Element Christian Church

Just as a mother’s love can be a reflection of God’s love, so can a mother’s anger and wrath be a reflection of God’s anger and wrath. The scriptures are constantly showing that God is not some far off being; He is closer than we could ever imagine. In God’s closeness we better understand His wrath, His love, and ultimately His grace. This too is reflected in our relationship with our mothers. Though God is called “Father” throughout the scriptures, a motherly love many times is the best representation of His grace.

The first priority in all things is the worship of God. Noah has great gratitude for his safe deliverance. God doesn’t command a sacrifice; Noah does this on his own initiative.

Jonathan Edwards “God has respect to Himself, as his last and highest end, in this work; because he is worthy in himself to be so, being infinitely the greatest and best of beings...All that is ever spoken of in the scripture as an ultimate end of God’s works is included in that one phrase, the Glory of God.”

Last week we learned the pattern of human history after the fall was: be born, sin, and die. It is only through Jesus that we can be born, sin, be born again, and live forever. In today’s text, God decides to judge the earth with water; by sending a flood. Sin has destroyed humanity and mankind is unwilling to change; so God righteously judges the earth. The consequence of sin is death (as clearly seen in Genesis 6 and 7). Even in judgment, God provides a way to safety, to life, and a way to live in community with God. Noah is the only one who listens to and walks with God, everyone else perishes in the flood. Instead of completely starting over, God in his goodness gives grace to Noah and saves him and his family. This same grace offered to Noah is offered to us today. People haven’t changed: we are born (we live), sin, and die. Yet God in his love sends his son to die for us, take our judgement, and offers us relationship with Him. Just like in the days of Noah, God provides a way to life.

This is the pattern for God: He picks Abraham while he is in Babylon. He picks the Apostle Paul (a murderer). He picks pathetic servants and offers grace. Real Christians should never think they are better than anyone. We understand we simply have received GRACE!

Religious and spiritual arrogance, intolerance, and contempt has been a problem throughout the ages; it is also an enormous problem in our world. Arrogance is something Jesus consistently spoke against, yet it was Jesus who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Those words don’t sound like humble words to us.

Contentment is an acquired skill. When we understanding that all of our longing has always been for Him, God will be the one to say “more.” More of who He is, and for all eternity will never plumb the depths of who He is. We are not God; we should stop trying to be…because only then will we find true contentment for our souls.

“Cain, what have you done?” …”My sin is more than I can bear” That is why Jesus came, died, and rose from the dead, because Cain spoke the truth…it IS more than we can ever bear.

Jesus is the son of God. We hope in the son of God, not the son of Eve. Jesus’ love is a cry of hope.

God went looking for Adam in the garden and now, today, God comes looking for us. God took on flesh to bring us home. 2 Corinthians 2:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

In the temptation account, the serpent promised that the man and the woman would know “good and evil,” just as God knew “good and evil.” The man and the woman had believed that when they obtained the knowledge of “good and evil,” they would, on their own, enjoy the “good.” The possibility that they would know only the “evil” and not the “good” is not raised in the narrative prior to their eating the fruit. However, as soon as they ate the fruit, their eyes were opened, and it was not the “good” that they saw and enjoyed.

Man is put in the garden to worship God and to obey Him. Man’s life in the garden was to be characterized by worship and obedience; he was a priest, not merely a worker and keeper of the garden.

GOD DOES HIS WORK TILL IT IS DONE. Phil 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Ultimately God’s actions and work in history reached their climax in the person and the finished work of Jesus Christ.

The word human comes from the Latin root for humility. To be the people God intends, in the midst of all the glory that He placed us, is to be a humble human.

God made man, in part, to steward His creation. We are not to worship creation (the planet), we are to worship Jesus. Many well meaning people have confused love for creation with love for God. Many other people have confused love for God with a disregard for the things God has created. We must be a people who love and worship God and steward correctly the things that He has created.

This is blessing and gift. God allows us to do SOMETHING with His creation...as we are PART of that creation. What God makes, He made for His glory and our joy. It is meant to be a benefit to you and I and today God has blessed us and we in turn respond by blessing Him back.

Genesis is not exhaustive; it doesn’t tell you all there is know, but simply what you NEED to know…especially when it comes to the creation account. It is not a book about dinosaurs and monkeys, it is a book about God…and man.

Working with God (stewarding, participating in, and guiding creation) this is what God intended from the beginning. The story starts in Genesis and returns to it in Revelation. Hebrew story telling doesn’t go beginning, middle, end...it and goes Beginning, middle BEGINNING.

"Church is not an event. It’s a Community. Mission is not an event. It’s a lifestyle. We are called to live ordinary life with Gospel Intentionality." -Tim Chester

Growing in Christ-likeness is the result of God’s gracious working as well as our direct efforts.