Children of God Are Victors Not Victims (Proper c-12)

  Like Elijah, many people in our feel discouraged, depressed and like victims under attack. They have an identity problem. The Good news of today’s Readings is that we are adopted children of God by faith. We are protected and have put on the authority of Jesus Christ to do God’s work in the world.

 

1.    Many People Like Elijah Have an Identity Crisis

Elijah believed he was a victim - the lie that all the prophets in Israel were being killed. He ran away. But you can’t run away from God. God is not angry. Like a loving father God gently asks him what he is doing. God corrects him and gives him a powerful, nation changing mission. God is still with him and has preserved a remnant of 7,000 faithful believers in Israel.

Holy Spirit Heals Us and Gives Us New Life (Proper 13)

 The Readings remind us that the desire of God’s heart is to have an intimate love relationship with us and to heal us physically and spiritually. We are moving deeper into Pentecost as we are reminded that Jesus ministry consisted of both dramatic supernatural healing and teachings about the supernatural. Fasten your seatbelts as we go deeper than some may have been before:

• Bible begins with the creation story of God breathing life into the man made of clay - a profound teaching on new life
• Valley of dead bones - the man prophecies breath into the dead bones to give them new life
• Jesus raises the dead girl to new life
• I have seen many miraculous healing - not superstition
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1. Personal Spirit Gives Life to the Body