Podcasts about reading genesis

Jacob runs from his brother Esau, who is angry with him for stealing his birthright, and Isaac and Rebekah sending Jacob to family to find a wife who believes in the true God.

October 27, 2025Today's Reading: Genesis 4:1-15Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 29:1-29; Matthew 18:21-35“And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.” (Genesis 4:15)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)  Even after his heinous act is done, Cain does not appear repentant at all. He has committed the first murder and shrugs it off. “Not my problem.” What is behind all of this? Jealousy…and a lack of faith. That's at the heart of this all. That is the reason that Cain's sacrifice was not acceptable to God. Yes, Abel sacrificed a lamb and shed its innocent blood, and Cain some of his crops. But Cain was going through the motions without “fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” While Abel believed the Lord and participated in this liturgy of sacrifice, Cain apparently was doing something Mom and Dad told him he should do, and not really believing in the Lord who acts in His liturgy.Cain then attacked his brother and shed his innocent blood. The first murder in history. The first recorded death. No earthly eyes witnessed this horror, but it was not hidden from the Lord God.God calls Cain out. “The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.”  He lets him know that he hasn't gotten away with it. And even without witnesses, Cain knows that others will want justice, or even revenge. He fears capital punishment, so the Lord marks Cain. We don't know how, but in some way, God makes it known that no one is to lay a hand on him. He is guilty, but freed from his punishment.You are like Cain. You daily commit sins which no earthly eyes witness, yet they are not hidden from the Lord God. You have moments of participating in liturgy simply because Mom and Dad told you that you should, and not because you “fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” Although you are guilty, you are freed from punishment.The Lord put a mark on you, too! And not just a mark to prevent others from executing you to punish your crimes. At His holy font, the Lord God called you, and marked you “with the sign of the holy cross both upon your forehead and upon your heart, marking you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.” Then He marked you permanently with the washing of water and the Word, granting you forgiveness, rescue, and salvation. You are not just marked safe from punishment; you are given full pardon and made righteous!In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Abel's blood for vengeance Pleaded to the skies; But the blood of Jesus For our pardon cries. Lift we, then, our voices, Swell the mighty flood; Louder still and louder Praise the precious blood! (LSB 433:4,6)Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Harrison Goodman is the Executive Director of Mission and Theology for Higher Things.Step back in time to the late Reformation and learn about a divisive yet inspirational figure: Matthias Flacius Illyricus. His contributions to Lutheranism still echo in our teachings today, from the Magdeburg Confession to parts of the Lutheran Confessions. Learning about Flacius's life will help you understand more intricacies of the Reformation than ever before.

With the help of Rebecah, his mother, Jacob steals his brother, Esau's, blessing from their father, Isaac, and despite the family disfunction, God keeps His Promise and works in His way to bring us the Messiah.

God renews His Promises to Abraham as He reminds Isaac, his son, of that Promise and guides him in his life.

Record of the descendents and death of Abraham, and how the family lives on through Isaac & his wife, Rebekah who gives birth to Esau & Jacob, who continue that line on to the Messiah.

Abraham sends his servant to get a wife for Isaac, making sure that she is not one who worships other gods than the true God.

4 Marital Features to Build Your Marriage Around 1. Bad Decisions 16:1-16 2. Laughter & Pain 17:15-27 3. Blessings & Regrets 18:1-15 4. Treachery & Grace 20:1-17 Next Week's Reading – Genesis 18:16-19:38

Abraham's wife, Sarah, dies and for the first time Abraham buys land in the land that God had promised He would give to Abraham and his descendants.

God tests Abraham so that Abrahamwould trust God and do what God told him to do, to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and God honored that trust and spared Isaac.

