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.

creation, part 1

Good afternoon brothers and sisters,
Today's reading is the beginning of the story of creation. We're starting a new series at Laurelton looking at some important stories in the Bible in order. It will end up being something like a whirlwind tour of the whole Bible story. Where better to start our tour than with the very beginning? So today we begin at the beginning. As we'll talk about on Sunday, there are really two stories of creation in the Bible. The first gives a very orderly account of creation day by day, while the second changes the order and focuses on human life. Enjoy as we read this familiar story.

God bless,
Sam


Genesis 1:1-13

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ²the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. ⁸God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. ¹²The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

long stories and hard blessings

Good morning brothers and sisters,
A conversation yesterday reminded me that this story we're reading can feel very disconnected from our lives and also sometimes feels like it's going on for ever. The Book of Genesis is the story of beginnings: the beginning of the world and the beginning of God's chosen people, Israel. This long family story we've been following tells us how we get from one couple's calling (Abraham and Sarah) to a nation called by God to be special. As we follow the twists and turns of Abraham and Sarah's children and now grandchildren's lives we see that God's calling doesn't run in a straight line. The story matters to us because when God called Abraham God promised that through Abraham not only his descendants, but the whole world would be blessed through him. We believe that this promise is fulfilled in Jesus, who took a message to a particular people and opened it up to everyone.

Today's story is what happened the night before Jacob was going to meet Esau. He send his family and possessions ahead and was to follow the next morning. Jacob receives God's blessing the hard way, sometimes we can relate to that.

May God's blessings follow you today,
Sam

Genesis 32:22-31

22The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”



27So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” 29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.