-
Browse by Books of the Bible
- Old Testament
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
- Joshua
- Judges
- Ruth
- 1 Samuel
- 2 Samuel
- 1 Kings
- 2 Kings
- 1 Chronicles
- 2 Chronicles
- Ezra
- Nehemiah
- Esther
- Job
-
Psalm
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 113
- 114
- 115
- 116
- 117
- 118
- 119
- 120
- 121
- 122
- 123
- 124
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 128
- 129
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- 134
- 135
- 136
- 137
- 138
- 139
- 140
- 141
- 142
- 143
- 144
- 145
- 146
- 147
- 148
- 149
- 150
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Song of Solomon
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Lamentations
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
- Malachi
- New Testament
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
- Acts
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Hebrews
- James
- 1 Peter
- 2 Peter
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Jude
- Revelation
- Browse by Topics
-
Browse by Series
Daily Devotions
A systematic reading of the Scriptures, portioned to complement your daily time spent with God.Pastoral Letters
- Meditation
A weekly pastoral column that complements the pulpit messages and bimonthly theme. - Grace Works
A weekly pastoral letter to minister to young adults, inspired by the grace of God. - Youth Walk
A weekly pastoral letter written to encourage young people in their daily walk with God. - Parenting by the Book
A series from the Book of Proverbs that teaches us how to bring up children and build good Christian homes. Study Notes
- Morning Worship Messages
Message notes from every Sunday’s Morning Worship with a common bimonthly theme. - Evening-Bilingual Worship Messages
Message notes from every Sunday’s Evening-Bilingual Worship with a common bimonthly theme. - Prayer Meeting Notes
Notes from our weekly Monday Prayer Meetings - Bible Study Notes
Notes from our weekly Tuesday Bible Study - Senior Sunday School 4 Notes
Notes from Pastor Charles’ Sunday School class - Combined Sunday School Notes
Message notes from Combined Sunday School focusing on the Life and Teachings of Christ Jesus - Young Adults’ Group Messages
Message notes from our weekly Young Adults’ Group meetings. - Young People’s Group Messages
Message notes from our weekly Young People’s Group meetings. - Family Camp Messages
Message notes from our annual family camps where different themes are explored every year. - Spiritual & YAG Retreat Messages
Message notes from our biannual Spiritual & YAG Retreats that serve to instruct, correct and regenerate. - Youth Conference Messages
Message notes from our annual youth conferences where young people learn the relevance of faith. - Intermediate Sunday School
Message notes from the Intermediate Sunday School
Daily Devotions
Genesis
"May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works." Psalm 104:31
Text: Genesis 30:1-43
BATTLES IN THE FAMILY
From the earliest times, there were battles in the family. Cain had difficulties with Abel. He was envious of the Lord’s approval given to his younger brother. In a fit of anger, he slew his brother.
Esau and Jacob had difficulty relating to each other. The younger brother had schemed all his life to wrest away the blessings that were due to the firstborn. The strife saw Jacob fleeing for his life from the wrath of his brother.
A different kind of a battle was fought between Leah and Rachel. There is no mistaking the sinful tendencies in both of them as they fought to rival each other for Jacob’s affections. Sin had taken a greater hold than most realized or would admit!
RACHEL’S FRUSTRATION
Rachel longed to have children of her own. But she was just unable to have any children. Great was her sense of frustration!
“Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children,
Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob,
‘Give me children, or else I die!’
And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said,
‘Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you
the fruit of the womb?'”GENESIS 30:1-2
“Give me children, or else I die”
This phrase expressed Rachel’s depth of frustration! She was essentially saying that she preferred death rather than continue with the problem of barrenness! The sense of frustration was increased further because of the great envy she felt towards her sister. How could two sisters be so different? One was fruitful while the other was barren? Both came from the same set of parents!
“Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
Jacob knew that somehow, the answer to the problem of Rachel’s barrenness was to be found in the Lord. He did not suspect that he was partly to blame for Rachel’s barrenness! He had failed to give due attention to Leah! He had failed to show the affection due to his first wife! (Genesis 29:31)
DRASTIC MEASURES CONSIDERED
Rachel was going to make the same mistake that Sarah made. It is unlikely that she was not aware of the anger and frustration Sarah felt after Hagar became Abraham’s second wife. Most likely, Rachel was more consumed with her feelings of anger and frustration, that she was prepared to consider drastic measures to have children – even if that meant having Bilhah as the surrogate mother! Technically, if Bilhah bore children, Rachel could claim them as her own, simply because she was her maid!