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00:00 1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim,
a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim,
00:08 whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the
son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of
00:15 Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah
and the other Peninnah.
00:21 Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. 3 Year after year this man went up from his
town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord
00:29 Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas,
the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord.
00:36 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice,
he would give portions of the meat to his
00:42 wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because
he loved her, and the Lord had closed her
00:50 womb. 6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb,
her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate
00:57 her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the
Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept
01:05 and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah,
why are you weeping?
01:12 Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
01:17 9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking
in Shiloh, Hannah stood up.
01:23 Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair
by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the
Lord, weeping bitterly.
01:33 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty,
if you will only look on your servant’s
01:39 misery and remember me, and not forget your
servant but give her a son, then I will give
01:46 him to the Lord for all the days of his life,
and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
01:52 12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli
observed her mouth.
01:57 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her
lips were moving but her voice was not heard.
02:03 Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her,
“How long are you going to stay drunk?
02:08 Put away your wine.” 15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied,
“I am a woman who is deeply troubled.
02:15 I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was
pouring out my soul to the Lord.
02:21 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman;
I have been praying here out of my great anguish
02:27 and grief.” 17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the
God of Israel grant you what you have asked
02:34 of him.” 18 She said, “May your servant find favor
in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and
her face was no longer downcast.
02:44 19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped
before the Lord and then went back to their
02:49 home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and
the Lord remembered her.
02:56 20 So in the course of time Hannah became
pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I
asked the Lord for him.”
03:05 Verse 24
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old
bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine,
03:17 and brought him to the house of the Lord at
Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they
brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to
03:26 him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who
stood here beside you praying to the Lord.
03:34 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has
granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord.
03:42 For his whole life he will be given over to
the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
03:47 The Word of God. We too want to welcome all of you on this
Mother's Day.
03:54 And a special greeting is extended to all
mothers who are listening. Thank you for all you do and have done in
the very important god-given responsibility
04:06 of raising children. May God's grace and blessings be a living
reality in each of your lives.
04:16 Today we want to look at the story of a woman
named Hannah who became the mother of Samuel.
04:23 Even though her son became one of the great
men in God's salvation story, Hannah dealt
04:29 with much disappointment and pain in her journey. Her story can help each of us to deal with
pain and hopelessness whether we are a mother
04:40 or not. Her story can help us to realize that God
wants to do a work of grace in our lives,
04:47 in my life, in your life. The story of Hannah from 1-Samuel chapter
1 is set at the period of the judges, the
04:57 end of that period. The book of Judges ends with this statement,
which describes the life in those days.
05:05 Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. And the results were catastrophic.
05:13 Ignoring God and his guidelines for life brought
the people to deeper and deeper lows, moral,
05:22 ethical, social and political low points,
as well as religious apostasy with many people
05:30 turning away from the true God to worship
idols.
05:35 And this is the environment in which Hannah
lived. She was one of two wives of a man named Elkanah.
05:43 Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah had given
birth to many children, to sons and two daughters
05:50 but Hannah was barren. She had no children.
05:56 Each year Elkanah, Hannah and Peninnah with
all her children would travel to Shiloh, to
06:02 the tabernacle, to worship the Lord Almighty
and to offer sacrifices.
06:10 Considering the environment in which he lived,
Elkanah appears to be a good man, a God-fearing
06:16 man. He continued to worship the true God, offering
sacrifices at the tabernacle.
06:24 We also see that he was conscientious about
fulfilling his vows to God.
06:29 Yet for at least some in Elkanah’s family
it appears that the religious activities might
06:35 have been just empty rituals because there
was no resultant change of heart.
06:43 Hannah was in a terrible predicament. She couldn't conceive, she couldn't produce
a child.
06:51 Since barrenness was considered a source of
disgrace for a woman in the ancient world. Hannah lived under a cloud of shame.
06:60 You see back then a woman's value came from
her ability to bear children, especially male
07:06 children, who could work and carry on the
family name and children could provide for
07:12 future financial security. If a woman in ancient times had male children
she was considered a success.
