. m
Elder
Richard Wayne
Wood
Sunday
School Lesson
The Lord
Will Provide
Lesson Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14
By the end of this lesson, we will
♦Explore God’s call to radical personal sacrifice.
♦Appreciate the difficulty of following His directives.
♦Emulate those who make extreme personal sacrifices
for God.
Background: The time is 2050 B.C. and the places
are Beersheba and Moriah. Abraham is known as a man
of faith, yet not perfect, as indicated by his several mis
steps in judgment and behavior. (Read Genesis Chapters
12, 16 and 20). His faith was strong, but inconsistent.
Isaac’s name means Laughter and he is best known as the
“child of promise.” Though there are many opinions on
his age at the time of this sacrifice, it is safe to say he was
a young man, not a child.
Lesson: Our lesson starts with God testing Abraham.
He is commanded to offer his only son as a sacrifice (even
though human sacrifice is not sanctioned by God).
Abraham chose to trust God and go to the mountain that
God would name to make the sacrifice as instructed. We
might say Abraham was forced to choose between obedi
ence to God’s command and his love for his son (verses
1-2). The trip to Moriah took two days and on the third
day, Abraham arises and spots the place to build the altar
of sacrifice and informed those accompanying him that he
and Isaac were going to worship “and we will come back
to you” (verse 5). Abraham very deliberately took the
items needed for an altar of sacrifice. We conjecture and
Paul writes in Hebrews 11:1 /-IV mat Abranam was so
confident in the permanence of God’s promise that he
believed if Isaac were killed, God would bring him back
to life so that the promise would be fulfilled. Isaac’s
inquiry as to “Where is the lamb?’ is met with Abraham’s
faithful response “My son, God will provide for Himself
the lamb for the burnt offering” (verse 8). Preparations all
made ... when Abraham was about to slay his son, God
stopped the raised knife saying, “Abraham, Abraham ...
Do not lay your hand on the'lad, or do anything to him:
for now I know that you fear God, since you have not
withheld your son, your only son, from me” (verse 12).
Abraham passed the test. His faith in the God of mercy
was well placed. The sacrifice however, had to be com
pleted - and God revealed to Abraham His ram in the
bush. The worship completed, Abraham called the place
“The-Lord-Will-Pro vide.” Note: The idea of substitution
ary atonement is introduced here, pointing to its ultimate
fulfillment in the death of Christ. (The MacArthur Study
Bible, UMI and the Oxford Bible Commentary)
For Your Consideration: Does it take more time for
you to obey God’s commands when there is a personal
sacrifice involved? Is our faith and trust in God’reflected
in our actions?
Life’s Application: Life is always in God’s hands. It
comes from and belongs to the Lord. It is merely loaned
to both parents and children. God can ask for its return at
any time. God is wise in all He does and if we, like
Abraham, believe and obey, He will reward our faith with
His goodness and righteousness. (The Modem Life Study
Bible) “And my God shall supply all your need according
to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19)
www.wschronicle.com
Rev. AUen Baldwin has
hit the ground running
mew pastor of
us.
Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church on
new pastor.
Cleveland\
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE _
* The transition from one pastor
to another is not always an easy
one. For Ephesus Seventh-day
Adventist Church on Cleveland
Avenue the transition has been
somewhat easy. They recently wel
corned their new pastor the Rev.
Allen Baldwin.
Baldwin hails from Cleveland,
Ohio, but came to Ephesus from his
previous assignment in Macon,
Georgia. He was installed as pastor
here in Winston-Salem on Nov. 11,
2017 and says he has had a great
experience thus far.
. “I have enjoyed my time thus
far in the Triad,” said Baldwin.
“The time with my congregation
has been good and I know it will
take some time for them to get used
to me and for me to get used .to
them. It has been a good experi
See New on B5
Submitted photo
Rev. Curtis Friday, The Love Church pastor, stands with a church member following a service.
Church experiences
quick growth
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
Ten years ago, the Love Church did not exist. In
seven short years, the church has grown to one of the best
churches that attracts the millennial generation. Now
with over 500 members, the Love Church is reaching for
even higher feats in the years to come.
According to senior Pastor Curtis Friday, the Love
Church was bom in his living room with his wife and five
friends. He says they held two services there then moved
to a hotel and has continued to grow since then.
They have been at their current location of 4198
Cherry St. for the past three years. Friday says they have
plans of further growth in the future to include space for
more members and other ministries.
“It has been a hard but good ride, and at first I thought
we could do something different, but I never thought we
would be at the level we are right now,” said Friday. “I
was not prepared for it because I had the mindset of doing
ministry but not the mindset of business.”
He attributes their tremendous growth to their
methodology.
“One wise "man told me people don't care how much
See Growth on B5
Now-March 4
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Now-March 21
Lenten services
St. James A.M£. Church is holding mid-week
Lenten Services every Wednesday at 7 p.m. through
March 21. Guest Ministers will bring the message each
week. St. James is located at 1501 N. Patterson Avenue.
The pastor is the Rev. Dr. Steven L. Lyons. The public
is invited to attend.
Women’s fellowship
Bishop Marvin Cremedy, Pastor Clara Cremedy &
Vessels of Honor Church Ministry, 3608 Ogbum Ave.,
will host “Don’t Block My How” 2018 Women’s
Fellowship. The service will be held on Friday, March
The keynote speaker will be Apostle Gaynell
Walters from Holly Hill, South Carolina. For more
information and or transportation you may contact.
Pastor Clara Cremedy at (336) 624-9351 or email
claracremedy@yahoo.com.
March 4
Worship Services
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston
Salem, 4055 Robinhood Road will have worship servic
es on March 4. The Rev. Lisa Schwartz, speaking at
both the 9 a.m. Awake service and the 11 a.m. traditional
worship, will explore the power, glory and pain of the
struggle for racial justice in mostly white liberal com
munity. At Explorations, 9:15 a.m., Gus Preschle will
discuss “Good Eating.” At the Forum, 9:15 ajn., Jessica
Turner will present “We the People: ACLU’s Fight for
Civil Rights.” For more information, visit UUFWS.otg.
March 10
Grief Care
St. Paul United Methodist Church sponsors “Grief
Care”, a support group for persons experiencing grief
due to the death of someone close to them. The sessions
feature biblical teaching on grief and recovery topics.
The sessions are designed to give encouragement and
support to persons on their journey from “Mourning to
Joy”. Sessions are free, each is self-contained, meaning
one does not have to attend die sessions in sequence.
Guilt and Anger is the topic on Saturday, March 10 at 10
SeeRd.Cal.onB6