(or, “Look Backward to see Forward”)

I finished reading that book I told you about last week (“Good Book” by David Plotz) and I still recommend it if you want to be challenged in your thinking. As I mentioned before, Mister Plotz approached the Bible (the O.T., specifically) with two biases I don’t share: an uncertainty whether God is sovereign and a skepticism about whether there was (or will be) a messiah.

As I dug back into the book of Genesis, I was reminded of another profound difference between how I approach the Bible and how he did.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

10.25.9 – In the Garden

Genesis 3

Have you ever wondered what life would have been like if Adam and Eve hadn’t disobeyed God? What if, when Satan tempted Eve, she had just said “No”? What if Adam had obeyed God, and stood up for his wife saying, “No, we’re not going to listen to you”?

The Cup
God receives our offering and offers it back to us as the Body and Blood of his Son. 

Last week, we talked about the loaf as the body of Christ- we looked at the loaf and found that it was so much more than just unleavened bread. We learned that the world that we see is fallen and distorted and that we need to see things through the perspective of the Cross to see things how they really are.
This morning, let's look at unexpected connections and the Cup.

I really should be used to this by now. Whenever I do word studies, I'm usually surprised by what God shows me.

One of the problems that frequently affects churches is gossip. We can pass it off as “little gossip” or “no big deal” but Scripture* identifies it as sin.

Why is this such a problem? Well, for starters, almost everyone likes a “juicy little bit of inside news.” Never mind that it’s probably either not true or exaggerated, it’s hard not to listen to it. (And, aren’t those who listen to gossip as guilty as those who purvey it?) We should refuse to listen, though.

I want to preface this sermon with a simple statement: I am an ignorant man.
Why would I say this? Because it is true. How am I ignorant? I am as most of us are – I do not see the world clearly for what it is. I do not see other people clearly for what they are. I do not see myself clearly for what I am. And most importantly, I do not see God for Who He Is.

[We now interrupt our on-going series on the book of "Genesis" to bring you this special, necessary, sermon from October 18, 2009.]

10.18.9 – The Sermon Never Preached

About two and a half years ago I preached a couple times for a church in east Texas. I was looking for a ministry and had talked with one of the leaders of this church and he invited me to preach. I liked them and they liked me, so we went back a couple weeks later. The second time was a more “formal” tryout for the position of minister.