"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."
(Genesis 9:1 KJV) "And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited;..." (Exodus 16:35 KJV) Although there are several cities that predate 3800 BC, most of the history before 2300 BC involved three major ways of life that people followed: city life, nomadic herding and farming. The actual family life in each of these settings was slightly different but the overall work of the men, women and children remained about the same. The gender and age made a difference in what people were allowed to do. Our Awesome God slowly used each of these three groups of people and their ages to develop Families. By the time of Moses, the nomadic herding Family would have had the men hunting, killing animals in the wild and from the herds to eat, occasionally herding (camels, horses, sheep and goats, cows and oxen, etc), practicing warfare, worshipping, teaching the boys old enough to work with them and governing their Families. The women of this time would have cooked, gathered food except for meat, woven the fleece into rugs and blankets, laundered the clothes and put them away, cleaned the tent, and taken care of the children not working. They also taught the girls old enough to work, bathed themselves, bathed the children and, when possible, provided water for the men's baths and for eating and drinking purposes. The children of Moses' time started with simple tasks around the tent of their mother, with her guidance, until they were about 5-9 years of age and could start working with their father if they were boys or more complicated things with their mother if they were girls. Eventually, the children learned what the adults knew from herding techniques to laundry to how to worship Our Awesome God. The Family was a close interdependent group who usually learned to work well together. The Family was the place of learning to socialize, to work together, to depend on others as well as themselves and to worship Our Awesome God if they were part of Moses' Exodus. God fed them so they didn't need to kill their animals except to sacrifice them to God. He created the family so we would learn to work and depend on others as we saw, heard and experienced life. If you are a Christian who has strayed away from Our Awesome God or someone who has never been a Christian or a person who needs to help minister to others, join us at Living Word Baptist Church on Sundays at 9:30 AM for Bible Study and at 10:30 AM for the Praise and Worship Service. From 6:00 to 7:00 PM Sunday evening, we have a Bible Study and AWANA for children extending until 7:30 PM. On Wednesdays, we meet at 7:00 PM for Prayer Requests, and a Bible Study follows until 8:00 PM. We welcome all people and love them!
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"And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father."
(Genesis 49:1, 2 KJV) To be an Israelite by blood, a person must be a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The 12 sons of Jacob had grown into 12 tribes by the time they left Egypt. All together they had become a 3 million man “nation” of Our Awesome God's chosen people. The tribe of Levi was to be dedicated to God’s service. Moses, a Levite, was the leader out of Egypt and Our Awesome God gave him the Law. God put Moses’ brother, Aaron, the High Priest in charge of all the sacrifices and worship in the Tabernacle, assisted by his sons. The rest of the Levites were responsible for temple transport, security, maintenance and provisions. Also of special consideration, the tribe of Joseph was divided between his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Each of these “half tribes” was given equality with the other 11 tribes so 13 tribes came to conquer and divide up Canaan, the Promised Land. Only 12 tribes received large tracts of land. Those people needed access to the priesthood through the Levites, so instead of a land tract, Our Awesome God gave the Levites cities with adjoining “suburbs” within all the other 12 tribal lands. So the 12 landed tribes were: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim and Manasseh. The four most prominent have been mentioned earlier as: Judah. The tribe of kings and the most preeminent of the 12 tribes in the Bible. Reuben: Descended from Jacob’s firstborn, whom Jacob said was as “uncontrolled as water” (Genesis 49:4). Simeon: The man Simeon (with his brother Levi) slaughtered the men of an entire city to avenge his sister (Genesis 34:25–31). Levi: The tribe of the priesthood. The tribe of Levi is noted for standing by Moses during the golden calf incident at Mount Sinai (Exodus 32:25–29). The “Twelve Tribes of Israel” refers to the twelve tribes who inherited land in or around Canaan when it was divided by Joshua. Our Awesome God still uses sinners to teach them about Himself, what He expects of them and that He can do anything (even forgive sinners who know they have sinned to create and populate His heaven). God will adopt us if we will just believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and that He died for us, taking our sins upon Himself and arose the third day to sit by God, interceding for us when we sin. Are you ready to believe? God loves you! Join us at church next Sunday. Learn more about Our Awesome God by reading His Holy Bible, praying to Him and worshipping in a church which preaches and teaches the Holy Bible. Join us at Living Word Baptist Church as we pray and worship Him this Sunday at 9:30 AM for Bible Study and 10:30 AM for worship Service. Sunday evening at 6:00 PM for Bible Study along with a children's program called AWANA which goes until 7:30 PM. On Wednesdays, we meet at 7:00 PM for Prayer Requests and prayer. First, it is time that you should know and love Our Awesome God as your creator and Savior. We can show you how from the Word of God and we love visitors. "And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:"