October 20, 2025Today's Reading: Genesis 32:22-30Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 19:1-20; Matthew 15:1-20“A man wrestled with [Jacob] until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day has broken.' But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.'” (Genesis 32:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We start out thinking about what God wants us to do to improve and progress in our Christian life, and we find ourselves stuck in anxiety, having no joy in life.We start out this way because, with the Law written on our hearts, we try to progress and improve according to the measurements of the Law.But look at the Lord coming to Jacob: No self-improvement instructions, no mystical teachings of being more spiritual, no nonsense of how to be a Christian on fire or anything like that. But a wrestling match, the Lord giving himself to be thrown around by the sinner. Yet, there's no confusion—the Lord has the power, not Jacob. For, as the Lord lets Jacob wrestle him, the text tells us, “When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him” (Genesis 32:25).Jacob knows the Lord has the power. So why doesn't Jacob stop wrestling? Doesn't he know God can destroy him with just a word? Jacob's not naïve. But he wants the blessing (which is precisely what God wants to give). Genesis 32:26: Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me" (Genesis 32:26).The Lord swore the blessing to Abraham and Isaac, Jacob's grandfather and father. The blessing promises the Savior in Abraham's lineage. The word of blessing defeats death, crushes the devil's head, and justifies the sinner, so that by faith in the promise, Abraham was justified. The blessing goes to Abraham's children, including Jacob, including you and me, and our children.God wants the sinner to hold onto him for the blessing like a wrestler refusing to let go.With the blessing, we're done with the Law and its measurements for an improved Christian life. We hold on to the Gospel, not letting go of the promise. When God says, “Take and eat, Take and drink … my body, my blood for the forgiveness of your sins,” it is God blessing you. You may now say to your God, “I will hold on to you for the blessing.” He never forgets the blessing he swore to you.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Thy strong Word, bespeaks us righteous; Bright with Thine own holiness, Glorious now, we press toward glory, And our lives our hopes confess. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! (LSB, 578:3)Rev. Warren Graff, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Harrison Goodman is the Executive Director of Mission and Theology for Higher Things.`Step back in time to the late Reformation and learn about a divisive yet inspirational figure: Matthias Flacius Illyricus. His contributions to Lutheranism still echo in our teachings today, from the Magdeburg Confession to parts of the Lutheran Confessions. Learning about Flacius's life will help you understand more intricacies of the Reformation than ever before.

God protects Abraham and Sarah from themselves and their foolish decision, and preserves the line of His Promise of a Messiah.

God judges and punishes the wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah, but saves Lot and his family by warning them and sending them out before the destruction.

Abraham pleads for his nephew, Lot, and the righteous ones in Sodom and Gomorrah, and God listens and promises.

God gives Abraham the sign of circumcision to remind them of His Promises to send a Savior.

Despite the impatience of Sarai & Abram, God continues to bless them and assure them of His Promise.

A battle with Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah, and Lot is taken captive, until Abram comes and conquers the enemy and sets Lot free.

Abram and his nephew, Lot, part ways so that each of their flocks could be fed and tension between the two and their herdsman might be aleviated. Abram let's Lot choose and God continues to bless Abram.

God's promise to Abram that through his family God would send a Savior for all people.

When mankind wanted to make a name for themselves and refused to fill the earth, they started to build a tower, but God intervened and spread them out and so fullfilled His promise to give them hope.

A genealogy in the time of Noah, which shows us the hope that God gives through the human family which is finaled realized in the birth of God's only Son, Jesus, into the human family to give us hope.

God establishes His Covenant with Noah and all creation, and uses the rainbow to remind Him and us.

Lead Pastor Josh Carstensen continues our Servants & Stewards series on Joseph.Even when life unravels through betrayal, false accusation, and hardship, God's providence is at work — positioning Joseph (and us) exactly where He wants him. God is always with Joseph (and us), even in the darkest prison, and his integrity under temptation becomes the proving ground for future influence.Through Joseph's faithfulness in the small things, we learn that every trial prepared him (and us) for a greater purpose. God's hand is sovereign, His presence constant, and His plan always good.Thank you for listening to this message from Northwest Hills Community Church in Corvallis, Oregon, on October 5, 2025, at 9:30am. You can find us online at nwhills.com.Key Moments00:00 Welcome01:03 Reading Genesis 3904:08 Message: Embracing God's Providence Amidst Trials11:03 The Doctrine of God's Providence17:25 Understanding God's Presence22:35 Integrity in Adversity31:39 Experiencing Jesus' Pain and Persecution32:59 Final Reflections and Prayer

God remembes Noah and his family, and God remembers us, as Noah remained faithful to God and did what God said to do, so that now the Promise of a Savior continues for them and for us.

In the time of Noah, God was sorry about creating the world, yet gave us hope by bringing Noah through the flood.

The generations of mankind, and proclamation of God persevering, despite our rebellion and bringing us a Savior, Jesus Christ, through this line.

The depravity of mankind and the faithfulness of God.

When the devil tempts Adam and Eve, they rebel against God and disobey Him, but God gives us hope in a Savior.

God establishes the Sabbath Day, and explains the creation of mankind and marriage.

