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AUDIO for Sunday – July 10, 2016

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accepted in Christ approved one way etc

Message Title: Our Post-Eden World: Acceptance!

Message Text: Genesis 4

 

Summary & Comparison of the Lives of Cain & Abel!

CAIN

ABEL
  • Cain was the older brother.
  • Eve rejoiced when Cain was born.
  • Cain was a farmer.
  • Cain worshiped the LORD. (Probably for many years leading up to the written account.)
  • Cain brought his offering one day and the LORD did not look with favor on Cain and his offering and did not accept him.
  • Instead of repenting, Cain defied God and sin pounced on him.
  • Cain murdered Abel.
  • Cain lied to God: “I do not know.”
  • Cain defied God: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
  • Cain murdered his brother because of his great anger toward God.
  • Cain was cursed from the ground.
  • Now Cain was a fugitive and a wanderer.
  • Cain’s defiance shows again in his claim that God is unfair in his judgment.
  • Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod.
  • Cain was married and began a family.
  • Cain’s descendants made developments in the arts and in technology.
  • Abel was Cain’s younger brother.
  • Abel was a shepherd.
  • Abel worshiped the LORD. (Probably for many years leading up to the written account.)
  • Abel brought his offering one day and the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering and accepted him.
  • Abel was in the field with his older brother and Cain murdered him.
Cain is condemned throughout Scripture.

  • We are warned to not be like Cain. He murdered Abel because Abel was right before God and Cain’s deeds were evil.
    —(1 John 3:12 ESV) We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
  • The way of Cain is the way of greed, manipulation and rebellion.
    —(Jude 11 ESV) Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
 Abel is commended throughout Scripture.

  • Abel was a man of faith and righteousness. Abel still speaks even today. Even now.
    —(Hebrews 11:4 ESV) By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
  • Abel was the first in a long line of righteous men to be murdered by self-righteous men.
    —(Matthew 23:34–35 ESV) Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
The probable/possible family history of Cain and Abel:

  • It seems that Cain must have been the first child of Adam and Eve. They were expelled from the garden of Eden and Cain’s birth was a hopeful moment.
  • It is also very possible that Cain and Abel were almost as old as Adam and Eve—possibly close to 130 years old when Cain murdered Abel. Before the fall, Adam and Eve were two healthy, perfectly functioning humans, including their sex life. No children were born to Adam and Eve in their still-innocent state, so it is inconceivable that too much time would have expired before Eve would have become pregnant. Thus … their time in Eden was surely very brief. Thus … if is very possible that Adam and Eve were less than one year old when Cain was born. I know … crazy! 🙂
  • After the murder of Abel, Adam fathered Seth when he was 130 years old. This is our only definite number as we try to calculate their possible age. However, since Cain joined another society when he left after the murder of Abel and found a wife, then the most probable scenario is that Cain and Abel are almost as old as Adam and Eve, and they have all been fruitful and multiplying over the last 100 years or so.
  • Through the Genesis account and through Scripture, we must remember that God gives us what we need to know to come to him and to serve him with honor. Unless specifically stated, we do not count on Scripture to be a chronological and sequential account.
  • What we do know is that from Genesis 1:26 when Adam was created there were 130 years of history and fruitful multiplying and filling the earth going on.

 

STUDY SHEETS for Sunday – July 10, 2016

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angry people God how dare you

“Who does God think he is?”

That’s what went through Cain’s mind as his anger rose to “white hot” in intensity. “How dare you, God, stick your nose in my business when you have rejected me. How dare you judge me so severely. In fact, how dare you judge me at all.”

“Who do you think you are?”

Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil setting a new standard of living based on the glory of humans rather than the glory of God. In today’s text we will see that Cain had followed in his parents’ footsteps. He also now had this knowledge of good and evil, and based on his standard of good and evil, he had brought an offering before God demanding God to accept what he believed to be good and true, what he had determined was right and acceptable.

But you see, Cain doesn’t know who God is. God doesn’t go for that stuff.

If you know who God is, then you don’t bring your nonsense and stupidity before him and demand agreement. In fact, you don’t demand anything from a holy God. But Cain doesn’t know these things.

