Bible Text: Gene\u00adsis 4:1\u201315 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Like you and me | The par\u00adents Adam and Eve gave their second son the name Abel, which means breath or not\u00adhing\u00adness. This was always said to him through his name. Words have power. Abel, despi\u00adte his short life, beca\u00adme the first exam\u00adp\u00adle of faith (Hebrews 11:4). Unli\u00adke Cain, he sacri\u00adfi\u00adced the first and best to God. In the Ser\u00admon on the Mount, Jesus takes Abel to task. If he noti\u00adced that Cain had some\u00adthing against him, he should have approa\u00adched him and addres\u00adsed the problem.<\/p>\n
\tHow have you expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced the power of words in your life (e.g. child\u00adhood)? How do you use them? Bible Text: Gene\u00adsis 4:1\u201315 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Like you and me | The par\u00adents Adam and Eve gave their second son the name Abel, which means breath or not\u00adhing\u00adness. This was always said to him through his name. Words have power. Abel, despi\u00adte his short life, beca\u00adme the first role model of the\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[63],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-wie-du-und-ich","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-2904","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"hentry","10":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nIn which event of world histo\u00adry did a quar\u00adter of the world\u2019s popu\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon lose their lives? It was when Cain slew his brot\u00adher Abel in the field. Last Sun\u00adday we loo\u00adked at the sto\u00adry from Cain\u2019s point of view. Cain beca\u00adme hot with envy when he rea\u00adli\u00adsed that Abel expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced favour from God and he, in his opi\u00adni\u00adon, did not. From his point of view, life and pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly even God were unfair. Fee\u00adlings of envy and anger over\u00adca\u00adme him and he beat his brot\u00adher to death. Today we are loo\u00adking at the ques\u00adti\u00adon of whe\u00adther the\u00adre may have been a deeper dif\u00adfe\u00adrence bet\u00adween the atti\u00adtu\u00addes of the hearts of the two brothers.
\nWords have power
\nIt will remain a mys\u00adtery to us why Adam and Eve gave their sons names with the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing mea\u00adnings: Cain (acqui\u00adred, gain) and Abel (breath, not\u00adhing\u00adness). Thus, on that fateful day, gain kil\u00adled not\u00adhing\u00adness. Omen est Nomen. Espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly in Hebrew, the mea\u00adning of names car\u00adri\u00aded gre\u00adat weight. Why only did they name their second son Abel! Words have power. It is of gre\u00adat importance what we pro\u00adno\u00adun\u00adce over our children.
\nWhile stu\u00addy\u00ading for today\u2019s Bles\u00adsing of the Child\u00adren, I rese\u00adar\u00adched the name Am\u00e9\u00adlie. Accor\u00adding to Ger\u00adma\u00adnic ori\u00adg\u00adins, the name means the capa\u00adble or the bra\u00adve. One text also says: \u00abFrom the Greek a for miss\u00ading and m\u00e9los for limb, it deno\u00adtes the absence of lim\u00adbs in new\u00adborns. For supers\u00adti\u00adtious par\u00adents, this is cer\u00adtain\u00adly a reason to choo\u00adse this name only at an advan\u00adced stage of pregnancy.
\nWords have power. Also what we con\u00advey to the child\u00adren bet\u00adween the lines. Do we give them con\u00adfi\u00addence, does their self-con\u00adfi\u00addence grow or do we keep them fear\u00adful? Posi\u00adtively opti\u00admi\u00adstic or nega\u00adtively pes\u00adsi\u00admi\u00adstic? The ton\u00adgue is like a small rud\u00adder that steers a big ship, or like a fire that sets the who\u00adle life on fire (James 3:4\u20136). God spo\u00adke a word and it hap\u00adpen\u00aded. Words have incre\u00addi\u00adble energy.
\nWhen God wan\u00adted to make Abra\u00adham the father of many nati\u00adons, he chan\u00adged Abraham\u2019s way of spea\u00adking. At that time Abra\u00adham did not have a sin\u00adgle child becau\u00adse Sarah was bar\u00adren. By chan\u00adging his name from Abram (exal\u00adted father) to Abra\u00adham, which means \u00abfather of many nati\u00adons\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 17:5). From that day on, every time he met someone, he would say, \u00abHel\u00adlo, my name is Father of Many Nati\u00adons.\u00bb Every time din\u00adner was rea\u00addy, Sarah would call out to Abra\u00adham, \u00abDar\u00adling, father of many nati\u00adons, din\u00adner is rea\u00addy!\u00bb Neigh\u00adbours may have even scof\u00adfed, \u00abThey both want a child so bad\u00adly they\u2019\u00adve gone com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly nuts now.\u00bb But God chan\u00adged the way Abra\u00adham tal\u00adked so that he cal\u00adled forth what God had alre\u00ada\u00addy bles\u00adsed him with. God\u2019s way is to call out the things that are not as if they were the\u00adre. In the begin\u00adning, the\u00adre was dark\u00adness on the who\u00adle earth. God saw the dark\u00adness and said, \u00abLet the\u00adre be light!\u00bb And the\u00adre was light. If it had been you or me, we pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly would have said, \u00abWow, it\u2019s dark in here!\u00bb
\nTalk is silver\u2026
\nNot a sin\u00adgle word is han\u00added down to us about Abel. But this did not pre\u00advent God from pla\u00adcing him first in the list of examp\u00adles of faith: \u00abBy faith Abel offe\u00adred a bet\u00adter sacri\u00adfice to God than Cain. God accept\u00aded Abel\u2019s sacri\u00adfice to show that he was righ\u00adteous\u00adly spo\u00adken of in his eyes. And though Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us in this way\u00bb (Hebrews 11:4 NL<\/span>). Obvious\u00adly, our faith is not shown in words, but in deeds. James again: \u00abFaith that does not lead to good deeds is not faith \u2013 it is dead and wort\u00adhl\u00adess\u00bb (James 2:17 NL<\/span>).
