Category: Brian Sharpe

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by Brian Sharpe

I love when I listen to a speaker and they teach on a story from the Bible that I know well, and they bring out points I never saw.

This happened to me a couple weeks ago, when I was on the senior high retreat at Black Lake Bible Camp. The speaker taught the story of Esau trading his birthright for some soup his brother Jacob made. It was a big deal to be the firstborn son in that culture. Esau, as the firstborn son, had the responsibility to take care of the family when his dad died. Because of this, Esau and all firstborns in that culture were given more of an inheritance.

Esau was a hunter. On the day this story takes place, Esau went on a hunt. While out he did not find anything. He was getting hungry, so he decided to head home. On his way home, he just kept getting hungrier. When he was close to home he saw his brother Jacob and smelled a soup or lentil stew that Jacob had made.

Jacob’s name meant “deceiver,” and he was just that. Esau asked his brother for some soup. Jacob asked, “What do I get in return?” Then Jacob told Esau: give me your birthright and I will give you some soup and bread.

Esau agreed to do it! This was a huge mistake on Esau’s part. God made him the firstborn and gave him the responsibility that came with that.

Most of us have heard this story before. The point the speaker made was that we often are willing to sacrifice who God made us to be for what we want at the time. This hit me hard. I know too often I sacrifice who God wants me to be for wants that I have. I know that I spend way too much time watching or reading about sports. God created me to be a disciple, a loving father and husband, and I can sacrifice that by choosing to spend my time, selfishly, on my own wants.

We all need to evaluate how we invest the time God gave us. Tomina and I just spent some time setting goals for us individually and as a family. We set these goals to help us make sure that we are focusing on who God created us to be as a family.

It is far too easy to just live life reactively. It is harder to live a proactive life. When we live reactively we are focused on the here-and-now and not on where God desires us to be in the future. Please take time this week and evaluate how you are giving up your birthright as a son or daughter of God for some soup. How are you growing into the person God created you to be and what is holding you back from surrendering your whole life to God?

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by Brian Sharpe

At Elim over the years we have tried to make prayer a priority. We have had prayer times in, before and during the worship services. We also met on Monday nights and for special prayer times for happenings at Elim. We have explored many ways to gather for prayer because we believe prayer is important. Jesus said that God works when his people pray.

Throughout the Bible we see crazy and amazing things happen when God’s people pray. Job spent most of his book defending himself against his friends. It was not until he stopped talking that God started to talk and when God was done, Job was humbled by the greatness and vastness of God. Abraham was moved from the place where he grew up to the place where God was going to make Israel a great nation. Abraham petitioned God to save his nephew Lot when God was going to torch Sodom and Gomorrah. Elijah called down fire on the prophets of Bail through prayer. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were saved from a furnace through prayer. The lion’s mouths were closed and did not eat Daniel because of prayer. Prayer stopped rain for three years and then prayer made the heavens open up. Prayer is crazy and amazing.

We see throughout the Bible that God works in and through his people using
prayer. It’s a tool that God has given us to tap into the power of the almighty God and a lot of times we only use this tool before meals and bed times. I know I am growing in my understanding and my use of prayer. God has really convicted me about this. Prayer is where we invite God to work in a situation. It is where we recognize we need him. It is where we surrender and ask God to please work.

This is why we want to be a church that is marked by prayer. We want to be
a praying church. That is why we are excited about the prayer time on January 16th. God has taken Elim on a journey using The Gathering. When we completed The Gathering and began the fall schedule a group of people committed to pray for what God desired to do with The Gathering.

We gathered in October for a time of eating, communion and prayer. When we were done we thought this was something we wanted to open up to everyone at Elim once we got past the holidays. So that is what is happening on January 16th. It will be a time of eating, communion and prayer for Elim. It will be a time where we invite God to do some crazy and amazing things in and through Elim.

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