3 Components of God's First Redemptive Covenant with You 1 - The Covenant Components 12:1-3 2 - The Covenant Inauguration 15:1-21 3 - The Covenant Sign 17:1-14 Next Week's Reading - Genesis 12:4-14:24

3 Components of God's First Redemptive Covenant with You 1 - The Covenant Components 12:1-3 2 - The Covenant Inauguration 15:1-21 3 - The Covenant Sign 17:1-14 Next Week's Reading - Genesis 12:4-14:24

August 11, 2025Today's Reading: Genesis 15:1-6Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 26:1-25; 1 Samuel 27:1-28:2; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13“But Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?'” (Genesis 15:2)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. These verses in Genesis are amazing promises that God gives to Abram: “I am your shield; your reward shall be very great; number the stars…so shall your offspring be.” This is miraculous! The old, barren couple will indeed have a child and will have an abundance of offspring! And yet, Abram can't help but be skeptical. “But God….”Can you see yourself in this skeptical response? I can. Here's the thing about sinners—we like fast results and we like control. We want what we want when we want it, and that's it. I don't want to wait. I don't want to trust. I want to control the timeline, the process, and the outcome. Lord, forgive me, a sinner. Incredibly, God is more patient than we are impatient. God is more merciful, gracious, loving, and forgiving than we can even fathom. In this exchange with Abram, God hears Abram's concerns and meets them with promises. God assures Abram that He will take care of Abram and his family. God has a plan, and it will come to fruition. In the same way, He hears our prayers. We come to Him, forgetting all that He has done, and protest about waiting or about not getting what we want. We come to Him with our sins and burdens, our complaints and our hurts, and He hears us. He WANTS to hear from us. Amazing. He answers us with mercy and grace. He reminds us that in Christ, all that we need has been fulfilled and provided. In Baptism, He took a dead, sinful thing and made it alive and new. In the Lord's Supper, He gives us the Body and Blood of His Holy and Precious Son for our nourishment and forgiveness. In the Divine Service, He gives us Absolution and His Word—His promises of salvation, grace, and love. And, just like Abram, who “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness,” we, too, are credited with the faith that believes. The Holy Spirit works in and through us, and yet God is delighted with us! Repent of your skepticism and cling to the promises of God. He loves you, forgives you, mercies you, and meets your every need. He has paid for your sins by Jesus' Death and Resurrection; you get to rest in hope and His perfect care of you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Amen, that is, so shall it be. Make strong our faith in You, that we May doubt not but with trust believe That what we ask we shall receive. Thus in Your name and at Your Word We say, “Amen, O hear us, Lord!” (LSB 766:9) Deac. Sarah Longmire, Bible study editor for Higher Things.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.Study the early Church Fathers, Scripture, and Christian history alongside FLAME's conversational voice to see for yourself why their teachings from Scripture are important to study, and live out, today.

Thank you to Rhonda, Glynnis, Barb, Don, and Ed for being part of the service. Songs from this service: We Praise Thee O God - https://youtu.be/I2M3CjpV_Wc -- Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah - https://youtu.be/kx-lXR_ibbM -- A Common Love - https://youtu.be/zeSrqEGwWok -- Kneel At The Cross - https://youtu.be/UIsIyFwbfOQ -- God Moves In A Mysterious Way - https://youtu.be/p58rz7oG4Cg -- The Steadfast Love Of The Lord - https://youtu.be/KJYf9KnxwbQ Scriptures from this service: Welcome - Philippians 1:1; 2:13; 4:7; 4:11; 1:9; 2:4; 2:8; 2:15. Communion - Matthew 12:33-42 (ESV); 12:36 (ESV). Reading - Genesis 20:1-5. Sermon - Genesis 41:25; 41:28; 41:32; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20; 1 Samuel 28:16; 28:18; 28:20; Job 33:4-9; 33:15; Daniel 1:17; Ecclesiastes 5:2-3; Mathew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 2:13; Acts 2:14-24; 2:31-32; 2:36-39; Romans 8:16-17; 16:25; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 1:4; 5:1; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 7:11-12; 21:4-5. Closing - Lamentations 3:22-23 [accordion] [accordion-item title="NIV Copyright" state=closed]Scripture quotations marked (NIV) taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version© NIV© Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.[/accordion-item][accordion-item title="ESV Copyright" state=closed]Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The ESV© Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version©), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.[/accordion-item][/accordion]

Worship with Pastor Leah Holloway-Nilsen.  Reading: Genesis 15:1-6.  Gospel: Luke 12:32-40.

