Service Location: the Miltons' (6554 S Datura St, Littleton)
Time: 10:00am
Dear Church,
We had a little hitch in this week's recording, so if the episode ends with an accidental cliffhanger...come to church to hear the ending!
On this week's episode Tim and Stephen discuss Genesis 48, where Jacob, in declining health, spends his last strength the way he has spent his last seventeen years: passing on the covenant blessing. Without forgetting the hardships, he recalls God Almighty blessing him at Luz, and he adopts Joseph's two sons into that blessing ("as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine"), giving Joseph the double portion and adding to the children of Rachel, who died on the way to Bethlehem. The family's evangelistic impact had shrunk in in Canaan, but God was spreading the good news in Egypt through Joseph. We also should take heart: while Christendom declines, God is at work around the world. Where Isaac's dim eyes were deceived by food and goatskins, Jacob's dim eyes see best of all: he crosses his hands on purpose, sets Ephraim before Manasseh over Joseph's objection, "I know, my son, I know," and still has blessing to spare for both. The shape of Jacob's blessing is reflected in the Anglican collect: acknowledgement of who God is and what He's done first, then the request. For Jacob, this remembrance inevitably includes the memory of the night he wrestled with God and obtained a blessing. The episode closes considering Jacob as a patriarch who plans to die well, and challenges us to meditate on our own deaths as part of planning a good life. Listen to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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Here are the details for Sunday's service:
Scripture Readings:
- Psalm: Psalm 95 (Cash)
- OT: Genesis 48 (Elena)
- NT: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 (William)
- Gospel: Luke 11:1-13 (Ryan)
- Prayers of the People: Jenna
Songs:
- Song 1: Psalm 132 (53, F#m)
- Song 2: Praise to the Lord (94)
- Song 3: Be Thou My.. (70, D)
- Song 4: Psalm 131
- Song 5: Psalm 144 (125, Em)
- Song 6:
Looking forward to worshiping with you all on Sunday!
Blessings,
Stephen and Tim
Call: Stephen | Homily: Tim | Eucharist: Tim