Podcasts about Hagar

With family: Genesis 21; Matthew 20 Genesis 21 (Listen) The Birth of Isaac 21 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.1 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” God Protects Hagar and Ishmael 8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.2 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. A Treaty with Abimelech 22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this3 may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba,4 because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines. Footnotes [1] 21:3 Isaac means he laughs [2] 21:9 Possibly laughing in mockery [3] 21:30 Or you [4] 21:31 Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath (ESV) Matthew 20 (Listen) Laborers in the Vineyard 20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius1 a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?' 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.' 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'2 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.” Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time 17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” A Mother's Request 20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,3 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,4 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus Heals Two Blind Men 29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,5 have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. Footnotes [1] 20:2 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer [2] 20:15 Or is your eye bad because I am good? [3] 20:26 Greek diakonos [4] 20:27 Or bondservant, or servant (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) [5] 20:30 Some manuscripts omit Lord (ESV) In private: Nehemiah 10; Acts 20 Nehemiah 10 (Listen) The People Who Sealed the Covenant 10 “On the seals are the names of1 Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests. 9 And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; 10 and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. 14 The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah. The Obligations of the Covenant 28 “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, 29 join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes. 30 We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. 31 And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. 32 “We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel2 for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. 34 We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law. 35 We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the LORD; 36 also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; 37 and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. 38 And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. 39 For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.” Footnotes [1] 10:1 Hebrew lacks the names of [2] 10:32 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams (ESV) Acts 20 (Listen) Paul in Macedonia and Greece 20 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews1 as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. Eutychus Raised from the Dead 7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted. 13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and2 the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders 17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.3 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by4 the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God,5 which he obtained with his own blood.6 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship. Footnotes [1] 20:3 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 19 [2] 20:15 Some manuscripts add after remaining at Trogyllium [3] 20:21 Some manuscripts omit Christ [4] 20:22 Or bound in [5] 20:28 Some manuscripts of the Lord [6] 20:28 Or with the blood of his Own (ESV)

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm thrilled to welcome reiki master, yoga and meditation teacher, Kama Hagar, to the show. Kama is a certified holistic wellness coach who also founded the sustainable all-natural skincare line, Mukama Botanica. She is currently living in Puerto Rico where she offers custom private and remote yoga and meditation sessions. We begin the show by talking about the gift of curiosity and where Kama's innate desire to try new things comes from. We talk about her vagabond-lifestyle upbringing as a child and what inspired her to move to Puerto Rico. We discuss meditation and finding balance in our day to day lives and Kama talks about why she went from the business and fashion world to the world of yoga and meditation. Kama talks about why living in Hawai'i has had such a profound impact on her life and her yoga practice. Kama and I also talk about listening to our "inner voice"and Kama ends the show by sharing some powerful tools that we innately have in our back pocket which can help us relax. You can find Kama on IG @kamahagar or you can stay up to date with any new information from Kama by visiting her website, www.kamahagar.com. Remember, if you enjoy today's episode and you want to support the show, please subscribe to the podcast on iTUNES or Spotify. It's always helpful if you share the show with your friends or head over to iTunes and write a quick review. You can also support the show by becoming a subscriber at www.patreon.com/eddiecohn and you can also purchase my new record at eddieconn.bandcamp.com or visit my website www.iameddiecohn.com and sign up for my email list and newsletter. As always, thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Please reach out on IG @eddiecohn with any questions. Thanks for listening. 

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 15 Psalm 15 (Listen) Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill? A Psalm of David. 15   O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?    Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2   He who walks blamelessly and does what is right    and speaks truth in his heart;3   who does not slander with his tongue    and does no evil to his neighbor,    nor takes up a reproach against his friend;4   in whose eyes a vile person is despised,    but who honors those who fear the LORD;  who swears to his own hurt and does not change;5   who does not put out his money at interest    and does not take a bribe against the innocent.  He who does these things shall never be moved. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Genesis 16 Genesis 16 (Listen) Sarai and Hagar 16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children1 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.2 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,   “Behold, you are pregnant    and shall bear a son.  You shall call his name Ishmael,3    because the LORD has listened to your affliction.12   He shall be a wild donkey of a man,    his hand against everyone    and everyone's hand against him,  and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”4 for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”5 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;6 it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Footnotes [1] 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children [2] 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5 [3] 16:11 Ishmael means God hears [4] 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me [5] 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me? [6] 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: 1 Chronicles 16:4–43 1 Chronicles 16:4–43 (Listen) 4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the LORD, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the LORD by Asaph and his brothers. David's Song of Thanks 8   Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;    make known his deeds among the peoples!9   Sing to him, sing praises to him;    tell of all his wondrous works!10   Glory in his holy name;    let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!11   Seek the LORD and his strength;    seek his presence continually!12   Remember the wondrous works that he has done,    his miracles and the judgments he uttered,13   O offspring of Israel his servant,    children of Jacob, his chosen ones! 14   He is the LORD our God;    his judgments are in all the earth.15   Remember his covenant forever,    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,16   the covenant that he made with Abraham,    his sworn promise to Isaac,17   which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,18   saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,    as your portion for an inheritance.” 19   When you were few in number,    of little account, and sojourners in it,20   wandering from nation to nation,    from one kingdom to another people,21   he allowed no one to oppress them;    he rebuked kings on their account,22   saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,    do my prophets no harm!” 23   Sing to the LORD, all the earth!    Tell of his salvation from day to day.24   Declare his glory among the nations,    his marvelous works among all the peoples!25   For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,    and he is to be feared above all gods.26   For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,    but the LORD made the heavens.27   Splendor and majesty are before him;    strength and joy are in his place. 28   Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!29   Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;    bring an offering and come before him!  Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;130     tremble before him, all the earth;    yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.31   Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,    and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”32   Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;    let the field exult, and everything in it!33   Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy    before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.34   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;    for his steadfast love endures forever! 35 Say also:   “Save us, O God of our salvation,    and gather and deliver us from among the nations,  that we may give thanks to your holy name    and glory in your praise.36   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,    from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD. Worship Before the Ark 37 So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister regularly before the ark as each day required, 38 and also Obed-edom and his2 sixty-eight brothers, while Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. 39 And he left Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon 40 to offer burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, to do all that is written in the Law of the LORD that he commanded Israel. 41 With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and expressly named to give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever. 42 Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate. 43 Then all the people departed each to his house, and David went home to bless his household. Footnotes [1] 16:29 Or in holy attire [2] 16:38 Hebrew their (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Luke 9:51–10:24 Luke 9:51–10:24 (Listen) A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus 51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”1 55 But he turned and rebuked them.2 56 And they went on to another village. The Cost of Following Jesus 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus3 said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two 10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two4 others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!' 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. Woe to Unrepentant Cities 13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. 16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” The Return of the Seventy-Two 17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Jesus Rejoices in the Father's Will 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.5 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Footnotes [1] 9:54 Some manuscripts add as Elijah did [2] 9:55 Some manuscripts add And he said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; 56for the Son of Man came not to destroy people's lives but to save them” [3] 9:60 Greek he [4] 10:1 Some manuscripts seventy; also verse 17 [5] 10:21 Or for so it pleased you well (ESV)

The Angel of the Lord said to Hagar, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” [1 hour 10 minutes]

With family: Genesis 16; Matthew 15 Genesis 16 (Listen) Sarai and Hagar 16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children1 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.2 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,   “Behold, you are pregnant    and shall bear a son.  You shall call his name Ishmael,3    because the LORD has listened to your affliction.12   He shall be a wild donkey of a man,    his hand against everyone    and everyone's hand against him,  and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”4 for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”5 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;6 it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Footnotes [1] 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children [2] 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5 [3] 16:11 Ishmael means God hears [4] 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me [5] 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me? [6] 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me (ESV) Matthew 15 (Listen) Traditions and Commandments 15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,' and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”1 6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word2 of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8   “‘This people honors me with their lips,    but their heart is far from me;9   in vain do they worship me,    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'” What Defiles a Person 10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.3 And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?4 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” The Faith of a Canaanite Woman 21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.5 Jesus Heals Many 29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. Footnotes [1] 15:5 Or is an offering [2] 15:6 Some manuscripts law [3] 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind [4] 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine [5] 15:28 Greek from that hour (ESV) In private: Nehemiah 5; Acts 15 Nehemiah 5 (Listen) Nehemiah Stops Oppression of the Poor 5 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” 3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” 4 And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.” 6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them 8 and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. 9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 11 Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised. 13 I also shook out the fold1 of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised. Nehemiah's Generosity 14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. 15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration2 forty shekels3 of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. 16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18 Now what was prepared at my expense4 for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. 19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people. Footnotes [1] 5:13 Hebrew bosom [2] 5:15 Compare Vulgate; Hebrew took from them for food and wine after [3] 5:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 5:18 Or prepared for me (ESV) Acts 15 (Listen) The Jerusalem Council 15 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.1 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” 12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16   “‘After this I will return,  and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;  I will rebuild its ruins,     and I will restore it,17   that the remnant2 of mankind may seek the Lord,    and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,    says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.' 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.” The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers 22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers3 who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you4 with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” 30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.5 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. Paul and Barnabas Separate 36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Footnotes [1] 15:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 22 [2] 15:17 Or rest [3] 15:23 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 32, 33, 36 [4] 15:24 Some manuscripts some persons from us have troubled you [5] 15:33 Some manuscripts insert verse 34: But it seemed good to Silas to remain there (ESV)