July 28, 2025 Today's Reading: Genesis 18:(17-19) 20-33Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 13:1-18; Acts 23:12-35“Then Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (Genesis 18:23)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Watch any police TV show or courtroom drama, and sooner or later you'll hear the phrase, “If you do not have, or cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one to represent you.” The defendant is then given an intercessor to act on their behalf. In the Roman tribunal, citizens had the right to appeal to another magistrate who would intercede on their behalf. But neither Hollywood nor the Roman Empire invented the idea of an intercessor. This idea of intercession is as old as the book of Genesis. There's a long list of God-appointed intercessors in the story of the Scriptures, for example: the Prophets, the Judges, Nathan, Samuel, the Levitical Priests, Joshua, and Moses.One of the first intercessors we meet in the Bible is none other than Abraham. The Lord and judge himself had seen what sinful corruption had done to Sodom. His verdict was in. Guilty as charged. Sentenced to death. And even though no one in Sodom made an appeal, an intercessor was appointed all the same. That intercessor was Abraham. Genesis says, “Abraham stood before God,” and “drew near to God.” Abraham interceded for Sodom. He pleaded to God on behalf of any righteous that might be left in the Old Testament sin-city. Abraham tries to make a plea deal with God on behalf of Sodom. Suppose fifty righteous people are there, will you not spare the city? What about forty-five? Forty? Thirty? Twenty? Ten? God the Judge is lenient - patient with sin - to a point. “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” Tragically, we know how the story of Sodom ended, in destruction, although not before God rescued Lot, Abraham's nephew. Abraham may have been one of the earliest intercessors in the Bible, but he is not the last, nor even the greatest. Abraham's intercession saved Lot and his family, but Abraham's greatest son, our Lord Jesus, came to intercede on behalf of the whole world. He came to save not ten, twenty, thirty, forty, or even fifty righteous, but lay down his life for the unrighteous and by his righteous intercession, declare righteous all who believe in him. Abraham made intercession for one city, while Jesus made intercession for the life of the world and for all who believe in him. And not only does the Father appoint his Son as your intercessor, the Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son is also appointed to intervene on your behalf, interceding for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:27). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.The God of Abr'ham praise, Whose all sufficient grace Shall guide me all my pilgrim days In all my ways. He deigns to call me friend; He calls Himself my God. And He shall save me to the end Through Jesus' blood. (LSB 798:3)Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz, pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.Step back in time to the late Reformation and learn about a divisive yet inspirational figure: Matthias Flacius Illyricus. His contributions to Lutheranism still echo in our teachings today, from the Magdeburg Confession to parts of the Lutheran Confessions. Learning about Flacius's life will help you understand more intricacies of the Reformation than ever before.

July 21, 2025Today's Reading: Genesis 18:1-10a (10b-14)Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 4:1-22; Acts 17:1-34; Acts 16:23-40“[Abraham] ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, ‘O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.' … The LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.'” (Genesis 18:2b-3, 13-14) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who is serving whom? Genesis 18:1-14 is a beautiful example of the relationship between faith and works. It shows the fruits of faith in God's promise sprouting forth and bearing fruit in the works of Abraham.Ordinarily, upon seeing the approach of sojourners, one as wealthy as Abraham would have given instructions to his servants and let them do the work involved with hospitality. But Abraham himself runs to them, begging them to be his guests, insisting that their presence would be to his benefit (“if I have found favor in your sight …”). He invites them to rest in a place of comfort, shaded by trees, and provides for them. He himself chose the calf (among his best!) and has it served lavishly with milk and curds. He requests Sarah to make bread from fine flour in amounts (3 seahs = 42lbs), allowing for such an abundance of bread that it will not run out. Abraham's hospitality toward his visitors is extravagant.What motivates Abraham to be of such high service to these sojourners? Whether or not he knows them to be God from the outset, it is God who motivates his generous service. Even before God's promise to him of a son is given a second time (thus emphasizing its certainty and importance) Abraham's faith has blossomed from its first pronouncement (Genesis 17:16), and his faith bears fruit in this lavish service which calls to mind Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats, “‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'” (Matthew 25:40)Who is serving whom? As lavish as Abraham's hospitality is, that of his visitor (God Himself) is greater. In the context of this extraordinary meal, God reiterates His promise to Abraham of a son, which foreshadows the Son who will be the fulfillment of the promised offspring of the woman, promised since Genesis 3. We are sojourners in this fallen world. It is God (incarnate) Himself who runs to us, begging us to be His guests, insisting that our presence among Him would be to our eternal benefit, and serving us – inviting us to rest in a place of comfort shaded by His countenance. He Himself prepares the meal by His crucified body and shed blood, a lavish meal with such an abundance of His mercy, it will never run out.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There dwells the Lord our king, the Lord our righteousness, triumphant o'er the world and sin, the Prince of Peace. On Zion's sacred height His kingdom He maintains, and glorious with His saints in light forever reigns. (LSB 798:7)Rev. Jeffrey Ries is the pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tacoma, WA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.Step back in time to the late Reformation and learn about a divisive yet inspirational figure: Matthias Flacius Illyricus. His contributions to Lutheranism still echo in our teachings today, from the Magdeburg Confession to parts of the Lutheran Confessions. Learning about Flacius's life will help you understand more intricacies of the Reformation than ever before.

