In the last post, The Sacredness of Siblings, we looked at the relationship between Jacob and Esau, and how it changed after Jacob convinced his brother to hand over his birthright. Today we move ahead in the story and watch Rebekah and Jacob use deceptive means to claim Esau’s blessing as well. In Genesis 27, …
Tag Archives: love
When Love Makes Us Clumsy
I remember my first date with my husband. We had been friends for months, but had never gone out on our own. By that point, we both liked each other quite a bit, and looking back now we laugh about how nervous we were. I remember tripping on my way into the restaurant, almost knocking …
The New Adams
Yesterday we discussed The Flood narrative in Genesis 6-8. Toward the end I named a pattern that we see over and over again throughout the Bible: God reconciling our relationship with Him, us breaking that reconciled relationship, and then God having to fix whatever we broke to reconcile us all over again. We will see …
God and Weddings
My wedding day was the best day of my life thus far. I have heard so many wedding horror stories, and have even witnessed weddings in which the bride and groom are stressed out, strung out, and ready for the whole celebration to be over, so they can get back to their normal routines. Our …
Wining and Dining in the 1st Century
Jesus first dines with a Pharisee in Luke 7. The text says that the Pharisee invited Jesus to eat with him, and when Jesus arrived he entered the Pharisee’s home and sat down at the table (v. 36). This is normal for us, right? If I receive a dinner invitation, I usually bring something with me …
Stand Up!
For many years now, one of my favorite gospel stories has been the healing of the paralyzed man. The first time it stood out to me I was preparing to help lead Vacation Bible School in the Dominican Republic. One of the leaders decided that we would reenact the healing of the paralytic and narrate …
Finding the Words for Love
“You are a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox.” — Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation Finding the words to express the emotions we feel for those we love can be difficult at times, can’t it? The English language has provided us with only one word to encapsulate all of the feelings and the force contained in …
Pastor Melissa 