Sermons from 2026
The Drama of Jacob
Gen 29/30 Jacob eventually arrives near the region where his uncle Laban lives and meets shepherds at a well. There he encounters Rachel, Laban’s daughter, and is immediately overwhelmed with emotion. After greeting her, Rachel runs home and informs her father, who warmly receives Jacob. After a month, Laban proposes that Jacob should not work for free and asks what wages he wants. Laban has two daughters: Leah, the older, and Rachel, the younger. Rachel is described as beautiful, and…
Surely the LORD is in this Place
Esau, seeing Jacob blessed again and realizing his own marriages displeased his parents, attempts to correct his course by taking another wife from Ishmael’s line. His reaction appears outwardly adjusted but lacks true surrender. It reflects the difference between superficial regret and genuine repentance—wanting the blessing without embracing the covenant. Meanwhile, Jacob travels alone, exhausted and afraid. With no shelter but a stone for a pillow, he falls asleep in an ordinary, unnamed place. There, without prayer or preparation, heaven…
4 Senses
Gen 27:1-46 Though aging and nearly blind, Isaac believes he is near death and asks Esau to hunt and prepare his favorite meal so he can formally bestow the patriarchal blessing upon him. This blessing carries material prosperity, authority over others, and the covenant promise first given to Abraham. Rebekah overhears and intervenes. Years earlier she had been told that her younger son, Jacob, would rule over Esau. Convinced that Jacob is the rightful heir, she devises a plan to…
Well, Well, Well
Gen 26:1-33 Genesis 26 follows Isaac after Abraham’s death as another famine hits the land. God appears to Isaac for the first time and tells him not to go to Egypt, but to remain in the promised land. God then reaffirms the entire covenant previously given to Abraham: the land will belong to Isaac’s descendants, his offspring will multiply beyond counting, and through his line all nations will be blessed. Isaac receives this promise not because he has earned it,…
A Full Life, Not a Full Tent
Gen 25:1-34 Abraham’s story comes to a close in Genesis 25. After remarrying and having more children, he deliberately arranges his inheritance: Isaac receives everything as the son of promise, while the other sons receive gifts and are sent away. This is presented as both a spiritual picture—God giving all to His Son—and practical wisdom for preventing conflict by settling family matters before death. Abraham dies at 175 “full of years,” showing God’s faithfulness to His promises and portraying a…
Bride for Isaac
Gen 24:1-67 The text reflects on Genesis 24 as a carefully structured story about the search for a bride for Isaac, emphasizing both its narrative flow and its symbolic meaning. Abraham, near the end of a life marked by struggle and faith, can truthfully say that God has blessed him in everything. Trusting God’s promises, he commissions his chief servant to find a wife for Isaac from his own family rather than the surrounding culture, insisting that Isaac must not…
Abraham’s Sojourn
Gen 23:1-20 Abraham’s life is presented as a long journey of faith shaped by promise, failure, discovery, and growing intimacy with God. He receives promises of descendants and land, seeing the first fulfillment of offspring through Isaac while the ultimate fulfillment extends to all who share his faith. After Sarah’s death, Abraham identifies himself in the promised land as a foreigner and sojourner, illustrating that God’s people live in earthly realities while belonging to a greater homeland. Believers are portrayed…
Abraham’s Test of Faith
God tests Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac, the son through whom divine promises were to be fulfilled. The command appears to contradict everything previously promised, yet Abraham recognizes God’s voice and obeys without argument. He journeys for three days toward the mountain, enduring grief, confusion, and the temptation to turn back, yet remains steadfast. He tells his servants that both he and Isaac will return, expressing trust that God’s promise cannot fail even if the command seems impossible.…
Ishmael’s Exile
Genesis 21:1-34 Isaac is finally born after decades of waiting, demonstrating that God keeps promises despite human doubt and delay. Abraham faithfully obeys God by naming Isaac and circumcising him, marking commitment to the covenant. When Isaac is weaned, family conflict erupts as Sarah demands Hagar and Ishmael be sent away. Though distressed, Abraham trusts God’s instruction, believing God will still fulfill His promise to make Ishmael a nation. Hagar and Ishmael nearly die in the wilderness until God hears…
Abraham’s 2nd Lie
Gen 20:1-18 Abraham leaves the region near the destroyed cities and relocates to Gerar, outside the land previously promised to him. No divine instruction for this move is given. Fear again drives him to deception: he claims Sarah is his sister rather than his wife, repeating an earlier failure. As a result, Sarah is taken into the household of the local king, placing the covenant promise at risk since Sarah is essential to its fulfillment. God intervenes directly by confronting…