International Welcome Dinner - 2025

Story:

Abram and Sarai were unable to have a child. In desperation, Sarai suggested that Abram take her servant Hagar as a wife so that she could bear a child for him. When Hagar became pregnant, Sarai became jealous and began to mistreat Hagar so badly that Hagar ran away from Abram and Sarai.

Genesis 16:7–10 CSB

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.”

He went on to tell her more about the child she was carrying and reassured her that, “The Lord has heard your cry of affliction” (11)

Hagar responded:

Genesis 16:13 CSB

So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?”

Hagar was away from home. She was originally from Egypt and now she was living in the land of Canaan.

She was upset and hurting because she had been mistreated, and she ran off alone.

However, she was not alone. When God spoke to her, he reminded her that the Lord heard her cry of affliction.

She called God “El-roi,” which means “The God Who Sees”

I am not sure how you found yourself here, but I want you to know that you are not alone.

There is a God in heaven who sees you; a God who knows everything about you.

This God loves you so deeply that he would send his own son, Jesus, to die on the cross for you.

He was raised from the dead and now offers you his life if you will turn your life to follow him alone.

He is still the God who sees, the God who knows, and the God who loves you deeply.

You may not know why you came tonight, but God does. He came so you could know that he sees and loves you.

You may not know what it would look like to follow Jesus, and that is what this group exists to help you figure out!