The God of provision

Chris Turner | Genesis 22:9-14 | Acts 17:24-28 

The angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, 'Abraham! Abraham!... Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.' Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place "The Lord Will Provide". And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'

[Paul said,] 'The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. "For in him we live and move and have our being."'

Abraham's journey of faith, of learning over many years to wait for God to keep his promises, is put to the supreme test when it appears that his son Isaac - through whom the promises were to be fulfilled - is to be sacrificed. Once again, at the right time, God provides. Chris encourages us to remember our own experiences of God's faithfulness, to learn from our failures and to recognise once again the riches of what God has provided for us, supremely through the sacrifice of his own Son.

The full video version of this Sunday morning reflection can be viewed on YouTube. The recording is introduced by Dan Parnell and also includes prayers from Fred, Helen, James, Elsie and John.