I’m Jemima L Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker. Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says. And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.
Dr. Ellie, Mary, Arabella, and I were in our “green room.”
Dr. Ellie was playing with Stormie and Joan. Ethan’s schedule was off in the other direction. He was asleep already.
B.B. (short for Mary being a Bossy Boss) was fixing my hair, “Belle, what do you think? This one tuft of hair seems to not cooperate every week. Stinker’s hair is turning into a horn.”
Belle said, “Do you mean that Aunt Jemima is part unicorn?”
I protested, “No! Will you two quit teasing me about my hair?”
Arabella replied, “Yeah, but we are in the process of teasing your hair. It seems to fit.”
B.B. suggested, “Okay, Stinker, we finally got it to cooperate. Are we ready to go?”
Dr. Ellie groaned, “No. We are not finished with our game.”
B.B. snickered, “What game is that, Dr. Ellie?”
Dr. Ellie replied, “Who can make the biggest eyes? I think Stormie is ahead but not by much. Joan adds other facial expressions that make up for the eyes. But they are both adorable.”
Rev. Joseph led us in prayer.
Emmett and the choir sang Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love.
I said, “Nice song, guys. Is this from that guy that insists that no AI was used?” Emmett smiled and nodded.
Samuel asked, “Where are we searching for Jesus today, Aunt Jemima?”
I smiled, “We are looking at the book of Romans. Arabella, do you need Mr. Dictionary?”
Arabella nodded, “Aunt Jemima, absolutely Aunt Jemima, was the Apostle Paul roaming around the Mediterrarium Sea? And what does that have to do with Jesus?”
Easy smiled, “Yes, no, and are you crazy? Yes, Paul roamed, but it was the Mediterranean Sea. The Terrarium is over there playing his tubulum. But this book is one of the best books to explain what Jesus did for us. Other than the Gospels, Romans refers to Jesus by name more often than any other book. He sets up Romans as an argument in court. Was this because Paul saw the people of Rome to be in a courtroom mindset? Or was God revealing this was the way Paul would get to Rome? You see, he wrote most of his letters to churches that he had established, but he had never been to Rome when he wrote Romans. ‘God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.’ (Romans 1:9-13). Paul was in Corinth when he wrote this letter. He was going to Jerusalem. But somehow, Paul knew that going in the opposite direction would bring him to Rome. And remember that Paul was a highly educated man. ‘“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.’ (Acts 22:3). Each time Paul preaches in the book of Acts, you can see how he tailors the message to that crowd. So, I would think that he did the same thing in his letters.”
Arabella smiled, “Thank you. Mr. Dictionary.”
I added, “The Apostle Paul takes a lot of heat today. He says things that offend the secular world view, so many Christians claim that Paul was giving advice that was for those times, customary rules. But we are going to take two weeks to look at quotations in Romans that go back to the Old Testament. And the verses that I picked are probably about half of what I could have chosen. This seems strange considering that he is writing this book mostly to Gentiles. But we can see the quotations and decide for ourselves.”
Rosie (Romans 1:17) “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”
Rosie said, ”Johnny Jacks is not with me today, but we studied these verses. ‘“See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—’’ (Habakkuk 2:4). Faithfulness is the act of living by faith. You read in the Old Testament more about faithfulness than ‘living by faith.’ But it’s all the same. We need to act upon the faith we have in Jesus.”
Tammie (Romans 2:24) “As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”’
Tammie said, “This is in Isaiah and Ezekiel. ‘“And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.’ (Isaiah 52:5). And then in Ezekiel… ‘And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.’’ (Ezekiel 36:20). Isaiah was before the exile of Judah, but Ezekiel was during that exile. Isaiah prophesied what would happen and why. Ezekiel was basically making a comment about current events.”
I smiled, “Thank you, Rosie and Tammie. Are you back to teaming up together?”
Tammie nodded. “Rosie’s job is mostly straight days. I’m in school and working out for softball season. But we study a little before and after the vespers service. If it’s after, Johnny Jacks studies with us. Sometimes, we meet up with others in the class.”
Blaise (Romans 3:10-18) “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.””
Blaise laughed, “Marguerite talked about all these verses, and she said I would get this group. You could have tripled the number of verses that these verses quote from. As it is, there are several.”
I smiled, “We have to think about the buses. We don’t want to be late for the buses.”
Lauren left the play area and ran toward Grannie Fannie, but then she stopped. “Aunt Jemima, don’t talk about the buses. It’s not time for the buses.”
Rosie laughed, “I suppose she told you!”
Menzie said, “Lauren, do not use that tone of voice with Aunt Jemima. Now, apologize.”
Lauren’s eyes filled with tears, “I’m sorry, Aunt Jemima. I just got scared that it was time to go to church.”
I smiled, “I took no offense, Lauren. I was just saying that I trimmed what we will discuss so that you aren’t late for the bus. Okay? Now, Blaise, what about those reference verses? You know that I gave you this one just to pick on my young brother-in-law, out of fun, nothing malicious.”
Blaise sighed, “Rats, it takes all the fun out of it when you admit that you did it. You gave us four passages from the Psalms. ‘“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.’ (Psalm 53:1-3). This first one talks about how the people are corrupt. ‘Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.’ (Psalm 5:9). This talks about lies, like the part about their mouths are open graves with deceit. “They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips.’ (Psalm 140:3). This verse is pretty much quoted in the second half of Romans 3:13. ‘I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ (Psalm 36:1). And this quotes verse 18. To sum it up, they are a pack of liars.”
