In a recent article, columnist David Brooks reports on the increase of disturbing behavior within American culture: “. . . reckless driving is on the rise, the number of altercations on airplanes has exploded, the murder rate is surging in cities, drug overdoses are increasing, Americans are drinking more, nurses say patients are getting more abusive . . . Teachers are facing a rising tide of disruptive behavior. The Wall Street Journal reported in December: ‘Schools have seen an increase in both minor incidents, like students talking in class, and more serious issues, such as fights and gun possession. In Dallas, disruptive classroom incidents have tripled this year compared with prepandemic levels, school officials said.’

In collusion with his mother, Rebekah, Jacob, impersonating his brother Esau, lies (twice) to Isaac, his father, inorder to receive the blessing of the firstborn.

As I am writing this, Vladimir Putin has launched an invasion of Ukraine, initiating the first European land war since 1945. By any definition, Ukraine is a sovereign nation-state. Christopher DeMuth of the Hudson Institute itemizes these criteria: 1. It occupies and polices a clearly defined territory inhabited by millions of citizens; 2. It has self-conscious polities with its own history, traditions and institutions of government, commerce and civil liberty; 3. It is a peaceable nation.

As Abraham dies, Issac, the new patriarch, struggles with the same sins as his dad, but sees his two sons, Jacob and Esau born–and the battle between the two begins.

With the 1945 allied victory in World War II, America emerged a superpower, but a superpower contending with the Soviet Union for influence and dominance. With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, 1989-1991, American hegemony was achieved. From this collapse until the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the US dominated the world in various domains of power—military, economic, political and cultural. That hegemony is now breaking down.

Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac, and God’s loyal, covenant love and providence are clearly evident throughout the entire process.

Christian sociologists, Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk, have just published an important book, Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation. They validate what the Bible says so clearly in Deuteronomy 6—parents shape the religious worldview and spearhead the moral and spiritual formation of their children.

In obedience to God, Abraham is willing to offer Issac back to God, but He stops him and renews the covenant.

The two major political parties in the US have always exhibited partisanship; that is the nature of politics. But, the political culture of America in early 2022 is meaner and more dysfunctional than at any other point in American history, save the last few years of the 1850s right before the Civil War. For example, The Economist’s John Prideaux writes that “Partisans really loathe each other: 40% reckon the other side are ‘downright evil,’ 60% that they are ‘a threat to the United States.’ Lilliana Mason of Johns Hopkins has written persuasively about the rise of what she calls ‘lethal partisanship’ in the electorate. Yet those views are often based on a caricature of what the other side is really like. Some enthusiastic Republicans think that Democrats are a bunch of socialist snowflakes who hate America. Some committed Democrats believe that Republicans are crypto-fascist racists who hate science. The vast majority of Democrats and Republicans are neither America-hating socialists nor crypto-fascist bigots. So why are such views, which feed the worst kind of partisanship, so widespread?

Since we are in the early weeks of 2022, it is important for us who name Christ’s name, to remind ourselves of the priorities of our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. To that end, let’s give focus to the church, the most important institution God created for the proclamation and living out of His rescue plan for lost humanity. At conversion we are placed into the body of Christ, the church, which, among other things, is the family of God. “I” becomes “we” and it is in the local church where we begin to live out this family name. We are now free in Christ; the bondage to sin has been broken and selfishness, self-centeredness and self-indulgence are replaced with an other-centered love for people. We are willing to surrender our rights and liberties in Christ for the common good—for our families, for our local church and for our communities. How does the church relate to key biblical concepts?