Every Tuesday 6:00-7:00pm in Room 210.
Sermon 5: Judas not Iscariot - The Disappointed Disciple
May 28th, 2006Sermon 3: Alone But Not Lonely: Hagar the Single Parent
May 28th, 2006On Second Thought
May 25th, 2006SERIES: GENERATIONS IN GENESIS
Sermon 3 – Alone but not Lonely: Hagar the Single Parent
Genesis 16:1-6, Genesis 21:9-21 
Jesus is coming back. Don’t mistake this for good news.
At least, it isn’t good news according to evangelist Tony Alamo of Texarkana. Well, it’s good news for Reverend Alamo and his adherents, but not for the rest of us. "God," thunders the minister in a flyer recently scattered around Corpus Christi, "is mankind’s worst enemy." He goes on to state that the Devil comes in second in this hundred yard dash of hatred. It’s all mixed up with earthquakes somehow.
Hagar may have felt the same way as she fled to the desert, an undocumented alien whose lack of a green card cut her off from legal protection in the face of an abusive employer. She had hoped that her son’s automatic citizenship would boost her status but found that the law loopholed her straight back into servitude. Later, courtesy of no-fault divorce, she winds up in the wilderness once again. Her husband’s high-priced lawyer really took her to the cleaners: she got full custody of the son, but no child support. Alimony consisted of a gallon jug of tap water and a box of saltines.
Have I mentioned that her ex was big on God?
Whatever tune Hagar hummed as she waited to expire of heat stroke, it couldn’t have been, "What a Friend We Have in Yahweh." God must have seemed like her worst enemy.
But that was just when the Lord showed up. Breaking through the cultural crust which sought to harness theology in the service of tyranny, the Almighty appeared to the un-mighty and promised her his presence and provision. The first single mother in Scripture learns that the Lord moves in the margins, redeeming the suffering of the minimized.
If you’ve ever been beaten up with someone’s God-stick, eighty-sixed out of manmade Edens and bounced beyond borders barricaded by the bulldogs of selective Scripture reading, Hagar is your patron saint. The god who is mankind’s worst enemy is a false god, made in man’s own image. The God of the Bible waits in the wasteland, where he lovingly embraces the outcasts.
Wishing You Well,
Doug
DONATIONS SOUGHT FOR CHURCH PARLOR
May 23rd, 2006The former music office is being converted to a church parlor and we need donations of furniture. We are looking for good quality, gently used pieces. If you have any of the following, please contact the church office at 994-0266 or church@2bc.org. We will have someone call and arrange to drop by and view the items. Please do not bring pieces in on your own, because we must select items that will fit the space allotted and the overall decorating scheme. (We are looking for wing back chairs, sofas and love seats, ottomans, coffee tables, end tables, arm chairs, area rugs, floor lamps and table lamps.)
JOHN 3:16 CELEBRATION
May 23rd, 2006COMING IN JULY! John 3:16 Celebration (same text/different preachers) and Sunday School lessons on God’s Love throughout the Old Testament. We will gather for these studies in the Worship Center.
YOUTH START THE SUMMER PARTY
May 23rd, 2006Friday, May 26 from 6:00pm-10:00pm at the Hammann’s. There will be volleyball, kayaking, and of course, the swimming pool. This is for all the youth, so let’s start the summer off with a bang! If you have any questions, please email hortty@2bc.org or call Justin at the church office, 994-0266.