\nHow did Abel\u2019s faith show its\u00adelf? He cele\u00adbra\u00adted bet\u00adter wor\u00adship than Cain. What I find inte\u00adres\u00adt\u00ading in the text is the sen\u00adtence: \u00abAfter some time, Cain sacri\u00adfi\u00adced part of his har\u00adve\u00adst to the Lord. And Abel also sacri\u00adfi\u00adced to him from the first\u00adborn lambs of his flock and from their fat\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 4:3,4 NL<\/span>). This dif\u00adfe\u00adrence in the choice of sacri\u00adfices is the reason for the Jewish inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon to say: Cain brings God the fruit that first came into his hand. He wan\u00adted to ful\u00adfil his reli\u00adgious duties and sim\u00adply brings fruit. Abel, on the other hand, is deter\u00admi\u00adned to give God the best of what he has. In Cain\u2019s hands is the \u00abfirst-best\u00bb, what he just found. Abel, howe\u00adver, had cho\u00adsen the \u00abfirst and best\u00bb. The sacri\u00adfices, but espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly the atti\u00adtu\u00addes behind them, were different.
\nWit\u00adhout Abel even spea\u00adking a word, one sen\u00adses in him an eager\u00adness and a joy to plea\u00adse God. He does not ask: What must I do? What must I avo\u00adid? He just gives it to the full. He offe\u00adred the best of his time and pos\u00adses\u00adsi\u00adons to God. Like the woman with the anoin\u00adting oil in Luke 7:37. At that time, such an anoin\u00adting oil cost about 400 days\u00bb ear\u00adnings. She did not reg\u00adret anoin\u00adting Jesus\u00bb feet with it. The ques\u00adti\u00adon this sto\u00adry asks us is: Are you rea\u00addy to lea\u00adve the first and best for Jesus? Am I wil\u00adling to sacri\u00adfice all that is valuable (fami\u00adly, fri\u00adends, social posi\u00adti\u00adon, per\u00adso\u00adnal achie\u00adve\u00adments) and all that is use\u00adl\u00adess (bike, tas\u00adteful house, clo\u00adthes) for God? Or am I mere\u00adly wil\u00adling to give of my abun\u00addance, to ful\u00adfil my reli\u00adgious duties? God wants the first and best from you, not the first-best.
\nAbel, as a model of faith, can also be an encou\u00adra\u00adge\u00adment for intro\u00adverts. Per\u00adhaps he, too, only con\u00adside\u00adred hims\u00adelf insi\u00adgni\u00adfi\u00adcant, a breath and not\u00adhing\u00adness. Nevert\u00adhel\u00adess, he went down in the annals. Per\u00adhaps you often find yours\u00adelf at a loss for words when you would like to speak. May\u00adbe you feel like an infe\u00adri\u00ador Chris\u00adti\u00adan becau\u00adse of it. You can expo\u00adse the\u00adse thoughts as fal\u00adse and send them away. Your life speaks lou\u00adder than your words.
\nand some\u00adti\u00admes also gold
\nIs silence always right? In the Ser\u00admon on the Mount, Jesus brings a new edi\u00adti\u00adon of the Cain-Abel sto\u00adry. \u00abYou have heard that in the Law of Moses it says, \u00abYou shall not kill. Whoe\u00adver com\u00admits mur\u00adder will be con\u00addem\u00adned.\u00bb But I say, even he who is only angry with someone is con\u00addem\u00adned! Whoe\u00adver says to his fri\u00adend, \u00abYou fool!\u00bb awaits jud\u00adge\u00adment. And whoe\u00adver cur\u00adses someone will be threa\u00adten\u00aded with the fire of hell. So if you are stan\u00adding befo\u00adre the altar in the temp\u00adle to sacri\u00adfice, and it sud\u00adden\u00adly occurs to you that someone has some\u00adthing against you, then lea\u00adve your sacri\u00adfice befo\u00adre the altar, go to the per\u00adson con\u00adcer\u00adned and recon\u00adci\u00adle with him. Only then come back and offer your sacri\u00adfice to God\u00bb (Matthew 5:21\u201324 NL<\/span>).