07:21 If not, then others in that culture might
have looked down on her.
07:27 Can you imagine how Hannah must have felt? No doubt she experienced gnawing pain and
questions of her self-worth.
07:38 Every time the family made the long journey
to the tabernacle to offer sacrifices there,
07:43 Elkanah gave some of the meat from the sacrifices
to Peninnah and some to each of her sons and
07:49 daughters but he gave a special portion to
Hannah because he loved her very much, despite
07:56 the fact that she had borne him no children. Peninnah like to make Hannah feel miserable
about not having children, especially when
08:06 the family was at the tabernacle offering
sacrifices. Peninnah would provoke Hannah, resulting in
Hannah crying and refusing to eat.
08:17 This went on year after year. Peninnah was apparently proud of the fact
that she had borne many sons and daughters
08:25 to Elkanah. She had met the expectations her society placed
on women.
08:31 She was a success, a person of worth. She had made a positive contribution to the
family and to their clan.
08:39 So she looked down to Hannah, probably seeing
her as a failure, one who did not measure
08:45 up in that society and no doubt she was also
quite jealous of Hannah since Elkanah appears
08:52 to have shown more love to Hannah than to
her. So try to imagine the ridicule Hannah would
receive from Peninnah.
09:03 Peninnah might have said something like, “Hannah
doesn't have children, I do.
09:10 Elkanah is pleased with me and God is pleased
with me. Just look at all the children I have.”
09:18 Hannah suffered. She couldn’t conceive and she suffered abuse.
09:25 Most likely she was torn up by anger and despondency.
09:30 Her situation seemed hopeless. Elkanah really loved Hannah but that does
not mean he understood her.
09:41 The fact that Hannah was childless was probably
no major problem to Elkanah because he had
09:47 many children, but for Hannah this was an
unbearable tragedy.
09:54 Elkanah tried to express his love for Hannah
but his attempts to show love by giving her
09:60 special treatment at the sacrifices undoubtedly
just made matters worse, increasing the jealousy
10:08 and the taunts from Peninnah. One year at the annual sacrifice after having
been provoked by Peninnah Hannah began crying
10:17 and refused to eat. So Elkanah asked, “Hannah why are you crying?
10:23 Why won't you eat? Why do you feel so bad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?
10:32 Now I'm not an expert in these matters, but
it was probably not a good idea for Elkanah
10:39 to bombard Hannah with a long series of why
questions, especially when the answer was
10:45 so obvious. And this final question, Don't I mean more
to you than ten sons?
10:53 It might have been a little better had he
told Hannah, you mean more to me than ten
10:60 sons. So Hannah had a choice, would she build her
life on her husband's love, even without children
11:10 or would she hope for her social standings
sake that she could eventually have children
11:16 someday. No, she chose neither.
11:21 She decided to do something else. She arose from the annual meal and she took
decisive action.
11:29 She went to the temple, the Tabernacle to
pray.
11:35 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly
as she prayed to the Lord.
11:41 And she made this vow, O Lord of Hosts if
you will look upon my sorrow and answer my
11:48 prayer and give me a son then I will give
him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime,
and as a sign that he's been dedicated to
11:59 the Lord his hair will never be cut. Now what does that mean?
12:05 What's the significance of never cutting a
boy's hair? Well, it was definitely not a fashion statement.
12:13 The people of that day who served the Lord
would recognize that this was the sign of a Nazarite vow, like we find in the Book of
Numbers chapter 6.
12:23 A Nazarite was one who was set aside for the
service of the Lord. He was to be holy.
12:30 Now sometimes Nazarite vows were taken for
just a shorter period of time but Hannah is
12:36 saying, if God will give me a son I will give
him back to God for his entire life.
12:46 All her life Hannah had wanted a child for
herself. Now she wanted a child for God.
