Lessons                                                                       Bread of Life                                                           5 October 2024

Genesis 2:18–25

         ₁₈Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." ₁₉So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ₂₀The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. ₂₁So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ₂₂And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ₂₃Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones

         and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

         because she was taken out of Man."

₂₄Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ₂₅And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Psalm 128

₁Blessèd is everyone who | fears the Lord,*

         who walks | in his ways!

₂You shall eat the fruit of the labor | of your hands;*

         you shall be blessed, and it shall be | well with you.

₃Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

         with- | in your house;*

your children will be like olive shoots

         around your | table.

₄Behold, thus shall the | man be blessed*
         who | fears the Lord.

₅The Lord bless you from | Zion!*

         May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

         all the days | of your life!

₆May you see your children's | children!*

         Peace be upon | Israel!

Hebrews 2:1–13

         ₁Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. ₂For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, ₃how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, ₄while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

         ₅Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. ₆It has been testified somewhere,

"What is man, that you are mindful of him,

         or the son of man, that you care for him?

₇You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

         you have crowned him with glory and honor,

         ₈putting everything in subjection under his feet."

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ₉But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

         ₁₀For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. ₁₁For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, ₁₂saying,

"I will tell of your name to my brothers;

         in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

₁₃And again,

"I will put my trust in him."

And again,

"Behold, I and the children God has given me."

Mark 10:2–16

         ₂Pharisees came up and in order to test [Jesus] asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" ₃He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" ₄They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away." ₅And Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ₆But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.' ₇‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, ₈and they shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. ₉What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."

         ₁₀And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ₁₁And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, ₁₂and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

         ₁₃And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. ₁₄But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ₁₅Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." ₁₆And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.