Old Testament: Genesis 25–26 Genesis 25–26 (Listen) Abraham's Death and His Descendants 25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country. 7 These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi. 12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled1 over against all his kinsmen. The Birth of Esau and Jacob 19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”2 So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her,   “Two nations are in your womb,    and two peoples from within you3 shall be divided;  the one shall be stronger than the other,    the older shall serve the younger.” 24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob.4 Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Esau Sells His Birthright 29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.5) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. God's Promise to Isaac 26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Isaac and Abimelech 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. 8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with6 Rebekah his wife. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister'?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.'” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” 12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” 17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek,7 because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.8 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,9 saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” 23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well. 26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 He called it Shibah;10 therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter11 for Isaac and Rebekah. Footnotes [1] 25:18 Hebrew fell [2] 25:22 Or why do I live? [3] 25:23 Or from birth [4] 25:26 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats [5] 25:30 Edom sounds like the Hebrew for red [6] 26:8 Hebrew may suggest an intimate relationship [7] 26:20 Esek means contention [8] 26:21 Sitnah means enmity [9] 26:22 Rehoboth means broad places, or room [10] 26:33 Shibah sounds like the Hebrew for oath [11] 26:35 Hebrew they were bitterness of spirit (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 13 Psalm 13 (Listen) How Long, O Lord? To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 13   How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?    How long will you hide your face from me?2   How long must I take counsel in my soul    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?  How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3   Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,4   lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 5   But I have trusted in your steadfast love;    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.6   I will sing to the LORD,    because he has dealt bountifully with me. (ESV) New Testament: Matthew 15 Matthew 15 (Listen) Traditions and Commandments 15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,' and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”1 6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word2 of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8   “‘This people honors me with their lips,    but their heart is far from me;9   in vain do they worship me,    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'” What Defiles a Person 10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.3 And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?4 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” The Faith of a Canaanite Woman 21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.5 Jesus Heals Many 29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. Footnotes [1] 15:5 Or is an offering [2] 15:6 Some manuscripts law [3] 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind [4] 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine [5] 15:28 Greek from that hour (ESV)

Morning: Genesis 25–26 Genesis 25–26 (Listen) Abraham's Death and His Descendants 25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country. 7 These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi. 12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled1 over against all his kinsmen. The Birth of Esau and Jacob 19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”2 So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her,   “Two nations are in your womb,    and two peoples from within you3 shall be divided;  the one shall be stronger than the other,    the older shall serve the younger.” 24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob.4 Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Esau Sells His Birthright 29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.5) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. God's Promise to Isaac 26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Isaac and Abimelech 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. 8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with6 Rebekah his wife. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister'?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.'” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” 12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” 17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek,7 because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.8 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,9 saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” 23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well. 26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 He called it Shibah;10 therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter11 for Isaac and Rebekah. Footnotes [1] 25:18 Hebrew fell [2] 25:22 Or why do I live? [3] 25:23 Or from birth [4] 25:26 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats [5] 25:30 Edom sounds like the Hebrew for red [6] 26:8 Hebrew may suggest an intimate relationship [7] 26:20 Esek means contention [8] 26:21 Sitnah means enmity [9] 26:22 Rehoboth means broad places, or room [10] 26:33 Shibah sounds like the Hebrew for oath [11] 26:35 Hebrew they were bitterness of spirit (ESV) Evening: Matthew 9:1–17 Matthew 9:1–17 (Listen) Jesus Heals a Paralytic 9 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing1 their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, ‘Rise and walk'? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Jesus Calls Matthew 9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 10 And as Jesus2 reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” A Question About Fasting 14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast,3 but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” Footnotes [1] 9:4 Some manuscripts perceiving [2] 9:10 Greek he [3] 9:14 Some manuscripts add much, or often (ESV)

Old Testament: Genesis 20–21 Genesis 20–21 (Listen) Abraham and Abimelech 20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister'? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” 8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”'” 14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all1 who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. The Birth of Isaac 21 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.2 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” God Protects Hagar and Ishmael 8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.3 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. A Treaty with Abimelech 22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this4 may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba,5 because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines. Footnotes [1] 20:16 Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all [2] 21:3 Isaac means he laughs [3] 21:9 Possibly laughing in mockery [4] 21:30 Or you [5] 21:31 Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 10 Psalm 10 (Listen) Why Do You Hide Yourself? 10   Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2   In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;    let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.3   For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,    and the one greedy for gain curses1 and renounces the LORD.4   In the pride of his face2 the wicked does not seek him;3    all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”5   His ways prosper at all times;    your judgments are on high, out of his sight;    as for all his foes, he puffs at them.6   He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;    throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”7   His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;    under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.8   He sits in ambush in the villages;    in hiding places he murders the innocent.  His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;9     he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;  he lurks that he may seize the poor;    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.10   The helpless are crushed, sink down,    and fall by his might.11   He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” 12   Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;    forget not the afflicted.13   Why does the wicked renounce God    and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?14   But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,    that you may take it into your hands;  to you the helpless commits himself;    you have been the helper of the fatherless.15   Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;    call his wickedness to account till you find none. 16   The LORD is king forever and ever;    the nations perish from his land.17   O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;    you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear18   to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,    so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or and he blesses the one greedy for gain [2] 10:4 Or of his anger [3] 10:4 Or the wicked says, “He will not call to account” (ESV) New Testament: Matthew 12 Matthew 12 (Listen) Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath 12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” A Man with a Withered Hand 9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. God's Chosen Servant 15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 18   “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,    my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.  I will put my Spirit upon him,    and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.19   He will not quarrel or cry aloud,    nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;20   a bruised reed he will not break,    and a smoldering wick he will not quench,  until he brings justice to victory;21     and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit 33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” The Sign of Jonah 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Return of an Unclean Spirit 43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” Jesus' Mother and Brothers 46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers1 stood outside, asking to speak to him.2 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Footnotes [1] 12:46 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 48, 49 [2] 12:46 Some manuscripts insert verse 47: Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you” (ESV)

Fr. Mike reads Genesis 20-21, Job 9-10, and Proverbs 2:6-8 and shows us how we can strive for holiness, even in the midst of sin and suffering. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Genesis 25–26 Genesis 25–26 (Listen) Abraham's Death and His Descendants 25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country. 7 These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi. 12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled1 over against all his kinsmen. The Birth of Esau and Jacob 19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”2 So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her,   “Two nations are in your womb,    and two peoples from within you3 shall be divided;  the one shall be stronger than the other,    the older shall serve the younger.” 24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob.4 Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Esau Sells His Birthright 29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.5) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. God's Promise to Isaac 26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Isaac and Abimelech 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. 8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with6 Rebekah his wife. 9 So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister'?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.'” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” 12 And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” 17 So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek,7 because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.8 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,9 saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” 23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well. 26 When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 He called it Shibah;10 therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter11 for Isaac and Rebekah. Footnotes [1] 25:18 Hebrew fell [2] 25:22 Or why do I live? [3] 25:23 Or from birth [4] 25:26 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats [5] 25:30 Edom sounds like the Hebrew for red [6] 26:8 Hebrew may suggest an intimate relationship [7] 26:20 Esek means contention [8] 26:21 Sitnah means enmity [9] 26:22 Rehoboth means broad places, or room [10] 26:33 Shibah sounds like the Hebrew for oath [11] 26:35 Hebrew they were bitterness of spirit (ESV)

Morning: Genesis 20–22 Genesis 20–22 (Listen) Abraham and Abimelech 20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister'? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” 8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”'” 14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all1 who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. The Birth of Isaac 21 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.2 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” God Protects Hagar and Ishmael 8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.3 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. A Treaty with Abimelech 22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this4 may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba,5 because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines. The Sacrifice of Isaac 22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy6 will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”;7 as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”8 15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his9 enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba. 20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. Footnotes [1] 20:16 Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all [2] 21:3 Isaac means he laughs [3] 21:9 Possibly laughing in mockery [4] 21:30 Or you [5] 21:31 Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath [6] 22:5 Or young man; also verse 12 [7] 22:14 Or will see [8] 22:14 Or he will be seen [9] 22:17 Or their (ESV) Evening: Matthew 7 Matthew 7 (Listen) Judging Others 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Ask, and It Will Be Given 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! The Golden Rule 12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy1 that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. A Tree and Its Fruit 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. I Never Knew You 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' Build Your House on the Rock 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” The Authority of Jesus 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. Footnotes [1] 7:13 Some manuscripts For the way is wide and easy (ESV)

