Sermon Summary: His whole life Jacob had been striving. He had striven with Esau in the womb, striven with Isaac to get the blessing, striven with Laban and ends up rich. And now God appears to him in flesh and wrestles with him— so that he might show him mercy. Not mercy from afar, but mercy up close.
Listen to the sermon here.
Key Verse: Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Genesis 32:29-31
Reflection Questions:
- In what ways do you identify with Jacob? What parts of Jacob’s story do you identify with?
- What does Jacob deserve? What does he receive?
- How has God shown us mercy in Christ? How is that similar to how God shows Jacob mercy? Reflect on the parallels.
- In what area(s) of your life do you need to trust that God is a merciful savior (that he gives to us what we do not deserve and that He does something better than we could do ourselves)?