We can make peace with others

Opening

Have you ever looked at a yearbook before? The school gives new yearbooks out every year.

Yearbooks are fun to look at! Because you see pictures of yourself, growing each year, abd and you find your teachers and classmates too.

The other day my brother and I were looking at our class pictures. We laughed and smiled, but then we started to feel sad.

Because we started looking at our classmates pictures. Some were bullies, others were class clowns. Some of our classmates were great at sports, We grew up playing with our classmates.

THEN as we flipped through the pages we remember that some of our classmates went to the same church we went too. But just because we grew up together does not mean EVERYBODY grew up. Today we learn about someone in the Bible, his name was Jacob. Jacob is the grandson of Abraham! Here is what happened in his life so far: Jacob had a brother his name was Esau. The two of them did not get along, they had a rough relationship.

Jacob stole Esau's birthright, which was a blessing for his future. Esau was so angry about this, he wanted Jacob to be destroyed! There was disappointment and frustation between the brothers.

Jacob felt like he had to run away from home so he did. Now, years had passed.

They had both gotten married and had families of their own. Jacob heard that Esau wanted to reconnect with him face to face. This made Jacob afraid. Let's check in with Jacob and his brother Esau again to see if they were ever able to heal from the hurt they had experienced. Jacob is coming back to his hometown, and he gets word that Esau is looking for him. Esau has 400 men waiting for Jacob. That the size of an army.

So what Jacob do? He prays…

9 Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’

10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. Indeed, I crossed over the Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps.

11 Please rescue me from my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. 12 You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to be counted.’ ”

Jacob is asking God for help. He knows he was wrong for what he did to Esau, and he does not deserve God’s protection. Jacob sends gifts to Esau because he is trying to make him forget about all the bad he has done to him. This was apart of Jacob’s plan.

Next he sends his servants with the gifts, then he tries to go to sleep but he can’t because he is nervous! So in the middle of the night, he decides to send his family ahead of him too! Now JACOB is by himself and he is struggling. (PACE YOUR STEPS) REMIND YOU it is night time, and there were no city lights back in biblical days just moonlight. What do you do when you are nervous? Then out of nowhere, a mysterious man comes to Jacob and he starts wrestling him. The man wrestled with Jacob until daybreak.

25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip.

26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied.

28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”

Did Jacob win??

YES HE DID BECAUSE God blessed Him! Do you know what Jacob name means? It means trickster, deciever. Jacob’s life was about tricking people, fooling others so that he could feel good about himself and that he could get what he wanted.

HERE, Jacob can either continue to be a liar, and a deceiver, or he can be honest about who he really is. If Jacob lies then he will continue tricking others and decieving other people.

Jacob the liar tells the man the truth. The man said to Jacob, that is not your name anymore, your name will be Israel, which means "God fights."

Israel means God fights… This is why Jacob won the fight, because he surrended to God, by giving up his plans to follow God’s plans. God fights for the people who will trust Him.

But if you want to trust God, you have to first admit that you are weak and He is strong.

You cannot trust God if you think you are better than Him... Jacob knows he is a liar and a deciever. He could lie and say my hip is not hurting I do not need you.

But he decides to hold on to God, no matter how much pain he is in he clings to God

No matter how afraid He is, he still holds on to God!

God saves people who depend on Him!

Remember the story about my classmates from earlier, some of them grew up in church and missed God completely.

Why? Because they chose to ignore God. They went to church to feel good about themselves, to trick other people into thinking they were good people.

The church is NOT made up of perfect people.

Your mommy needs God

Your daddy needs God

Because without God you do not get peace!

Have you parents ever made you upset ?

One time my mom said you can't go to your friend's house because you have to do your homework first. Bummer! Friends are more fun than math, but how can we respond in a peaceful way, even though we're disappointed?

My mom was teaching me a lesson about hard work needs to get done, then you have fun.

She never said fun does not matter! NO she knew hard work takes energy and brain power. Doing fun things is easy.

For Jacob this was not easy. Trusting God takes faith, and some people have been following Jesus for 70 years and still mess up.

But does Jacob keep lying or does he decide to trust God? 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.

30 Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.”

Jacob is walking with a limp, and he sees Esau and his army!! Jacob limping catches up to his family and he bows down 7 times TO ESAU (The manner of doing this is by looking towards a superior and bowing with the upper part of the body brought parallel to the ground, then advancing a few steps and bowing again, and repeating his obeisance till, at the seventh time)

On the 7th time, ESAU ran to meet him!!

ESAU didn't want all the gifts . . . he was just happy to see his twin brother again.

Because God had given him peace, Jacob was able to walk forward and begin to repair his relationship with his brother.

Remember Cain and Able story? One brother was killed by the other one. In our story today, these two brothers have come back together! Why do you think that happened? Because Cain did not obey God but Jacob did... One invited God into HIS HEART and the other one REJECTED GOD.

Chose to let GOD work on you.

What did Jacob bring Esau so that he would forgive him?

What did the messengers tell Jacob?

What did Jacob do when he finally saw his brother again?

Read Romans 8:28. Why is making peace with others also for our good?

What are some ways you can show peace with others?

When is it easy to forgive? When is it difficult?

How can we still have peace even when it's difficult?

Who is a peaceful person in your life? What is better about your life because of that person?