12:56 The scripture says as Hannah was praying to
the Lord, Eli the priest sitting by the entrance
13:02 to the tabernacle watched her. Hannah was speaking in her heart, only our
lips moved but her voice was not heard.
13:12 Eli thought she had been drinking. He said, must you come here drunk, throw away
your wine.
13:21 Poor Hannah, not only she had been taunted
by Peninnah, now she is being ridiculed by
13:29 the religious leader, Eli. Not only did her husband not understand her,
now the priest is being insensitive.
13:39 This undoubtedly only made her pain worse.
13:44 Hannah said to the priest, “Oh no sir, I've
not been drinking wine or anything stronger
13:51 but I am very discouraged and I was pouring
out my heart to the Lord.
13:58 Don't think I'm a wicked woman for I've been
praying out of great anguish and sorrow.
14:06 At that point, Eli understood what was happening
but up until then he had failed Hannah as
14:12 a religious leader but now he said to her
go in peace.
14:18 May the God of Israel grant the request you
have asked of him.
14:25 Hannah said to the priest, oh thank you sir,
may your servant find favor in your eyes and
14:31 she went back and she began to eat and she
was no longer sad.
14:38 The scripture say that after she prayed she
was not sad any longer.
14:43 It doesn't say that she prayed, she became
pregnant and then she had peace. No, peace came after spending time in God's
presence.
14:54 The following morning the entire family rose
early. They worshiped the Lord and then they made
the long journey back to their home.
15:04 Elkanah had relations with his wife and the
Lord remembered Hannah and blessed her with
15:09 a son. She called him Samuel because she said I have
asked the Lord for him.
15:19 When Samuel was weaned, Hannah and Elkanah
took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh.
15:24 They brought with them an animal for the sacrifice. After sacrificing the animal, they brought
the boy to Eli.
15:33 Hannah asked him, “Sir, do you remember
me. I'm the very woman who stood here several
years ago praying to the Lord.
15:43 I asked the Lord to give me this boy and He
has granted my request.
15:49 Now I am giving him to the Lord and he will
belong to the Lord his whole life,” And
15:55 they worshiped the Lord there. And Hannah prayed a prayer of praise and thanksgiving
to God.
16:03 In the story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel,
we learn how God worked in her life and how
16:09 she experienced God's grace. Through the experiences of that mother many
years ago we can see that God wants to do
16:17 a work of grace in our lives today and this
is true not only for mothers and all women
16:25 it's true for everyone. God wants each of us to experience his grace.
16:32 From Hannah story we will see four ways God
extends His grace to us today.
16:39 First of all, God is gracious to us in that
he understands our pain.
16:46 Hannah suffered a lot of emotional pain. She did not meet up to her society's expectations.
16:53 She was taunted and ridiculed by a rival wife. Her husband seemed incapable of seeing Hannah's
position from anything other than his own
17:02 perspective and she was even misunderstood
by the priest.
17:08 She struggled with much inner turmoil but
God understood her pain.
17:16 I'd like to relate an experience I had as
a mother that caused me intense emotional
17:23 pain. I remember how strongly David and I felt a
call from God to leave our country and begin
17:31 life and ministry in Germany. We were very excited to start a new adventure,
thinking that our children would join us in
17:40 our enthusiasm for exploring a new culture
and a new way of life, meeting new people,
17:46 going to new places but that was not the case.
17:52 Several weeks after we first arrived in the
country, we enrolled our kids in the local German schools.
17:58 So they began kindergarten in first grade,
knowing only a few German words.
18:04 They were not even attempt to speak German
in their classes and they refuse to practice it at home with us.
18:11 We thought surely they'll begin to speak after
a few weeks.
18:16 But weeks dragged into months and they still
refuse to speak German.
18:22 Over a year passed and they began the next
school year, still not speaking a single word.
18:31 One of the German teachers told us very bluntly,
I would have sent this child to a psychologist.
