Sermons by Rev. Lloyd Harter

Why did Jacob separate from Laban? What was the spiritual life around Jacob that made him reevaluate whether this was a good place to raise his family? What is the spiritual life around us? How do we still engage and witness to the world around us while still separating from the world around us as Jesus regularly did? We learn from Jesus, and we learn today from Jacob’s example as well. We continue our study of the book of Genesis…

What is mysticism, and how did the Patriarch’s fall prey to this common Christian misunderstanding of how God works in our lives? How can we better Justin God after learning what mysticism is? We continue our journey of the book of Genesis today in chapter 30:25-43. 

Why were Leah and Rachel in such a bitter competition with each other? How did this ruin their perception of God’s blessings? How did this ruin their relationships with their family? How did this affect their relationship with God? We continue our study of the book of Genesis today in 30:1-24.

What makes Leah one of the most admirable people in the Bible? How did she overcome her adversity? What was her response to adversity? What can we learn from Leah’s beautiful faith and personality? We continue our study of the book of Genesis finishing chapter 29 today.

With the hard and trying time Jacob had to go through with his experience in Padan Aram and with uncle Laban, we might be tempted to pity Jacob, but God was disciplining Jacob. What does that mean? What is the goal of discipline from God? We continue our study of the book of Genesis today in chapter 29:1–30.

Do you pray too small? Do you ask God for things far less than he is capable of giving, wants to give, and will give you? How can we learn to pray confidently, boldly, and with large requests? We can learn from Jacob. We continue our study of the book of Genesis today in Chapter 28.

How would Jacob be able to weather the coming trials in fleeing to his uncle Laban’s house? How does God give us the strength to weather our trials? We continue our study of the book of Genesis today in chapter 27 & 28.

As we continue through our journey in the book of Genesis, today in we see the favoritism of Isaac and Rebekah come to a head in family turmoil and attempted defiance of God’s will. What makes favoritism so dangerous? What does any of that have to do with carrying across? We continue in Genesis 27.

What pressure was Isaac living under from the Philistines and famine? Hiw did Isaac show grace under pressure? When we feel pressured or hurt by others, how can we respond with a magnanimous heart rather than anger or frustration? We continue our study of the book of Genesis with further selected verses in chapter 26.

Why would God say that Abraham kept his statutes and commandments when Abraham had a mixed record of faithfully keeping God’s commands? Why would God want in the future to be known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in spite of their imperfections? Why would God want to be known as our God, especially at our deaths? We continue our study of the book of Genesis today in chapter 26.