Genesis
3:1-19
Now
the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in
the garden’?”
The
woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but
God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the
garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You
will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that
when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.”
When
the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the
eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also
gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of
both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig
leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then
the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the
garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees
of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He
answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so
I hid.”
And
he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I
told you not to eat from?”
The
man said, “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the
tree, and I ate it.”
Then
the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The
woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
So
the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed
are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between
you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your
head, and you will strike his heel.”
To
the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with
painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your
husband, and he will rule over you.”
To
Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree
about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed
is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you
will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your
food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you
are and to dust you will return.”
1
Peter 2:9-12
But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are
the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received
mercy.
Dear
friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires,
which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that,
though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify
God on the day he visits us.
1
Kings 12:1-19
Rehoboam
went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to there to make him king. When
Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from
King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and
the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: “Your father put
a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put
on us, and we will serve you.”
Rehoboam
answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went
away.
Then
King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his
lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.
They
replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and
give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”
But
Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men
who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, “What is your
advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your
father put on us’?”
The
young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your
father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My
little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. My father laid on you a heavy
yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will
scourge you with scorpions.’”
Three
days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had
said, “Come back to me in three days.” The king answered the people harshly.
Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the
young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even
heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”
So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the
Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through
Ahijah the Shilonite.
When
all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:
“What
share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel!
Look after your own house, David!”
So
the Israelites went home. But as for the Israelites who were living in the
towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
King
Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel
stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot
and escape to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of
David to this day.
We
were early for church and looked for a way in that wouldn’t disrupt a Sunday
School class. We entered through what turned out to be a fellowship hall and
found our way to the sanctuary with some difficulty. There is some great
signage in some areas but one dark stairwell was a question. Once we got to the
sanctuary we were welcomed by a number of people, and had a nice conversation
with a woman in the pew.
The
sanctuary is pleasant with a large cross and comfortable pews.
The
sermon, “Choices,” was delivered by the Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Gary Weston, with
the strong point being that we choose our choices but not the consequences.
We
last visited here in March of 2010, and since that time this congregation has experienced
a turnover of pastoral leadership. The ironic thing is that the now-installed
pastor was away this week on Study Leave, so the previous pastor, who is now
Honorably Retired, filled the pulpit.
We
arrived with time to look around, but there were Sunday School classes and other
things going on everywhere so we didn’t get to see a lot of the building. There
was some directional signage.
We
were greeted and welcomed often, and some kindly took time for conversation and
to invite us to stay for the luncheon following worship.
The
bulletin is well done and user-friendly and contained a greeting from the
pastor introducing the Pastor Emeritus, who was preaching today. Nice touch.
The
message was entitled “Choices” and in it he focused on some poor choices made
by Bible characters and real people. The gist is that one bad choice can change
the course of our future and even of history. There are always consequences to
our choices, but he declared that his choice for Jesus has made all the
difference in his life. He closed by urging anyone who had not accepted Christ
as their Savior to do so today.
Father, we pray You will lead this church to good choices that are in accordance with Your will. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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