Worship by Pastor Leah Holloway-Nilsen.  Reading: Genesis 18:1-10a.  Gospel: Luke 10:38-42.

Our summer series, Origins: The Story of God, Humanity, and Creation, will be focused on the book of Genesis, the remarkable story of God and creation, and humanity's role in the creation narrative. We will begin the summer series with a sermon, "The Story of Us: Reading Genesis in Context". The sermon will be about locating ourselves as readers of the Genesis text and how to begin reading it appropriately for its genre and context. By equipping ourselves with the proper interpretive lens, we will be able to access ancient scriptural knowledge and meaning for our spiritual lives in the modern world.

A new MP3 sermon from Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Scripture Reading: Genesis 1 (2006) Subtitle: Scripture Readings Speaker: Rev. Todd Ruddell Broadcaster: Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/20/2006 Bible: Genesis 1 Length: 15 min.

Reading: Genesis 6; 7:6-11; 8:13, 14 Text: Hebrews 11:7 1. The Activity 2. The Testimony 3. The Blessing

June 12, 2025Today's Reading: Genesis 11:1-9Daily Lectionary: Numbers 24:1-25; Luke 23:1-25“Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.” (Genesis 11:9)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Everybody wants a perfect little life. We all have a picture of it. This is how it needs to be so I can be content, happy, whole, and safe. Everybody wants the Tower of Babel. Those people were on to something. Look, there is nothing they couldn't do. Until God showed up and kicked over their sandcastle. We've been trying to rebuild the thing ever since. Every campaign promise and every daydream – unity – progress – greatness – utopia. We still want Babel. Because we think, “Here is peace. Here is where good happens, where God would be.” Then, your own little Tower of Babel crumbles behind your unfulfilled dreams, your candidates are not living up to promises, and your home life turns upside down. So we sit down here in the mess, depressed, hopeless, because all our plans of building a tower to heaven fell apart. Here's the thing. Heaven isn't just “up”. Which is good. If heaven is just “up,” then we're always going to be just short of it. If you have to build up, there's no hope at the bottom. You see it in how amazing your lives are here compared to how many others, and yet how miserable you are. Here's why God muddied up our language. Here's why He won't just give you your daydreams of a perfect life. It's not enough. There's always more to climb, and heaven isn't just up. He loves you too much to want you to spend your whole life with hope just out of reach. He didn't want you to think that a perfect life is the only place good things can happen. He isn't the kind of God who waits for us to figure out how to come up to Him. He comes down to us. Even us sinners. Us selfish, willing to climb over our neighbor in pursuit of our tower. Us idolaters, who find more hope in a new home than a living God. Us coveters, who ignore our lives as they play out in front of us, who keep lists of things we want to buy. For everyone who builds and ends up shy of heaven. For everyone who finds out the hard way sin never actually builds up but only tears down. For me, for you, Christ descended. To die. To rise. To save. It means there's hope at the bottom. It means God won't stay away from the mess. Even on your worst day, Jesus can't be uncrucified. His promise is still true. It is finished. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.O Savior, rend the heavens wide; Come down, come down with mighty stride; Unlock the gates, the doors break down; Unbar the way to heaven's crown. (LSB 355:1)- Rev. Harrison Goodman, Higher Things Executive Director of Mission and Theology.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus' farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ's promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

Join the congregation of St. John in prayer each day at 9 a.m. CST. We meet as a congregation for Divine Service each Sunday at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., and on festival days, where God serves us with His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.WEBSITE: https://sjrl.org EMAIL: church@sjrl.org SUPPORT: https://sjrl.org/donate SERVICE BULLETINS: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1omip_adCkH9LlnL8LXWUWdYG-tMl-VXg&usp=drive_fs SUBSCRIBE:YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@StJohnRandomLake Rumble https://rumble.com/c/stjohnshermancenter Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stjohnrandomlake/live X https://twitter.com/STJLRandomLake Odysee https://odysee.com/@stjohnshermancenterApple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lutheran-preaching-and-teaching-from-st-john-random/id1344559511Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2ANc5uTut6dXPyeUEsPspY?si=b1b4e0fce3004e04Overcast https://overcast.fm/itunes1344559511RSS https://anchor.fm/s/25c9700/podcast/rss

Find out how Marilynne Robinson's fresh insights on the book of Genesis relate to its spiritual significance for Mary Baker Eddy.