(Numbers 21:16-17 KJV) Our Awesome God, as usual, knew what the people needed after wandering in the dry desert and, before they complained. He told Moses what to do, how to do it and where to do it. So Moses gathered the people around him and the princes and nobles took turns digging the well at Beer. Suddenly they began to sing as the water bubbled up and started gushing out. Our Awesome God had provided for them again. Israel had gotten into a stream of water under the ground that may never have been seen before but God knew it was there. This stream that Moses and Israel found that day was just one of the blessings that Our Awesome God gave them and that He gives us every day. Israel was happy that day and they praised God. They didn't always praise Him. They often complained and grumbled. But do we always praise Him when things like the "river of blessings" occur in our lives. We like praise and "thank you's" for things we have done well or from people we have helped (though we should not do things because we expect either from them). Our Awesome God also loves your "thanks" and praise. We need to remember that Our Awesome God keeps the planets on their axes, the oxygen enough for us to live, the food supply enough to feed us, Satan from killing us, His Christian people telling the people of the world about Jesus' salvation, His anger under control, etc. God, in short, keeps us living here on earth until the last person who will be saved by believing on Jesus Christ has done so. Praising Our Awesome God is something we don't do enough. It makes us feel good and it makes God feel good. So start your day off by praising God for what He did yesterday and what He will do today for you! Make praising a habit you do for all around you. God is blessing you daily! LWBC is a Bible believing church that tries to live Jesus Christ's commandment to "love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12 KJV). Join us this Sunday as we learn more about Our Awesome God and how to teach others from His Holy Bible. Our church starts with small groups on Sunday at 9:30 AM and Worship Service at 10:30 AM. On Sunday evening at 6:00 PM, a Bible Study meets for an hour along with AWANA a children's program until 7:00 PM. We love visitors! "And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons."
(Exodus 28:1 KJV) Aaron was Moses' older brother. He was born in 2365 BC, three years before Moses, before the Pharaoh's edict requiring the death of all male Hebrew infants. He was the ancestor of all Hebrew High Priests, the founder of the priesthood, and the first High Priest for Our Awesome God's chosen people. Aaron and his descendants tended the altar and offered sacrifices. Aaron's role, unlike Moses', was inherited; his sons continued the priesthood after him (Num. 20:26). Aaron served as Moses' spokesman to Our Awesome God's people at God's command. Moses was not eloquent and had a speech impediment, so Aaron spoke for him (Ex. 4:10-16). It was Aaron, not Moses, who cast down the staff that became a snake before Pharaoh (Ex. 7:10-12). It was Aaron, not Moses, who held out his staff to trigger the first three plagues against Egypt (Exodus 7:19-20; 8:1-2 or 8:5-7). It was also Aaron who performed the signs for the elders before they went to Pharaoh (Exodus 4:30). According to Jewish tradition, Aaron's most notable personal quality is that he was a peacemaker. Again, Jewish tradition says, Aaron loved peace so much that he participated in the incident of the Golden Calf (Ex. 32), constructing the idol in order to prevent dissension among the people. No matter what he really thought, Our Awesome God didn't seem to kill him or reprimand him for building The Golden Calf. Aaron did many other things before he died but he never entered the Promised Land. This is one of the many people like us, found in the Bible which you are reading. Our Awesome God wants you to know these people as they show us what and how we often do things wrong while pointing out what we should continue to do. They show us how God uses bad and good people to do His work on earth. Aaron was a human being doing things both right and wrong. Sinning and asking for forgiveness daily. God can and will use you when He wants. Is it for good or to show others what not to do? Join us at LWBC every Sunday at 9:30 AM, we have small group Bible Studies and at 10:30 AM, we meet in the sanctuary for Worship Service. Sunday evening at 6:00 PM we have Bible Study and AWANA for children. Our programs include Home Bible Studies and a Wednesday Prayer Meeting but are varied as we teach and preach from Our Awesome God's Holy Bible. We love visitors and practice the "love one another" commandment to all. |
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December 2016
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