“What Do We Do With Our Shame?” from Genesis 34

On this Sunday we came to one of the most difficult passages of Scripture to read: the sexual assault of Jacob’s daughter Dinah by Shechem the Hivite in Genesis 34. God is concerned with answering the great question raised by the passage: what can Dinah do with the shame, humiliation, and disgrace that the passage tells us she felt afterwards? How can any of us get rid of the shame of sin: whether it’s the shame of our sin or the shame we feel from the affliction of other people’s sin? Our pastor preached that the answer is in our union with Christ. Christ travelled the path of shame to the cross where He suffered to free us from the power and effects of sin. Then He was vindicated by His resurrection, and He ascended into glory ahead of us. He offers to share His new life and glory with all who put their faith in Him and follow Him (Colossians 3:4).

Music. We sang psalms and hymns about God being our sanctuary and refuge during suffering to include: How Firm A Foundation (“for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress”) and We Will Feast in the House of Zion (“We will not be burned by the fire. He is the Lord, our God. We are not consumed by the flood. Upheld, protected, gathered up. We will feast in the house of Zion. We will sing with our hearts restored”).

The bulletin is posted here, and a video of the service is posted below.