Royston First United Methodist Church

“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.“ – Genesis 12:1-3

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING: Genesis 11-13

When you think of great leaders, great athletes, great musicians, or great artists, do you ever wonder where they received that spark or inspiration to be great? What made LeBron James want to play basketball? When did JFK know he should run for President of the United States? Who inspired Billy Joel to start playing the piano? Greatness comes from somewhere.

In the scripture reading today, we are introduced to one of the greatest people in the   Bible – Abram (he will soon be known as Abraham in a few more chapters into Genesis). Abram was a great man who would become known for centuries as the “Father of Many Nations.” And while Abram would see great things, do great things, and experience great things, his greatness begins in Genesis 12 with a calling from God. There are two things I want you to pay attention to in these three verses: 1) Abram’s calling is to go into the unknown and the uncomfortable. This required faith and obedience. It can be easy sometimes to trust our own intelligence or skill to get by in life. But greatness requires stepping out of our comfort zone and into the unknown; 2) Abram’s calling is not just about him. God tells Abram, “I will bless you…so that you will be a blessing,” (v. 2). Greatness is not just about what we receive, but what we give to others.

This Sunday, we begin a new exploration through scripture as we embark on ayear long journey through the Bible. Like Abram, you may feel called to step into the uncomfortable and the unknown. There will be times when you will feel like giving up, but I want to encourage you to hang in there and press on because I believe God is going to bless you through this exploration. And as God’s call to Abram reminds us, we are blessed to be a blessing to others.

Have a great weekend and I look forward to being with you in worship this Sunday at 8:45 and 11:00!

Blessings,
Matt

P.S. As we explore the scriptures together through 2020, I will be using theDaily Bible Reading Plan (available online at roystonfirstumc.org/exploration) as my guide for my weekly e-notes. Each week’s message will include adevotional thought based on the scripture passage for that day. I hope these thoughts are a blessing to you as you read them. If you would like to be part of a writing team, I would love to talk with you. Send me an e-mail (matt@roystonfirstumc.org) or call me in the church office and let’s discuss. Blessings!