18:39 We knew that this must have been emotionally
very difficult for our kids and there was
18:45 really nothing else that we could do. I felt a deep sadness, even despondency and
I began to question if we really had understood
18:56 God's calling on our lives. I began to doubt God's goodness, but I too
like Hannah brought my pain to God.
19:07 I began giving my concerns about our children's
emotional and social well-being to the Lord,
19:14 committing this burden to him and honestly
admitting that I didn't have the answer, but
19:21 that he did. It was a great comfort to know that he understood
my pain and my inner turmoil.
19:30 In time, they did gradually begin to speak
German and ended up doing quite well, as a
19:36 matter of fact our oldest daughter is now
teaching German, the very language she originally
19:42 had refused to speak but for almost two years
I struggled with the agony of knowing our
19:49 children were having such a difficult time. It was extremely helpful to me to know that
God knew what I and our children were going
20:00 through. Yes God understands our pain.
20:06 While a wide variety of things can and do
bring pain into our lives, one common concern
20:12 of our time today is the coronavirus. As the pandemic spreads all over the world
more and more people are getting sick.
20:22 The death toll continues to rise and the economic
and financial fallout is severe.
20:31 Knowing that God understands our pain can
bring comfort and strength.
20:38 Hebrews chapter 4 tells us that Jesus is our
great high priest. He understands us because he lived on earth
as a human being.
20:48 Verse 15 from that chapter tells us Jesus
is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.
20:55 One thing that means is that he understands
our pain.
21:01 Verse 16 goes on to say that we can come with
confidence to the throne of grace, to the
21:07 throne of God and there we may receive mercy
and find grace to help us in our time of need.
21:18 That brings us to another way God extends
His grace to us today.
21:24 Not only does he understand our pain, he hears
our prayers.
21:30 God wants us to bring our concerns to him.
21:35 It's okay to acknowledge our struggles, expressing
them doesn't mean that we don't have faith.
21:41 It is okay to cry out to God about some emptiness
we need God to fill.
21:48 You can pray your feelings. You know religious people sometimes deny their
deepest darkest feelings, thinking that good
21:57 people don't say negative things and they
certainly don't get mad at God.
22:04 Some people think that we need to vent our
emotions but they find that even when they
22:09 vent the problems don't go away but the Bible
tells us to pray our feelings, to saturate
22:19 our deepest need with His love and with His
presence.
22:25 Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1 says, there is a time
for everything, a time to weep, a time to
22:34 laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance.
22:41 Hear the words of 1-Peter 5 verse 7, give
all your worries to him because he cares about.
22:52 And listen to this prayer of King David in
Psalm 34 verse 4.
22:58 I prayed to the Lord and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.
23:07 Those who look to him for help will be radiant
with joy. No shadow of shame will darken their faces.
23:15 In my desperation I prayed and the Lord listened.
23:22 Hannah poured out her heart to God. She came to him with empty hands and a broken
heart but the broken heart of an obscure woman
23:34 mattered to the Lord and our heartfelt prayers
matter to him.
23:41 Philippians 4:6 tells us, do not be anxious
about anything but in everything by prayer
23:48 and supplication with Thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to God.
23:55 God tells us we can bring our concerns to
him. He hears us.
24:02 Now that does not mean that God will always
answer our prayers the way we want him to.
24:08 God does not give everybody a son who prays
for a son but God does hear us when we pray.
24:16 He understands our pain and he invites us
to bring our concerns to him.
24:24 From the story of Hannah, we can see another
way God's grace can work in our lives.
24:31 God gives us our ultimate sense of value,
of self-worth, of well-being.
24:39 Hannah probably had low self-esteem and feelings
of inferiority.
24:44 She was looked down upon by others. Based on the cultural expectations of her
day Hannah was a failure.
24:53 She had not born any children. So, she had little value in the eyes of others.
24:59 Now many of us today might say how cruel how
terrible, what a terrible way to look at women
25:06 and it is cruel it is terrible to value a
woman solely on her ability to reproduce.
