Creation, Fall, & the Flood

September 14, 2022

From Pastor Ky Martin's sermon on September 11, 2022.


Creation


In the beginning, God made everything from nothing.


Like an artist or an engineer, our eternal God gave structure, order, beauty and purpose to our world. Nothing He created was incidental or accidental, but all according to His good purpose and plan.


God’s masterpiece in the Creation narrative was when He made man in His own image. 


Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”


This tells that (1) we are similar to God; that (2) human life is sacred; that (3) we have dominion; and that (4) we have instructions.


The instructions God gave humanity were to help operate within His rule and design. Because He created the world, He alone gets to define how things work. He created man and woman; He made marriage between one man and one woman; He gave man work; He gave man authority to rule; He told man to be fruitful and multiply.


God created everything and it was GOOD. Earth was a perfect paradise, just as God intended it to be. God and man had a relationship. Everything was awesome.


Until… man ruined it.



The Fall


Genesis 3 tells the story of paradise lost, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘you shall now eat of any tree in the garden?’” This made Eve resent God’s authority and painted His instruction in a negative light.


The serpent continued to suggest that God was not trustworthy, “...and the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”


Adam and Even knew guilt and shame, and they wanted to hide. 


When God walks through the garden and calls to them, He asks, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”


This is where the great tradition of blame shifting began.


Even though Eve was the one who took the fruit, Adam was the one who did not lead and take responsibility and dominion over the snake.


In response, God curses the snake along with both Adam and Eve. He curses the snake to slither on the ground.To woman, He curses with pain in childbirth and resentment over her husband’s authority. The irony here is that she will want to resist her husband’s authority, and he will want to domineer.


Rebecca Merkle author of Eve in Exile writes, “The intent of the designer matters. And we, as women, as God’s creatures, are designed by Him to fulfill a particular role. Adam was not brought into the picture to be her sidekick, and she was not brought into the picture to live an independent life, fulfilling her own dreams while Adam did his thing separately.”


Jami Lee Gainey writes, “My nature is fierce independence, I have an opinion about almost everything, and submission does not come naturally for me. But I can tell you that when I more fully embrace God’s sanctification of my own heart through understanding of my role as a biblical wife, joy is found there. Peace is found there. Purpose and abounding fruitfulness are found there.”


Man’s curse is that work will be painful and laborious. The irony here is that the ground is now cursed. Man was supposed to be in charge of the plants and animals, but he failed. So now work is cursed.


Man and woman were also cursed with death. They were proven unworth to rule the earth, so back to dust they must go.

Everything for man and woman became a lot more difficult, and is still. Our relationship with this earth and with our Creator is beautiful, but broken.


The Flood


From Adam and Eve, all mankind inherited a sinful nature. Their sins have been passed down to us and their curses we bear.


Genesis 6 tells the story of The Flood and how one man’s righteousness saved all mankind.


In this story – in the very first chapters of our Bibles – we see the metanarrative of scripture already playing out: Creation - Fall - Redemption - Restoration.


Author John Eldredge writes, “All the great stories pretty much follow the same story line. Things were once good, then something awful happened, and now a great battle must be fought or a journey taken. At just the right moment, a hero comes and sets things right, and life is found again… Every story shares the same essential structure because every story we tell borrows its power from a Larger Story, a Story woven into the fabric of our being.”

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 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. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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