"When Your Arms Are Tired"

Pastor Laura Guy

August 3, 2008

Here's an instant replay of what happened in worship:

We heard Fusion sing a song about looking for the Promised Land.
We traced the connection between the book of Genesis – the story of how it all began and God’s plan for new nation – with the story of the exodus. When the Hebrews came to Egypt to find food at the end of Genesis, they ended up staying and becoming a problem for the Egyptians. The “solution” was to make them slaves. The story of Moses and their fight for freedom is found in the book of Exodus.
We read about how the freed slaves were refugees, wandering in the wilderness. They were vulnerable to attack, and when the Amalekites struck, they had to fight back for their survival.
We read Exodus 17:8-16 and saw how, as long as Moses held his staff over the battle, the Hebrews were victorious. But when Moses’ arms got tired and he lowered his staff, the Amalekites began to win. Aaron and Hur came alongside Moses to hold up his arms.
We thought about the ways we hold up the arms of others. Sometimes we help our leaders, coming alongside them to do all the important jobs they cannot do. Sometimes we hold up their arms by praying for them or encouraging them. But we can also hold up the arms of one another, whenever we are worn down by the battles of life, and we feel like giving up. Our friends or small group can pray for us, encourage us and comfort us. This is the beauty of a church family where we can share our lives with others.
We prayed for God to help us know when it is time to hold up someone else’s arms and when it is time to ask for someone to hold our arms up.
We shared communion around the table of love.