strategic martyrdom

Hi friends,

Yesterday we read about Paul's initial hearing in Jerusalem. We left him in protective custody under the Roman Tribune Lysias. Today we find out about a conspiracy to kill Paul. Paul was a flawed human being like all of us, but he was also a great example in a lot of ways. Throughout this section of Acts I think it's really interesting how Paul is willing to die for his faith, but that he doesn't want to throw his life away foolishly. His various tactics are worth watching.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 23:12-22

12 In the morning the Jews joined in a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³There were more than forty who joined in this conspiracy. ¹⁴They went to the chief priests and elders and said, ‘We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵Now then, you and the council must notify the tribune to bring him down to you, on the pretext that you want to make a more thorough examination of his case. And we are ready to do away with him before he arrives.’

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush; so he went and gained entrance to the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions and said, ‘Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to report to him.’ ¹⁸So he took him, brought him to the tribune, and said, ‘The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you; he has something to tell you.’ ¹⁹The tribune took him by the hand, drew him aside privately, and asked, ‘What is it that you have to report to me?’

²⁰He answered, ‘The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more thoroughly into his case. ²¹But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him. They have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they kill him. They are ready now and are waiting for your consent.’ ²²So the tribune dismissed the young man, ordering him, ‘Tell no one that you have informed me of this.’

next move

Good evening sisters and brothers,
First, I'd like to share some great news: Betty, whom many of us met in worship a few weeks ago, has found an apartment and will be moving in tomorrow. I put an air mattress for her on the stage, but if someone has a pump to inflate it for her and someone could take her and the mattress home after worship on Sunday that would be great.

In our story of God's people tonight we see the next move. Pharaoh has moved with fear and oppression. The midwives courageously stood for grace and protected the Hebrew boys. Pharaoh kept right on his track, so now we see the beginning of God's next move. Moses is born and God's surprising story continues.

God bless,
Sam

Exodus 2:1-15

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. ²The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. ³When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. ⁴His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

⁵The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. ⁶When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said. ⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

¹¹One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. ¹²He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?” ¹⁴He answered, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” ¹⁵When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.

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.

slaughter of the innocents

Good morning sisters and brothers,
The wise men didn't know it at the time, but the reason King Herod asked them to give him information about Jesus was not so he could worship him, but so he could eliminate this perceived threat to his power. God warned the wise men about Herod's bad intentions, so they slipped out without being noticed. Herod is disappointed, but doesn't give up easily. Instead he casts a wide net and kills all the babies in Bethlehem. This terrible episode is known as the slaughter of the innocents. The Christian church has honored these unknown babies by considering them the first Christian martyrs. They didn't make choices that led to dying for their faith like most martyrs we think of, but they still died in some way for the sake of Christ. It's a sad story and sadder still that fear and faith still can lead to death. Let's pray and work for a day when innocents will no longer be slaughtered.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 2:12-18

¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. ¹³Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: ¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”