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Sunday School
Lesson
Genesis 22:1-14
December 18, 2011
God will
supply a
sacrifice
One of the most
spiritual stories
in God’s Word is
told in Genesis
22.
God tempted Abraham,
but not in the way that
Satan tempts people. God
tempts to make us grow
spiritually, while Satan’s
temptations are intended
to draw us into sin.
Abraham had been
tested before, but God
gave him a trial of his
faith that would be more
severe than any he had
ever faced in his obedience
to God’s call.
A trial of your faith is
not a one-time event in
your life, just as it was
not the case in Abraham’s
life. Always remember,
you may face a trial of
faith followed by an even
more difficult trial of your
faith.
God told Abraham
to take his son Isaac to
Moriah, kill him and offer
him up as a burnt offering.
Isaac was the only son
of Abraham and Sarah.
He was the son promised
to the couple, and he was
the son through whom
the promise of many
descendants would be fulfilled
to Abraham.
The land of Moriah
lay three days’ journey
away, and Abraham had
ample time to think about
killing his son and then
burning the body.
Rising early, he saddled
his donkey, gathered
some wood for the burnt
offering, and, accompanied
by two servants and
Isaac, began his journey
to the place God sent
him.
After three days, they
arrived near to their destination,
Abraham told
the servants to wait with
the donkey while he and
Isaac went to worship.
He told the servants that
he and Isaac were going
on ahead to worship, and
then they would “come
again to you.”
It is fascinating to connect
this account to the
Gospel’s account of God
giving His only begotten
Son. In Genesis, Abraham
placed the wood for the
burnt offering on Isaac’s
shoulders, and in the New
Testament we find Christ
burdened under the
weight of the cross.
At any rate, Isaac
took note that they had
everything they needed
to offer a burnt offering
except the sacrifice itself.
Abraham responded that
God would “provide himself
a lamb for a burnt
offering.”
Arriving at the place
God designated for
the offering, Abraham
arranged the wood, tied
his son and laid him on
the wood. Abraham raised
a knife over his head,
ready to plunge it into
Isaac, and the angel of the
Lord stopped him from
killing Isaac. Nearby, a
ram had gotten his horns
entangled in a thicket,
and the ram became
the sacrifice offered on
Moriah that day.
Abraham gave the place
a name that means “the
Lord will provide.” There
is no doubt that Abraham
feared God, who provided
Himself a lamb that day
on Moriah – and later the
Lamb at Calvary.
n The Sunday school
lesson is written by
Ed Wilcox, pastor of
Centerville Baptist
Church. edwilcox@nc.rr.
com
Church Happenings
Christmas
Holy Swamp Baptist Church will be having
a Christmas prayer at 4 p.m. on Sunday
Everyone is invited. The church is located at
216 Anointed Drive in Lumberton.
Harvest Church will present the play
“Merry Christmas From Heaven” at 6 p.m.
on Sunday. The church is located at 986
Raynham Farms Road in Rowland. For information
call 910-740-3523.
Cedar Grove Baptist Church will hold
its annual Christmas cantata at 6 p.m.
on Sunday. Under the direction of Bayne
Prevatte, the choir will perform “Mary, Did
You Know?” Fellowship follows. The church
is located at 3373 7th St.
On Saturday the New Jerusalem Holiness
Church in Red Springs will have their
Christmas play entitled “Christmas Bliss.”
It starts at 7 p.m. The pastor is Ronald N.
Locklear. For information call 910-740-4359.
The music ministry of East Lumberton
Baptist Church will present the program
“Down From His Glory (The Love Story of
Christmas)” at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday.
The program features the adult choir, youth
and children’s ensemble and the pre-school
choir. Featured soloists are Larry Cooke,
Julie Brisson, Tre Smith, Ginny Stubbs-
Creech, Evita Sanderson and Kameron
Roberts. Everyone is invited.
The church is located at 201 Whiteville
Ave. in Lumberton. For information call
910-739-3358.
New Beginning Church of Lumberton
will have its children’s Christmas play at 11
a.m. on Sunday. The play is entitled “The
Generation of Jesus.” A special musical presentation
of Christmas songs by the children
and Christmas message by Pastor Pelham.
The church is located at 950 Linkhaw Rd.
New Beginning Church of Lumberton
will have its children’s Christmas play at 11
a.m. on Sunday. The play is entitled “The
Generation of Jesus.” A special musical presentation
of Christmas songs by the children
and Christmas message by Pastor Pelham.
