every common bush afire with God: Genesis 12 - 35

Read the purpose for these posts here.
p.s., I hope you'll be watching for these lower-case i incarnations of truth in the art you encounter in your own journey.  Feel free to share them in the comment section!



Union Center Worship, Oct. 3:  Abraham is Blessed to be a Blessing (Genesis 12 - 35)
  • Arise O God and Shine, (words: William Hurn, music: Chris Miner)
  •  Reading from The Story, p. 10 (building the bridge from Noah to Abraham)
  • Famous One, (Jesse Reeves and Chris Tomlin)
  • Greeting One Another/ Offering / Announcements
  • Scripture Reading
  • Give Reviving, (words: Albert Midlane & Chelsey Scott, music: Chelsey Scott & Aaron Sands)  
  • Message, part 1: the Abrahamic covenant
  • Changed, (Aaron Niequist)
  • Message, part 2:  Suffering of Hagar, Abraham, Isaac and God
  • O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus, (words: Samuel Trevor Francis, music: Walsh melody adapted by Thomas John Williams)
  • Call for Repentence
Linked to Worship Blog Carnival at worshipcommunity.com.


Week Two: Genesis 12 - 35
Hagar in the Wildnerness
Camille Corot
oil on canvas, 1835

Themes:  family tree of Abraham, test of faith, patriarchal blessing, naming, dysfunctional family makes good, searching for the Promised Land, sibling rivalries, 


The Sacrifice of Isaac
Caravaggio
oil on canvas, 1601-02
"The Fear came to me in the night and whispered words of hope into my ear. He told me that he loved me as he had loved Laughter, my father before me, and Abraham, my grandfather before that.  He repeated the ancient promises that never fail to frighten me with their beauty just as the Fear himself never fails to frighten me." (Frederick Buechner, The Son of Laughter)

Literature:
Farewell to Ishmael
George Segal
sculpture, 1987
Abraham to kill him
Was distinctly told—
Isaac was an Urchin—
Abraham was old—

Not a hesitation—
Abraham complied—
Flattered by Obeisance
Tyranny demurred—

Isaac—to his children
Lived to tell the tale—
Moral—with a mastiff
Manners may prevail. 

(Emily Dickinson, Abraham to Kill Him)

Poetry:
    Jacob and the Angel
    Sir Jacob Epstein
    alabaster sculpture, 1940-1
    "Oh God said to Abraham, 'Kill me a son'/
    Abe says, 'Man, you must be puttin’ me on' "
    (Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited)
    Music:


    Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
    John Martin
    1852
    Film/Television:
    The Lion King includes themes of blessing, naming, rivalry and sacrifice.
    Art from the archives influenced by Genesis 1-8:





    Resources




    The Writing on the Wall: High Art, Popular Culture and the Bible by Maggie Dawn