Old Testament: Genesis 16–17 Genesis 16–17 (Listen) Sarai and Hagar 16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children1 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.2 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,   “Behold, you are pregnant    and shall bear a son.  You shall call his name Ishmael,3    because the LORD has listened to your affliction.12   He shall be a wild donkey of a man,    his hand against everyone    and everyone's hand against him,  and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”4 for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”5 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;6 it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;7 walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,8 but your name shall be Abraham,9 for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Isaac's Birth Promised 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah10 shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give11 you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.12 I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.” 22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. Footnotes [1] 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children [2] 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5 [3] 16:11 Ishmael means God hears [4] 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me [5] 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me? [6] 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me [7] 17:1 Hebrew El Shaddai [8] 17:5 Abram means exalted father [9] 17:5 Abraham means father of a multitude [10] 17:15 Sarai and Sarah mean princess [11] 17:16 Hebrew have given [12] 17:19 Isaac means he laughs (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 8 Psalm 8 (Listen) How Majestic Is Your Name To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.1 A Psalm of David. 8   O LORD, our Lord,    how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens.2     Out of the mouth of babies and infants,  you have established strength because of your foes,    to still the enemy and the avenger. 3   When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,4   what is man that you are mindful of him,    and the son of man that you care for him? 5   Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings2    and crowned him with glory and honor.6   You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;    you have put all things under his feet,7   all sheep and oxen,    and also the beasts of the field,8   the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,    whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9   O LORD, our Lord,    how majestic is your name in all the earth! Footnotes [1] 8:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 8:5 Or than God; Septuagint than the angels (ESV) New Testament: Matthew 10 Matthew 10 (Listen) The Twelve Apostles 10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;1 4 Simon the Zealot,2 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'3 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,4 cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics5 or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. Persecution Will Come 16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant6 above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign7 those of his household. Have No Fear 26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.8 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?9 And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Not Peace, but a Sword 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Rewards 40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Some manuscripts Lebbaeus, or Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus [2] 10:4 Greek kananaios, meaning zealot [3] 10:7 Or The kingdom of heaven has come near [4] 10:8 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [5] 10:10 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [6] 10:24 Or bondservant; also verse 25 [7] 10:25 Greek lacks will they malign [8] 10:28 Greek Gehenna [9] 10:29 Greek assarion, Roman copper coin (Latin quadrans) worth about 1/16 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer) (ESV)

Morning: Genesis 15–17 Genesis 15–17 (Listen) God's Covenant with Abram 15 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue1 childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son2 shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give3 this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” Sarai and Hagar 16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children4 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.5 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,   “Behold, you are pregnant    and shall bear a son.  You shall call his name Ishmael,6    because the LORD has listened to your affliction.12   He shall be a wild donkey of a man,    his hand against everyone    and everyone's hand against him,  and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”7 for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”8 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;9 it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;10 walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,11 but your name shall be Abraham,12 for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Isaac's Birth Promised 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah13 shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give14 you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.15 I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.” 22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. Footnotes [1] 15:2 Or I shall die [2] 15:4 Hebrew what will come out of your own loins [3] 15:18 Or have given [4] 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children [5] 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5 [6] 16:11 Ishmael means God hears [7] 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me [8] 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me? [9] 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me [10] 17:1 Hebrew El Shaddai [11] 17:5 Abram means exalted father [12] 17:5 Abraham means father of a multitude [13] 17:15 Sarai and Sarah mean princess [14] 17:16 Hebrew have given [15] 17:19 Isaac means he laughs (ESV) Evening: Matthew 5:27–48 Matthew 5:27–48 (Listen) Lust 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. Divorce 31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Oaths 33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes' or ‘No'; anything more than this comes from evil.1 Retaliation 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,2 let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. Love Your Enemies 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,3 what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Footnotes [1] 5:37 Or the evil one [2] 5:40 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [3] 5:47 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters (ESV)

Genesis 19–21 Genesis 19–21 (Listen) God Rescues Lot 19 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. 12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.1 God Destroys Sodom 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. Lot and His Daughters 30 Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab.2 He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi.3 He is the father of the Ammonites to this day. Abraham and Abimelech 20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister'? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” 8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”'” 14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all4 who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. The Birth of Isaac 21 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.5 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” God Protects Hagar and Ishmael 8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.6 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. A Treaty with Abimelech 22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized, 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this7 may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba,8 because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines. Footnotes [1] 19:22 Zoar means little [2] 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father [3] 19:38 Ben-ammi means son of my people [4] 20:16 Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all [5] 21:3 Isaac means he laughs [6] 21:9 Possibly laughing in mockery [7] 21:30 Or you [8] 21:31 Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath (ESV)

Genesis 16–18 Genesis 16–18 (Listen) Sarai and Hagar 16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children1 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.2 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,   “Behold, you are pregnant    and shall bear a son.  You shall call his name Ishmael,3    because the LORD has listened to your affliction.12   He shall be a wild donkey of a man,    his hand against everyone    and everyone's hand against him,  and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”4 for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”5 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;6 it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;7 walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,8 but your name shall be Abraham,9 for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Isaac's Birth Promised 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah10 shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give11 you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.12 I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.” 22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him. 18 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks13 of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord,14 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs15 of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard16 for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it,17 saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” 16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen18 him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether19 according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” Abraham Intercedes for Sodom 22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. Footnotes [1] 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children [2] 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5 [3] 16:11 Ishmael means God hears [4] 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me [5] 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me? [6] 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me [7] 17:1 Hebrew El Shaddai [8] 17:5 Abram means exalted father [9] 17:5 Abraham means father of a multitude [10] 17:15 Sarai and Sarah mean princess [11] 17:16 Hebrew have given [12] 17:19 Isaac means he laughs [13] 18:1 Or terebinths [14] 18:3 Or My lord [15] 18:6 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters [16] 18:14 Or wonderful [17] 18:15 Or acted falsely [18] 18:19 Hebrew known [19] 18:21 Or they deserve destruction; Hebrew they have made a complete end (ESV)

Title- Fearful Sarai Dispute Hagar-Series- Genesis-Speaker- Creston Thomas-Bible- Genesis 16-Date- January 2, 2022-Full Sermon-

As we start a new year, it's useful to reflect on the questions that the angel of the Lord asks Hagar in the desert: Where are you coming from? Where are you going? And what's the matter?

We take a deeper look at the two covenants of Galatians 4. One from Sarah and one from Hagar. What is the real difference between the Old and New Covenants.

On this episode, Paul White talks about the significance of Hagar. Accompanying scripture: Galatians 4:25-26)