I replied, “Thank you, Blaise.”
Marguerite (Romans 4:3) ”What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’”
Margie smiled, “This week, I get the easy one. This is a quote from Genesis 15, like several of these are. ‘Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.’ (Genesis 15:6).”
Penny (Romans 4:17) ‘As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.”
Penny said, “Paul is talking about every believer is a child of Abraham. ‘No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.’ (Genesis 17:5). So, Jesus said we are children of God, that is those that believe. And Paul says we are children of Abraham. So, which is it?”
I asked, “Can it be both? God was careful to have Jesus be in the family line of King David. We are adopted as brothers in Christ. So, we are adopted children of Abraham because Abraham came before David. But that only takes care of the physical side of things. Jesus was 100% human and 100% God, so in being the brother of Jesus, we are a son of God on the spiritual side while also being a son of Abraham by being a brother or sister to Jesus.”
Penny nodded, “I had not thought of it that way.”
Blake (Romans 4:18) “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’”
Blake said, “This is along the same lines. Sometimes we forget that Abraham was given all these promises when Sarah was barren. ‘He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”’ (Genesis 15:5). I have wondered about that, and the sand on the seashore. Is that literal?”
I said, “Over the centuries, it might be literal but read the words carefully. Look at the sky and count the stars. With telescopes on satellites, we know there are more stars that we cannot see, but there are more Jews now, than there are visible stars by the naked eye. And we do not know which stretch of beach Abraham was on. Maybe in a limited sense, that is exceeded, especially considering every believer is part of that equation.”
Tina Bell (Romans 9:7) “‘Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.””
Tina said, “This skips over to Genesis 21… ‘But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ (Genesis 21:12). As it seems we do all the time, we take matters into our own hands, when God was about to show how wonderful He is if we acted in faith. Abraham had Ishmael from Hagar, the Egyptian slave. But God’s plan was to be through Sarah all along.”
Otto (Romans 9:17) “For Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’”
Otto said, “This is a quote from Exodus. ‘But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ (Exodus 9:16). This is before the plague of hail. After the hail, it was locusts, darkness, and then death of the firstborn. So, God told Pharaoh through Moses that Pharaoh was only a pawn in God’s game to show the power of God. Right?”
I smiled, “Yes, Otto, you got it.”
Zuzka (Romans 9:25) “‘As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,””
Zuzka said, “Paul say where it comes from. ‘I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”’ (Hosea 2:23). This is talking about Hosea and Gomer’s two children. First named after Jezreel. Next two named ‘Not my loved one’ and ‘Not my people.’ But God would save a remnant… Is that right word? Remnant. That group will be called my loved ones and my people. This is when Paul talks about the people of Israel. God still loves them today.”
I nodded, “Thank you, Zuzka. That was a good place to end. Now, for Grannie Fannie’s benediction.”
Grannie Fannie (3 John 1:3) “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”
Then Grannie Fannie added, “And then all God’s children said, ‘Amen.’”
Lauren ran up to Grannie Fannie and hugged her. “Now, it’s bus time!”
Brooke said, “Stormie, church time!”
Stormie said, “Aunt Brooke, we like to go to church!” Joan yelled, “Yeah!” And Ellie Rain and Olympia joined in.
Then Colin and Crystal Lewis came up and walked with us to the buses. Colin said, “Did you know we were here?”
I laughed, “Of course, I did. I sent the list of Bible verses to your apartment. Wilma told me that you and Crystal sat in with them for some of the Bible study. I let the new folks visit a week or two before I ask them to read, and it is perfectly okay to say that you don’t understand. Not everyone in the room is a believer. We take in those mission people that have a reason for a private apartment instead of the bunk houses at the mission. I heard you are Baptist, but I am getting on the bus for the First-Third Metho-Presby church. Do you want me to show you which car goes to the Baptist church?”
Crystal said, “No, ma’am, we are going to look at different churches, and we really liked Rev. Joseph’s vespers message the first night we were here. And someone said that the senior pastor was your father.”
I smiled, “Yes, he is, and please call me Aunt Jemima. And don’t be surprised if you hear people calling me Stinker.”
Dr. Ellie yelled from the bus, “Stinker, hurry up! Lauren does not like being late.”
I laughed, “See there, I told you.”
Credits
Easy’s comment about Terrarium was referring to Mike Kildare. Terrarium is Mike’s codename when on a storm chase in the Turtle. He plays the tubulum in Emmett’s band that he put together to lead the music for Stinker’s Sunday school class. A tubulum is a percussion instrument like the xylophone, but made out of plastic pipes. He and Angus MacDougall built it, and he has gotten good at playing it.
When I am using quoted verses in the New Testament, I got those verses (different translations) from Seeing Jesus – Bible Encounter Study Guide by Marilyn Hickey. The concept of doing this in a Sunday school setting is based on her book. When the youngster gives the other verse, Aunt Jemima had sent the comparison verse from the Hickey book, but occasionally, a verse is added (easily found in the cross references). The rest is from internet searches, a variety of commentaries and study Bibles, and personal knowledge.
Here is Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love from Xander Stok.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
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