The God who Leads us on

by Ronni Lamont

About the book

Bible stories can seem so familiar that we fail to connect with the lives and characters they reveal. How did Sarai really feel about God’s call to seventy-five year old Abram to leave everything homely and familiar behind? What was it like being an Israelite as God’s plagues were raining down on the Egyptians? How can we recapture the bewilderment and wonder of Mary and Joseph obediently playing their parts in the purposes of God? What must it have been like, as one of the poor unfortunates cast aside by society, to have your life instantly transformed by the healing love of Jesus? Or to witness Peter, the oaf who was always saying the wrong thing, becoming the rock on which the church is built?

In reflecting on the frailties, uncertainties and mysteries of the human experience, these lively and provocative story meditations offer real insight into the nature of salvation. Each is followed by suggestions, which individuals or groups may use, for contemplation and prayer.

You can buy a copy of the book here.

About the author

The Revd Ronni Lamont worked for many years as a teacher and spent 16 years in Parish ministry, most recently at St John the Evangelist in Bexley. She has a wealth of training and development experience, and specializes in creativity and innovation, children’s spirituality and pastoral training (see www.creativespirituality.org.uk ). She is the author of the widely acclaimed Understanding Children Understanding God, also published by SPCK. Her readings of the stories in this book have proved popular in churches across the UK.

Find out more about Ronni Lamont and her full title list here.

Questions about The God Who Leads Us On

1. There are questions following each story in the book and these are reproduced below. First some general questions and activities related to the book. One way of using these in a group situation is to discuss in pairs and then share your thoughts with the whole group.

2. Which was your favourite story? Can you say why it appealed to you? Are there some stories which seem to resonate with a number of people?

3. Which are the most memorable characters from the book? Why do they stand out? Are they necessarily the ‘best’ people in terms of their behaviour and attitudes?
Do you share characteristics with any of the characters you have met in the stories? Which character is most like you?

4. Do you recognise any of the characters in the stories? Are they like people you know?

5. Try writing your own character-based story, using an incident from a bible story as the author of The God who leads us on has done.

6. What do you think about this way of exploring bible stories? Does it help you to understand the story better? Can it help you in your attempts to live a Christian life?

Story questions, reflections and prayers from the book

The mark of Cain
Think of the ‘big regrets’ in your life: how far are you thinking back?
Have you ever given these regrets to God, and left them with God?
Could you do that, and walk away, leaving them in God’s hands? If not – why do you want to hang on to these regrets?
Perhaps today you could leave them behind, and walk into this new season with less baggage.

Abram’s call
How does God keep his promises in your life?
Think about the areas of your life that you’ve kept from God, possibly without intending to . . .
God has promised us so much, but how do we respond?
The Lord, he keeps his promises, but sometimes he takes a long time.
Reflect on the things that you are still waiting for from God, but know are on their way, and thank God for all the things you already have.

A son for Sarai
‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.’
Heb 13 v 2′
Out tradition of hospitality is somewhat lacking compared to that of Abraham’s era. How can we make people welcome today – in our homes, in our workplace and in our churches?

A wife for Isaac
Lord, sometimes you ask me to do things that seem daft, foolhardy, impossible.
Help me to know that you will be there with me, accompanying me every step of the way, holding my hand and speaking in my ear.
Give me the confidence to step out in faith when I hear your call, to do you will. Amen

Jacob’s ladder
Pause and think about that last sentence:
‘Beth-El is wherever I am. I just have to remember the Lord is here. Always.’
Reflect that the Lord is with you, now, wherever you are.
How easy to you find it to remember God’s presence?
Take a moment of quiet to thank God for his continuing love in your life, and for God’s love for you, here and now.

The parting of the Red Sea
God works in mysterious ways.
Think back over your life; has God done amazing things for you, but in a way where it was only when you looked back that you saw the pattern? If so, give thanks, and spend some time remembering the way that God has been active in your life.
If you don’t see God active in your life, spend a few moments asking God to reveal to you where he has indeed been at work.

