[0:00] Good morning, everybody. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. If any of the kids like to sing, they're welcome. Come up and join us. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:24] Let us rejoice. And be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:42] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[0:58] Hi, I'm Adrian. Usually I'm behind the camera or in the sound booth. But today I'm showing you just how easy a welcome video is. And because Julie said she would mess with my soundboard if I didn't do it.
[1:09] If you're new to our church, we have a welcome bag that you can pick up in the back of the sanctuary, at the connection site, or at the welcome and information desk. And for everybody, we'd like you to fill out your friendship card with your name so that we know you are here.
[1:25] If you'd like to receive our newsletter or have any updates for us, that's also on the front. And on the back, you can write prayer concerns, blessings, or notes to the staff.
[1:35] Welcome to Pendleton Center Church. Thank you, Adrian. Glad to have you here. Thanks for making that, Adrian. And hopefully one of you will step up to the mic and do that the next time.
[1:46] We do have two clipboards going around. This one, there's only one. It's for the altar flowers and the bulletins. And I always start that on the other side of the church. So I'm going to start it over here. But that one needs to go around the whole church.
[1:56] The other one is, it's fish fry season. So it's time for us to start getting ready for that, get that in our mind. And I do want to invite you to that. In a week from this Wednesday, that's about a week and a half from now, on the first Wednesday in March, we're going to have an Ash Wednesday service.
[2:14] For those of you who remember communion on your knees, the old way, with the little cups and everything else, we do that on Ash Wednesday. So it's a great service, meaningful. We do invite and encourage you to it.
[2:24] Let's turn our hearts to the Lord in prayer, shall we? Dear Lord, we pray that your blessing would be upon us, that you would touch us and reach into our hearts, that as we've come to worship, you would prepare our souls to hear the grace of God and receive the blessing of God.
[2:40] Be our strength, be our presence, be our glory now and always. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Chapter 5. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
[3:03] And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.
[3:15] Perseverance, perseverance, character. And character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
[3:29] God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin.
[3:44] And in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many.
[4:04] For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
[4:22] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. I'd like to invite you all to stand, if you're able, as we sing together, Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing. Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing.
[4:46] My great Redeemer's praise. The glories of my God and King. The triumphs of his grace.
[4:58] My gracious master and my God. Assist me to proclaim. To spread through all the earth abroad.
[5:10] The honors of my name. Jesus, the name that charms our fears, that beets our sorrows cease.
[5:22] His music in the sinner's ears. His life and health and peace. He breaks the power of canceled sin.
[5:35] He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the foulest clean. His blood availed for me.
[5:47] The Lord be with you. And also with you. Take a moment, if you will, and greet your neighbor with the peace of the spirit. I don't see a lot of kids.
[6:13] I don't know. I don't know.
[6:25] I don't know what that is. You do? Yeah. The most blinds cup and my girl cup. Look at this one. which one do you think is for kids and which one do you think is for adults kids and adults yeah sometimes when when my daughter was little she'd say i want a grown-up cup i don't want a little kid's cup and she really didn't like it when we gave her one of these what's this called sippy cup because it felt like we were treating her like she was just a little tiny kid and she didn't like that let me see one of your hands which ones do you think is bigger yeah i think my hands are bigger than all of yours isn't it and you know why you get a little cup because your hands are little not because you're you're you're too young but because your hands are little when you get older you can hold a big cup you know what it would be like if you tried to drink out of that grown-up cup it'd be like me trying to drink out of this and you know what happened i'd spill it all over me and make a mess right so they don't give you a small cup because you're young they give you a small cup because your hands are little yes sir because of the size because of the size of your hand the size of the cup you need for your hand exactly what did you want to say it'll you might drop it it might break right did you know that some grown-ups use sippy cups yeah they look like this yeah well this is is a grown-up sippy cup did you know that you have one too okay you know why because grown-ups even know sometimes they're going to spill so you know as you get older your parents will give you more and more things don't be in a hurry to grow up because god blesses you when you're little all right it's okay to have little hands someday you'll have big ones and then you can drink from a big cup right all right your hands are bigger yeah but not bigger than mine right all right let's pray what are you thankful for share your raise your hand if you want to share family my family and friends family okay lord we thank you for friends and we thank you for family we thank you for little hands and big hands we thank you for all the blessings you give to us in jesus name we pray amen you guys can go out to church school all the kids are welcome to go out to church school you notice i didn't fill it up and try and drink out of it good morning good morning what a blessing it is to be here in worship on this beautiful day amen i'm excited and i know god is with us so let's continue in our praise and our worship as we bring our gift tithes and offerings to the lord so there is a train for the broken hearted to carry you to the other side there is a train for the ones
[10:32] that we're going to carry you to the heavenly light well i don't know which way you're going and i don't know if you're lost or found all that i know is you've been forgiven i tell you this train is there is there is a train for the cheats and liars for all the hitchers looking for a guide there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there is there there there there amen amen glory is oh oh oh oh oh amen dear heavenly father we do give you thanks and praise for this day and that we have this opportunity to gather together and worship you we are so grateful for all the gifts that you pour out into our lives lord everything that we have belongs to you we offer back this small token of our appreciation for your great love and provision
[14:00] We ask that you would bless it, multiply it, and give us wisdom to know how to best use it for the furtherance of your kingdom. We just ask, Lord God, that many would come to salvation in Jesus Christ through the ministries of this church.
