: 2 Samuel 13:1-22
November 13: An Unnamed Woman
Scripture: Judges 19:1-30
November 20: Jephthah’s Daughter
Scripture: Judges 11:29-40
Hagar suffered terrible defeat and felt unheard and overlooked. The music of Jason Chu features the stories of persons who are also often unheard and overlooked.
Read Hagar’s story in Genesis 16:1-16; 21:9-21.
While we cannot hope to resolve all of the issues that are raised by this story we can wonder together, why did Yahweh tell Hagar to return to Abram and Sarai? How might the story have been different if she had resisted this return? When is it hard to stand up to those that hold power over you in your culture and life? Have your KT share their reflections as they are comfortable.