Returning in quietness, resting in trust.

Yesterday at Agape we studied some verses from the 30th chapter of the Book of Isaiah. We attempted to get into the nitty gritty of the text and to tease out the meaning. At the end we sort of found out that God is waiting for us to wait on him! He desires to be gracious, and all we need to do is return to him in quietness and rest in our trust of him!

Please pray that our congregation would return to God this week in times of trouble and difficulty and find true salvation and deep strength in his arms.

Concert at Trinity Lutheran!

This week (7/17), in lieu of our normal Bible study, we will be meeting at 10 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran church for a concert by a visiting Korean Choir, followed by breakfast.

Next week (7/24) we will resume our normal schedule, studying Isaiah at 9 a.m. on the green.

God is my Salvation

In that day you will say:

“I will praise you, LORD.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
² Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.”
³ With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 12:1-3

Today at Agape, we spent an extended time praying to God, the one who himself is the very salvation for which we search. He saves us from the things from which we need saving. His anger has turned away as we draw water from the deep wells of his salvation.

Of a Savior

This week we talked more about the mysterious man of which Isaiah foretells. This man judges the needy with righteousness, and he gives justice to the poor (Isa. 11:4). He sounds like none other. Many among the Agape congregation said that he must be Jesus; no other man fits Isaiah's description. Yet we wonder at the fact that Isaiah lived hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth. Perhaps Isaiah will continue to surprise us, as we read through his writing, with descriptive characterizations of a savior who was yet come, a man named Jesus.

The Prophet Speaks

In the first week of our series, the prophet Isaiah bemoans the fact that the people merely go through the motions while living out their relationship with God. Isaiah carries the message of the Lord's displeasure towards a people who remember how to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings but who have forgotten the orphan and the widow (Isa. 1:13,17).
In the second week of the series, Isaiah tells of a time to come when the people will return to God, when there will be peace. In order to make sense of Isaiah's optimistic prediction in a time of chaos, we asked ourselves, "What is a prophet, and why would they matter to us?" Agape found that prophets are people anointed by God to deliver a message to his people. That message can regard the past, present, or future. So what? Well, Isaiah's era mirrors ours in certain ways; there is lawlessness, religiosity, corruption, rebellion, and war (Isa 1). Yet he brings a message about a time yet to come when "the cow will feed with the bear" and "the wolf will live with the lamb" (Isa 11:6-7). A certain man will usher in this time of eagerly awaited peace. Who is he? Has he come yet? Next week, the series continues.

Isaiah Series

This past week we wrapped up our series on the fruit of the spirit with self-control, watching how God can free us and empower us to choose steps that will follow him, if we just turn to him and ask.

Next week we will begin a series on the book of Isaiah, one of the great prophets of the Old Testament. We'll look at a time in Israel's history when there was a lot of injustice, and when times were particularly hard for poor people... and we'll see what God might have said about it, and what hope he might have to offer us!

Please join us any Sunday at 9 a.m. on the Green.

Agape: Summers on the Green!

Agape will be meeting on the Green from June through August, at a later time of 9 a.m. Please join us any Sunday morning for worship, bible study, breakfast, and friendship near the corner of Elm & College, behind United Church on the Green.

All are welcome!