This story illustrates the tendency for God to operate outside of human wisdom and formula. In this story, instead of honouring the human tradition of blessing the first-born, Jacob is blessed even though he uses deception to receive it… God often chooses to operate outside of the confines of human wisdom to show that He is not like us. He does this so that we don’t treat Him as a formula, but rather as a living being… Is. 55:8-9, “Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds,” says the Lord, “for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.” Repeatedly, God chooses and blesses the second born. The first born is a symbol of our flesh and everything that is accomplished through it, while the second born is a symbol of the Spirit and God’s work in and through us because of Jesus…

In Genesis, we see a God who blesses, provides for and protects humans – and He reveals to them what He is like so that they can bear His priorities into the world on His behalf. God blesses humans so that humans will bring His blessing and bear His character into the world. In this story – God wants to remove from Abraham any preconceived ideas of how a god is supposed to operate. He reveals a new part of His character to Abraham so that Abraham knows how to properly represent God in the world.

Some of us have spent years believing faith means having certainty or a perfect theology. We think if we still have questions, if we still wrestle, if we still feel fear, then we're failing at being a Christian. But Abraham and Sarah's story say otherwise. They laughed. They doubted. They tried to take matters into their own hands. They struggled to believe. And through all of it, God stayed faithful. • Because faith was never about Abraham's perfect confidence. • Faith was about God's perfect character - and it remains the same today. The good news this morning is that God is not asking you to manufacture certainty – to just believe hard enough. He is inviting you to trust Him. To relax into Him. To place the weight of your life into hands more capable than your own.

The beauty of this passage is that it’s a reminder that God hears us, God sees us, His heart is inclined towards rescue and blessing. And maybe that’s what some women here need to hear this morning. Whether today feels joyful, painful, complicated, or exhausting… Whether you feel appreciated or overlooked… Whether you are carrying grief, pressure, responsibility, or quiet loneliness… You are seen by God – and despite your perceived failures and inadequacies, He still renews His promise to you – He still chooses to bless you so that you can bless others.

The beautiful part of this passage of Scripture is that we see progression and change in Abram… He’s moving in the right direction… He’s not the same man who ran to Egypt and lied to Pharaoh to protect himself. He believes God and is learning to trust Him. But he is still unfinished. He still questions. He still doubts. He still defaults to fear. He trusts more deeply now… but he still makes contingency plans for God. And the encouraging thing for us is that despite Abram’s continual fear, God still binds Himself to us… The Messiah, God in the flesh, the redeemer comes from the line of this fallen man. And through you, imperfect and fearful – the world can see and experience Jesus too…

Mary’s act of anointing Jesus reveals how genuine love for Christ is expressed in ways that go beyond words, creating a “fragrance” that impacts everyone around us—either drawing people toward Him or pushing them away. Our lives similarly carry a spiritual influence, reflecting the presence and work of Christ within us.

I think what you will find is that God’s chosen people in the Old Testament are no different than the people we find before the Flood or at the Tower of Babel. People are people. They sin. Their only saving grace is the promise of God to be with them, provide for them, protect them, and guide and teach them.

What happened after Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t a huge display of power and importance – He appeared intimately to His followers, encouraging them, preparing them for what came next… the excitement of Acts, but also their own suffering and death. The Bible does talk about a spectacle after Jesus’ resurrection - but not the kind we think. Paul says we are the spectacle… not in strength, but in weakness - so that when people look at our lives, they don’t see how impressive we are, they see how powerful Jesus is. 1 Cor. 4:9, “I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike.” Jesus prepares us, ordinary people, to carry His resurrection life into everyday places to lay our lives down for Him. You don’t need a platform. You don’t need incredible insight or wisdom. You don’t need flashy displays. You just need to be with Jesus, so that you can become more like Him, so that you can love people like He did…

The resurrection of Jesus is the promise that we too will be restored. It’s the best news that we could ever experience. And Jesus doesn’t want us to be quiet about it… He wants our celebration to reflect the celebration that is happening in heaven.

We’ve entitled this service, “The Shadow of the Cross”, and it is based loosely on a Tenebrae service, or service of shadows or darkness. Tenebrae services are generally pretty simple and fairly experiential - there won’t be a sermon, but there will be four sections for us to reflect on. And is meant to illustrate how Jesus’ life progressively became darker as He approached His death. The four sections are as follows: The Shadow of Betrayal - Jesus’ experience of relational abandonment The Shadow of Accusation - Jesus’ experience of injustice, false judgement. The Shadow of Crucifixion - Jesus’ experience of suffering and sacrifice. The Shadow of Death - Jesus’ experience of death and separation from His Father.