Opening QuestionWhat use is there for “marriage” outside of a Judeo-Christian worldview? Why would anyone want such a commitment in our western world? IntroductionGenesis 1-2 introduces God making humankind according to His own image. Reading Genesis 1:26-31 we find that image is contained in a male-female relationship with the possibility of producing offspring to fulfill God's command to “be fruitful and multiply. Thus, the image of God is found in this special bond. Not surprisingly, it is also one of the most parodied, mocked and attacked social institutions of our society. But just what is being attacked? It's not just ...

March 21, 2025Today's Reading: Genesis 25:1-26Daily Lectionary: Genesis 24:32-52, 61-67; Genesis 25:1-26:35; Mark 8:1-21Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. (Genesis 25:26)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jacob is well-named. Ya-akob means “heel-grabber,” and he is called Jacob because he was born clutching his twin brother's heel. Esau's birth was straightforward, but his twin Jacob was born arm-first, which immediately put his life and his mother's in danger. “In the very midst of life, we are in death,” sings an old song in the church. Yet God had promised Rebekah that she would be the mother of two nations, and that promise sustained her through a healthy delivery. But just as they struggled in the womb, these brothers continued to struggle with each other for years, thus fulfilling the Lord's prophecy concerning these twins.Jacob continued to live up to his name, though. More broadly, Jacob means “supplanter.” The manner of Jacob's birth suggests that he was struggling to be born first, to hold his brother back. Before he knew the rules of inheritance, he struggled for the birthright of the firstborn. Later, Jacob would accomplish what he started when he grabbed his brother's heel, bartered for Esau's birthright, and tricked his father into blessing the whole thing. “The older shall serve the younger,” said the Lord (Gen. 25:23).The heel business is an interestingly inverted sign. Jacob grabbed hold of the promise by striking at his brother's heel and risking a crushed head at his birth. But it's not the struggle of two brothers that fulfills God's first promise. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). The devil struck the heel of Jesus and even wounded His sacred head on the cross. But in striving to overcome the one and only Son of God, the devil suffered a bruise and more. “You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck” (Habakkuk 3:13). Jacob grabbed the heel to get at the promise, but Jesus used His heel to keep the promise. So let us grab hold of Jesus' heel, that is, His promise, and we will be born again.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Bruise for me the serpent's head That, set free from doubt and dread, I may cling to You in faith, Safely kept through life and death. (LSB 352:5)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.Visit the timeless rhythms of the Christian life with award-winning author Harold L. Senkbeil. As he addresses the concerns and pressures of the world today, you'll discover that even while the world is dying, Christ's death brings about life. True life. One that He offers to you. Order Now!

March 12, 2025Today's Reading: Genesis 8:13-9:17Daily Lectionary: Genesis 8:13-9:17; Genesis 9:18-11:26; Mark 4:1-20“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” (Genesis 9:6)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There's something special about the blood. Prior to the flood, God had given man “every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit” as food (Gen. 1:29). But when Noah emerged from the ark, God provided a new menu. “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything” (Gen. 9:3). There's one caveat, though. “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Gen. 9:4). There's something special about the blood. “The life of the flesh is in the blood,” says the Lord through Moses (Lev. 17:11). The blood has a special use. Because of this, the blood of man is sacred. “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image'” (Gen. 9:5-6).The ethical dimension of this declaration indicates that all human life has dignity because God made man in His own image. Shedding the blood of man is a direct assault upon God, and the penalty is severe. But an even more interesting spiritual dimension begins to emerge when you realize that Genesis 9 echoes Genesis 1. And when you compare God's Word to Noah to His Word to Adam, you see what's so special about the blood.To both Noah and Adam, God makes a declaration concerning his image in a poetic verse (Gen. 1:27; Gen. 9: 6). He follows this declaration with a command and a blessing, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28; Gen. 9:7). And He gives instructions concerning food. Adam receives all plants and Noah all meat. But God has a caveat for Adam, just as He has for Noah. Just as Noah was forbidden to eat the blood, Adam was forbidden to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.The Tree of Knowledge had God's Word attached to it, Martin Luther remarks, and so was a place of worship. Likewise, God reserved the blood for His Word and for worship. “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” (Words of Institution). There's something special about the blood. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Lift we, then, our voices, Swell the mighty flood; Louder still and louder Praise the precious blood! (LSB 433:6)-Rev. Jacob Ehrhard, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, IL.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.Visit the timeless rhythms of the Christian life with award-winning author Harold L. Senkbeil. As he addresses the concerns and pressures of the world today, you'll discover that even while the world is dying, Christ's death brings about life. True life. One that He offers to you. Order Now!

