Not Forgotten

Posted on June 15, 2017 by pottsvillearp

Have you ever been accidentally left behind by your family somewhere far from home? It is just about the loneliest feeling on earth. To be forgotten by our family or loved ones is frightening and overwhelming, but it is utterly devastating to feel forgotten by God.

We all struggle with this feeling from time to time. Even David, who showed such faith and courage to take on the giant, Goliath, felt abandoned by God from time to time. In Psalm 13, he even prayed:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

This week we continue our conversations from the Book of Beginnings by discussing Genesis 8, which begins “And God remembered Noah…” What about us? Does God remember us? How do we know? Come and join us as we consider these questions from the ancient story of Noah and the Ark.

Join us this week in worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as we continue the story of Noah and the Ark. Worship begins at 10:45 am. For directions click here. We look forward to seeing you.

Saying Goodbye

Posted on June 8, 2017 by pottsvillearp

Saying Goodbye is difficult, especially if we know we will never return to the places or people we are leaving. Can you imagine all the emotions Noah felt as he boarded the ark and prepared to leave all that was familiar for a journey alone into an unknown world? An ancient pastor once noted regarding Noah and the ark,

“…the most severe contest of all for Noah was to bid farewell to the world, to renounce society and to bury himself in the ark. The face of the earth was at that time very lovely. It was no light trial for Noah to leave the life to which he had been accustomed during 600 years”

This week we continue our conversations from the Book of Beginnings by discussing Genesis 7. We will consider God’s mercy and grace toward Noah and his family in the midst of a total and complete judgment against the sin and violence which had engulfed the ancient world.

Backstory

Posted on May 31, 2017 by pottsvillearp

Every story has a backstory — even the ones you think you know. Few stories are more familiar, even to those who haven’t read the Bible, than the story of Noah’s Ark. But even this story has a backstory. Noah stands alone against evil on the brink of a cataclysmic disaster. With only the help of his family, he enacts a plan to save the world. Yet the plot of the story is not about Noah at all, but about one was was yet to come, who would save the world from an even worse catastrophe.

This week we continue our conversations from the Book of Beginnings by discussing the second part of Genesis 6, God’s command to Noah to build and ark as a refuge for his family and a remnant of creation from the inevitable results of a world spiraling downward in violence and evil. The call of Noah, however, points us to the need for a refuge from the same thing — a refuge found not in an ark, but in a cross.

Join us this week in worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as we consider the story behind the story of Noah’s Ark. Worship begins at 10:45 am. For directions click here. We look forward to seeing you.

Hybridization

Posted on May 25, 2017 by pottsvillearp

Just as the hybridization of certain species of animals and plants produces sterility, spiritually hybridized relationships can also produce spiritual fruitlessness. The Apostle Paul cautions us.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 1 Corinthians 6:14

We encounter a ready illustration of this warning in the opening chapters of the Bible. The Bible is one of the oldest books in the world and in Genesis, its Book of Beginnings, it speaks of the world’s first superheroes — hybrid men of storied origins whose power was great, but not great enough to save them from their nemesis – themselves. By pursuing spiritually mismatched relationships these “fallen ones” sought to transcend their relational brokenness with God and ended up becoming more profoundly fallen.

This week we continue our examination of Genesis by discussing the first part of Genesis 6, the account of the sons of God and the daughters of man. Join us this week in worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as we consider the centrality of the gospel in all of our relationships. Worship begins at 10:45 am. For directions click here. We look forward to seeing you.