Pastor Mike Perdomo       

Bless the Seed Planters (Audio) David Eells -12/29/21 Many people believe that they have arrived, and that's a sad thing. There's always a goal, and the goal is Christ and Christ-likeness, and they don't know it. For that reason, “the backsliding of the simple shall slay them.”  (Pro.1:32) For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them… When the Scripture talks about “falling away” as in (2 Thessalonians 2:3; Jude 1:24), it's talking about “backsliding” (Isaiah 57:17; Jeremiah 2:19; etc.) because both the Greek apostasia and the Hebrew meshubah have the same meaning. Apostasy, backsliding or falling away. When we are in this state our “hard drive” is infected with this world and its ways and its thinking, and it has to be renewed. We must be “transformed by the renewing of our minds”.  I know many people believe that the beginning and the end of Christianity is to “just accept Jesus as your personal Savior,” but that cannot be found written in the Word. What is written in the Word is “repent and believe,” which means to “change your mind and believe what I say”  as in (Matthew 21:32; Mark 1:15). Yet, too many people think they've stepped over some magic line and now they can just sit down and rest in the flesh, but then they can't and don't, bear fruit as in (Matthew 17:17-19; Luke 6:43).  Without bearing fruit, we are not being “born from above” (John 3:3,7). Let's go back to verse 20 and look at Who wrote “For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them.” (Pro.1:20) Wisdom crieth aloud in the street… So we see Wisdom is the One speaking here. Scripture also says, (1Co.1:24) … "Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God". This is Jesus speaking; He is the Wisdom of God. And from John, we know that He's also the Word of God. (Joh.1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Therefore the Word of God is the Wisdom of God, and the Word gives you very clear directions to seek Him, not once, not by just shaking a preacher's hand or anything like that, but to seek Him and put that Wisdom into your heart.  Putting that Wisdom in your heart is what will protect and deliver you from this falling away because, as the Bible warns us, (Psa.58:3) The wicked are estranged from the womb: They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Let's continue reading. (Pro.1:20) Wisdom crieth aloud in the street; She uttereth her voice in the broad places (That's the broad road where the “many” are {Matthew 7:13}.); (21) She crieth in the chief place of concourse; At the entrance of the gates, In the city, she uttereth her words: (22) How long, ye simple ones (The Hebrew word there is pthiy and it means “foolish; silly, as in ‘able to be seduced'; naive.” These people are “simple” for lack of the knowledge of God.).  How long, ye simple ones will ye love simplicity? And scoffers delight them in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge?   Do you know how we know that people hate knowledge? It's because they don't choose to seek it out; they choose the world and the worldly. They let someone just “tell them how it is,” or letting some false god tell them instead of seeking out their own salvation (Php.2:12) …with fear and trembling. They would rather pay some preacher to give them the “truth.” Well here's the truth, (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. Paul said to Timothy, (2Ti.1:8) Be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God; (9) who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal. Notice “Who saved us, and called us”:  You don't get called until you get saved. This “calling” is the Greek word klésis and it means “invitation.” We are being invited to partake of the things of the Kingdom of God, yet many people are not partaking of these, although it's written in there plainly. You can show it to them, but they've been inoculated by dead religion to not believe what is written and that's why many are the called and few are the chosen.  Now when you go out into a field that you have planted, which is what God has done in parables (Genesis 49:2; Isaiah 3:14,5:7,17:10,27:2; Amos 5:11; etc.), you're looking for the fruit. You're going to pick the fruit. You don't care about the plant. You plow the plant under and it goes back to the soil, just like the old body.  Jesus, in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-8,18-23; Mark 4:2-9,13-20; Luke 8:4-15) pointed out to us four different types of people, and three of the four, when they heard the Good News, fell away, even though they were the ones, at least the last three, were the ones who were called. (Mar.4:14) The sower soweth the word. (15) And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them. (16) And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky [places], who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy; (17) and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble. (18) And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word, (19) and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. (20) And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.  Again, three of the four types, when they heard the Good News, fell away. Only one bore fruit, thirty-, sixty-, and a hundred-fold. These are the true Kingdom people. So if you “love simplicity,” (In the way the Bible refers to it negatively) and you love the very simple lie that all you need to do is shake some preacher's hand and then go sit on a pew and wait for the rapture, well, you're one of these fools who hates knowledge. If that's all you do, you're hating knowledge.  You need to seek out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). (Pro.1:23-30) Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you (Many reject the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Wisdom. If you don't seek out your own salvation, you are rejecting the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Wisdom as it was given in the book of Acts.); I will make known my words unto you. (24) Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded; (25) But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: (26) I also will laugh in the day of your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; (27) When your fear cometh as a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you. (28) Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me: (29) For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, is it not? {Proverbs 9:10}), (30) They would none of my counsel, They despised all my reproof.  It's much simpler to let a preacher who is walking in the flesh tell you how easy it is to be in the Kingdom, and that you really don't have to lose your life as Jesus said, in order to gain your life (Matthew 16:24-25; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:23-24; John 12:25). “You don't really have to do that, that's the hard way, just accept Jesus as your ‘personal Savior,' sit on a pew, pay your tithes and everything will be okay.” (Pro.1:31) Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices. Oh, the “devices” that are out there now! “Unconditional eternal security” is a particularly deadly one. It teaches that you don't have to do anything after receiving salvation, but look at what Scripture teaches. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.  Those who don't have “good works” are obviously not the people of God, and they will speak against “works,” although the Bible says just the opposite. The Bible says that you're going to be judged according to your works, and it says it very clearly, over and over and over (Hebrews 11:8-30; James 2:14-26; etc.) (I'm not referring to the self-works of justification here.) So how do we bear the fruit of good works? First of all, we have to put goodness in our heart, because it is that Wisdom of God, the Word of God, that re-programs our hard-drive to think, walk, talk, and bear the fruit of Jesus Christ.  (Pro.1:32) For the backsliding (Again, the “backsliding” is the “falling-away.”) of the simple shall slay them, And the careless ease of fools shall destroy them. (33) But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, And shall be quiet without fear of evil. (Pro.2:1) My son (This is still Wisdom speaking.), if thou wilt receive my words, And lay up my commandments with thee; (2) So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thy heart to understanding; (3) Yea, if thou cry after discernment, And lift up thy voice for understanding… The Bible promises that if you ask the Lord for wisdom, He will give it to you. If you ask Him for understanding, He will give it to you. Don't be double-minded, but ask Him and seek Him (James 1:5-8). Ask Him even to put it in your heart to desire it.  When I first came to the Lord, I didn't have any foundation in Scripture whatsoever, but when I started reading it, a supernatural desire fell over me to seek after wisdom, to seek after knowledge. A supernatural desire fell over me to find out about this God. I had been lied to about this God when I was in the Catholic church and I had to look in the Scriptures for myself to find out the truth. Everything else fell by the wayside as God kept on leading me through this desire for truth. Nothing else was important. All of my hobbies that I loved before fell by the wayside because, suddenly, this was the important thing. If you don't have that gift, you need to ask God for that gift. (Pro.2:4) If thou seek her (If you seek Wisdom.) as silver, And search for her as for hid treasures: (5) Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord (Yes, you must have the fear of the Lord. Many people hear the Scriptures, but totally ignore what they've heard because they don't have the fear of the Lord.), And find the knowledge of God. (6) For the Lord giveth wisdom; Out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding:  (7) He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; [He is] a shield to them that walk in integrity; (8) That he may guard the paths of justice, And preserve the way of his saints. (9) Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, And equity, [yea,] every good path. (10) For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul; (11) Discretion shall watch over thee; Understanding shall keep thee: (12) To deliver thee from the way of evil, From the men that speak perverse things; (13) Whoso forsaketh the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness (Which is what so many people do: they get saved, and then continue to walk in the same way they've always walked, not seeking out the knowledge and wisdom of God to know even what is the Will of God.); (14) Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the perverseness of evil; (15) Who are crooked in their ways, And wayward in their paths: (16) To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words. The “strange woman” is the “harlot” of Revelation 17, but that harlot is the “mother of the harlots” of the earth (Revelation 17:5). All of those sects that came out of the mother are also called “harlots” because every one of those denominations received their own seed, the seed that wasn't the seed of the Husband. That makes them harlots. They received their own wisdom and their own knowledge. The knowledge of the Gospel is being ignored. They've reduced it to nothing more than moralizing and there is no hope for moralizing. Those apostate preachers may get up and give a Scripture verse or two on Sunday morning, but the rest of the time, it's all their knowledge and their wisdom.  Folks, there's nothing more important than the Word of God! The Word going into your heart re-creates Jesus Christ in you. He is the Word. It's the Word that does this; nothing else can do it. No moralizing can do it. You can go to some church and get moralized every Sunday and maybe even every Wednesday, if you're really diligent to go after moralizing, but moralizing won't give you the knowledge of the Gospel. Moralizing won't give you the knowledge of how you can receive, freely, the Nature of Jesus Christ. It won't give you that confidence that this is your gift from God, that this is the reconciliation that He gave you at the Cross (Romans 5:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Colossians 1:21-22).  He took your life, nailed it on the Cross, and gave you His Life. As Paul proclaimed, (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. In other words, “Now it's no longer I that live, it's Christ that lives in me.” (Pro.2:16 ) To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words (Those apostate preachers will make it easy for you. They will invite you to believe in ‘once saved, always saved.' You won't have to do anything; just believe it.” They will lead you in their crooked ways and in their wayward paths.); (17) That forsaketh the friend of her youth (That's the One Who saved you in the beginning, Jesus, the One you loved in the beginning. Now they want to give you another “Jesus” and another “gospel” and another “spirit.”), And forgetteth the covenant of her God… Some people don't even get to know that Covenant before they're led astray from the Bible by the teachings of men.  As Jesus said to the Pharisees of His day, (Mar.7:6) … Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, But their heart is far from me. (7) But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. (8) Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men. (9) … Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition… (13) making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do.  There's no difference in the nature of man from the time Jesus said that until now. We must repent and believe what He says; this is how we are re-programmed to walk the straight walk. (Pro.2:18) For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead. It's true; every one of those harlots' houses “inclineth unto death.” A sister I once knew shared this dream with me. She said, “I went to three doors and knocked on them, and every time, a harlot answered the door. Then the fourth time, I went and knocked on your door, and I saw you. What do you think that means?” So I asked, “How many religions have you gone to?” She answered, “Three.” I told her, “Yeah, that's what I thought.” (Pro.2:19) None that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life: (20) That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous. (21) For the upright shall dwell in the land…  This is the land of God's people, the Promised Land, and each promise that we read in the Word will become ours if we are bold to stand on it. (Deu.11:24) Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours… God is saying, “Every place you put your foot, I will give it to you.” God has given us this “land” that we walk in, which is this flesh that comes from the earth, in order for us to conquer it. And those tribes that originally inhabited the land, the Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, and so on (Deuteronomy 7:1-3), all represent the lusts of the “old man” that had to be conquered in order to take that land for the spiritual man, Jesus Christ, Who is (Col.1:27) … Christ in you, the hope of glory. He's growing in you like a little baby. You must feed Him; don't feed the flesh, feed Him.  (Mat.12:46) While he (Jesus) was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. (47) And one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking to speak to thee. (48) But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? (49) And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples, and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren! (50) For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. Those who do the Will of the Father are those who are bringing forth the fruit of Jesus Christ in their life.  (Pro.2:21) For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. There is a great falling-away because there is a broad road to destruction, as Jesus said. (Mat.7:13) Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. (14) For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. We don't know the narrow road unless we study the wisdom of God, which is all through the Bible. (2Jn.1:9) Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son.  It's not who starts out with you; it's who continues. There are lots of people who think they know the teaching, but they're getting it second-, third-, fourth-, fifth-hand. The only way you're going to know the teaching and the wisdom of God is to study the Word and seek out the wisdom of God for yourself. Don't go into a dead church and be leavened the rest of your life. We just read that people go there and they don't ever come out! They're wasting their life, never coming to know the wisdom of God. (Pro.2:21) For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. (“Perfect” is a word that also means “mature.” Those who come into the Image of Christ are mature.) (22) But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it. This is still talking about the same people; the wicked are the treacherous. (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen.  You see, the wicked may start out with you, but they don't finish with you. (1Jn.2:19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but [they went out,] that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us. The wicked will be cut off from the land, which is the Land of Promise. They will not know the promises, they will not live by the promises. Paul exhorted God's people to not be sons of the “handmaid,” but to be sons of the “freewoman,” because it's going to be proven that not everyone who is a son of Abraham is chosen. Many are called, but few are chosen. (Gal.4:22) For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman. (23) Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the [son] by the freewoman [is born] through promise.  The promise is what begets you again unto Jesus Christ and everything that He is and all that He does and thinks. It's the promise that does this. It is not being moralized; it is not joining a religion. The son of the free-woman is born through promise. Abraham so badly wanted Ishmael to be chosen by God, and I, too, have wanted people to be chosen by God, and I, too, have “sown seed” in both the “freewoman” and the “handmaid.” And when the sons of the handmaid begin to fall away, I cry for them, but they are manifesting who they are. (Gal.4:24) Which things contain an allegory: for these [women] are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. If you're born of “Hagar” then you're in bondage. Even while you're in religion, you can be in bondage just as the Israelites were. They were in so much bondage that when Jesus came to bring them to the higher order, they refused to come out of bondage.  (25) Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia (It was the Israelites who went to Mount Sinai and so Paul is applying this to them, because they were in bondage and they didn't know it.) and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is (That's the physical Jerusalem over there in the Middle East that's in bondage.): for she is in bondage with her children. (26) But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother. Praise the Lord! We are being born of the Word from above, first spirit, then soul, and then body.  The “soul” is the mind, the will, and the emotions. Your soul has to walk after the Spirit to receive the nature of that Spirit in order for you to bear His fruit in your soul. (Rom.8:13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. When you were first saved, you received a born again spirit, but now you have to go on to bear fruit in your soul. Only if you bear the fruit, which is Christ-likeness, will you get that new body, the born-again body, like His Body.  Now those harlots' houses tell you to just “step over the line” and that all you need to be is born-again in your spirit. No, that's not enough because you haven't borne fruit in your soul yet. So how do you bear fruit? The way you bear fruit immediately is that you believe you have received. Jesus said, (Mar.11:24) … All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe ye received (The Greek word there lambanó is past tense in the original.) them, and ye shall have them. You walk by faith for them until you see them. This way you are accounted as righteous until you are righteous, which is bearing fruit. Everything that the Lord offers will be nothing to the person who doesn't reach out and receive the promises by faith. They will not come to pass, and Paul tells us why. (Heb.4:2) … The word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. You see, they didn't mix faith with the words. (Escape the Falling Away PDF)   Jesus Chooses the Meal Planners for His Bride Anonymous - 12/24/21 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was in an apartment with white walls. Many were in the apartment with me and I knew we all had to share the space. (Eph. 2:19-22 So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; 21 in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.) There were men sitting around the dining table talking and discussing ministry plans and kingdom matters. (I believe these are the apostate ministers who talk the talk but don't walk the walk. They are not interested in serving the food to the people. They are living high off the hog but feeding left over scraps to the people.) There were women standing around and talking in small groups. They all seemed to have grouped together according to their traits or commonalities and the things they enjoyed or thought were important. There was one woman in the kitchen area who was on the phone all the time. She was sort of a busy body and liked to gossip about all the latest happenings and what was going on with different people. (These represent the denominations and sects of Christianity.) At first, I was in the living room organizing and getting rid of clutter. This was a challenge for me because sometimes I didn't know what was important to keep and what was needing to be thrown out. I was dealing with some issues myself, but I kept my focus and continued, as best I could, to clean and organize the place to make it nice for the others. (As we grow and mature in Christ, He helps us to discern what we need to get rid of in our lives so that we can be better ambassadors for Christ to others.) I was keeping my nose to the grindstone, so to speak, and not allowing myself to be distracted with the different groups of women even though I overheard occasionally what they were saying. (If we stay focused on living the Word in our lives every day, we will not get distracted and off course with the sects.) I ended up in the kitchen with a meal planner book on top of the stove and a notepad. I was working hard to plan meals every week and preparing to go to the store with my list to buy the items that I needed to make the meals when Jesus appeared in front of me. (Representing prioritizing my own spiritual food needs so that I would be healthy to be what the Kingdom and its people need.  I.e. to hear the Gospel and be an example of discipleship that others be edified.) He was very tall with broad shoulders and dressed like I imagine he would have been dressed when he walked with His disciples the first time He came to earth. David was filling the inside of Jesus. I.E Jesus was filled with David. (This is the make up of the David Man-child body of reformers.  2Co 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.   1Jn 2:4-6  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;  5  but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him:  6  he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked.) David in Jesus looked for me right away and came into the kitchen. He had passed by the other groups of women and found me diligently planning the meals and He held out His hand to me. (Song 6:8-9 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number. 9 My dove, my undefiled, is but one; She is the only one of her mother; She is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and called her blessed; Yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.) I looked up from my lists and the meal planner and noticed Jesus standing in front of me with His hand extended. I was surprised to see Him and I took His hand. (Pro. 31:13-31 She seeketh wool and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands. 14 She is like the merchant-ships; She bringeth her bread from afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth food to her household, And their task to her maidens. 16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it; With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17 She girdeth her loins with strength, And maketh strong her arms. 18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is profitable: Her lamp goeth not out by night... 20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy... 25 Strength and dignity are her clothing; And she laugheth at the time to come. 26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And the law of kindness is on her tongue. 27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying: 29 Many daughters have done worthily, But thou excellest them all. 30 Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain; But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her works praise her in the gates.) He announced to me in everyones hearing, “I choose you.” (When the Man-child comes abiding in Christ he will do what Jesus did, chose who John the Baptist said was the Bride.)  I was surprised because I knew all of my own struggles. I looked around to all the other groups of women and asked Him, “Why not them?” They also seemed to be busy and belong to the kingdom. They had gifts the Lord had given them. But they did not seem impressed or even aware of the Lord's presence. (Many won't recognize Christ in the Man-child ministers when He appears again because this is history repeating.) He said, "They put on outward shows of importance and busyness but they were not about My Father's business.” I began to look around at the different groups of women. One group was talking about shopping trips, hobbies and superficial things and the Lord said, “They have no depth” (Meaning of relationship with Him.  Mark 4:5-6 And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth: 6 and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.  I looked at another group who seemed, at least outwardly, to put on a good show of piety and gifts and good works but they were doing these things to impress the others and to gain the approval of men but they were idle when no one was looking. The Lord said of this group, “They think they are deserving of the position because of what they have done and the praise they receive from one another and from men. But they are idle with most of their time and not good stewards with what they've been given. They justify themselves and prate their time away.” (Mat. 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.) Then I looked at the woman who had been standing in the kitchen behind me on the phone and said, “What of her?” The Lord said, “She is least of all; a gossip and a busy body. She and her works are not pleasing to My Father.” She had filled up all her time with unprofitable words; many times under the guise of concern and prayer requests for others and their situations, but in reality this fueled her fleshly desire to gossip and know everybody else's business. (1Ti. 5:13 And withal they learn also to be idle, going about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.) I asked Him, “Well, why me? I also have struggled and am not perfect. It's hard for me to organize and know what to throw out and get rid of so that your house is not cluttered, although I do the best I can.” He said, “When I came, you were the one I found diligently working. My Father is pleased with your planning of the meals.” Then I woke up. I thought of this text in Mat 24:42-46  Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. 44 Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath set over his household, to give them their food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.   Select LanguageAfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDutchEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKinyarwandaKoreanKurdish (Kurmanji)KyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianLuxembourgishMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianOdia (Oriya)PashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSamoanScots GaelicSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTatarTeluguThaiTurkishTurkmenUkrainianUrduUyghurUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version

