NIkki North - May 24, 2026
Becoming aware of God
Abraham made it clear to Isaac that he should not marry a wife from Canaan because they should be distinct worshippers of the Lord and Isaac repeats this instruction to Jacob. However, this isn’t as noble as it seems. He’s only going because his mum tricked his dad into sending him off. His parents also seem to not have the same concern for his brother, who marries from outside the promised line. Nevertheless, God meets Jacob. God will have his way with Jacob even though, until now, we’ve seen nothing of Jacob’s faith. God repeats all the promises he gave to Abraham and Isaac to Jacob despite Jacob’s past sin and even though Jacob still has much to learn. Jacob was unaware of God, but that’s not a problem for God. He will make himself known. The prophet Hosea looks back on this moment as a picture of the Exodus story, as Jacob works hard for many years for a bride and is eventually brought into the promise land to worship God (Hosea 12). Jesus looks back on this moment and says that the promises God gave his people will be fulfilled in him (John 1). For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church
From Series: "Genesis - God's people in God's plan"
The Bible has clear instructions in parts, but most of it is story. Stories of people messing up. Stories of people discovering God’s grace. Stories we can learn wisdom from. The middle bit of Genesis tells the story of three generations who discover what it means to be God’s people in God’s plan for his world. And they don’t always get it right. Their stories include: marriage problems, death and grief, parenting struggles, choosing a spouse, sexual immorality, deception, reproductive ethics, unjust employers, relationships that distort God’s design, the strength of friendship, birth, infertility, abuse, betrayal, forgiveness, aging, value of life from womb to tomb, loneliness, racism, politics, war, buying land, wealth management, and learning wisdom from all the ambiguity of ordinary life trying to trust God in a fallen world. We face many issues in life where we have to ask: What does it mean to be God’s people in this? What’s God’s plan for it?
