Themes from VBS

So we've been doing the daily themes that we'll see at VBS on Sunday mornings; God is with us, God is powerful, God keeps his promises, God is a God of life, and the last theme... God cares for us.

Over these last four Sundays, I've been asking you all to contribute your ideas and thougths about God... When have you experienced God being with you? How has the idea of God being powerful shown up in your life? What promises has God made to you? What does "God is a God of Life" mean to you?

The readings in Exodus- where the VBS readings come from- deal primarilly with the Israelites and their escape from Egypt, their time in the desert, and their struggle to make it to the land God had promised them. Now, the story doesn't seem to have a good ending for the Egyptians, and later on once the Israelites cross the desert to the "promised land", it certainly does not end well for the Canaanites.

I talked about Egypt and the Promised Land, what it meant to the Israelites, but more importantly- what Egypt/slavery/bondage means in a meatphoric sense, and what the Promised Land means in that same sense. Setting aside the "real" Egyptians, and the "real" Canaanites, who didn't make out too well, what do these things represent in our lives?

In the Jewish mystical tradition, "Egypt"... "the Land of Egypt"... represents those things in our lives that are obstacles or barriers to God. It is those things that prevent us from living as we think we're called to live. And "the Promised Land", "the Land flowing with milk and honey", represents that which is God's place in our lives, it is those things that move us toward God.

We ALL have and Egypt - something that is in our darker nature, something that pulls us away from God and those things tha thelp us live healthy lives. And... we ALL have a Promised Land, a space or time where we're coming from a really good place, where we might feel connected with the divine, where we might feel we really are living in a true and healthy way. Looking at it from that perspective - God does want us to live well... in that sense God IS a God of life!

I've wanted to look at these questions and issue from the perspective of our decisions, our life-style and our lives.

Is God with you? Of course, you say! Well... can you tell anyone how? What;s God like for you? How does God show up in your life?

Is God powerful? Well... sure!?!? Okay- can you talk about this powerful God in your life? WHat kind of powerful things has God done in your life?

What about God's promises? What are some fundamental promises God has made to you? And how do you know?

Last week- God is a God on life! Really? Can you talk about this God of life- in your life?

And next week... God cares for us! We know that. We know that God carss for us- If we assume tnat God loves us, then it only makes sense that God ought to care for us... but can you talk about this care in your life? What does it mean? And a good question, qhat does this care look like... to you!

See- all this "faith" stuff is about helping us make sense of God in our lives. The questions we ask lead us to look in the direction of God.