Welcome back to another season of With All Due Respect, where your hosts, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen, tackle tricky topics with respect and grace.To kick things off, celebrated author Marilynne Robinson joins the show to discuss her new book Reading Genesis, which looks at God's covenant with humanity - despite how dark things get.Our hosts then share their thoughts on the first book of the Bible and look at other recent attempts to understand it - notably Jordan Peterson's musings in his latest work, We Who Wrestle With God.

January 20- Today's Reading:  Genesis 41:17-42:17; Matthew 13:24-46; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 4:1-6    Commentary written and read by Pastor David K. MacAdam Like and subscribe to the One Year Bible Tour Guide this year and sign up to receive the written commentary to follow along with at www.newlife.org

Author Marilynne Robinson talks with John about the enduring power of literature, the spiritual depth of Genesis, and the role of faith in shaping civilisation. With grace and wisdom, she explores how ancient texts like the Bible continue to offer moral clarity and insight into human dignity, while lamenting the cultural shift toward superficial modernity. Her reflections remind us that true wisdom lies in understanding our shared history and revering the sacredness of every individual. This conversation offers a rare glimpse into Robinson's deeply held beliefs about democracy, beauty, and the human condition. Thought-provoking and rich in literary references, it challenges us to rethink the narratives of our era and to seek meaning in complexity, compassion, and the timeless pursuit of truth. Marilynne Robinson is an American Pulitzer Prize winning author and novelist. She has written many award-winning books, including Gilead, Housekeeping, Home and Jack. Her latest book is the bestseller Reading Genesis.

