From their deferential manner, they appeared to be aides. The reverend walked to the podium and began to speak, putting his coffee cup on a shelf inside the podium.
“First of all, let me introduce myself,” the man said in a deep rich southern voice. “I am the Reverend Lou Jacobs of God’s Holy Covenant Church. For those of you who are returning to our group, it’s wonderful to see you continue with our study of the Bible. For those of you who are new to the church, welcome. Each week we pick a different topic from the Bible and explore it. All are welcome to speak. I strongly advise that you read the Bible at home and spend some quiet time praying over what you’ve read. This really helps us in our study of the Bible. For several weeks now we’ve been exploring the Ten Commandments.
“The Bible described the Ten Commandments as being given to the Israelites by God at Mount Sinai. Reference to the Ten Commandments appears twice in the Hebrew Bible, first at Exodus 10:1-17 and then at Deuteronomy 5:4-21. Tonight we will explore the Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Kill.”
Well, that’s fitting , Roger thought, considering why I’m here. This should be interesting.
The next three hours were spent dissecting the commandment and all of its ramifications such as does the prohibition against killing extend to animals, plants, and so on. The reverend was very clear that it certainly meant not taking the life of another human being. At the end of the three hours the reverend ended the study session with a prayer and then stepped away from the podium. He was instantly surrounded by parishioners and others who had questions. It was obvious his parishioners loved him as they hung on every word he said.
Roger had been drinking coffee during the study session and noticed others washing their coffee cups and putting them back in a cabinet. On his way to the sink in the corner he walked by the podium and remembered that he’d seen the reverend drinking from it several times during the evening. He picked it up and took it over to the sink, intending to wash it along with his cup. Roger looked in the bottom and noticed there was some clear liquid in it that didn’t look anything like coffee. He glanced around and saw that no one was looking at him, so he quickly stuck his finger into the liquid and tasted it. He had to stop himself from choking and disrupting the group. There was no doubt in Roger’s mind that Reverend Jacobs had been drinking straight vodka.
I don’t know how much credence I can put in anything the reverend said tonight about not killing when he’s been secretly drinking straight vodka from a coffee cup while standing in front of a hundred or so parishioners. He sure isn’t quite the pure man of God he’d like everyone to think he is.
People were filing out of the room and Roger happened to be one of the last to leave. The reverend and his two aides were walking just ahead of Roger and he clearly overheard the reverend take the Lord’s name in vain when he referred to one of the people who had attended tonight’s meeting.
Well, if he broke the commandment about taking the Lord’s name in vain, who’s not to say he broke the commandment about killing someone. Don’t think I’d believe anything he said, not from what I’ve seen tonight.
CHAPTER 24
That evening Liz emailed Jonah and Brittany, thanking them for attending the wedding and for all their help. She never knew what time it was in Dubai, where Jonah was based, so she asked him to email her when he had a minute to let her know he’d returned safely. Brittany had already sent Liz an email that she’d gotten back to Palm Springs safe and sound. Just as she stood up from her computer desk her cell phone rang. She looked at the monitor and saw it was Sean.
“Hi, Sean. How did you know to call me on my phone and not Roger’s?”
“When he called me a few hours ago he said he
“First of all, let me introduce myself,” the man said in a deep rich southern voice. “I am the Reverend Lou Jacobs of God’s Holy Covenant Church. For those of you who are returning to our group, it’s wonderful to see you continue with our study of the Bible. For those of you who are new to the church, welcome. Each week we pick a different topic from the Bible and explore it. All are welcome to speak. I strongly advise that you read the Bible at home and spend some quiet time praying over what you’ve read. This really helps us in our study of the Bible. For several weeks now we’ve been exploring the Ten Commandments.
“The Bible described the Ten Commandments as being given to the Israelites by God at Mount Sinai. Reference to the Ten Commandments appears twice in the Hebrew Bible, first at Exodus 10:1-17 and then at Deuteronomy 5:4-21. Tonight we will explore the Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Kill.”
Well, that’s fitting , Roger thought, considering why I’m here. This should be interesting.
The next three hours were spent dissecting the commandment and all of its ramifications such as does the prohibition against killing extend to animals, plants, and so on. The reverend was very clear that it certainly meant not taking the life of another human being. At the end of the three hours the reverend ended the study session with a prayer and then stepped away from the podium. He was instantly surrounded by parishioners and others who had questions. It was obvious his parishioners loved him as they hung on every word he said.
Roger had been drinking coffee during the study session and noticed others washing their coffee cups and putting them back in a cabinet. On his way to the sink in the corner he walked by the podium and remembered that he’d seen the reverend drinking from it several times during the evening. He picked it up and took it over to the sink, intending to wash it along with his cup. Roger looked in the bottom and noticed there was some clear liquid in it that didn’t look anything like coffee. He glanced around and saw that no one was looking at him, so he quickly stuck his finger into the liquid and tasted it. He had to stop himself from choking and disrupting the group. There was no doubt in Roger’s mind that Reverend Jacobs had been drinking straight vodka.
I don’t know how much credence I can put in anything the reverend said tonight about not killing when he’s been secretly drinking straight vodka from a coffee cup while standing in front of a hundred or so parishioners. He sure isn’t quite the pure man of God he’d like everyone to think he is.
People were filing out of the room and Roger happened to be one of the last to leave. The reverend and his two aides were walking just ahead of Roger and he clearly overheard the reverend take the Lord’s name in vain when he referred to one of the people who had attended tonight’s meeting.
Well, if he broke the commandment about taking the Lord’s name in vain, who’s not to say he broke the commandment about killing someone. Don’t think I’d believe anything he said, not from what I’ve seen tonight.
CHAPTER 24
That evening Liz emailed Jonah and Brittany, thanking them for attending the wedding and for all their help. She never knew what time it was in Dubai, where Jonah was based, so she asked him to email her when he had a minute to let her know he’d returned safely. Brittany had already sent Liz an email that she’d gotten back to Palm Springs safe and sound. Just as she stood up from her computer desk her cell phone rang. She looked at the monitor and saw it was Sean.
“Hi, Sean. How did you know to call me on my phone and not Roger’s?”
“When he called me a few hours ago he said he
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