25:15 But before we are too hard on that culture
back then we need to realize there are some
25:21 cultures today with that very same view. The expectation for women is get married and
have children, preferably male children and
25:32 if she does that then she is considered to
be a person of worth.
25:38 Other cultures may not place that particular
expectation on woman, but they use other means
25:44 to measure worth, such as beauty. If a woman is beautiful then she has value.
25:53 For many people today the worth they see in
others is based on how that person looks.
26:01 Is the person attractive, what color is their
skin, to what ethnic or racial group do they
26:11 belong? We tend to place a higher value on people
like ourselves or people who we like their
26:18 looks, but we sometimes dehumanize those different
from us, looking down on them as worthless.
26:28 Other measuring tools our society might use
in determining somebody's worth would include
26:34 education, career, money, success and a variety
of status symbols that we use to show off
26:43 wealth and power. If you have all of this then you really are
somebody.
26:50 If not, you have little value. Yes, our society today can be just as cruel
to women and also to men as Hannah’s society
27:02 was. Looking down on others, seeing them as having
little or no value, worthless.
27:12 This can be devastating to a person, causing
a multitude of problems.
27:18 Hannah realized that God accepted her and
more than that he loved her.
27:25 She came to understand that she was not worthless. She had value and worth in the eyes of God.
27:32 He did not look at her the way society did.
27:38 After spending time with God in prayer, Hannah’s
view of herself changed.
27:44 She was able to rejoin her family and eat
and her face was no longer sad.
27:50 Hannah’s sense of worth could be based on
God's love for her.
27:58 I remember struggling with feelings of low
self-esteem in my high school and college
28:04 years. In America back then the preferred personality
for a girl was that she was bubbly and effervescent.
28:14 She was popular, made lots of friends but
that wasn't me.
28:19 I had a few good friends but instead of loving
to party and having a good time I would rather
28:26 have read a good book or played the piano. I was introverted and I liked my alone time
but that meant that I wasn't accepted in the
28:37 popular circles. I felt less valued. I was afraid my peers didn't like me that
they really didn't see me and I remember asking
28:50 God why he didn't create me with a different
personality.
28:56 As a young woman I was encouraged by other
believers to study and meditate on the scripture regularly, which I began to do and God led
me one day to discover Psalm 139, a psalm
29:09 of David. As I read it and pondered the prayer I felt
God speaking directly to me.
29:19 The psalmist words became my prayer. I still pray this prayer.
29:29 Listen to some verses from this Psalm that
have touched me and changed me, O Lord you
29:36 have examined my heart and you know everything
about me.
29:42 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.
29:49 You know everything I do. I can never escape from your spirit.
29:55 I can never get away from your presence. You made all the delicate inner parts of my
body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
30:06 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Every day of my life was recorded in your
book.
30:14 How precious are your thoughts about me Oh
God. They cannot be numbered.
30:22 After meditating on these words, I gained
a new perspective about how God sees me.
30:27 I realized that he knows me through and through
that I'm very important to him and feelings
30:35 of self-worth began to increase with the realization
that he created me uniquely and had a purpose
30:41 for my life. When you look at others what criteria do you
use to determine your opinion of their value.
30:51 Do you use typical standards of this world
or do you see persons as people of worth,
30:59 created by God in His image, people whom God
loves, individuals for whom Christ died.
31:09 And how do you determine your own sense of
value and worth? Is it based on society's standards and expectations
or is it based on God's love for you, His
31:20 desire to have a personal relationship with
you.
31:26 God extends his grace today. He wants to give us an ultimate sense of value
of self-worth of well-being.
31:34 A fourth way God wants to do a work of grace
in our life is he wants to transform us, changing
31:43 us on the inside. He wants to renew our minds and change our
hearts.