Originally taught live on Youtube on March 2, 2021.

Trev Lukather & Andrew Hagar discuss the idea of forming a band with Wolfgang Van Halen and Nic Collins - to play the hits of Van Halen, Toto, Phil Collins solo and Genesis... Well actually NO - they don't talk about that at all... Tune in and find out what they're really talking about! Help support the show. Please consider a donation: https://www.paypal.me/MitchLafon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morning: Isaiah 60:20; John 16:33; Romans 8:22–23; 2 Corinthians 5:4; Revelation 7:14–17 And your days of mourning shall be ended. “ In the world you will have tribulation.”—The whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.—For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Isaiah 60:20 (Listen) 20   Your sun shall no more go down,    nor your moon withdraw itself;  for the LORD will be your everlasting light,    and your days of mourning shall be ended. (ESV) John 16:33 (Listen) 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (ESV) Romans 8:22–23 (Listen) 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (ESV) 2 Corinthians 5:4 (Listen) 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (ESV) Revelation 7:14–17 (Listen) 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15   “Therefore they are before the throne of God,    and serve him day and night in his temple;    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.16   They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;    the sun shall not strike them,    nor any scorching heat.17   For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,    and he will guide them to springs of living water,  and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (ESV) Evening: Genesis 8:22; Genesis 9:3; Genesis 21:17; Genesis 21:19; Psalm 145:9; Nahum 1:7; Matthew 6:31–32; Mark 4:38; 1 Timothy 6:17 “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”—“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.—And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is…. Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.—“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' For… your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”—As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Genesis 8:22 (Listen) 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (ESV) Genesis 9:3 (Listen) 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. (ESV) Genesis 21:17 (Listen) 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. (ESV) Genesis 21:19 (Listen) 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. (ESV) Psalm 145:9 (Listen) 9   The LORD is good to all,    and his mercy is over all that he has made. (ESV) Nahum 1:7 (Listen) 7   The LORD is good,    a stronghold in the day of trouble;  he knows those who take refuge in him. (ESV) Matthew 6:31–32 (Listen) 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. (ESV) Mark 4:38 (Listen) 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (ESV) 1 Timothy 6:17 (Listen) 17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. (ESV)

The tenth sermon in a sermon series on the life of Abraham, Genesis 16.1-16. Support the show (https://pod.fan/all-souls-anglican-sermon-podcast)

On this episode, Paul White talks about Hagar's encounter with God. Accompanying scripture: Genesis 16:13-16. 

