Adam North - June 7, 2026
Dealing with disagreement
Genesis 30:25 - 31:55 Jacob came to Laban alone and poor. Now he leaves with multiplied family and possessions. Jacob begs Laban to let them leave. Laban sees that God has blessed Jacob, watching how God provides for Jacob. But Laban’s heart hardens. He chases after him! Laban treated Jacob as a hireling and treats his daughters as property (Genesis 31:13-14). He’s angry! He spins the story as if Jacob is the villain and he is the victim. Rachel tricks her father by stealing his idols (either to spite him or as superstitious worship), which leads to Jacob snapping in Genesis 31:36. Twenty years of mistreatment bubbled up! But Jacob treats Laban differently than Rachel. Even in anger he trusts God to vindicate him, so he accepts peace between them instead of fighting. Jacob has learnt to trust that God is Lord, even above harsh employers and fathers-in-law. For more about Christ Central Church Portsmouth visit: https://christcentral.church Or via socials: www.facebook.com/christcentral.ch www.instagram.com/christcentralchurchportsmouth To connect with us email: hello@christcentral.church or give us your details at https://www.christcentral.church
From Series: "Genesis - God's people in God's plan"
The Bible has clear instructions in parts, but most of it is story. Stories of people messing up. Stories of people discovering God’s grace. Stories we can learn wisdom from. The middle bit of Genesis tells the story of three generations who discover what it means to be God’s people in God’s plan for his world. And they don’t always get it right. Their stories include: marriage problems, death and grief, parenting struggles, choosing a spouse, sexual immorality, deception, reproductive ethics, unjust employers, relationships that distort God’s design, the strength of friendship, birth, infertility, abuse, betrayal, forgiveness, aging, value of life from womb to tomb, loneliness, racism, politics, war, buying land, wealth management, and learning wisdom from all the ambiguity of ordinary life trying to trust God in a fallen world. We face many issues in life where we have to ask: What does it mean to be God’s people in this? What’s God’s plan for it?