And, secondly, if you know who God is, then you are listening to God. You aren’t a decider. You are a listener. You don’t set the standard. You bow before a God who is the standard. And you listen.

And what did God say?

  • (Genesis 4:7 ESV) If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.

And it hasn’t changed. Are we listening to God?

If you are listening to God, then you know who God thinks he is. He is God.

God says, “I am El Shaddai. God All-Powerful. I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.”

God says, “I am El and Elohim. I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid.”

God says, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. For I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst.”

But Cain didn’t know these things.

Message: “Post-Eden World: Acceptance!”

Message Text: Genesis 4:1-5:5, 1 John 3:12, Jude 11

AUDIO for Sunday – July 3, 2016

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darkness to marvelous light depravity to glory of God

  • Image of God / Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
    It would be difficult to overstate the centrality of the image of God as a crucial theme in biblical theology. From the beginning of the end in Genesis (protology) to the end of the beginning in Revelation (eschatology), the image of God is crucial for understanding the flow of redemptive history. God creates humans in his image, justly punishes them for rebellion, yet graciously provides redemption from that rebellion, and then finally consummates redemptive history by transforming the whole creation into new heavens and a new earth.

    Sadly, the pristine beauty and harmony of this original created order were shattered by the rebellion of Adam and Eve, and the record in Genesis 3 as well as the history of human cultures show how alienation between humans and God, humans and other humans, and humans and nature quickly became the normal state of affairs. Yet even in this sorry state of alienation and disharmony, humans can still image God, although in an inconsistent and perverted fashion. God calls his redeemed covenant people to the highest ethical standard. They are to be like him; their ethical obedience images God.
    [Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Edited by Walter A. Elwell Copyright © 1996 by Walter A. Elwell. Published by Baker Books, a division of Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan USA.]

    All rights reserved.

Message Title: Our Post-Eden World: The Image of God, Version 2.0

Message Text: 1 Peter 2:9, Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1 & Selected

 

STUDY SHEETS for Sunday – July 3, 2016

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2 Corinthians 3-18 glory of God banner

The Apostle Peter writes, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 ESV).

Do we know what that means that we were called out of darkness? Do we understand the significance? In this verse Peter identifies our starting point in our relationship with God as darkness.

He called us out of darkness. We begin in the dark. All of us. If you have believed in Jesus Christ, God has called you out of darkness. He didn’t call you from some neutral moral consciousness or from your kindness or your good intentions. He called you out of the deep darkness that Adam brought into this world when he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

We were called out of darkness into his marvelous light.

But thousands of people sitting in churches across our great country this morning will not hear that message. They will be given false ID’s, fake credentials identifying them as Jesus followers, ticket in hand and on their way to heaven.

But how can this be?

Because they will hear preaching that downplays the darkness of the sin of humanity. They will hear about the marvelous light. And the identity of the children of God as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and God’s prized possession will be eloquently and powerfully expounded from the pulpit.

But what they will not hear is that they must start from the darkness. And as we have seen, our starting point must be the darkness as God calls his people out of darkness.

If someone is coming to visit you and calls you and asks for directions to your house or your place of business, what is the first thing that you ask them? Where are you right now?

Right now, this morning as I speak, in churches across our country, people will hear directions to heaven along the wide road of destruction because these preachers refuse to begin with the darkness as God’s starting point in salvation.

The biblical doctrine of the depravity of humankind teaches us that we begin in the darkness. It is only against this backdrop of the blackness of sin that we understand the marvelous light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Only in understanding fully where we were—in the darkness, do we understand where we are, and understand our call to the marvelous light, the glory of God.

No one gets called into the marvelous light from any other starting point than the darkness.

Message Title: The Image of God, Version 2.0

Message Text: 1 Peter 2:9 & Selected

 

AUDIO for Sunday – June 26, 2016

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green box good bad white black heads depravity

Why isn’t our goodness good enough?