The church is located at 950 Linkhaw Rd.
The Saint James AME Zion Church in
Red Springs will present its annual Christmas
program, featuring “The Christmas Story” at
5 p.m. Saturday.
Sunday school starts at 9:30 a.m. and the
morning worship starts at 11 a.m. Children’s
church starts at 11 a.m. every second and
fourth Sunday. Every fifth Sunday children
and youth are in leadership for morning
NEW YORK (AP) — When
Emily Russell’s two young sons
wake up on Christmas morning,
they’ll find that Santa left them
a note instead of the videogames
they requested.
“Hey, I couldn’t get by your
house last night,” Russell, a single
mother from Kernersville, N.C.,
plans to write to her sons and sign
Santa’s name. “Your mom is going
to take you to the store when she
can.”
Some people have always postponed
Christmas celebrations
because their jobs don’t pause for
the holiday. But in the weak economy,
folks are delaying Christmas
for another reason: money.
Deloitte’s annual holiday survey
for the first time asked shoppers
whether they planned to wait
until January to do the bulk of
their shopping for Christmas. Six
percent of the more than 5,000
respondents said they did.
The strategy can pay off. After
Christmas, retailers offer discounts
of up to 75 percent on a
wider variety of items than they
do in the weeks leading up to the
holiday.
It’s something cost-conscious
shoppers have gotten hip to. Retail
sales during the seven days after
Friday, december 16, 2011
Page 6a
religion
services. Prayer service and Bible study
take place at 6 p.m. every Wednesday.
Intercessory prayer takes place at 9 a.m. on
the second through fifth Sundays.
The church is located at 116 West Brown
Ave. The pastor is Rev. Tim McKoy.
The Pentecostal United Holy Church
youth department will present a musical
Christmas program at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The church’s Christmas Day service will
be held at 8 a.m. on Dec. 25.
The church will also hold watch night services
at 10 p.m. on Dec. 31. Dr. Russell Rogers
will be speaking. Music by Pentecostal Mass
Choir. Breakfast will be served.
Mount Olive United Methodist Church
will celebrate Christmas with “A Festival
of Nine Lessons and Carols” at 11 a.m.
on Dec. 25. The church is located at 403
Elizabethtown Rd. in Lumberton.
Cedar Grove Baptist Church will present
the Christmas play “A Dish of Blessings” at
6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Rev. Timmie Sampson
will speak. The church is located at 410
Morro Street in Fairmont.
The Oakton Baptist Church choir will
present the Christmas musical, “Gather At
The Manger,” at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Refreshments will be served after the presentation.
Everyone is invited.
The members of Trinity Holiness Church
invite everyone to join them Saturday morning
from 9 until 10 in “Walking for Jesus.”
People are invited to give one hour to
support keeping “Christ” in “Christ’mas,”
because He is the reason for the season.
Trinity Holiness is at 4650 Fayetteville
Road, Lumberton.
Trinity Holiness Church, Lumberton,
will present “The Angels Called Him Jesus”
on Sunday evening at 6:30.
Everyone is invited to join the church
family for this drama. Refreshments will be
served following the presentation.
The church is at 4650 Fayetteville Road.
A program of Lessons and Carols will
be presented Sunday by the choir at First
Presbyterian Church in Maxton. The choir
is under the direction of Dr. Seung-Ah Kim.
An offering will be received for the church’s
Joy Gift. The proceeds of the offering will be
used to supplement the incomes of retired
ministers, missionaries and church workers.
The Rev. Robert S. Dendy and the church
family invited everyone to this program of
Christmas music and Scriptures.
Dr. Michael Fields, senior pastor at
Christmas rose year-over-year in
three of the past five years, according
to research firm ShopperTrak.
And last year, year-over-year online
spending grew by 22 percent on
Dec. 26 and 56 percent on Dec. 27,
according to computer giant IBM’s
retail consulting arm.
Elaine Wu and her husband
plan to wait until the day after
Christmas to shop because they’ve
agreed not to spend more than
$150 for each other — a difficult
task given they like to splurge on
upscale Marc Jacobs handbags and
Armani shoes.
Wu says she’s also waiting until
after Christmas to shop for some
of her friends. Real friends, she
figures, wouldn’t want her to go
through the headache of shopping
in the pre-Christmas madness anyway.