31:51 One of the ways God creates change in us is
that when we come to him and honestly share
31:57 our struggles with him. He will give us peace. I've experienced this peace as a woman, as
a mother and also during the physical and
32:09 emotional pain I endure during cancer treatment. This peace is a deep sense that God is in
charge of my life and that he is working out
32:21 the very best for me. David has already quoted from Philippians
4 verse 6, don't be anxious about anything
32:31 but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made
32:38 known to God. The following verse, verse 7 is also very
important, and the peace of God which surpasses
32:48 all understanding will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.
32:56 Hannah cried out to God in her distress and
God gave her peace, even before she became
33:02 pregnant even before God granted the requests
she made.
33:08 The peace Hannah felt is not the kind of peace
the world gifts.
33:13 Jesus said, peace I leave with you, my peace
I give to you.
33:21 God's grace can change us inwardly, giving
us peace even in the most difficult of situations.
33:29 God also wants to transform our values, our
priorities and our desires.
33:36 In the Bible story we see that Hannah had
desired a son for years.
33:41 One probable reason she wanted to have children
was that's what women were supposed to do.
33:48 Then she would be a success and would be regarded
as a person of value in her community.
33:55 She wanted a child in order to silence Penninah’s
taunts and ridicule.
34:01 And she wanted a child to prove herself to
her husband. It appears that at the beginning Hannah wanted
a son for herself, but we see a change of
34:12 heart as the story progresses. By the end of the story Hannah wants a son
not for herself but for God.
34:22 Do you see the difference? Hannah realized that whatever God might give
her really belong to him, so her prayer was
34:32 no longer, God I want something for myself
but God I want a son to give to you and to
34:40 your service. We often come to God with our wishlist, telling
him what we want him to do, but God's role
34:50 is not that of a mythical genie who will grant
all of our wishes.
34:55 Rather he wants to change our desires, so
that we desire what He desires.
35:03 So that our will is conformed to his will. Now that might cause some people to hesitate
to come to God because they do not want to
35:11 be changed, but remember God loves us.
35:17 He understands us. He knows what we need.
35:22 So we can come to God in faith, allowing him
to change our desires and our priorities.
35:29 So we too will realize that everything we
receive from God really belongs to him.
35:37 God wants to change our heart, our desires,
our values.
35:44 Related to this God also wants to change our
perspective on life and our understanding
35:50 of his work in the world. We see God doing this in the life of Hannah.
35:56 At the beginning Hannah had not realized that
God was at work in her circumstances, but
36:03 by the end of the story Hannah had come to
a new perspective on life and a much better
36:08 understanding of God's working in the world. Sometimes when we look at life we are filled
with anxieties, worries, fear and we're all
36:20 painfully aware of that during the current
Covid-19 pandemic.
36:27 We do not always understand why certain things
happen or do not happen.
36:32 Just like Hannah could not understand why
she was barren. We may not be able to see God at work in certain
situations just like Hannah was not aware
36:44 that God was working through her pain to bring
her to himself, but we can rest assured that
36:52 God is sovereign. He is working in the world. He is working in the hearts and lives of people.
37:01 Even in and through our pain, God can work.
37:07 Years ago I remember talking to my mother-in-law
about having children. At the time she got married the general expectation
for a woman in the United States was for her
37:17 to marry and raise children. My mother-in-law had also had the personal
desire to have many children.
37:25 She said that she had grown up as an only
child and had experienced loneliness because
37:30 she had not had any brothers or sisters. So it had been her desire to get married and
have many children.
37:39 Things look good for her, she got married
and within her first year marriage she conceived
37:45 and she was so happy. But then she suffered a miscarriage.
37:52 To make matters worse, her obstetrician then
told her that she would never be able to have
37:57 a child. One of her deepest desires had been to have
children, many children but after the miscarriage
38:05 she was confronted with the medical opinion
that she could never carry a baby to term.
38:12 And she was devastated. She experienced intense disappointment and
agonizing pain knowing she would never be
38:22 able to have any children. Well obviously the doctor was wrong.
38:29 I'm the second of four children that my mother
gave birth to.
38:34 More than 30 years passed after mom had that
disheartening visit to the doctor, she and
38:41 dad then began leading a Bible study for young
adults most of whom were married.
