Sacrifice!

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Abraham and Isaac

Dear Friends,

I had trouble finding a picture for this week’s email, not because there is a lack of images of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son, but because of the shocking reality of even the most simple depictions.  Human sacrifice is simply wrong, and the barbarity of somebody believing that killing a child would please God is hopefully beyond our comprehension.

Happily, the bible as a whole condemns human sacrifice, and we see Abraham constrained from actually killing Isaac, yet the text has God telling Abraham to prepare to do it.  This is why we have to be very careful in how we understand and interpret scripture.  Although Jesus is often also pictured as a sacrifice, this is self-sacrifice, which is an altogether different thing.

However, although it is good that we understand that God will never tell us to slaughter our first born, we still need to ask ourselves what we would be prepared to give up for God or for a better world for all.

Our service this week will be led by Ann-Christin Salomonsson and our preacher will be Jacob Hale, as I am in the UK.  Please attend if you can, to give them your support during this season when many people are travelling!

Our bible readings for this Sunday are Genesis 22:1-14, Romans 6:12-23, and Matthew 10:40-42, and we will be singing the hymns Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, Let us Break Bread Together, and Love Divine all Loves Excelling!  The readings can be found via this link!

If you don’t know the way to All Saints, directions can be found on the Where and When page.

Most people get to hear about us via the internet or by word of mouth, so please feel free to pass on this email to others.  All are welcome to join us as we share the presence of the risen Jesus in our lives!  We hope to see you soon and that you will enjoy worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain