brotherly hatred

Good evening/morning sisters and brothers,
I'd like to mention again a cool opportunity to serve our neighbors this weekend. On Friday evening beginning at 5pm we'll be staffing the hotdog and dippin dots stands at the Redwings game to raise money for the Rochester Family Mission. The mission provides great programs for kids as well as feeding families and teaching the Bible. Raise money while enjoying a great time at the ballpark. Please give me a call or an email if you can help out.

Today's reading will also be our main passage for Sunday, so it would be really cool if you have questions you'd like to explore if you send them to me so I can think about your questions as I prepare. The story of Cain and Abel is both familiar and strange. Jealousy and murder are as common as TV or newspaper articles. But many details seem strange to us. For one thing, if we read the creation story as the whole, historical account of humanity, who is Cain worried about? There are questions hovering around the text, but the biggest one is directed at each of us: how will we master sin when it lurks at our door?

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 4:3-15

³In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

⁶The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? ⁷If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

⁸Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. ⁹Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! ¹¹And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹²When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

¹³Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! ¹⁴Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” ¹⁵Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.

leaving the garden

Good morning friends,
One exciting opportunity I haven't shared with you aggressively enough is an Urban Presbyterians Together initiative called Boots on the Street. Boots on the Street is an intensive week of community service by our urban churches to make a difference and show the community we care. This is the week and there are many ways you can participate. If you've enjoyed home rebuilding projects or wanted to, but never been able to, there are opportunities to spend a day working on a Habitat house in Rochester. That opportunity is available Wednesday through Saturday and is an all day commitment. There are also opportunities to serve in food ministries at Third Presbyterian Church on Thursday or Saturday. New Life, Brighton and Calvary St. Andrews all have touch up projects this week. I'll be heading over to School 25 (Goodman and Bay) to do some painting and possibly some gardening tomorrow afternoon around 4. Please give me a call (340-6095) or email if you can help out with any of these opportunities. You'll have a good time, get a T shirt, and meet other great Presbyterians engaged in the community.

Our reading today follows up the story of Adam and Eve leaving the garden and beginning their family. The twists and turns of the story of God's people keep things interesting.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 3:20-4:2

²⁰The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

²¹And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.

²²Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life. 

4:1 Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.” ²Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.

trouble in the garden

Good evening brothers and sisters,
Today's story is the story of Adam and Eve and the serpent. This story is also often called the story of the fall. Notice that the woman hadn't yet been created when God told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Also, as Susan Dennis pointed out, the woman wouldn't know that there was such a thing as lying, making her very vulnerable to the serpent's temptation.
Blessings on your day,
Sam

Genesis 3:1-8

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ²The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; ³but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; ⁵for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. ⁸They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

⁹But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” ¹¹He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹²The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” ¹³Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

¹⁴The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. ¹⁵I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” ¹⁶To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

¹⁷And to the man he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ¹⁸thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Adam and Christ

Good morning friends,
I'm grateful every day for the ministry of mothers, but today I'm especially mindful. I pray worship at Laurelton is joyful and meaningful today. I'm on the way to New Orleans with Maggie, Donna, Scott and Gary. Keep us in prayer as we work to help a family come home. I'm sure we'll find some time to enjoy the city as well.

Today's reading moves deeper into Paul's discussion of resurrection. He argues that if there's no resurrection, that means Christ wasn't raised. Since Christ's resurrection is the heart of our faith, without that our salvation, the world's destiny and everything else are up in the air. He also describes how Jesus is the cure for Adam's curse. Death and sin came into the world with Adam's disobedience, so it's fitting that those problems are solved with another man, Jesus', obedience. Read Paul's argument carefully and see what you think. We'll be coming back to this chapter pretty soon.

God bless,
Sam

1 Corinthians 15:12-26

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; ¹⁴and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. ²¹For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; ²²for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

grace abounds

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today's reading is a classic way of looking at the redeeming work of Christ on the cross. When we were enemies, in other words, when we didn't know God and were still trapped in our sins Christ rescued us through his death. If Jesus would go to those lengths before we even knew him, now that we are his, we can be confident that there's nothing he won't do for us. After this introduction Paul relates Jesus to Adam. Adam's sin contaminated all of human kind but Christ's redemption spreads even further with its healing power. We can trust Christ's love and power to heal us no matter what.

God bless,
Sam

Romans 5:8-18

⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. ⁹Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

¹¹But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. ¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— ¹³sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. ¹⁴Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

¹⁵But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. ¹⁶And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.  

¹⁷If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. ¹⁸Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.

temptation

Good morning friends,
Sorry for the break in daily readings; I'm finding it challenging to put all the readings together in our new reading schedule. Once I get the hang of something new it will be easier. Today's reading is the known as "The Fall," the story of Adam and Eve turning away from God's one command in the Garden of Eden. Before this moment Adam and Eve didn't feel any distance between themselves and God. It's hard to even imagine what that would be like. It's interesting too that it only takes a few minutes of their new knowledge to learn to blame others for their mistakes. The feeling of separation from God is simply a part of our reality now. We can't give back the knowledge of good and evil, but we can seek unity with God and accept God's grace to bring us home.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 3:1-13

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ²The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; ³but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; ⁵for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. ⁸They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

⁹But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” ¹¹He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹²The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” ¹³Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

crafty snake

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today's story is familiar to most of us and also quite strange. As often as I have read it there are parts of the story that don't make sense to me. I don't understand why God didn't want the man and woman to eat from the tree, for instance. The serpent uses the fact that the man and woman are unsuspecting, as Susan D. pointed out, they wouldn't even know there was such a thing as deception. He makes them feel like God is holding something good back from them. With that angle he tries to pry the people away from their natural trust in God. The saddest part of the passage to me is that God strolls in the garden in the evening. Where the man and woman perhaps used to run out to greet their maker; now they hide from God. We still feel that distance, sometimes even that fear of God. But in Christ, God welcomes all of us back home with open arms.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 3:1-8

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”



6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. 8They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Adam and Christ

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today Paul draws a parallel between Jesus and Adam. Adam (and Eve) first disobeyed God. Their sin brought judgment and death into the world, which has held power over us since then. Jesus came into the world to heal the separation between us and God. Scripture often talks about Jesus as a second Adam because in him we are a new creation; we have a fresh start. He overcame our sin with grace and replaced our disobedience with perfect obedience to God. Now that Christ has come, sin no longer has the upper hand. God's free gift of grace overpowers sin, and one day will complete the reconciliation between people, creation and God. Until then we work in hope for a day of peace and love, trusting in God who forgives and welcomes us.

Blessings on your week,
Sam

Romans 5:11-21

11But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— 13sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.


15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

sin and forgiveness

Good morning friends,
Hopefully, you or your cell phone remembered to set your clock ahead last night. A little later this morning we'll get to hear from our special Laurelton guest, Tiffany Aurora about her peacemaking trip to Iraq this past October. I hope you can join us for her presentation and discussion after worship. Our readings this morning are different from our readings for the service; we'll read this Genesis passage in a week or two. It tells the famous story of humanity's first turn away from God after creation. Notice that the man and woman are together when the serpent tempts them. The serpent is very crafty, since as Susan Dennis pointed out when we read this story in Supper and Scripture, she wouldn't have even known that lying was a possibility for the serpent. Our Psalm is one of my favorites because it gives us a powerful image for how much we suffer when we keep our sins to ourselves. When we return to God with confession, God is always ready to free us from the horrible burden of guilt. We'll talk more about that later today. The paragraph breaks in the Psalm show where different speakers take the lead: first the Psalmist, then God, then the Psalmist.

See you in church,
Sam

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

2:15The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

3:1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.



*Sunday

Psalm 32

1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah

6 Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.

7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah



8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.



10 Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.