Naomi’s story
Prayer
Lord God,
God of heaven and earth,
Of Jews and Christians,
Help me to hold onto my faith when life is hard
And to give thanks to you when life is good.
Amen

Jeremiah’s call
Think about the difficult things that God asks you to do today.
Now reflect for a few minutes on the words to Jeremiah at the top of the page.
Take comfort in the words at the end of the story;
‘Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the LORD.’

Psalm 137: ‘By the rivers of Babylon’
Think back over the hard times that you have gone through in the course of your life. Did God feel close to you at those times, or was God distant?
How do our feelings get in the way of our day-to-day experience of life as Christians?
Do you have any techniques to help you through days when you feel God is distant?
If you don’t, take some time to consider what you can do to keep your walk with God positive, and how you handle the more trying days.

Malachi reflects
Prayer
Come Lord. Come and bring your justice and mercy to my life.
May the sun of righteousness rise indeed, with healing in his wings. And may that healing apply to all the hurting and sad people that live in this world, and in this place.

Joseph’s tale
Pray for all the babies who will be born today, and in particular for babies born to parents who are homeless.
Pray too for families who will lose their babies today, through illness, starvation, or through violence.

Christmas Eve
Think about all the hard tasks to be done today.
In your mind, lay these tasks into the palm of God, and leave them there.
Now spend a few moments relishing the lightness of your load, and celebrating God’s love for you.

The Baptism of Christ
Think back to a time when God moved deeply in your life.
Reflect on the changes that movement brought and how that has affected your life, and give thanks for your spiritual journey.

The death of John the Baptist
Is there anything in your life that came back to haunt you?
Could you make amends for that action, perhaps by meeting with a person that you hurt?
Writing a letter, making contact?
Pray about that situation now, and ask God’s spirit to give you the wisdom to make amends.

The healing of Bartimaeus
For sighted people; how much do you take your senses for granted? Look out, and enjoy the view, no matter what it is, for you can see it. Thank God for the beauty of the world around you, and pray for those who are losing their sight.
For those with no sight; pray for people who can see, that they might recognise the difference that you bring to the world. Thank God for the beauty of the world, and for all that you enjoy of it.

Zacchaeus
How important is your ‘lifestyle’?
Reflect on how much of your money is spent on the latest fashion, shoes, gadgets.
Are these things really necessary in your life? Pray about them now, and listen to what God replies.

Peter’s confession
Think back on a situation where you opened your mouth and said just the wrong thing.
How did you feel? Did you learn from that situation?
Reflect on that time with God – what is God saying through your embarrassment?
Have you overcome this tendency? Have you seen God work through your seemingly gauche comments?
What does this show you about how God works?

Peter’s great confession
How often have you wished that God would speak through you?
How often does that happen and you not realise?
Reflect on the wisdom that you have, and ask God to help you to know when it’s appropriate to share, and when it’s better to keep silence.

The Good Samaritan (1)
We often judge people by what they look like, their accent or their clothes. God looks at the heart. Pray today that God would help you to look past the exterior, to value the person within.

The Good Samaritan (2)
Pray today for children caught up in criminal behaviour, and especially those working for adult gangs. Pray too for their families, and the victims of their crimes.
Remember children in custody, and those in care due to criminal activity, that God’s spirit might enter their hearts and restore feelings of worth and value.

A leper reflects upon Naaman
Today it is often something other than an illness that drives people out of their communities; it may be shameful circumstances, something from their past that has come back to haunt them. Christians with problems in their spiritual lives sometimes stop going to church because they think they will be judged by the others in the congregation.
Pray today for all outcasts, for whatever reason, that they might be healed and able to rejoin the community that they have left.