Today I get to share my conversation with incredibly sweet Denisse Copeland. Denisse is a wife, a Mom, and an author of Set Apart: Stop Comparing, Own Your Giftedness, and Rest in Jesus. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and at the age of 16 she and her sister moved to the U.S. with essentially no English, and with no sense of belonging along with a gigantic amount of culture shock. Denisse struggled to find her place, and eventually began looking for it in toxic relationships, partying, and more. One night though, in her desperation and broken heartedness, Denisse cried out to God and He began to make Himself known to her. She found that through the gift of Jesus' love for her and His desire to have a relationship with her life would never be the same,and now she spends her days sharing that same truth to other women around the world through her ministry Set Apart Daughters.  This episode is one for those of us who struggle to believe that God really loves us, no matter who we are, where we've been or what we've done. Or for the one who is struggling to believe you do truly have a purpose in life. Denisse encourages us to remember who Jesus has been to us, and look at the gift of love that came down to be with us and sent the Spirit to dwell within our very skin, and made you on purpose, for a purpose. While we spend the first half of this conversation about having a right vision of he Lord, or of yourself,  then in the second half, we will think through how to practice God's presence with others. However, with Christmas right around the corner, we talk about how to honor people, no matter our relationship status with them, practice boundaries, and also be led by the Spirit in order to love God and love people in a Spirit-led manner for your heart, and those you encounter. I hope this episode encourages you and equips you as you walk out your days.  There is so much left in your story friend. You have a purpose. And you matter. Your story matters.  Connecting with Denisse: Facebook Instagram Podcast Website   Episode Sponsor: Hopefuel Facebook  Instagram Link to shop SIMPLY15 for 15% off your purchase References: -Francis Chan -“This Little Light of Mine” -Boundaries : When to Say Yes, How to Say No to take Control of Your Life -The meme with the sheep (you're welcome)  -The shepherds of Christmas possibly were shepherds that watched over the passover lambs -Hear more from street chaplain Lindsey Krinks about the power of “seeing” people experiencing homelessness in our conversation here and her incredible book Praying with Our Feet: Pursuing Justice and Healing on the Streets.  -Sermon on “love” from Fellowship Bible Church Murfreesboro, TN by Monty Waldron Scripture References: Psalm 34:8-Taste and see that the Lord is good 1 Peter 2:9- He calls us out of the darkness and into the Light John 8:12- He is the Light of the World Matthew 5:14- A city on a hill cannot be hidden John 4- The Samaritan Woman  Matthew 8:27- The disciples, who is this man? John 15- Abiding in Jesus  Galatians 1:10, Colossians 3:23-24- Seeking only God's approval  Matthew 14:13-21- The Lord will provide with what you have Luke 9- When He sent the 12 out with very little, but He provided Deuteronomy 29:5- Israel's clothes or shoes didn't wear out, the Lord provided Luke 2:1-20- The shepherds running to find Jesus  Matthew 12:21- Jesus came to bring hope  John 3:16- Love came down  Matthew 1:23- Emmanuel, God with us  John 14:15-31, Galatians 2:20-Christ is in me (through the Holy Spirit) Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-8- Honoring your family, no matter  John 13:35-They will know you by your love  1 John 3:18- Don't just love with your words, but by your actions Philippians 4:8-9- Whatever is true, noble, lovely… think about these things  Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:21-23, You were once enemies of God  John 10:10-The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but He came to have life to the full  John 10:1-18- the father of lies being your father, My sheep know my voice Ephesians 5:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:5-  Now we are children of the Light/Day  2 Corinthians 3:18 -Being transformed into the image of Christ Ephesians 4:20-24- Shedding the old skin  Luke 2:4-7- There was no room for Mary and Joseph Luke 2:8-20-The angels of Christmas (with the shepherds) Luke 10:38-42- Mary and Martha  Genesis 16:13- Hagar-you are the God who sees me  Luke 1:37 Ephesians 3:20- The Lord can do anything  Matthew 11:15- He who would have ears to hear, let him hear Acts 2- The spoke in languages the crowd could understand (via tongues and the tongues of fire) Deuteronomy 14:2, Ephesians 1:4-8- You are set apart  Connecting with Emily and Simply Stories Podcast:Instagram (Em life // Podcast Life)FacebookTwitterBlog  *Intro and Outro music is from audionautix.com

Changing a false identity or victim behavior begins by seeing God for who he truly is and seeing the inestimable value of ourselves. God gives us a real-life example of this miracle in the story a Hagar. No one valued her until the day she met God while running away from her life.

On this episode, Paul White talks about the story of Hagar and Sarai. Accompanying scripture: Genesis 16:2. 

In this week's message Pastor Nunn takes us through the life of Hagar from Genesis. Here we learn that even when we are emotionally abandoned and spiritually wounded God still deeply loves us.Make sure to subscribe, share, and visit us at TruthAndLoveMinistries.orgIntro and Outro Music: Sunkissed by Ikon

We all long to be seen, noticed, known, valued by others, not just around or tolerated, but really seen. This time of year lots of people are around, but many feel more invisible than ever. This morning, our story in Genesis is giving us a window into the life of one of the most invisible people ever, until God met her. This overlooked woman is actually the only person in the whole bible to give God a name. She calls him the God of seeing because she felt seen for the first time by Him. We are seen by Him as well. We know this because of Jesus, God's answer to our deepest longings. We know because God came to another young girl named Mary. He promised her she would bear a son, a divine son, whom God Himself would name Jesus, who is more than a God who sees. But a God who suffers, dies, rises again. A God who saves.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4880836921.12.12

The powerful story of Christmas is that Jesus, who is the God who sees, has come into our world looking for us. And he sees us looking around looking for him. And he declares to us “There you are…I have been looking for you…I have come to see you…to be with you…to love you…to redeem you!” But he finds us turning our gaze away from him. He finds us distracted and looking past him as though he isn't the one we are looking for. e.And he cries out all the more “I am here! I have come! I see you! I want you! I am the one you are looking for. Stop searching. Stop wondering. Stop turning. Open your eyes and see the God who sees you!”Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4880837421.12.12

Rejection sucks, but for every door that is closed there is either a lesson to learn or a growth opportunity that God wants you to take advantage of in the meantime. This the story of Charles Barkley and Hagar highlight ways to deal with rejection and find ultimate success.

Fr. Mike reminds us of the context of Galatians and reiterates Paul's admonition not to revert to our previous ways of life now that we have been freed from the yoke of slavery. He also discusses the works of the flesh which separate us from Christ and the fruits of the spirit which result from a life lived in God, reminding us that we will reap what we sow in due season. Today's readings are Acts 25, Galatians 4-6, and Proverbs 29:15-17. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Gênesis 16:13 – Este foi o nome que ela deu ao Senhor que lhe havia falado: Tu és o Deus que me vê. Lá estava Hagar, a serva egípcia de Sara, esposa de Abraão. Hagar estava esperando um filho de Abraão, a criança que Sara desejava mais do que tudo, mas não podia ter. Hagar […] O post O Deus que me vê apareceu primeiro em Rede Novo Tempo de Comunicação.

Galatians 4–6 Galatians 4–6 (Listen) Sons and Heirs 4 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,1 though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles2 of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Paul's Concern for the Galatians 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. 12 Brothers,3 I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?4 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. Example of Hagar and Sarah 21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;5 she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,   “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!  For the children of the desolate one will be more    than those of the one who has a husband.” 28 Now you,6 brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. Christ Has Set Us Free 5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified7 by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,8 still preach9 circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Keep in Step with the Spirit 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,10 drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do11 such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Bear One Another's Burdens 6 Brothers,12 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Final Warning and Benediction 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which13 the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. Footnotes [1] 4:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 7 [2] 4:3 Or elemental spirits; also verse 9 [3] 4:12 Or Brothers and sisters; also verses 28, 31 [4] 4:16 Or by dealing truthfully with you [5] 4:25 Some manuscripts For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia [6] 4:28 Some manuscripts we [7] 5:4 Or counted righteous [8] 5:11 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 13 [9] 5:11 Greek proclaim [10] 5:21 Some manuscripts add murder [11] 5:21 Or make a practice of doing [12] 6:1 Or Brothers and sisters; also verse 18 [13] 6:14 Or through whom (ESV)

Today, Hagar and Ishmael come back into the story and we are quickly reminded of how messy and challenging the Biblical story truly is. Abraham and Sarah, threatened by Ishmael, and desperately wanting to realize God’s plan for their lives, send a mother and her son to live by themselves in the wilderness. In the […]

On this second Sunday of Advent, Melissa preached from Genesis 17:15-22 and Luke 1:39-45. Women congregating in groups is often dangerous to the powers that be. That reality is a part of this long history of keeping women from trying to find their way to one another. We don't know much about Mary from the Gospels. One thing we learned about Mary here is that she takes off for a visit to her cousin Elizabeth after the shameful discovery of a pregnancy before marriage, a pregnancy that is threatening to make her a social outcast. Elizabeth, herself pregnant, welcomes Mary and offers Mary a blessing. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!"Luke 1:42 Elizabeth is the first person in the Gospel of Luke to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is a work that crosses time, which is why the gospeler gathers together Hannah and Miriam and Judith and Sarah, and Hagar and Deborah all around this greeting. We too are participants in this joyful band of resistance that takes place in their bodies. We too are drawn into community when we come together to worship. This day and each time we gather.

As Abram and Sarai wait for the Lord to answer their prayers for a child, they instead decide to come up with their own plan. Sarai suggests that Abram sleep with her slave, Hagar. Sarai and Abram are not patient in waiting for the right pitch (God's pitch). Instead, they swing at a bad pitch (their own idea) in hopes of getting the same result. Have you ever found yourself swinging at a bad pitch? Have you ever prayed and asked God to give you something. Maybe you felt like He did not answer it, so you came up with your own plan. No matter what the situation, let me encourage you to never get ahead of God. The right pitch will come, but you must be patient and wait. So let's look at a few things we should consider if we want to avoid swinging at a bad pitch.