38:47 Over the years of working with this group,
several young women came to my mother grieving
38:53 over a miscarriage that they had just gone
through. Mom was able to empathize with them.
39:01 She was able to encourage them to pour out
their heart to God, knowing first-hand how
39:07 God can give comfort and direction. Mom told me that she had earlier wondered
why had she had to go through this emotional
39:16 pain connected with her initial inability
to have children. Why had God allowed that?
39:23 Later as an older woman she could look back
and see how God had worked in and through
39:30 this pain. God was able to bring about good out of her
suffering.
39:36 Using it to prepare her to help many other
women.
39:42 We're reminded in Romans chapter 8 that in
all things God works together with those who
39:48 love him to bring about good. This verse first does not say that God causes
everything that happens.
39:55 We live in a fallen world where things happen
as a result of the effects of sin.
40:01 And it does not say that everything that happens
is good but it does say that God is working
40:08 in all situations to bring about good for
those who love him, to those who have been
40:15 called according to his purpose. We can trust God, knowing that he is at work
in the world even when we do not understand
40:25 it. This perspective in life can bring us reassurance,
comfort and strength.
40:35 Hannah experienced the grace of God and so
can we. God wants to do a work of grace in the life
of each one of us today.
40:46 God is gracious to us in that he understands
our pain.
40:52 God hears our prayers. He wants us to bring our concerns to him.
40:58 God gives us our ultimate sense of value of
self-worth, of well-being.
41:06 God wants to transform us changing us on the
inside. He wants to renew our minds and change our
hearts.
41:15 God offers us peace and he will transform
our desires into his desires.
41:24 He will broaden our perspective on life to
be able to understand that God is at work
41:29 to bring about good. Hannah experienced God's grace several hundred
years before Jesus came to the world, how
41:38 much more are we able to experience God's
grace today knowing what God has done for
41:44 us through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures tell us that our sin separates
us from God but God was in Christ reconciling
41:56 the world to himself, not counting their sins
against them.
42:02 Sin brings death not only physical but also
spiritual and eternal death.
42:09 But Christ died for our sins according to
the scripture, taking upon himself the penalty
42:17 of our sin and he rose three days later in
victory over the grave, over sin, over evil.
42:25 God wants each of us to experience his grace,
accepting his offer a forgiveness of sin and
42:33 of an offer of a right relationship with him. This can be yours when you come to him in
repentance and faith, confessing your sin
42:42 to him, asking his forgiveness and asking
him to lead you, allowing him to take control
42:50 of your life. May the personal experience of God's grace
be a reality in the lives of each one of us
43:00 today. Let us now go to God in prayer.
43:08 Dear God, some days feel too hard. We're hurting, not just us mother's but all
of us.
43:16 We're struggling, fighting fear and worry
at every turn especially now in the grip of
43:21 the Covid-19 pandemic. Thank you, the midst of it all Lord that you
haven't left us to fend for ourselves.
43:32 Forgive us for doubting you were there. Forgive us for thinking you forgotten.
43:40 Forgive us for believing that we somehow know
the better way.
43:46 You are fully trustworthy. You are all powerful.
43:51 You are able. You are lord over every situation, no matter
how difficult it may seem.
43:59 You are healer and will never waste the grief
we carry today.
44:05 You will use all things for good in some way,
nothing is too difficult for you.
44:12 We pray for those who grieve today and we
ask for your comfort, to surround those who
44:17 weep. We pray for the peace of your presence to
cover our minds and our thoughts.
44:25 As you remind us that the enemy can never
steal us out of your hands, he never has the final say over our lives.
44:32 We are safe in your presence forever whether
in life or in death when we put our trust
44:39 in you. We thank you that your ways are higher than
our ways and your thoughts are bigger than
44:47 our thoughts. We lay it all down at your feet, every burden,
every care.
