GOD IS WITH US...
This DVD is the first in a great series. In this volume, Rob Bell, the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville Michigan, tells the story of a time he and his young son got caught in the middle of a thunderstorm while hiking. Through this story, Rob paints a beautiful picture of God's love for us.
God is with us every step of the way. When we can't walk, He carries us.
When we're scared, He holds us.
His love will see us through any storm. He will never leave us. This DVD gets this point across in a powerful way.
Earlier this year I lost two friends in the space of four days. I miss them both. One of them in particular I think of very often.
I cannot wait to see her again.
This DVD, Rain, reminds me that as intense as my desire is to see my friend again, God is with me here and now. His desire to spend time with me--to carry me through all grief, joys, trials, and triumph--is greater than any longing I have ever...
Lord, I trust you to carry me.
So the first nooma is Rain. And as I was watching it, I was thinking to myself, `how approproate.' The video short is all about the rain that comes into each of our lives, and the way in which we as children cry out to God through pain and uncertainty. God responds,
"In the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place." ~ Deuteronomy 1v31
And as I watched the film, my eyes welling up with tears, I knew first hand the love a Father has for his child. I always think about how inadequate I am to protect my son from danger. I can't be with him every second, I can't prevent car accidents and storms, I can't foresee bad people with bad intentions, I can't ward off disease... but anything within my power, I would do.
I love my son.
And I am the King at seeing my own shortcomings. As a pastor there is always that sin of trying to have it...
Beyond the Obvious
The presentation is a short homily on DVD that weaves Bell's personal narrative of a hiking outing with his infant son with Biblically based commentary on the nature of our relationship with God. In Bell's reaction to the storm that surprises him on his hike, we are guided into insights about how God calls us inot relationship with Him through the difficult times in our lives. Rather than focusing on why bad things happen to good people, Bell wisely sidesteps this question by asking us to accept the given fact that they do ad then focusing on how we can deal with these times in a way that draws us closer to God through our cries to Him and His love for us rather than moving away in anger and bitterness.
The amazing thing here is that the discussion almost completely avoids the "Pray and read your Bible" approach found in many materials used in youth and college groups. Instead it allows for open-ended questions, encourages authentic expressions of emotion towards God and...
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