你敢捌看過流星雨？這支影片 to̍h 是欲 tī 英仙座流星雨 上濟彼工見證這个 奇蹟。這是 tī 印度 Hanle ê Himalaya 山脈 ê 印度天文台 翕 ê。影片 拄開始，天色 to̍h 隨暗--去矣。銀河系 ê 中央盤 to̍h ùi 倒爿出現，踅地球 ê 衛星 嘛 ùi 頭頂行過。Tī 這暗 ê 流星爍光，若是比 1 秒鐘較短，是有 kā 伊 ê 時間延長。大部份來講，流星若是爍青光，應該是 ùi 蒸發 ê 鎳 來 ê。影片若行，獵戶座 to̍h peh--起來矣。流星 嘛 tī chhāi tī Himalaya 山脈 ê 2 公尺大 ê Chandra 望遠鏡 kah 有 7 支大管 ê 高能 Gamma-光 望遠鏡 (Hagar) ê 頭頂 爍咧爍咧。這支 2 分 30 秒 ê 影片 tī 日頭 peh--起來 ê 時陣結束。毋閣 tī 真正 ê 天光進前，閣有出現 黃道光，煞 予人叫是已經天光矣。 ——— 這是 NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day ê 台語文 podcast 原文版：https://apod.nasa.gov/ 台文版：https://apod.tw/ 今仔日 ê 文章： https://apod.tw/daily/20210928/ 影像：Vikas Chander & Dorje Angchuk 音樂：Tea Time via PremiumBeat 聲優：阿錕 翻譯：An-Li Tsai (NCU) 原文：https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210928.html Powered by Firstory Hosting

  TDAgiantslayer@gmail.com    97X     PODBEAN   Apple Podcast    webstix.com Tony Herman - the coolest cat on the net     Code: wellbuilttda 15% off   Here's a sharable link: https://wellbuiltsupplements.com/discount/wellbuilttda   Daily Greens probiotic, vegan protein, whey protein, Digestive enzymes, Omega 3's, Performance energy, Performance BCCA's, Vitamins for men, Vitamins for women and a whole lot more.  Right now I am pumping the greens and Pre-workout and loving them both… Heres a secret “I'm on them right now as I do my podcast”.    revolution4fathers.com Jesus t-shirt!  Giant slayer water bottles, hoodies, t shirts Man up shirts… on a cross changed my life   Starting this week the TDA will also be on youtube… check it out. Not every episode, but we will start with at least one a week… hey who doesn't want to see my kitchen right?   The Israeli minister of defense said 3 days ago that they are preparing for war. and then said if they go to war with Iran that most likely Russia and Turkey will counter attack on the side of Iran. This is spoken about in Ezekiel as the battle of Gog and Magog. Very striking that this is so closely tied into the end times. Prophetically spoken a few thousand years ago and now taking place before our eyes.    Genesis 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”   Sarah laughs… at Gods promise and then again at the angels that speak of this miraculous child… Why does she laugh? Does she laugh because of Abrahams lifestyle… he has handed her over to rulers in the past 25 years a few times saying she was his sister… So maybe she is thinking my Husband who would rather toss me out to the sharks is going to get me pregnant? OR Is is because she is past child bearing age… she no longer has her menstrual cycle and it seems absurd. OR She laughs because she knows that Abraham is enamored by Hagar and the son she has bore for him. OR She laughs thinking that her husband who is even older than her could now perform in bed and maybe even  the thought of any type of passion is simply silly. OR Maybe she laughs simply because a child at this point is absolutely ridiculous  OR  She laughs at the thought of her womb which has been closed for years… could possibly be fertile ground   But why ask why? Sarah laughed… and I guess I can't really blame her given the circumstances… but what about Abraham- NOW HERE IS THE REAL STORY!    Romans 4:20-21 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.   Abraham never doubted… you say but he had sex with his servant to get a son… but that was because Sarah pestered him to do it. She knew Abraham wanted a son, she knew time was ticking away and Abe was probably not going to be having to many more high fives in the bedroom. She asked him to do it. He did it not because he did not believe God was not going to come through, but rather to shut up Sarah.   How did he continue to believe after all these years? I guess the same way he believed when God told him to take his only son Isaac up on the Mountain and sacrifice him… believing well God will either bring him back to life or again get Sarah pregnant again. HE HAD FAITH BECAUSE IT WAS A PROMISE FROM GOD. His faith in Gods promise strengthened him.  And he gave God the glory before it ever came to pass. Lets dumb it down in case you missed the point. While Sarah was laughing Abe was believing in Gods word Trusted his word and was strengthened by trusting Bragged to God about God and what would happen to God - and then gave him praise before it ever happened.   Thats the formula for faithful living! 

Galatians 4:21-5:1Example of Hagar and Sarah21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” 28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.CHAPTER 5Christ Has Set Us Free1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Today I am sharing my conversation with the absolutely wonderful Becky Keife. Becky is wife, a Mom to 3 boys, an author and the community manager of the online (in)courage community. Today, Becky and I are talking about the topic of her latest book The Simple Difference: How Every Small Kindness Makes a Big Impact. Kindness is something we desperately need and is a powerful gift that is underutilized and underestimated, and Becky lays out beautifully in her book and in this conversation the power of it, and how it ultimately reflects the heart of God.  The idea of this book came from a small act of kindness years ago, but this book was written while watching the LACK of kindness in the world, the challenge of being kind quarantined at home with her family, and its just really beautiful and authentic. God knows we're going to struggle with this. He knows the world is broken, and I especially wanted to share this now because so many people are smack in the middle of navigating the holidays and in the current environment of the world and even in the Church, it feels really really difficult to just even know how to people, and for many, what to make of God in the midst of it. So we're going to talk about that.  We also share some thoughts and suggestions for how to go into the holidays with a heart that asks questions first such as can I give this image bearer the dignity of compassion and kindness regardless of how we agree or disagree? On the other hand, we also want to hold proper space for asking good questions about necessary boundaries because those are real and important and healthy where appropriate.  This is hard and holy work, y'all. I know the weariness is palpable in so many that I know, including myself. I hope this ministers to you, encourages you, challenges you, and equips you right where you are today. I really believe, the Lord is making Himself known in so many dark places, and as we transition into a season of the darkest part of the year, and we usher in space for Immanuel, God with us, I just wonder how we could powerfully proclaim His with-ness on this Earth with acts of compassion and kindness? No matter how big, or how small, I hope that wherever you try this out in your life, that is transforms YOU and makes the Lord feel closer and kinder in your own life. Because we all need that. We need to encounter God's kindness, and to see His presence in our lives and in the lives of those around us because it has the power to transform all of us. He's not finished here, friends. This is not how the story ends. Just remember: you matter, your story matters. Connecting with Becky:  Books Facebook Instagram Twitter Website   Episode Sponsor: Tony Crabtree of Crabtree Homes with Exit Realty  Home buyer guide: http://bit.ly/buyersguidecrabtreehomes Seller guide: http://bit.ly/sellerguidecrabtreehomes Facebook Instagram Website YouTube   References: (in)courage  Dayspring  Lisa Jo Baker  Courageous Kindness: Live the Simple Difference Right Where You Are (bible study Becky wrote to accompany The Simple Difference:How Every Small Kindness Makes a Big Impact.) Great article from Bible Study tool on : Neighbor was a more general term for person. Neighbor and non neighbor would be synonymous with Jew and Gentile (non-Jew) Who are the Samaritans?  (in)courage walking through kindness    Scripture References: -Psalm 100:5, Galatians 5:22-23, Titus 3:4-6 (to name a few)- Our God is kind  -Psalm 25:3, 2 Timothy 1:7- He does not speak to us through shame -Hebrews 12:6, Revelation 3:19 (to name a couple!)- He disciplines, corrects and encourages us to repentance -Genesis 16:13- The first person who ever names Hagar and calls Him “El Roi”- “The God who sees me” Full story is Genesis 16 and also Genesis 21:8-20-- I mixed these 2 stories together when I talked about it. So sorry! -Romans 2:4- The kindness of God leads us to repentance -Luke 10:25-37- The Good Samaritan  -Matthew 22:36-40- Second greatest commandment- love your neighbor -Leviticus 26:1, Deuteronomy 12:4, and then THIS is a list of so many of the times that share a loaded history of trying to get the Jews to stop worshiping idols of other cultures -Hagar (see above), Rahab, Ruth, A Cannanite woman, the Samaritan woman, An Ethiopian Eunuch, THE EARLY CHURCH- (etc, etc) -We see God fold in people from other cultures -1 Kings 12- The division of Northern and Southern Kingdom  -Matthew 9:10-17,Mark 2:15-22,Luke 5:29-39- Jesus eats with “sinners” -Matthew 9:35-38, John 21:15-25, Acts 1:8, Acts 2, Acts 4:23-37- God invites us to show His care out of the overflow of the Holy Spirit  -Romans 12:18-Inasmuch as it depends on you live peaceably with everyone  -Genesis 1:27- We are made in God's image -Isaiah 6, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, - Christ's ambassadors  -Matthew 5:13-16-We are Christ's Light bearers -Luke 16:10- Being faithful with little Connecting with Emily and Simply Stories Podcast:Instagram (Em life // Podcast Life)FacebookTwitterBlog  *Intro and Outro music is from audionautix.com

