Out of Chaos

Description

Perfect for:

• Sunday school groups
• Ministries with recovering
• Women’s groups
• Small groups

In these pages you will:

• Appreciate the presence of chaos as a signal that God wants to renew and refresh
• Learn the theological significance that order and chaos bear on the character of God
• Understand the heartfelt, healthy response we can have to chaos in our lives

Life is a hot mess. There’s the bedlam of getting out the door in the morning. The constant breaking down of our homes and bodies and the cars we drive. And the institutions that promise to help are often no better. We are surrounded by the constant disorder of governments and disappointed by “organized” religion, the very entities that tell us they can provide us sanity and security. Instead, they leave us scratching our heads or licking our wounds. Chaos surrounds us, and at times, it seems to rule our souls, our families, and our world.

But does chaos always end in failure or flaw?

What if chaos was more than the check engine light of lost causes? What if chaos was the raw material out of which God creates? In the beginning God brought order from chaos, filling the chaos with a beautiful creation, and he’s been doing it ever since. Where you and I may experience confusion and disorder, God sees an opportunity for something new—for a rebirth, a renewal, and a renovation. God did this in the beginning, he did it again at the cross, and with renewed vision for our disordered world today, we look to God to do it again.

Inspired by the powerful picture of creation in Genesis 1:2, author Jessica LaGrone challenges the hope-destroying belief that God has abandoned us in our broken relationships, our pain, and our grief. In the midst of our out-of-control lives, God is there, and he specializes in making new things from the chaos that threatens to drown us. When we experience chaos in our own lives and everything feels like it is falling apart, God is just getting started. When the Spirit of God hovers, chaos can give birth to hope.

About the Author

Jessica LaGrone is the Dean of the Chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. She is an acclaimed pastor, teacher, speaker, and writer whose engaging communication style endears her to groups throughout the United States. A native of Texas, Jessica is an ordained pastor in the Texas Annual Conference at the United Methodist Church and previously served for nine years at The Woodlands United Methodist Church near Houston, Texas.

For more Seedbed resources, please visit my.seedbed.com