Sunday Words of Encouragement January 3, 2021

We attended service online again this morning Pastor encouraged us to find ways to praise God and bring glory to Christ even through the struggles of 2020. He asked “Can we find a thing in 2020 where God touched our lives?”

He titled today’s message: “Moving On from 2020”. The pandemic is already following us into 2021 but we want to move on. What are we moving on to?

When we face a storm, we seek shelter. Often, we find God right there, just waiting for us to reach for Him.

The scripture for today’s message is the familiar message of Noah found in Genesis chapters 7 and 8.

Noah and his family were trying to stay safe – by obeying God. Genesis 7:5. They suffered the ridicule of neighbors and then they had to suffer through 40 days and nights of storming rains and 150 days of flooding. When the waters receded, they found themselves stuck in one place. They didn’t know how plants would return, how food would come, when they would get back to land. They may have been sitting on the boat saying: “This is unprecedented, it has never happened before.”

But ‘God remembered Noah’. Genesis 8:1. (Which may sound strange since there were 57 square miles of land on the earth… and one boat.) But the important thing to realize is that God didn’t forget Noah and He hasn’t forgotten you. He is working for you wherever you are. Finally, God said to come out of the ark. Genesis 8:16.

Noah’s first act was to worship God. What else? He brought a sacrifice. Genesis 8:20. The sacrifice wasn’t out of abundance but out of scarcity.

What will we do, change, sacrifice, or give as you move on to what’s next?
Is our first act after 2020 to worship? Does our expectation or acknowledgment of death change us? Has it changed how we live and changed our approach to others? Are we rushing to tell others? Make the change tangible, real, and recognizable.

What Are We Moving On To?
Will it be different?
Will it be more effective for Christ?

We shared in Communion, remembering Jesus and His sacrifice.

I found this song to fit today’s message:

Verses for Today:
Genesis 7:5, 7:24, 8:1 (NIV)
7:5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
7:24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.

I am conscience that I want to personally focus on sharing God's love...and praying that others will see the need for God's righteousness and grace.

My verses for the New Year - two favorites:
Micah 6:8 and 2 Chronicles 7:14