Galatians 4–6 Galatians 4–6 (Listen) Sons and Heirs 4 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,1 though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles2 of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Paul's Concern for the Galatians 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. 12 Brothers,3 I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?4 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. Example of Hagar and Sarah 21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;5 she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,   “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!  For the children of the desolate one will be more    than those of the one who has a husband.” 28 Now you,6 brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. Christ Has Set Us Free 5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified7 by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,8 still preach9 circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Keep in Step with the Spirit 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,10 drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do11 such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Bear One Another's Burdens 6 Brothers,12 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Final Warning and Benediction 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which13 the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. Footnotes [1] 4:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 7 [2] 4:3 Or elemental spirits; also verse 9 [3] 4:12 Or Brothers and sisters; also verses 28, 31 [4] 4:16 Or by dealing truthfully with you [5] 4:25 Some manuscripts For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia [6] 4:28 Some manuscripts we [7] 5:4 Or counted righteous [8] 5:11 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 13 [9] 5:11 Greek proclaim [10] 5:21 Some manuscripts add murder [11] 5:21 Or make a practice of doing [12] 6:1 Or Brothers and sisters; also verse 18 [13] 6:14 Or through whom (ESV) Acts 15:1–21 Acts 15:1–21 (Listen) The Jerusalem Council 15 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.1 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” 12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16   “‘After this I will return,  and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;  I will rebuild its ruins,     and I will restore it,17   that the remnant2 of mankind may seek the Lord,    and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,    says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.' 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.” Footnotes [1] 15:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 22 [2] 15:17 Or rest (ESV)

Guest preacher Rev. Tonetta Landis-Aina looks at the intersections of identity and power in the story of Hagar and Sarai. She challenges us to examine our own identities and privileges in order to live into the vision of being a "multi" church.

Old Testament: Ezekiel 1–3 Ezekiel 1–3 (Listen) Ezekiel in Babylon 1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.1 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there. The Glory of the Lord 4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.2 5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit3 would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.4 16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they went, they went in any of their four directions5 without turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures6 was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body. 24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire;7 and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. 27 And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him.8 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. Ezekiel's Call 2 And he said to me, “Son of man,9 stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.' 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions.10 Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. 8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. 4 And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel—6 not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. 8 Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear or refuse to hear.” 12 Then the Spirit11 lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice12 of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!” 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me. 15 And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.13 And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days. A Watchman for Israel 16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for14 his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.” 22 And the hand of the LORD was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley,15 and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. 24 But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house. Footnotes [1] 1:1 Or from God [2] 1:4 Or amber; also verse 27 [3] 1:12 Or Spirit; also twice in verse 20 and once in verse 21 [4] 1:15 Hebrew of their faces [5] 1:17 Hebrew on their four sides [6] 1:20 Or the spirit of life; also verse 21 [7] 1:26 Or lapis lazuli [8] 1:27 Or it [9] 2:1 Or Son of Adam; so throughout Ezekiel [10] 2:6 Or on scorpion plants [11] 3:12 Or the wind; also verse 14 [12] 3:12 Or sound [13] 3:15 Or Chebar, and to where they dwelt [14] 3:18 Or in; also verses 19, 20 [15] 3:22 Or plain; also verse 23 (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 119:73–80 Psalm 119:73–80 (Listen) Yodh 73   Your hands have made and fashioned me;    give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.74   Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,    because I have hoped in your word.75   I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous,    and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.76   Let your steadfast love comfort me    according to your promise to your servant.77   Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;    for your law is my delight.78   Let the insolent be put to shame,    because they have wronged me with falsehood;    as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.79   Let those who fear you turn to me,    that they may know your testimonies.80   May my heart be blameless in your statutes,    that I may not be put to shame! (ESV) New Testament: Galatians 3–4 Galatians 3–4 (Listen) By Faith, or by Works of the Law? 3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by1 the flesh? 4 Did you suffer2 so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify3 the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. The Righteous Shall Live by Faith 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”4 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit5 through faith. The Law and the Promise 15 To give a human example, brothers:6 even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave7 nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. Sons and Heirs 4 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,8 though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles9 of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Paul's Concern for the Galatians 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. 12 Brothers,10 I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?11 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. Example of Hagar and Sarah 21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;12 she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,   “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!  For the children of the desolate one will be more    than those of the one who has a husband.” 28 Now you,13 brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. Footnotes [1] 3:3 Or now ending with [2] 3:4 Or experience [3] 3:8 Or count righteous; also verses 11, 24 [4] 3:11 Or The one who by faith is righteous will live [5] 3:14 Greek receive the promise of the Spirit [6] 3:15 Or brothers and sisters [7] 3:28 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface [8] 4:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 7 [9] 4:3 Or elemental spirits; also verse 9 [10] 4:12 Or Brothers and sisters; also verses 28, 31 [11] 4:16 Or by dealing truthfully with you [12] 4:25 Some manuscripts For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia [13] 4:28 Some manuscripts we (ESV)

There are lots of troubling stories in scripture: the sacrifice of Isaac, the banishment of Hagar. I'm going to get personal and share some of my spiritual struggles with these stories with Dr. Christopher Thomas, a theologian at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. How will he respond? GT:  But, at any rate, the whole story about […] The post Troubling Stories in Scripture (Part 6 of 8 Chris Thomas) appeared first on Gospel Tangents.

In this episode, we continue our four part series on the identity of sister.  This episode is now offered in video on youtube! We discuss the unique wounds that women often inflict on one another and our own experiences of jealousy, rivalry, and competition. We look at how assumptions can damage relationships and the role of intentional communication and transparency in repairing these wounds. We pray this week God would give you courage to behold women in your heart and be a gift to others through your femininity. Be sure to subscribe to the Abiding Together Podcast on YouTube to watch our video podcasts!  Sister Miriam's one thing - Tiny Hands Michelle's one thing - Day Planner from Blessed Is She  Heather's one thing - Heather's Steak Pie recipe  Discussion questions:     What stood out to you from this week's episode? What makes you feel safe in relationships so that you're able to trust the other? What vows or agreements - such as “I will never trust women" or "I can't trust women like I can men” - have you made because of the ways you were hurt by other women? Have you given Jesus permission to break these bonds? Is there a relationship or situation where you have made assumptions about another woman's behavior or beliefs? How can you bring healing to this relationship through transparency and communication?  Journal Questions: Re-read the story of Hagar and Sarah in Genesis 16. What does God want to speak to your heart through this story.  What jealousy, fears, or comparisons cause you to assume the worst of other women? What would it look like to ‘fill that gap with trust?” Take a moment to reflect on any memories that are brought to the surface during this episode. Where do you need healing from wounds caused by other women? Where do you need to repent or ask forgiveness for the ways in which you have wounded other women?    Quotes to Ponder:  “None of us is completely free of this fierce tendency to grasp and control. Every woman has something in herself inherited  from Eve, and she must search for the way from Eve to Mary. There is a bit of defiance in each woman which does not want to humble itself under any sovereignty. In each, there is something of that  desire which reaches for forbidden fruit." - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Scripture for Lectio Divina: At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” And Mary proclaimed: My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—  holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm ;He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.  He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,  just as he promised our ancestors.  Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. - Luke 1:39-56 This episode is sponsored by Monk Manual. This week's episode is sponsored by the Monk Manual 90-Day Planner. If you are looking for a great gift this holiday season, the Monk Manual has you covered. The Monk Manual is a daily system designed to help individuals intentionally focus on the things that matter most. Each planner comes with monthly, weekly, and daily pages to support and encourage a life that beautifully integrates a busy schedule with personal growth, room for play, and time for relationships, quiet reflection and spiritual growth. Each monthly, weekly, and daily page of the planner utilizes the PAR method (Prepare-Act-Reflect) so that you can begin each period with calm intentionality, prioritize what is most important as you live a full(er) life, and end contemplating life's beauties and challenges. Monk Manual also just released The Sprout Journal for children, ages 8–12. Abiding Together listeners receive 10% off their purchase at checkout with the discount code: ABIDE10. Visit them online at monkmanual.com and https://monkmanual.com/pages/sprout-journal

Abraham and Sarah and Hagar is a crazy story from the Bible that pastors often use as biblical support for telling women to go back and submit to their abusive husbands.Does this familiar passage ask women to submit to their abusive husband's authority? Hmm, well, perhaps it doesn't. Are we really seeing what our Bible says?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OkUPc2NLrM

This week Pastor Louie Giglio kicks off our brand new series, CERTAINTY, by telling us the story of Hagar and the sparrow in Psalm 102. He teaches us that although we may feel like the sparrow on the roof, alone and isolated, God sees us and is with us in the midst of it all.— With Passion City Online, you can join us every Sunday live at 9:30a and 11:45a, and our gatherings are available on-demand starting at 2p! Join us at https://passioncitychurch.com/online — Subscribe to our channel to see more messages from Passion City Church: https://www.youtube.com/passioncitychurch1 — Looking for content for your Kids? Subscribe to our Passion Kids Channel: https://passion.link/passionkidsonline — At Passion City Church, we believe that because God has displayed the ultimate sacrifice in Jesus, our response to that in worship must be extravagant. It is our privilege, and our created purpose, to reflect God's Glory to Him through our praise, our sacrifice, and our song. — Follow Passion City Church: https://www.instagram.com/passioncity/ Follow Louie Giglio: https://www.instagram.com/louiegiglio Passion City Church is a Jesus church with locations in Atlanta and Washington D.C.