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Hebrews 1:1-4 NIV
God’s Final Word: His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
Hebrews 2:5-12 NIV
Jesus Made Fully Human
5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified:
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? 7 You made them a little[a] lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.bc
In putting everything under them,[d] God left nothing that is not subject to them.[e] Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.[f] 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.[g] 12 He says,
“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.”
Mark 10:2-16
New International Version
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
The Little Children and Jesus
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Job 1:1, 2:1-10 N R S V
Job and His Family
1 There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
Attack on Job’s Health
2 One day the heavenly beings[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan,[c] “Where have you come from?” Satan[d] answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 The Lord said to Satan,[e] “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” 4 Then Satan[f] answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives.[g] 5 But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 The Lord said to Satan,[h] “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.”
7 So Satan[i] went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 Job[j] took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse[k] God, and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Who’s Walking the Earth
3 October 2021
Job 1:1; 2:1-10; Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16
The Rev Dr Dianne ES Carpenter
One day the Devil challenged the Lord to a Baseball Game. Smiling the Lord proclaimed, “You don’t have a chance, I’ve got Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and all the great players up here.” “Yes”, laughed the devil, “but I have all the umpires!”
Lucifer – Netflix
In the beginning after the 7 days of creation… God and Adam and Eve walked in the Garden… and then there was that little garden incident with the apple and the snake… and suddenly we human beings were walking the Earth… immortality was lost, and human beings began getting into all kinds of trouble… or so the saga of the Old Testament begins.
Fast forward… the conversation between God and Satan…. And the story of Job – a very interesting account of a man who is afflicted… in every possible way after a difficult to hear conversation…
We know Satan – the personification of evil- walks the earth! But who is this the God who seems to allow the evil to persist, to make wagers on humanity’s ability to remain faithful… I will return to this distant God…,
Then we hear the New Testament readings… Jesus walked the earth and cure the ill, raised the dead, fed the multitudes that followed Him and died for our sin of separation from God and our tendency to wander off and walk like Satan- who walks the Earth.
Today we walked the earth…. Today we celebrate the Lord’s last supper, we commune with millions of Christians worldwide… we have friends in the pews- potential friends in our community…
Though these pews have been filled on many Easter Sundays most of those people are missing today. Over the years new seekers have joined us… Yet I know that (sick list) Jackie Young (exploratory cancer surgery)
Awaiting test results: Allin Thompson (bone scan)
Healing: Billy (spinal injuries from car crash); Zachary (broken back); Dr. William Smith Marianne, Ruth Zeller, Brian Mielke, Ginny and Bob, YuCha and (died) your sister, your nephew, your sister-in-law, your spouse- have died from old age, from violence and from illness – suddenly…
Some have moved away because of work, and some have stayed away …. Because of painful memories, doubt in our spiritual journey or lives out of control … some have simply retired to distant places.
Americans are in flux …. some of us are seeking employment…. all of us are seeking leaders to save us.
Is the best advice to “curse God and die”? or to become childlike and Christ seeking… Job do not have the experience of an up close and personal Jesus- God with us but even Job stays engaged
Even when it is not always pretty and even when it is awful …. our God stays engaged.
God – that same God that seemed insensitive in the story of Job – comes up with the only solution for evil realities in this world – Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us – Jesus is Walking the Earth – apprenticed to being human – limited by time and space – leading the way back to the Kingdom that God intended before Satan and evil infected the world.
Jesus is the God that is engaged – That is why as brothers and sisters in the faith we testify that God sustains us in the truly terrifying situations of this world.
Jesus calls us to Peace that passes understanding while wars rage and young men and women die…Jesus offers healing thru medical knowledge and answered prayer – especially as we have experienced the ministrations during the past year and a half of a global pandemic– even abroad thru doctors willing to enter into mission to underdeveloped countries.
Jesus calls us to prioritize our lives. To comprehend that our firm foundation is an understanding that God is source and goal of our lives. That all else is fleeting and that the most important ASPECTS OF OUR LIFE are the simplest.
The Man on the Fence – A Parable (Author Unknown)
There was a large group of people gathered. On one side of the group stood a man, Jesus. On the other side stood another, Satan. Separating them was a fence running through the group.
Both Jesus and Satan began calling to people in the group.
One by one, each having made up his or her own mind, went to either Jesus or Satan. This kept going for a time.
Soon enough, Jesus had gathered around him, a group of people from the larger crowd, as did Satan.
One man joined neither group. He climbed the fence that was there and sat on it.
Jesus and his people left and disappeared, and so too did Satan and his people. The man on the fence sat alone.
As this man sat, Satan came back, looking for something which he appeared to have lost. The man said, “Have you lost something?” Satan looked straight at him and replied, “No, come with me.”
The man said, “But I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor him.” Satan said, “That’s okay; I own the fence.”
As we are drowning in the materialistic and egocentric definitions of life… Our faith calls us to celebrate life and the common human experiences of life. We all need hope, food, clothing, meaningful work. Jesus calls us to the table that we might be fed by faith and equipped for who and what is walking the Earth.
Instead of cursing God and dying… Jesus told a captive people to Walk up and down the world and baptize – incorporating people into God’s family – with whatever gifts we have at our disposal…