44:56 We thank you for Jesus who paid the penalty
for our sins on the cross, that when we come to him in faith we can come into a right relationship
with you because of what Jesus has done.
45:09 Lord we know that when we've received your
forgiveness we can then with confidence come into your presence, bringing all of our cares
to you.
45:20 We love you Lord. We need your grace.
45:25 In the powerful name of Jesus I pray.
46:02 Amen
As
50:02 we
50:41 observe the Lord's Supper, I realize that
this will be different for us.
50:47 While we're under restricted movement orders
and while we are avoiding large gatherings for health's sake.
50:53 As a church body we desire to come to the
Lord's table together in community, but under
50:59 the present circumstances we cannot do that. So instead we come together virtually, knowing
that we are bound together by the Spirit of
51:10 God. Remember the Lord's Supper is a time for believers,
for followers of Jesus to partake of the meal,
51:18 is for those who have come to the Lord in
repentance and faith, those who have surrendered
51:24 their lives to his lordship. The Lord's Supper is a vivid reminder of God's
grace.
51:31 We rejoice in God's love, remembering that
while we were still sinners Christ died for
51:37 us. We celebrate the work of God's grace that
he has done in our lives as we confess that
51:45 we have all sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God and that we are justified freely
51:51 by His grace through the redemption, which
is in Christ Jesus.
51:57 The Scriptures tell us we should examine ourselves,
examine ourselves under the illumination of
52:03 the Holy Spirit and then we can eat of the
bread and drink from the cup.
52:10 Let's pray. Almighty God we come before you and confess
that we are unworthy but we know that you
52:20 are worthy. We thank you that through your mercy we can
come into a right relationship with you.
52:28 We pray that as we examine our lives, the
light of your Holy Spirit will shine on our
52:33 hearts. With the psalmist we pray search me O God
and know my heart try me and know my thoughts,
52:42 show us what we need to bring before you in
confession and repentance.
52:49 Thank you that when we confess our sin you
are faithful and just to forgive us our sin
52:55 and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Amen.
53:02 On the night before he was crucified, Jesus
instituted the Lord's Supper as a way to remind
53:08 his followers of the sacrifice he would make
that would provide atonement for sin.
53:15 The scripture tells us that the Lord Jesus
on the night when he was betrayed took bread
53:22 and when he had given thanks he broke it and
he said this is my body which is broken for
53:29 you. Do this in remembrance of me.
53:34 Let's pray and give God thanks for the bread
and also for the cup.
53:40 Almighty God we thank you that Jesus willingly
offered his life as a sacrifice that he paid
53:48 the penalty for our sins, that through your
work we can come to you and be reconciled,
53:56 that we can have forgiveness, that we can
receive new life. We know this was a great price that Jesus
paid and so we give you thanks for the sacrifice
54:06 of his body, for his blood. In Jesus name I pray.
54:13 Amen. Let’s take the bread together.
54:24 In the same way, Jesus also took the cup after
supper saying this cup is the New Covenant
54:32 in my blood, do this as often as you drink
it in remembrance of me.
54:41 Let's drink the cup together.
54:48 For as often as you eat this bread and drink
this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until
54:56 he comes. Let's pray.
55:01 Father God we thank you again for what Jesus
has done. Thank you for the love that you've expressed
to us, making it possible for us to come back
55:10 into a right relationship with you. We thank you for the promise that you are
with us at all times.
55:17 We also thank you for the promise that Jesus
will be coming again and we know that you
55:23 have a future prepared for us. Almighty God as we go from this service, we
pray that your grace will be a reality in
55:31 the lives of each one of us. The same way Hannah experienced your grace
we pray that we too will experience that grace
55:40 and especially just day by day as we're going
through life may your grace be a reality in
55:46 the lives of each one of us, as we share that
grace with other people.
55:52 In the name of Christ I pray. Amen. And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God and the Fellowship of
56:05 the Holy Spirit be with you all. Go in grace, in the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit, sharing the love of God with others
56:15 in both word and deed. Amen.
