You Can Go Your Own Way

Redemption Hill Church

You Can Go Your Own Way

Genesis 16

September 24, 2023 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Genesis 16

We have already seen ups and downs in Abram and Sarai’s journey. We have seen Abram follow God’s calling and promises with bold faith and obedience. We have also seen him run in fearful faithlessness. We have seen Abram at his peak as he led a campaign to rescue his nephew and the people of the cities of the Jordan River Valley, and as he refused to leverage his victories for political gain but received a blessing from Melchizedek. Last week we saw Abram receive God’s promises again, but this time as a covenant – in a mysterious passage that shows that God’s promises to Abram are not contingent in the least on Abram, but only on God to come through.

Just when everything looked like it was headed in the right direction, chaos descended. Abram, who had “believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness,” turned back again to his own solutions and plans. He and Sarai took God’s promises into their own hands, with the best of their ideas for how to bring them to fulfillment. The best of their efforts, though, were not what God had called them to. In truth, they showed a lack of faith, a lack of trust in God’s ability to do the seemingly impossible. Genesis 16 is a dramatic, made-for-Netflix story that reveals impatient hearts that reflect our own more closely than we would like to admit. And still there is hope in the midst of chaos.

End of the Road

December 17, 2023 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Genesis 25

As we close our series, Abraham: Journey of Faith, we come to Genesis 25:1-11, Abraham’s death. Like Sarah’s death, it feels kind of sudden after so much story and time together. There are some interesting details in the passage that we will look into. Most of our time, though, will be spent looking at Abraham’s life. We will look at his importance and place in Redemptive History, God’s plan for redeeming humanity and renewing and restoring all things. And we will see how Abraham points us to Advent, the longing, waiting, and anticipation of what God would ultimately accomplish in the coming of Christ.

Mission Impossible

December 10, 2023 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Genesis 24

This is a long chapter, but we’re going to cover it in one go. I encourage you to take the time to read it between now and Sunday so you can come in with some familiarity. After Sarah’s death, Abraham realized that it was time to find a wife for his son, Isaac. He sent his servant on a journey that led to an intriguing encounter at a well with a young girl name Rebekah. The chapter shows us something of God’s care and will for us. In Abraham’s Journey of Faith there have been a lot of ups and downs. He finally came to the point of complete surrender and God was faithful to provide exactly what was needed. Everyone else in the story shows steps of faith as well, showing us the beauty and freedom we can have in self-surrender.

Eulogy for Sarah

December 3, 2023 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Genesis 23

This chapter details the legal negotiations and contract for a piece of land containing a cave in Hebron. At first reading it might feel boring to most. With a closer look, though, we can come to realize that this is the first piece of the land God promised to Abraham that was secured as Abraham’s own, and at a high price. Our focus on Sunday, though, will be Sarah. The reason Abraham bought the land with the cave was to bury his wife, the Matriarch of the Promise, after her death. On Sunday we will take a look at Sarah’s life as a whole, and lessons we can learn from her, in a kind of Eulogy for Sarah.