“We have to go back to the very basic thing of understanding our shared humanity. And we've departed a long way from that—even the best of us, I'm afraid. It is just stunning. I mean, we are such a danger to everything we value.” (Marilynne Robinson, from the episode) Today on the show, Mark Labberton welcomes the celebrated novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson to discuss her most recent book, Reading Genesis. Known for novels such as Housekeeping, Gilead, Home, and Lila, she offers a unique perspective on ancient scripture in her latest work of nonfiction. In this enriching and expansive conversation, they discuss the theological, historical, and literary value in the Book of Genesis; the meaning of our shared humanity; fear and reverence; how to free people from the view of God as threatening; the complicated and enigmatic nature of human freedom; the amazing love, mercy, and long-suffering of God on display in the unfolding drama of the Genesis narrative; and overall: “The beautiful ordinariness of a God-fashioned creature in ordinary communion with one another.” About Marilynne Robinson Marilynne Robinson is an award-winning American novelist and essayist. Her fictional and non-fictional work includes recurring themes of Christian spirituality and American political life. In a 2008 interview with the Paris Review, Robinson said, "Religion is a framing mechanism. It is a language of orientation that presents itself as a series of questions. It talks about the arc of life and the quality of experience in ways that I've found fruitful to think about." Her novels include Housekeeping (1980, Hemingway Foundation/Pen Award, Pulitzer Prize finalist), Gilead (2004, Pulitzer Prize), Home (2008, National Book Award Finalist), Lila (2014, National Book Award Finalist), and most recently, Jack (2020). Robinson's non-fiction works include Mother Country: Britain, the Welfare State, and Nuclear Pollution (1989), The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought (1998), Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self (2010), When I was a Child I Read Books: Essays (2012), The Givenness of Things: Essays (2015), and What Are We Doing Here?: Essays (2018). Her latest book is Reading Genesis (2024). Marilynne Robinson received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Brown University in 1966 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington in 1977. She has served as a writer-in-residence or visiting professor at a variety of universities, including Yale Divinity School in Spring 2020. She currently teaches at the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. She has served as a deacon for the Congregational United Church of Christ. Robinson was born and raised in Sandpoint, Idaho and now lives in Iowa City. Show Notes Get your copy of Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson Mark introduces Marilynne Robinson and her most recent foray into biblical interpretation Overarching narrative of God's time vs. Human time Theological, biblical, historical, and literary categories Why Genesis? Why biblical commentary? “Genesis is the foundational text, and God's self-revelation is the work of Genesis.” The expansiveness of the creation narrative from the beginning of everything to two people hoeing in a garden. Elohim and the universal God-name Monotheism and the enormously cosmic assertion of the nature of God From cosmology to granular human existence Amazement and the Book of Genesis “God saw the intentions of our heart and they were only evil always.” Conjuring the idea of a vindictive God—as opposed to a merciful, long-suffering, and loving God “It's hard to wiggle people free from the idea that God is primarily threatening.” The role of fear in sin, temptation, and evil “I think the fall is a sort of realization of a fuller aspect of our nature, which is painful to us and painful to God. But it's our humanity.” From the book: “The narrative of scripture has moved with astonishing speed from let there be light to this intimate scene of shared grief and haplessness. There is no incongruity in this. Human beings are at the center of it all. Love and grief are, in this infinite creation, things of the kind we share with God. The fact that they have their being in the deepest reaches of our extensionless and undiscoverable souls only makes them more astonishing. Over and against the roaring cosmos, that they exist at all can only be proof of a tender solicitude.” Ancient Near Eastern mythology “Meaning cannot leak out of this. It's absolutely meaningful.” Genesis is a “particular series of stories that are stories of the tumbling, bumbling, faithful, faithless, violent, peaceable, loyal, disloyal agency of human beings.” Mystery Theology as a vision, a revelation “The beautiful ordinariness of a God-fashioned creature in ordinary communion with one another.” The impact of Genesis in the history of our understanding of humanity, freedom, relationships, and so much more. Law as a liberation of one another: it limits your behavior and is emancipating to everyone around you. God's patience with human freedom and the ability to go wrong The enigma of freedom “From the very beginning, the Bible seems aware that we are our enemy and that we are our apocalyptic beast.” “Our freedom is very costly. It's costly to us. It's costly to God.” Imagination and the dynamics of freedom “An enhanced reverence for oneself has to be rooted in a reverence for God.” “The idea of the sacredness of God and the sacredness of the self.” Fear and reverence “You are holding in your imagination … and helping us to see, feel, and hear the voices and see the actions of ordinary human beings, who are both (like Psalm 8), ‘a little lower than the angels,' and at the same time, ‘we are dust and to dust you will return.'” Paying attention Marilynne Robinson's upbringing, access to nature, access to books, and plenty of solitude Joseph and the ending of the Genesis narrative: How might the story of Joseph speak to our time? “We have to go back to the very basic thing of understanding our shared humanity. And we've departed a long way from that—even the best of us, I'm afraid. It is just stunning. I mean, we are such a danger to everything we value. We are a danger to everything we value. And the fact that we can persist in doing that or tolerating it … there we are, you know? … We've always been strange, we human beings.” The perplexity of freedom “The way that Joseph understands his history is a comment on the idea of divine time.” “Joseph did enslave the Egyptians.” “There is no bow to tie around anything. There's simply whatever it yields in terms of meaning and beauty and so on.” Matthew 28 and the Great Commission “Christianity sliding into empire” The value of resolution and the open-ended nature of the Genesis narrative Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment magazine and Fuller Seminary.

Marilynne Robinson is one of the great living novelists. She has won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Humanities Medal, and Barack Obama took time out of his presidency to interview her at length. Her fiction is suffused with a sense of holiness: Mundane images like laundry drying on a line seem to be illuminated by a divine force. Whether she's telling the story of a pastor confronting his mortality in “Gilead” or two sisters coming of age in small-town Idaho in “Housekeeping,” her novels wrestle with theological questions of what it means to be human, to see the world more deeply, to seek meaning in life.In recent years, Robinson has tightened the links between her literary pursuits and her Christianity, writing essays about Calvinism and other theological traditions. Her forthcoming work of nonfiction is “Reading Genesis,” a close reading of the first book of the Old Testament (or the Torah, as I grew up knowing it). It's a countercultural reading in many respects — one that understands the God in Genesis as merciful rather than vengeful and humans as flawed but capable of astounding acts of grace. No matter one's faith, Robinson unearths wisdom in this core text that applies to many questions we wrestle with today.We discuss the virtues evoked in Genesis — beauty, forgiveness and hospitality — and how to cultivate what Robinson calls “a mind that's schooled toward good attention.” And we end on her reading of the story of Israel, which I found to be challenging, moving and evocative at a time when that nation has been front and center in the news.Book Recommendations:Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John FoxeThe Vision of Piers Plowman by William LanglandTheologia GermanicaThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris and Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing from Efim Shapiro. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero and Alex Engebretson.