Preparation- "I will Change Your Name"

Sermon prep is both fun and frustrating. When I get an idea I want to share it immediately. Delayed gratification is a problem with me. As I've worked on Sunday I have several visuals that I'd love to use.

Subject: The principle of God changing our names.

Idea: Posters that have names on them like "Abused" "Failure" "Powerless" "Lonely" "Wounded" etc...

And then at the end of the sermon- turning them over so that they say things like "Restored" "Redeemed" "Empowered" "Resurging"

I've thought about putting more specific things like divorced, addicted, bitter-- but I think I'm going down deeper to rooots- if that makes sense.

Nevertheless I've got to make my mind up on this issue.

Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.

Then God said to him, "This is my covenant with you: You'll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that 'I'm making you the father of many nations.' I'll make you a father of fathers—I'll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I'm giving you and your descendants this land where you're now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I'll be their God."

Genesis 17:5

15-16 God continued speaking to Abraham, "And Sarai your wife: Don't call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I'll bless her—yes! I'll give you a son by her! Oh, how I'll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her."

Genesis 32:28

17 Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, "Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?

28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, [a] because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

Others Saul, Simon to Paul and Peter.

The nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

3 You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah, [a]
and your land Beulah [b] ;
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.