“Just because it’s a day late
doesn’t mean it’s going to be any
less special or didn’t come from
the same sentiment,” says Wu,
36, a marketing manager for the
startup website BlogHer in Silicon
Valley. “It just means that it’s going
to save us 60 percent.”
Postponing Christmas Day,
originally a Christian holiday to
celebrate the birth of Christ, is
almost unheard of in some circles.
Christian Faith Center, will be celebrating
Christmas with fellowship and dinner at 11
a.m. on Dec. 18. Special musical guest is
Shea Floyd from Raleigh.
The center is locarted at 1203 Lovette Rd.
in Lumberton.
For information call 910-316-6027
Concert and play
Bethany Presbyterian Church is hosting
a high priority contemporary worship music
concert along with the drama musical play
titled “Say Yes to Jesus.”
It begins at 7 p.m. Saturday at the
Bethany Presbterian Church, located at 700
Elizabethtown Rd., Lumberton.
Proceeds will benefit the Bethany
Presbyterian Church building fund and
usher board.
Youth tickets cost $5 in advance and $7 at
the door. Adult tickets cost $10 in advance
and $12 at the door.
To order tickets call 910-739-3359 or email
JobSayTix@yahoo.com. For group sales call
(910) 258-9165
New Year’s Eve
Holy Swamp Baptist Church will be
holding watch night services beginning at
9:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. The church is located
at 216 Anointed Drive in Lumberton.
New Year’s Day
The Branch Street United Methodist
Church on Case Street in Lumberton will
be holding a New Year’s Day revival. Service
begins at 9:45 a.m. Special music by Joyce
and Youth in Christ. Pastor Sylvia Collins
Ball and the congregation invite everyone to
join them.
Dedication
Dedication services will be held at 11 a.m.
Saturday at the Saint Paul AME Church,
3169 Oakdale Church Road, Fairmont.
Elder Evelyn G. Dunn, presiding elder of
the Southern District of the North Carolina
Annual Conference, will be the speaker for
the service. Everyone is invited.
The Rev. Jesse Peacock, Sr. is the pastor
at Saint Paul.
Gift offer
About 95 percent of Americans
celebrate Christmas — including
80 percent of non-Christians,
according to Gallup polls.
But Bruce David Forbes, author
of “Christmas: A Candid History,”
says those who delay Christmas
festivities can take some comfort
in the fact that Dec. 25 isn’t the
date of the birth of Christ.
When Christians started celebrating
his birth in the 300s after
the Roman emperor Constantine
converted to that religion, they
didn’t know the birthdate, so it
appears that they picked a day to
coincide with Romans’ midwinter
celebrations of their own gods.
Meanwhile, Christians in more
eastern countries, like Turkey and
Greece, were already celebrating
on Jan. 6.
So, Forbes, who teaches religious
studies at Morningside College in
Sioux City, Iowa, says if you’re celebrating
anywhere between Dec.
25 and Jan. 6, “you’re not even
doing it late.”
That may be a relief to Mujtaba
Al-Qudaihi of Baltimore, Md., who
plans to spend Dec. 25 watching
a movie, catching up on reading
or killing time on the Internet.
His real Christmas celebration —
which includes his dad dressing up
The Lumber River Quartet has a new
CD, “Basics of Life,” a new DVD, “Basics of
Life,” and their Christmas CD packaged for
sale at a reduced price. Visit the group’s website,
www.lumberriverministries.com, and
click on the online store tab and go to the
Christmas Special.
The quartet appreciates everyone’s prayers
and support.
When When Christmas comes comes late
as Santa and the extended family
exchanging gifts and eating a big
meal — will happen a few days
later.
That’s because it’s cheaper for
Al-Qudaihi and other relatives
to fly to his parents’ home in
Indianapolis after Christmas.
Besides, Al-Qudaihi figures that
the prices on gifts he plans to
buy will be much cheaper after
Christmas.
“Nothing changes,” says
Al-Qudaihi, 27, who works in
information-technology consulting
for a public university. “Just the
date.”
Danielle McCurley of Lacey,
Wash., also is planning to postpone
Christmas a couple days. She
wants to wait until her financial
aid check for her school tuition
arrives so she can spend the extra
money on gifts.
In normal years, McCurley
would have finished her Christmas
shopping weeks ago. But this year
is different: After losing her job as
a home health aide, McCurley, 32,
returned to school to study social
work this fall. Adding to that, her
husband, Mario, was out of work
for a year and a half, though he
recently found a job as a security
guard.