\nOn the one hand, we learn from this that we are very quick\u00adly stuck in the role of Cain. Who has\u00adn\u2019t been angry with someone or cal\u00adled them a \u00abfool\u00bb! On the other hand, an \u00abAbel\u00bb should not just keep quiet and be hap\u00adpy in the vic\u00adtim role. I am sure that Abel noti\u00adced Cain\u2019s scowls. He must have noti\u00adced that some\u00adthing was wrong in his rela\u00adti\u00adonship with Cain. As soon as he even began to noti\u00adce some\u00adthing of the dis\u00adagree\u00adment, it was his respon\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty to address the mat\u00adter. His par\u00adents, Adam and Eve, could also have hel\u00adped him to fol\u00adlow a dif\u00adfe\u00adrent path of faith. What would have hap\u00adpen\u00aded if Abel had approa\u00adched his brot\u00adher and they had sol\u00adved the pro\u00adblem tog\u00ade\u00adther? Per\u00adhaps this could have aver\u00adted the drama.
\nI have been an Abel a few times and noti\u00adced that someone reacts to me in a distant and some\u00adwhat stran\u00adge way. This often trig\u00adgers me to avo\u00adid that per\u00adson rather than address my obser\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon. In my sche\u00adme of things, if any\u00adthing, that per\u00adson should be addres\u00adsing me and not me addres\u00adsing them. Jesus dis\u00adagrees. Talk is sil\u00adver, silence is gold, is the say\u00ading. The\u00adre are situa\u00adtions whe\u00adre tal\u00adking is worth its weight in gold.
\nAbel lived much less long than Cain and yet he is still con\u00adside\u00adred a role model today. The length of our lives is not as important as who we live for. A short life, given in ser\u00advice to Christ, plea\u00adses God more than a long life full of sel\u00adfi\u00adsh\u00adness and stri\u00adving for not\u00adhing\u00adness. Diet\u00adrich Bon\u00adhoef\u00adfer died at the age of 39 in Buchen\u00adwald con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adti\u00adon camp becau\u00adse of his resis\u00adtance to the Nazi regime, yet he left a tre\u00admen\u00addous lega\u00adcy to the world. In today\u2019s world, one of the most important values is health and, as a con\u00adse\u00adquence, a long life. Espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly in the Coro\u00adna cri\u00adsis it was cle\u00adar\u00adly expres\u00adsed: with an incon\u00adceiv\u00ada\u00adb\u00adly gre\u00adat effort one tried to pre\u00advent peo\u00adp\u00adle from dying. Far be it from me to dis\u00adre\u00adgard human life, but I will nevert\u00adhel\u00adess allow mys\u00adelf the ques\u00adti\u00adon: Is it the hig\u00adhest goal to live as long as pos\u00adsi\u00adble? Abel did not live very long and yet he left an exam\u00adp\u00adle to the world: \u00ab[\u2026] And though Abel has been dead a long time, he still speaks to us in this way\u00bb (Hebrews 11:4 NL<\/span>). Bet\u00adter a meaningful life than a long one! Hans\u00adpe\u00adter Roy\u00ader, who died at 51, once said: \u00abWe have no choice how we die and when we die, but we do have a choice how we live.\u00bb
\nIn con\u00adnec\u00adtion with Abel, I also thought of Geor\u00adge Floyd during the last few days. The death of him has set off a huge wave of soli\u00adda\u00adri\u00adty. Hundreds of thou\u00adsands of peo\u00adp\u00adle are rai\u00adsing their voices against racism and jus\u00adti\u00adce. The\u00adre were no demons\u00adtra\u00adti\u00adons after Abel\u2019s mur\u00adder \u2013 who should \ud83d\ude09 Ins\u00adtead, his blood cried out. The LORD<\/span> said to Cain: \u00abWhat have you done? Do you not hear, \u00abYour brother\u2019s blood cries out to me\u00bb?\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 4:10 NL<\/span>). God heard that cry. Jesus is God\u2019s ans\u00adwer to it. When Christ rose from the dead, by God\u2019s almigh\u00adty power, He bought back Abel\u2019s life and yours for eter\u00adni\u00adty. Jesus said, \u00abI am the life\u00bb (John 14:6).
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\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead Bible text: Gene\u00adsis 4:1\u201315; Matthew 5:21\u201324<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat does it mean for us to offer the first and best to God? What would be the first-best?
\n\tJesus brings a new edi\u00adti\u00adon of the Cain-Abel sto\u00adry in Matthew 5:21\u201324. Bes\u00adi\u00addes the fact that we are not so far remo\u00adved from Cain, this sto\u00adry also chal\u00adlenges Abel. What would have been a hel\u00adpful inter\u00adven\u00adti\u00adon on his part? Can you think of your own examp\u00adles whe\u00adre you should have rea\u00adched out to people?
\n\tAbel\u2019s blood cries out for jus\u00adti\u00adce. Jesus is the ans\u00adwer. In what way does Jesus estab\u00adlish justice?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"