    • In Romans 3 the Apostle Paul writes: As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12 ESV).
    • And our Lord Jesus tells us that “no one is good but God.”
    • (Mark 10:17–18 ESV) And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”
    • Meet John and Edith (not their real names) …
    • John and Edith were good friends of my parents. They were two of the kindest, most caring, generous people I have ever known. And they were unsaved. John and Edith did not know Christ. And unless they believed in Christ late in life, they died not knowing God.
    • How do we explain the John’s and Edith’s of the world? By understanding the doctrine of the depravity of man. As we confront the great mystery of good and evil in every human on the planet, we need a biblical starting point from which to work. You are depraved. And so am I. And so is your dear, old, sweet grandma.
    • We were created in the image of God but sin has tarnished of that image. Sin corrupts everything. We are not always as bad as we could be, but we are never—apart from God—truly good in the eyes of God. But why?
    • (Romans 3:23 ESV) … all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
    • Everybody misses the mark of God’s glory.

Message Title: Our Post-Eden World: Depravity!

Message Text: Genesis 3:22-24

STUDY SHEETS for Sunday – June 26, 2016

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hand reaching for fruit earth in background

  • They had sought moral autonomy, the power to decide what was right and wrong apart from God and his word. And all humanity has done this ever since. Henri Blocher writes: “The word implies the achievement of autonomy in a certain way. But only in a certain way, for the father of lies only ever speaks the truth by perverting it. In reality, the autonomy is illusory, a mere, pitiful aping of God.” Because God is sovereign, man’s supposed autonomy is an illusion. He cannot escape the lordship of God. “The crazy little god with his absurd pretensions is not God and never shall be. All he can do is die,” writes Blocher. [Hughes, R. K. (2004). Genesis: beginning and blessing (pp. 95–96). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.]

Adam and Eve reached for divinity but instead found darkness because they sought to be like God against the command and will of God.

No wonder some call it the insanity of depravity.

“Yes, we want to be godlike” or some might say they want to be godly, except … except the godliness they pursue is in opposition to the written word of God.

But this is not a new scenario. This approach to wanting the things of God without bowing before God has its origins at the very beginning of human history.

Want to properly build a strong foundation for understanding sin and the gospel that God offers to deal with our sin? Then stick your nose in Genesis.

To God be the glory!

Message Title: Our Post-Eden World: Depraved!

Message Text: Genesis 3:13, 3:22-24

 

AUDIO for Sunday – June 19, 2016

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this is our post-eden world bullet

The judgment is yet to come but the divine verdict is in.

Light came into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light.

  • A battle began on Earth about 6,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden. Humans decided that they didn’t need to listen only to God for wisdom and knowledge.
  • Adam and Eve, under the council of a serpent, disobeyed God and pursued wisdom apart from God as they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And humankind has since followed suit. Every one of us. The pattern had been set.
  • We thought we would be wise, but instead became fools. Our intellect was crippled and our hearts darkened. Now many are “playing chicken” with God when it comes to their eternal destiny. Spoiler Alert—God won’t blink! 
  • God says the way is narrow. In fact he tells us that there is only one way to be saved from his coming day of judgment. And that is to believe in his Son.
  • But the pretending continues … and the defiance … and the contention. Humans love darkness rather than light, not because that track is a superior intellectual approach, but because their deeds are evil. And most, it seems, even sometimes church folk, don’t want a holy God telling them any different.
  • We, as in the human race, stand guilty and condemned before a holy God … now. Not later. The hour of judgment is yet to come, but the divine verdict is in. Guilty as charged. And part of the terrifying nature of our state of being under God’s holy wrath now is that most humans are oblivious to their condition.
  • We are so glib with life and our thoughts of God and salvation and what we call “life after death.” “Well, I believe this.” And “I believe that.” And “I have a right to my opinion, and I think …”
  • Many are like an infant playing with her favorite toy in the middle of a busy sixteen-lane freeway, oblivious to the danger at hand.
  • You can pretend, believe what you want, live in a world fashioned by what you think is right and wrong, good and evil, but one day you will know the truth. Jesus the Son of God is coming again. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that he is Lord.

Message Title: Discovering Our Post-Eden World: Condemned!

Message Text: Genesis 3:9, John 3:16-21