UNIFORM LESSON FOR November 25, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Genesis 30:22-32, 43 Maybe, if I were choosing the lessons, we would end with Genesis 33, and the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau on the banks of the Jabbok. It seems to bring the story full circle and fulfills God’s promise to bring Jacob back to the land from which he has fled (Genesis 28:15). But even this scene ends with the two brothers going their separate ways (Genesis 33:12ff), as does our story about Jacob and Laban — including that perhaps misplaced Sunday school blessing known as the Mizpah benediction: “May the Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from the other” (Genesis 31:49). Maybe it is best that this series on God’s Creation ends with “unfinished business.” As the title for this final unit puts it: “God blesses and re-creates regardless.” Genesis 30:22-28 — A strange federation If we don’t have some fun with this passage, we’re not paying attention. A rascal on … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR November 18, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Genesis 28:10-22 Jacob is “on the run.” And for good reasons! He has duped his father, stolen from his brother and the latter now wants him dead. His co-conspirator, his mother (what a happy family!), urges him to flee to her brother Laban’s house until things cool down or, less likely, are forgotten (27:45). And so, this story becomes a tale of a refugee, the saga of a person/nation “on the lam.” It is a story that continues to speak to the descendants of this particular refugee — as Jews and Christians, down through history, have quite often found themselves “on the run.” Genesis 28:10-15 — God’s initiative People often cite the example of the rich, young ruler, whom Jesus allows to walk sorrowfully away (Mark 10:22), to make the point that God will not coerce or compel us to be part of God’s story. Certainly, if we decide to leave God and opt out of our role in God’s story, God will not come after us in … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR November 11, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Genesis 27:5-10, 18-19, 21-29 I’ve never fully understood those who call the Bible their “rulebook.” Genesis does not seem to be the best place to begin a study on ethics – for Jews or Christians. It looks to me like Jacob (with his mother’s help!) breaks at least four of the Ten Commandments: honor your father; thou shalt not steal, bear false witness, or covet. Indeed, given the centrality of “blessing” in the lives of families and God’s covenant people, and the tangible way such blessing can be passed on once and once only, one wonders whether we should add “thou shalt not kill” to Jacob’s list of transgressions. Genesis 27:5-10 — God works with what God has Repeatedly we have returned to the theme of God creating order out of chaos. We might tweak that theme here as God keeps the promise going using the most fallible of characters and motives. Surely our hearts must break as we see a mother and son … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR November 4, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Genesis 25:19-34 Every now and again, as a pastor, I’d meet with a family who was considering becoming members of our congregation. At some point, one of them would say: “I don’t know, pastor. Our family’s a mess. Most days, someone’s not speaking to somebody else, and at least one’s in extended timeout. I just don’t think we’d fit in at church.” “Are you kidding?!” I’d think to myself. “First of all, you don’t know our congregation. And, second, you must not be reading your Bible!” This week’s text is a case in point. Genesis 25:19-28 —  Dissension in the family One might wonder why God, like China, didn’t adopt a “one-child policy” in creation. All you have to hear is a line like, “There once was a parent who had two sons,” and you know there’s the potential for trouble. So, when we read that Isaac’s prayer for fertility is answered with a double-blessing, even while in utero, Rebekah, the mother, … [Read more...]