Thank you for joining us for worship this Mother's Day weekend.
Mom, I want to say, we appreciate all you have done to make us who we are and all you do that enables us to realize all God has in store for us. Thank you for a heritage of love and compassion. Our desire is to honor you with our lives.
Today, we conclude a message series THE BLESSING as we find Jacob and his family going home. The journey is an opportunity for a new beginnings yet Jacob is again caught up in old ways of seeing the world, only this time it is his son's who bring trouble upon the family... or is it. Even still, God once again changes the story for Jacob and for the nation of Israel.
I pray that your participation in today's worship helps you move closer to Jesus and reveals more of his plan for your life.
Worship Schedule:
8:30 am
Live @Raum Chapel
9:30 am
Live @Wesley Chapel
Live on our Worship Line: (443) 252-2878
11:00 am
Live @Rock Hall Church
Live online @https://yourrockhall.online.church
On-Demand
This week's announcements
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Today's Order of Worship
Welcome
Morning Prayer
Opening Songs
Pastoral Prayer
Message
Closing Worship
Benediction
Songs for worship:
9:30am
2018 Honor and Praise
158 Come Christians Join to Sing
Choir Anthem: Give Thanks
467 Trust and Obey
11:00am
How Great is Our God
O Come to the Altar
Graves into Gardens
Message Notes
Genesis #32: The Blessing - Lessons from the journey
Genesis 34:6–29 NIV
Genesis 35:6–15 NIV
Lessons from the Journey:
Trouble is easily found doing what you shouldn’t do or where you shouldn’t be.
John 15:5–8NIV
When spiritual leadership is missing, sin fills the void.
Romans 6:12–13 NLT
Worldliness is overcome by separating from it.
Our greatest need is to be reminded, not instructed.
Deuteronomy 6:12 NIV
Joshua 1:9 NIV
This week's prayer focus:
Sunday - Our Mission: God, let Your church be a light in our community and world. Matthew 5:16
Monday - Our Church: God, bring unity to the Body of Christ. John 17:20-23
Tuesday - Our Leadership: God, help our worship leaders and musicians lead us before Your throne in a spirit of worship. Psalm 33:3
Wednesday - Families: God, help our families faithfully follow Your commands. John 14:15
Thursday - Our Community: God, soften the hearts of the lost in our community, show them your light. John 3:16-18
Friday - Children/Youth: God, change the world through our young people rather than letting the world change them. Romans 12:2
Saturday - Adults: God, enable our adults to live lives of faithfulness to You and perseverance to the end. Hebrews 12:1-3
Merger Prayer Focus: Transition
Pray for our merger team to communicate clearly with people who have sincere questions. 1 Peter 1:22
Pray for those who fear what might be lost, to find peace through faith in Christ. Psalm 34:8
Pray for excitement as we begin to consider new opportunities for ministry. Acts 8:5-8
Pray that our membership becomes bound to our mission rather than our buildings. Matthew 28:19-20
Pray for the process of discerning what spaces our ministries require. Philippians 1:9-10
Pray for an eagerness in our churches come together as one. Colossians 3:14
Take it Home:
What events in the text lead to Dinah’s abuse? How do the men in this story treat her as property and how does Jacob neglect his responsibility to protect his daughter?
How should someone like Jacob have responded to the sin of Shechem? How do the brothers go outside of God’s commands in their desire for revenge? (Note how they use circumcision and the intensity that they carry out their revenge).
How does Jacob’s sin of spiritual apathy and fatherly passivity cause problems in his family?
What steps can we take to continue to create a culture where every image bearer (Genesis 1:26-28), including the powerless, are protected, loved and safe?
In what ways can parents and mentors help younger children, and daughters in particular, to have a healthy level of understanding what it means to be created in God’s image, and to be protected and safe from violence against women and children?
What three things does Jacob tell his family to do in response to God’s call (Look at Genesis 35:1-4). Where did the idols come from and why would it be essential for them to remove the idols from their family to go and worship God?
The New Testament uses clothing language to talk about walking in righteousness. Likewise these passages refer back to our identity in Christ and show us how idols and sinful actions not only need to be put away, but replaced with something new. This language is seen in the words “put off” and “put on”. Read Ephesians 4:22-32.
How does this passage speak to identity in Christ and compare that with how God reminds Jacob of who he is in Genesis 35:9-15.
Look at each action the people of God are told to “put off” in Ephesians 4. Which action are they told to “clothe themselves in”? Why is it that we need to not just turn away from an idol or sin, but we need to replace it with worship of God and holiness?
Fighting sin and responding to God’s grace is a normal part of the Christian life. What strategies or methods do we learn from these passages and this sermon to help us fight sin and walk in holiness?
Bible Reading Plan:
Join us for our 5x5x5 New Testament Reading Plan. 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week, & 5 questions to go deeper.