Sun. Nov. 16, 2008 (Garry Janzen)

Garry Janzen (Executive Minister of MC-BC and former Pastor of the Sherbrooke Mennonite Church) talked about how life has elements which are predictable and others which are not. The Book of Judges is comprised of stories illustrating the predictable pattern in which Israel sins, is punished, repents, God agrees to help and delivers them (and then the whole pattern recurs). Judges 4 continues this pattern by telling of another specific time in which Israel is punished for yet again forsaking God. This time the countryside is dominated by the King of Canaan whose technology produced iron for chariots, armour and weapons--none of which was available to the agrarian Jews. Once Israel finally repented (yet again), God sent deliverance, this time unexpectedly through two women. The first was Deborah, who had become Israel's foremost prophet and judge. Deborah inspired Israel's disorganized male leadership to raise 10,000 men. She then accompanied them into battle, and against all odds, the Jews were victorious. Shortly thereafter, again unexpectedly, Jael (a nomadic woman) somehow drove a tent peg through the head of King Jabin of Hazor, one of Israel's arch enemies. The writer of Judges portrays both women as acting decisively, promptly and heroically, even when faced with unpredictable events in their lives and the lives of their people. What is predictable/unpredictable in our lives and the lives of our congregations, and how do we respond to them (or prepare ourselves to respond)? [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday Nov. 16th, 2008 using your browser's preferred media player.