Grow! Pray! Study! The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection's Daily Guide for Tuesday, 11 February 2014 "Jacob's dream: 'The Lord is definitely in this place'"

Grow! Pray! Study! The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection's Daily Guide for Tuesday, 11 February 2014 "Jacob's dream: 'The Lord is definitely in this place'"
Daily Scripture:  Genesis 28:10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 He dreamed. Behold, a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your offspring[a]. 14 Your offspring[b] will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring[c] will all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”
16 Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I didn’t know it.” 17 He was afraid, and said, “How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God,
Footnotes:
a. Genesis 28:13 or, seed
b. Genesis 28:14 or, seed
c. Genesis 28:14 or, seed
Reflection Questions:
Fleeing his angry brother Esau (cf. Genesis 27:41), Jacob stopped at what the text just calls "a certain place" to sleep. Alone in the wild, with only a stone for a pillow, he had a dream that gave him an awed sense of God's life-changing presence. When he awoke, he worshipped, and then named the place Beth El (Hebrew "God's house").
Can you think of a time when you especially needed reassurance of God's presence? What was going on in your life? In what way(s), big or small, did you find a renewed sense of God's presence? What places or experiences make God's presence real to you? How do you remember to seek God, and respond to God's presence?
What are some ways you might deepen your experience of God in weekly worship? What about the other days of the week? Identify one step you will take to draw closer to God through the act of worship, corporately with others and by yourself on days that do not have corporate worship.
Today's Prayer:
God, like the stairway in Jacob's dream, build a bridge between us. Help me to daily remember your faithfulness and your promise to never leave or forsake me. Amen.
Insight from Carol Cartmill
Carol Cartmill serves as the Executive Director of Adult Discipleship at The Church of the Resurrection.
Read and Reflect:
(Head)
God, are you there? That is a question I have asked during some of the darkest moments in my life. I wondered if God knew and cared about the circumstances in which I found myself. I wondered if things would ever get better. Why did God seem so distant? These are questions most Christians will ask at some point in their lives. Life can be harsh at times. We, or someone
we love, face an illness, job loss, death or a broken relationship. We seek divine reassurance that God is near.
Jacob found himself in a dark place. He had “stolen” his father Isaac’s
blessing from his older brother, Esau. A father’s blessing to the firstborn in this culture carried great significance, and scripture tells us Esau was furious and seeking revenge. Jacob literally feared for his life. So his mother and father sent Jacob away to spend time with family in a far away land. Hopefully time and distance would provide the opportunity for Esau to cool off and
forgive his brother. As Jacob laid his head down for the night, he needed a little divine reassurance himself.
This reassurance came in the form of a dream. A stairway connected the space where Jacob slept with heaven itself, and more importantly, God. Angels ascended and descended the stairway, and Jacob heard the Lord’s voice reminding him of the blessing first given his ancestor, Abraham—“all peoples will be blessed through you and your offspring.” Not only need you not fear for your life, your life will be fruitful beyond your wildest dreams. Furthermore, God promised to be with Jacob wherever he went, and to someday bring him back to the Promised Land he had been forced to leave. In worshipful response, Jacob memorialized the place, Bethel, and made promises back to God.
God desires for us to feel such closeness in all of life’s circumstances, not just during our crises. Worship is a space in which that can happen. The space between God and us becomes thin. We are reminded of the faithfulness of our God, and we commit ourselves—time, talents and treasures—back to God. Our experience of communion with God in the community of worship
should cause us to say, “The Lord is definitely in this place. The Lord will be with me wherever I go.”
Prayer and Meditation
(Heart)
God, thank you for loving me, and desiring to be close to me in all of life’s circumstances. You know exactly what I am facing in each and every moment of my life.
I confess there are times when I create obstacles between us. I am distracted. Forgive me for my lack of faith and focus. By the power of your Holy Spirit, help me to settle my heart and quiet my mind so that I can be more attentive to your presence. Just like the stairway in Jacob’s dream, build a bridge between us. Help me remember your faithfulness and your promise to never leave or forsake me. Help me to recognize you in the stillness of the morning, the busyness of the day and the quiet of the evening.
I commit myself to you in return—time, talents and treasures—to be used in service to
others and to your glory.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Be, Do & Go
(Hands)
Weekly worship is a great place to tangibly experience God’s presence. Sometimes we struggle to settle our minds and hearts enough to create the expectancy of actually encountering God in worship. This weekend, plan to arrive to worship ten minutes before the start of the service. (This may mean you need to set your alarm a few minutes earlier, or prepare what you are going to wear or eat ahead of time.) Settle into your seat and quietly ask God to help you be more attentive. Pay attention to all you experience in worship and those times and spaces you feel especially close to God.
For Discussion:
Use this section to help prompt discussion with your spouse, children, small group, etc.
1. Describe a time when you needed reassurance of God’s presence. What was going
on in your life? Did you receive reassurance? If so, how?
2. Share a time you felt especially close to God and what made God’s presence real to
you. How did you respond?
3. How might you deepen your experience of God in weekly worship? Throughout the
week? Name one step you will take to draw closer to God through the act of worship.
4. Pray for our congregation’s next worship space, that it will be a place where many
people will be drawn to an encounter with God.
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