"God Makes a Way" - September 2023 Lesson 1

     Welcome back after our summer break to the first of the 2023-24 online Learning Together/Sunday School series! As before, each month we will explore a new Bible story with three weekly online lessons, and we will meet as a Sunday School on the fourth Sunday of each month, from 11 am. to 11:45 am., to discuss each story and do a craft.
     You and your family are invited to listen and read and create and pray around the selected story, which this month is ”God Makes a Way.” It is found on pages 92-99 of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. If you would like your own copy, our church has extra copies to give to you, to keep as long as you would like.
     Children: Please begin by listening to the story read aloud to you in our Learning Together email. As you listen, close your eyes, and imagine you are one of God’s people who is fleeing from the Pharaoh, an Egyptian king. He had been holding you and the rest of God’s people as slaves for years. After he finally agreed to set you free (Remember the 10 plagues?), he changed his mind and wanted you back to be his slaves again. How would you feel when you saw the chariots and soldiers chasing you down?
     Adults: The Biblical reference for this story is Exodus 14-15. The parting of the Red Sea is a story that many people hear in Sunday School. However, not many people associate the parting of the Red Sea with their adult life; it seems grownups leave this miracle tucked away in a child's picture Bible.
     There are several truths we as adults can learn from this groundbreaking miracle. Here is the first one:
God Can Be Trusted. Often, we can be guilty of not trusting God. Rather than trusting God, we tend to worry, fret, and panic. The parting of the Red Sea reminds us God can be trusted. The Lord divinely protected the Israelites from the Egyptians by day and by night. Pharaoh and his army were on the heels of the Israelites; they were going to overpower and recapture the Israelites. Despite the odds, the Israelites escaped the clutches of Pharaoh and his Egyptian army because of God's gracious plan. 
     When we read this account of the parting of the Red Sea, we often forget that God did the impossible and protected the Israelites by giving them dry land to cross. No mere person could make a dry path in the midst of the Red Sea as it was done by the mighty hand of God. Since God did this amazing feat for Israel, why is it so difficult for us to trust Him with the troubles of our lives?
     Instead of giving in to the constant worry in our heads, we need to dive deep into the love of God and simply trust Him.
​1 Peter 5:7 tells us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” God knows every single problem, worry, and anxious thought in our hearts and He yearns to relieve us of this burden. We can trust God because He has proven Himself faithful not only by parting the Red Sea, but also by redemption through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. If we can trust God with the salvation of our souls, we can definitely trust Him in our everyday lives. Trust God and lean on Him. He will never fail you.

​~This week’s prayer: Thank you God for hearing our prayers. Amen
   There will be two more lessons online this September about the “God Makes a Way” story. This month’s Sunday School will meet at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 24, after church services. All are welcome to join the discussion and enjoy a craft.
Have a safe week!
Margo Greer