Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, August 31, we looked at how we are like living stones in God's Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12). The discussion and passage is below.

1 Peter 2:1-12 [New International Version]

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

    a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who trusts in him

    will never be put to shame.”

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone,”

and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble

    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, August 24, we looked at how we need to member that Jesus is our ultimate sacrifice for sin and praise (Hebrews 13:9-21). The discussion and passage is below.

Hebrews 13:9-21 [New International Version]

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, August 17, we looked at how, within his "Temple," God doesn't make distinctions (Ephesians 2:11-22). The discussion and passage is below.

Hebrews 13:9-21 [New International Version]

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, August 10, we looked at how our bodies belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20). The discussion and passage is below.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20 [New International Version]

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, August 3, we looked at Jesus s the Temple’s destruction (1 Corinthians 3:10-23). The discussion and passage is below.

1 Corinthians 3:10-23 [New International Version]

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, July 27, we looked at Jesus s the Temple’s destruction (Matthew 24:1-14). The discussion and passage is below.

Matthew 24:1-14 [New International Version]

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Cleansing the Temple - John 2:13-25)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, July 20, we looked at the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25). The discussion and passage is below.

John 2:13-25 [New International Version]

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, July 13, we looked at how Jesus is that Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8). The discussion and passage is below.

Matthew 12:1-8 [New International Version]

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, July 6, we looked at the boy Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:41-52). The discussion and passage is below.

Luke 2:41-52 [New International Version]

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, June 22, we looked at Isaac calling on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 26:24-33). The discussion and passage is below. 

Genesis 26:24-33 [New International Version]

That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”

They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”

Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, June 15, we looked at the altar built by Abraham when he was tested by God. (Genesis 22:1-14). The discussion and passage is below. 

Genesis 22:1-14 [New International Version]

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Scared Altars and Holy Offerings - Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13)

During the summer months, we're exploring worship, sacrifice, and offerings. On Sundays, at 9:00 a.m. we’ll be looking at the following themes:

The Genesis of Altars and Sacrifices

• The Offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) - June 1
• Noah Builds an Altar (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13) - June 8
• Abraham Makes an Offering (Genesis 22:1-14) - June 15
• Isaac Calls on the Name of the Lord (Genesis 26:24-33) - June 22

Jesus and the Temple

• The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) - July 6
• Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) - July 13
• Cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25) - July 20
• Jesus Predicts the Temple’s Destruction (Matthew 24:1-14) - July 27

Christians and Sacrifices

• Christians as God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) - August 3
• Our Bodies Belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) - August 10
• The Two Made One (Ephesians 2:11-22) - August 17
• Sacrifices of Praise (Hebrews 13:9-21) - August 24
• Living Stones in a Spiritual Temple (1 Peter 2:1-12) - August 31

On Sunday, June 8, we looked at the altar built by Noah after the flood. (Genesis 8:13-22; 9:11-13). The discussion and passage is below. 

Genesis 8:13-22 [New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition]

In the six hundred first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked and saw that the face of the ground was drying. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. Then God said to Noah, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may abound on the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out of the ark by families.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humans, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.

As long as the earth endures,

    seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter, day and night

    shall not cease.”

I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.