{"id":11284,"date":"2024-02-06T09:36:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T14:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/?p=11284"},"modified":"2024-02-06T10:06:08","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T15:06:08","slug":"sunday-february-4-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/?p=11284","title":{"rendered":"Sunday, February 4, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Character References: Leah and Rachel<\/strong>
The \u2018Character References\u2019 series is also available via the TUMC On Air podcast. Subscribe here<\/a> or wherever you get podcasts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To listen from here, click the links below or right-click + save link as\u2026 to download the audio file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to the service here<\/a>.
Listen to the sermon here<\/a>.
Read the sermon here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worship Leader:<\/strong> Virginia Lepp
Speaker: <\/strong>Michele Rizoli
Song Leader:<\/strong> Geoff Wichert
Pianist:<\/strong> Audrey Wichert
Ushers: <\/strong>Herb Buckwalter, Kathleen Blenich
Tech Team (In-Person \/ Online): <\/strong>Jason Booy and Jonah Thiessen
Activity Period:<\/strong> Laura Giesbrecht
Coffee:<\/strong> David and Carol Ringer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gathering Songs<\/strong>
Song VT 10<\/strong> \u2013 Here in This Place
Song VT 767 <\/strong>\u2013 Nzami wakatamba
Welcome & Land Acknowledgement
Announcements<\/strong>
Kindom Reflection<\/strong>– Melanie Penner
Call to worship \u2013 VT 107 <\/strong>\u2013 Psalm 146:1-3
Prayer<\/strong>
Song VT 628<\/strong> \u2013 What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Giving with Gratitude<\/strong>
Scripture Reading <\/strong>\u2013 Psalm 147: 1,3-11 \u2013 Zara
Children\u2019s story<\/strong> \u2013 What\u2019s in a Name?
Song VT 156 <\/strong>\u2013 There\u2019s a Wideness in God\u2019s Mercy
Congregational Prayer
Sermon<\/strong>
Song VT 844 <\/strong>\u2013 May the Face of God Shine on You
Benediction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis 29:16-30:24<\/strong>
16 Now Laban had two daughters: the older was named Leah and the younger Rachel. 17 Leah had delicate eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and was good-looking. 18 Jacob loved Rachel and said, \u201cI will work for you for seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.\u201d
19 Laban said, \u201cI\u2019d rather give her to you than to another man. Stay with me.\u201d20 Jacob worked for Rachel for seven years, but it seemed like a few days because he loved her. 21 Jacob said to Laban, \u201cThe time has come. Give me my wife so that I may sleep with her.\u201d 22 So Laban invited all the people of that place and prepared a banquet. 23 However, in the evening, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 Laban had given his servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her servant. 25 In the morning, there she was\u2014Leah! Jacob said to Laban, \u201cWhat have you done to me? Didn\u2019t I work for you to have Rachel? Why did you betray me?\u201d 26 Laban said, \u201cWhere we live, we don\u2019t give the younger woman before the oldest. 27 Complete the celebratory week with this woman. Then I will give you this other woman too for your work, if you work for me seven more years.\u201d 28 So that is what Jacob did. He completed the celebratory week with this woman, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban had given his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her servant. 30 Jacob slept with Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He worked for Laban seven more years.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to have children. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben because she said, \u201cThe Lord saw my harsh treatment, and now my husband will love me.\u201d 33 She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son. She said, \u201cThe Lord heard that I was unloved, so he gave me this son too,\u201d and she named him Simeon. 34 She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son. She said, \u201cNow, this time my husband will embrace me, since I have given birth to three sons for him.\u201d So she named him Levi. 35 She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son. She said, \u201cThis time I will praise the Lord.\u201d So she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing children.
30 When Rachel realized that she could bear Jacob no children, Rachel became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, \u201cGive me children! If you don\u2019t, I may as well be dead.\u201d 2 Jacob was angry at Rachel and said, \u201cDo you think I\u2019m God? God alone has kept you from giving birth!\u201d 3 She said, \u201cHere\u2019s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her, and she will give birth for me. Because of her, I will also have children.\u201d 4 So Rachel gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob as his wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob. 6 Rachel said, \u201cGod has judged in my favor, heard my voice, and given me a son.\u201d So she named him Dan. 7 Rachel\u2019s servant Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob. 8 Rachel said, \u201cI\u2019ve competed fiercely with my sister, and now I\u2019ve won.\u201d So she named him Naphtali. 9 When Leah realized that she had stopped bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as his wife. 10 Leah\u2019s servant Zilpah gave birth to a son for Jacob, 11 and Leah said, \u201cWhat good luck!\u201d So she named him Gad. 12 Leah\u2019s servant Zilpah gave birth to a second son for Jacob, 13 and Leah said, \u201cI\u2019m happy now because women call me happy.\u201d So she named him Asher. 14 During the wheat harvest, Reuben found some erotic herbs in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, \u201cGive me your son\u2019s erotic herbs.\u201d 15 Leah replied, \u201cIsn\u2019t it enough that you\u2019ve taken my husband? Now you want to take my son\u2019s erotic herbs too?\u201d Rachel said, \u201cFor your son\u2019s erotic herbs, Jacob may sleep with you tonight.\u201d 16 When Jacob came back from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, \u201cYou must sleep with me because I\u2019ve paid for you with my son\u2019s erotic herbs.\u201d So he slept with her that night. 17 God responded to Leah. She became pregnant and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 Leah said, \u201cGod gave me what I paid for, what I deserved for giving my servant to my husband.\u201d So she named him Issachar. 19 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob, 20 and she said, \u201cGod has given me a wonderful gift. Now my husband will honor me since I\u2019ve borne him six sons.\u201d So she named him Zebulun. 21 After this, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel, responded to her, and let her conceive. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, \u201cGod has taken away my shame.\u201d 24 She named him Joseph, saying to herself, May the Lord give me another son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 147:1<\/strong>
147 Praise the Lord!
Because it is good to sing praise to our God!
Because it is a pleasure to make beautiful praise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 147:3-11<\/strong>
3 God heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 God counts the stars by number,
giving each one a name.
5 Our Lord is great and so strong!
God\u2019s knowledge can\u2019t be grasped!
6 The Lord helps the poor,
but throws the wicked down on the dirt!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 Sing to the Lord with thanks;
sing praises to our God with a lyre!
8 God covers the skies with clouds;
God makes rain for the earth;
God makes the mountains sprout green grass.
9 God gives food to the animals\u2014
even to the baby ravens when they cry out.
10 God doesn\u2019t prize the strength of a horse;
God doesn\u2019t treasure the legs of a runner.
11 No. The Lord treasures the people
who honor him,
the people who wait for his faithful love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Sunday in ‘Character References,’ Michele Rizoli looks at the complicated story of Leah and Rachel, as well as their servants Bilhah and Zilpah, another story of jealousy, envy and sibling relations. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons-a-worship-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11284"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11293,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11284\/revisions\/11293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}