Our Sunday morning service at Clevedon is at 10 am. Join us in person or watch the live stream on our YouTube channel.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxBzxjBb3xU8ra2NHwvD_9A(The service can also be viewed at any time afterwards.)

The Reading and Reflection for today can be found below:

1 After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."
2 But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
3 Abram continued, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir."
4 But the word of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir."
5 The Lord brought him outside and said, "Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."

6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

The picture above is what the stars look like from near our place on Great Barrier Island.

Great Barrier is a dark sky sanctuary, largely because there is very little artificial light out there. Everyone has to find their own way of lighting their homes.

When you look up at the stars, especially at the Milky Way, they can seem so dense that it’s almost hard to find a gap between them.

Let’s keep that image in mind as we hear this verse from today’s text:

God brings Abram outside his tent and says,

"Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. " Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."

I imagine Abram might have seen a sky not too different from what we see at Great Barrier, or in an open area near Clevedon. Even though, of course, he would have been looking from the northern hemisphere.

Our theme over these weeks focuses on the promises we find in scripture. These promises we ultimately see fulfilled in the birth of the Messiah. 

At the beginning of the Bible, there is this grand picture of creation: the creation of stars, planets, the sun, the earth, living creatures, and human beings from the dust. Then, people go astray, misusing the freedom and power they were given. They try to be like God instead of fully human. Adam and Eve in the garden… The misuse of freedom leads to destruction—the flood, Noah and the ark, the rainbow, and a new chance. A new promise. The tower of Babel. The scattering of people.

From these great stories, we come down to one man and one woman, Abram and Sarai—who haven’t yet had their names changed to Abraham and Sarah. They are called and blessed, called and blessed to begin a whole new family—a family whose primary calling is to be a blessing to others and to nations.

At this point, Abram and Sarai have left their homeland and started their journey towards the future promised to them by God. God called them to leave and travel to the land of Canaan.

We take our place in this story as we walk with Abram and Sarai.

Something stirs within us, and we realise it’s time to move forward, for the sake of ourselves, those we love, our world, and our faith.

It’s only by moving forward that we discover how God’s promises can be fulfilled in us.

There is something more for you and me.

God says, "I will bless you. I will bless those who bless you. And in you, in the history of God’s story in which we stand, the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Now, as we come to these verses, time has passed. Abram and Sarai have travelled to Canaan, and then down to Egypt. They have amassed wealth, followers, and even a small army. Yet despite their victories, wealth, and the promises they received from God, there seems to be no hope, no future.

The story this morning begins with Abram having a vision or a dream in which God speaks to him.

Perhaps Abram had given up. He and Sarai had been on a long journey, accumulating wealth and experiences, but despite all that—and despite even the memory of God’s call—Abram believed there was no future.

Sometimes it can be hard to imagine a future when things don’t work out, when we face tragedy, or when we feel overwhelmed by what’s happening around us. Sometimes it seems like there’s nothing left. We may have already made up our minds and resigned ourselves to how things are.

So, a vision or a dream becomes the last place where God can still speak to us.

"Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

Reassurance, promise, protection. Aren’t these the words we long to hear, especially when the future seems uncertain?

It’s a big deal, because the Bible tells us time and time again to have courage, to not be afraid.

Here today, a vision—not based on fear but on promise, safety, and assurance of God’s presence.

When you’re young, people often ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” But today, God asks that question of adults, even ageing adults. 

Into this intimate, sometimes unspoken world of faith, God speaks. But the word isn’t necessarily what we expect.

God speaks of hope, of blessing—living a life based on decisions that express faith rather than fear, even when things don’t work out as we thought, even in times of despair.

Abram has an argument with God. He’s in his tent when God promises him a future. Abram responds,

“There’s nothing, God. I have no family. A slave will take my inheritance.”

Remember, a few chapters earlier, we were told that Sarai and Abram couldn’t have children.

This morning, we are with Abram and Sarai—they have no children, but they have the call and the promise of blessing, the promise of a future, even if they don’t know how it will come about.

Abram and Sarai have concubines, slaves, and servants—perhaps even mercenaries among their group. This is hardly the image of what we might think of as the ideal family. 

Abram’s faith isn’t about peaceful acceptance. It’s a hard-fought, deeply argued conviction.

Abram is dragged out of his tent, out of his comfortable space. We want to stay in our tent—it’s comfortable, it keeps us safe. But we forget a tent is temporary.

Abram is told to look at the heavens and count the stars.

A few months ago I listened to an interview with an astrophysicist - he was asked, “Given your knowledge of the vastness of the universe, doesn’t it make you feel small and insignificant?”

His response was interesting: “Quite the opposite,” he said. “We’ve been given this extraordinary gift of wonder—to look out and find beauty, hope, and awe.”

Here we are with Abram, on a dark night, under the glory of the Milky Way, with countless stars above. It is here that Abram can believe what seemed impossible inside his tent.

The God who created the heavens and scattered the stars across the sky is the same God who promises Abram and Sarai, countless descendants.

Maybe we’ve all experienced it—small worries becoming overwhelming. But here, with Abram, the vast universe becomes personal. There is a future for you. It may not be simple or easy to understand, but it is filled with hope, wonder, and promise.

If you want to understand the magnitude of God’s promise and blessing, count the stars. God is God.

The one who gives the promise is the one who makes it believable. Out of your tent. Count the stars. Then you will know something of the nature and greatness of the promises God has made to you and me.

Amen.