Last week we heard about God’s perfect Creation (Genesis 1) and about the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2). Dave decided to continue this walk through Genesis by preaching from Genesis 3:8-21 this morning.

Genesis 3 narrates the Fall of Man. Temptation comes in stages, as Ralph discussed last week:
1) the arousing of desire
2) the mind rationalises the desire to make it seem reasonable, proper and profitable
3) the will acts
4) following sin, confusion, guilty, blame and sense of limitation follow.

In this passage, however, we see how God’s grace deals with Adam and Eve. It’s not so much a case of punishment (though there are terrible consequences because of their sin) as how God deals with each situation that arises.

He begins His dealings with this situation with 3 questions:
1) “Where are you?” (vs 8-9)
Most religions start with the idea of man searching for God, but Christianity tells us that God looks for man. Finding out where we are is always the first step when we are lost, and for most of us, this involves coming to terms with the fact that we don’t know where we are; we only know that we are not where we ought to be. In the same way, that admission is what God requires from each one of us before He can act. It’s not that He doesn’t know where we are, but that He wants us to admit to ourselves that we are lost before we are ready to accept His help.

2) “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” (vs 10-11)
This is a question designed to make Adam think. No one told him he was naked; this realisation came upon him because of his sin; the innocence of Eden had been lost. Before he took of the fruit and ate, Adam had not known anything evil, but now the knowledge of evil has come and ultimately we all have to deal with the fact that evil is within us (see Matthrew 15:11, 19).

3)”Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you to eat? What is this you have done?” (vs 11, 13)
God asks both Adam and Eve what they have done. Each blames someone else, but ultimately each admits “and I ate.” This is where God wants to bring us, for this is the point at which we can repent. God has shown them they are not where they should be: they are lost. He has shown them the problem is within: they disobeyed, they sinned. Now He has led them gently and graciously to the place where each has admitted their sin.

That’s as far as man can go in correcting evil. But that immediately provides the ground for God to act. God asks no more questions. He provides garments of skin for Adam and Eve (vs 21). This is the beginning of animal sacrifices. This is the foreshadowing of that ultimate sacrifice, for it is God Himself who eternally bears the pain, the hurt and the agony of our sins.

When we have acknowledged our guilt and admitted that we have sinned, God provides the sacrifice, the clothing, for us to be ‘accepted in the Beloved’ (Eph 1:6, KJV). Just as a mother sheep will only accept another lamb if she recognises it as her own and the orphaned lamb must be covered in the skin of the lamb that has died in order to gain acceptance, so we too can be clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Repentance is the start of the Christian life, to be sure, but it is also needed every day. We need to understand that without Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We need to see that we must cultivate utter dependence on God if we are to make progress in our spiritual walk. He is ours and all that He is belongs to us. This is Standard Operating Procedure, not just for emergencies!

God is for us, not against us (Rom 8:31). May we understand that we are accepted in the Beloved and live our lives from that position of acceptance.

A year ago on Saturday 3rd July 2010, we celebrated the opening of Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church on Market Street.

The journey of how we came to be in this building, how we renovated it and how we celebrated the Grand Opening can be found on the St Mark’s blog:
http://stmarksgoldthorpe.blogspot.com

And if you want to read about the Open Day in particular, that’s found in July 2010
http://stmarksgoldthorpe.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html
You can scroll back through the months to see how it all started.

It’s important to remember what God has done. Ps 119:55 talks about remembering God’s name so that we may keep His law. Isaiah says, “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” (Is 46:9) We are all too prone to forget what God has said or what God has done in the stresses and strains of our ordinary lives.

Perhaps that’s why Jesus commanded us to break bread regularly, taking the opportunity to remember His sacrifice for us and to keep our eyes focussed on Him. (Luke 22:19) He knew that without a regular ‘date’ with remembrance, we’d forget even the greatest thing He has done for us.

Let’s remember all that God has done for us, celebrating the miracle and wonder of how we came to be in this amazing building, reaching out to the community, seeing God at work in Goldthorpe. Let’s remember also all the things God has done for us and hold on to all He has promised to do for us, promises which we as yet don’t see fulfilled. He who promised is faithful (Heb 10:23).

“Lord, we remember You
And remembrance leads us to worship
And as we worship You
Our worship leads to communion
We respond to Your invitation
We remember You.” (‘Remembrance’, Matt Redman)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVtfDxGI3aY

Friday nights give church members opportunity for fun and fellowship as well as keeping fit, with one of the three badminton sessions held during the week.




All levels of expertise (from incompetence to skilful) are acceptable here, so come along, get fit and have lots of fun too!

Following on from Sunday’s sermon about the beauty and perfection of the original creation, we looked last night at how sin has marred that creation and what God is doing about the problem!

“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed,” Romans 8:19 tells us. Creation is ‘groaning as in the pains of childbirth'(Rom 8:22). God cursed creation as a result of man’s sin (Genesis 3:14-19)and the effects of that curse are seen everywhere in nature and in our own lives. We too are groaning (Rom 8:23) as we wait. There’s this constant tension between the blessings we have now and the suffering we face and the hope that is ahead of us. Paul reminds us in these verses that hope that is seen is no hope at all; we have to learn to wait patiently for what we don’t yet have or don’t yet see.

There has to be balance between looking ahead and living now; Christians are sometimes accused of ‘being so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good’. As Peter and John remind us, the future hope we have should mould how we live now (2 Pet 3:11-14, 1 John 3:1-3). The firstfruits of the Spirit (reminiscent of the Feast of Weeks and the power of the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost) give us hope that God is working all things out for good (Rom 8:28) and that one day He will re-create (Is 65:17, 2 Pet 3:13, Rev 21:1).

Romans 8:28 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible and a tremendous encouragement to all who suffer. God is working all things together for good. He is working for the good of those who love Him. However we translate these verses, the truth remains that God is able to bring good out of evil, to redeem suffering, to bring justice to all who have suffered injustice. May we learn to trust Him and hope in Him through every experience of life.

(Below is a link to the Jeremy Camp song ‘The Way’ which starts by looking at this very passage:
“All creation cries out with longing
With groans only You can comprehend
And with wisdom, You always answer
And give the words of life
So unfailing”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q6o4sbndVE)

Last Sunday morning while I was at work (celebrating Jesus at School Sunday at Hope House Church), Stephen preached on Genesis 1, looking at creation, looking at the ‘6 days of perfection’. In this account, we read how God created the heavens and the earth and separated day and night. We read of the creation of water and land, of plants and trees, of the sun, moon and stars. We read of how the water creatures, birds and animals were created and finally, how God created man.

God proclaimed repeatedly that His creation was good. In creation, God provided all that we need and in Him everything is found. Since then, man has lived on this earth with or without God being part of his daily life. Sin marred that original creation, and, as our Bible studies in Romans show, all of creation has been affected by sin (see Genesis 3).

The challenge for us as God’s children is to look to God for our provision. He has promised to supply all our needs and to provide for us, but so often, we look elsewhere. God has given Himself as our first port of call, the first door on which we should knock when we need help. We are still, so to speak, under God’s warranty!

When a product becomes faulty and is still under warranty, we return it to the manufacturer, for the manufacturer still has a responsibility for that product. In some ways, that is the same with us and God (not that our fault reflects badly on God as ‘manufacturer’, since it is the result of our sin, but He still extends grace, forgiveness, healing and restoration to us!)

God has provision and answers for every situation that we face. Let’s turn to Him and allow Him to deliver the ‘first aid’ we so desperately need.

It’s Mark’s birthday this week! As the one who bought the birthday hat, it’s only fitting that he wears it too!