Bread and fish
Many of us feel as if we have very little that God could use to help others, to reach them.
All this lad had was a picnic.
The trick is to offer  what we have to God, and then see what God can do with it – for we all do have gifts, and they were given to us by God.
Jesus took something very small and turned it into a feast! What gift do you have to offer, that Jesus can transform for you today?

The woman with the haemorrhage
Many people live with debilitating illness for years without hope.
Have you something that is pulling you down emotionally or physically?
How do you pray about it?
How do you cope if it doesn’t go away? If it isn’t healed?

The raising of Lazarus
You might like to read by Gwyneth Lewis’ poem VIII from her book ‘Zero gravity’.

Has God let you down recently? How did you deal with it? Did you tell God, as Martha did, how hurt and disappointed you were? Or did you feel that it was somehow wrong to be angry with God? Read Jeremiah Ch 20 v 7-12 if you need some help.

The Pharisee’s dilemma
Prayer
Lord God, help me to perceive you speaking to me, no matter how hard it may be to hear you using that voice.
Lord God, help me to put my prejudice to one side and to follow your call.
Lord God, help me to be faithful to you, no matter what.

Palm Sunday
If you have the poem, read ‘What the Donkey saw’ by U.A. Fanthorpe
Like the donkey at Christmas, this donkey knew what was going on, understood far more than many of the people who witnessed the entry into Jerusalem.
How often do we assume that we know more than others? How often do we think that our way is the right way, the only way?
Ask God to let you see other people’s motivations today, that you might come alongside them with a compassionate heart and mind

The woman and the oil
We’re not generally very good at worship in the sense that we see it in the above story.
How could you worship more openly?
Spend some time sitting quietly, opening your heart to God. Offer your entire being; relax and let yourself go. You might find it useful to picture yourself in the palm of God’s hand, just being in God’s presence.
The washing of the disciples’ feet
How do you cope when people break boundaries with you in the way that Jesus did in this story? Do you adjust and smile, or do you respond in an aggressive way, trying to keep traditional boundaries in place?
Jesus wants his followers to be servants; how easy is that?

The Garden of Gethsemane
In your minds eye, revisit the Garden; what would you have done?
Spend some time praying about your reaction.

The crucifixion
You might like just to be quiet and within yourself after this story; take time to ponder and reflect the pain and agony.
Thank God that Jesus was prepared to suffer such a cruel death, that we might be redeemed.

Mary in the Garden
Where is Jesus for you, today?
Look for him as you go through the day, and consciously seek him out.
Where is Jesus for you, today?

The Ascension
Take time to think over a period of your life when God seemed to have withdrawn. How did you cope? Take time to think about the methods that you used to maintain your spiritual life.
Then think about the experience of God seeming to come closer again, and reflect on how that felt.
Thank God that he is always with us, even to the end of the earth.
Pentecost
Has God ever moved in your heart in the way that he moved Peter’s and the other disciples on the day of Pentecost?
Have you ever witnessed people undergo life changes thanks to the work of God’s Spirit?
Pray for people in your church community, that the Spirit of God would sweep through your church and bring changes, so that the Kingdom of God might move forward as surely as it did at Pentecost.

The raising of Tabitha
Few people, if any, have witnessed this sort of revival of the dead. But God continues to heal in different ways. Where do you need healing in your life? Which part of you is dead, and lost?

A letter from Thessalonica
Think back over the years that you have been worshipping at your present church. Think what it was like when you joined, and compare what it is like now.
Has it grown and changed? Or has it gone backwards, becoming more closed and less inclusive?
Pray for your local church community, that it might grow and change as surely as the church at Thessalonica.

From Andrew
Do you have many Christian friends who are nearing the end of their natural life? Have you talked with them about their journey of faith?
Find out as much as you can from the older members of your faith community about their Christian lives – perhaps put together a record of their stories, and be encouraged by what God has done for them.

A Bishop’s tale
God took a somewhat diffident slave, and transformed him to become a bishop of the early church.
Imagine what God could do for you!