This week we will explore Genesis 16:1-16, Failure According to God.
Have you ever failed?
Or perhaps a more important question...
Have you ever felt like a failure?
Deep down we all want life to work. We want to succeed in our plans. We want to feel secure, to be significant, to fulfill God's purpose for us.
But life often doesn't happen that way. Disappointments, discouragement, doubts, mistakes, fears, sorrows, confusion, conflict, loss of control...all have a way of confronting us with our own weakness and sense of failure.
Genesis 16 records the low point in the faith of Abram and Sarai.
They are tired. They are broken. They are confused.
Life is not shaping up the way that they expected. And God's promises seem like a carrot on a stick... always just out of their reach.
In their pain, Sarai decides to take matters into her own hands...while Abram grows increasingly passive and takes a backseat.
A young Egyptian servant by the name of Hagar is stuck in the middle.
In trying to fix a problem, Abram and Sarai create a mess.
Yet, even in their failures, God's faithfulness remains the same.
He is the God who sees.
He sees our deepest sorrows and failures and loves us still the same.
May God minister to the depths of our hearts like only He can do. And may we come to a deeper and deeper understanding of His incomprehensible compassion and grace!

🌍 This Sunday’s featured speaker for The Great Commission 101 is Abram Ebersohn! He will be teaching “How to become a World Christian.” 🌍

Abram is married to his wife, Helen, and is a proud father of three. He currently serves as the Sending Director at The Chapel. He is currently pursuing his Master’s degree at Dallas Theological Seminary and is a graduate of Radius International, a program focused on cross-cultural missions training. Before his role at the Chapel, he and his wife served as missionaries in China for two years with Global Serve International.

This week we will explore Genesis 14:1-24, Courage According to God.
Abram was a man of peace.
In chapter 13, Abram took the initiative to live at peace with Lot. He acted in humility and grace to resolve their conflict.
But in chapter 14, Abram takes up arms and rescues Lot from his captivity to a group of invading kings from the east.
Abram was a man of peace prepared for battle.
There is much that we can learn from Genesis 14. On the surface, it may seem like a strange chapter but it highlights the historical reality of Scripture, places Abram in the middle of a world conflict, and shows how a person of faith is to live in the midst of a dangerous world.
Genesis 14 also introduces us to one of the most mysterious figures in all of Scripture -- Melchizedek. Who is this man? Where did he come from? And what is his significance in this story?
We will explore all of this on Sunday... and celebrate communion together as fellow partakers of God's grace!
May the God of peace and strength give us wisdom and courage to face the challenges of our day!