[14:17] You have called us to call others to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. What a blessing to come before the Lord.
[14:34] What a blessing to worship God's holy name. We have just a couple of things that we're aware of right now this morning. We have Irene Tate and Carm Falbo who are scheduled for surgery this coming week.
[14:46] I know there are other things that you're aware of that are on your hearts, and we want to lift all these things up before the Lord in prayer. So if you would join me from your seat, or you're welcome to come join me at the rail, either standing or kneeling.
[15:00] Let's turn to the Lord in prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father, you are the creator of all things, and you know what is coming.
[15:27] You know what has been, and what is, and what will be. You know our needs before we even ask. You know our hearts, even the parts of our hearts, the parts of our very being that we don't know our own selves.
[15:47] We are grateful that we are in the palm of your hand. We are grateful that we can rely on your great love and mercy and grace as we live out this life in this world.
[16:03] Lord God, there is such trouble in this world. So many things that are confusing and that we're unsure of. Lord God, there is such trouble in this world. Lord, we are grateful that we are in the palm of your hand.
[16:13] We just ask for you to give us the assurance of the presence of your spirit. Assure us of your great love and mercy.
[16:23] Assure us that you will never leave us nor forsake us. Increase our faith, Lord. Help us to know that you are God.
[16:36] Be with us and help us to carry your love and your grace and your mercy into all kinds of situations as we encounter all kinds of people.
[16:51] As we consider the condition of things in this world, in our nation, in our state, in our local communities.
[17:01] There are many things, Lord, that we cannot do, many things that we cannot influence, but we can pray.
[17:16] And we pray, Lord God, that you would help us to love one another. We pray, Lord God, that you would give us your peace and make us to be peacemakers wherever we go.
[17:34] We pray, Lord God, that you would give us the wisdom to know that we need to think before we speak.
[17:48] That we need to pray for your wisdom before we judge. that we need to be, as the scripture says, those people who, for however far it may be up to us, are at peace with everyone around us.
[18:18] Lord God, we pray now in Jesus' name that you would touch all those who are sick and infirm, that you would strengthen those whose bodies or souls or spirits are in need of your strengthening power.
[18:34] That you would be with those who are recovering and who are going in for surgical procedures. That you would be with the members of the medical community.
[18:46] Give them wisdom, Lord, that is beyond their learning, that is beyond their experience in this realm. Wisdom that comes from you. to bring healing in all circumstances.
[19:01] We pray, Lord, for those who are grieving losses. We pray that they will be comforted. We pray that they will find your peace by the presence of your spirit.
[19:14] We pray that they will have blessed and wonderful memories. We pray that they will find joy and that you will share with them the hope of eternal life.
[19:33] Lord, we pray that as we continue in this worship time to hear your word and to sing your praises, that you would just wash over us by your spirit and transform us.
[19:47] Make us into people who can share your grace in whatever form it needs to be with all those we meet. Let us shine the light of your love wherever we go.
[20:00] Be with Pastor Tom as he delivers the message you have given for us this day. Let it be a blessing to him and a blessing to us. Make all of our worship to be pleasing in your sight, to be a blessing to you, loving God.
[20:18] Let us carry that blessing and that love and that grace with us wherever we go. In Jesus' name we pray.
[20:31] Amen. Shall we hear from the word of the Lord? Good morning.
[21:02] Our scripture this morning is from the book of Genesis, chapter 3, verses 14 through 24. So the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals.
[21:16] You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers.
[21:27] He will crush your head and you will strike his heel. To the woman, he said, I will make your pains in childbearing very severe. With painful labor, you will give birth to children.
[21:39] Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you. To Adam, he said, Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, you must not eat from it.
[21:52] Cursed is the ground because of you. Through painful toil, you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field.
[22:04] By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground. Since from it you were taken, Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all the living.
[22:20] The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.
[22:32] He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever. So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
[22:45] After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. This is the word of the Lord.
[22:58] Thanks be to God. Thank you, Jan. A little by little, we're working through this little study of the book of Genesis.
[23:09] Today we're going to be looking at the story from Genesis. And if you're following along in the Bible, you might want to keep a finger on Romans chapter 5 that Sherry read for us because we're going to be doing a little study of that particular passage of the Bible as well.
[23:24] The garden was perfect. It was easy. It was good. It was filled with joy. They didn't mean to wreck it. I don't think so. I don't think they realized what they were doing.
[23:37] I wouldn't say it was an accident. I had that happen once. My wife had her favorite mug by the, right next to the sink and I reached for something and went into the sink and shattered.
[23:49] You know, I didn't mean to do it. I didn't intend to do it. But they did it. And they broke it. And you can't put it back together again.
[24:00] I tried to glue that mug back together again. It didn't work. It was perfect. They were innocent. They were good. Like little children, you know.
[24:12] We look into their lives and that's why we like to see them dancing around and playing around because they have an innocence about them. They haven't yet eaten from that fruit of evil.
[24:26] But we have. And we broke it. And because of it, Adam and Eve received the curse and we received the curse as well. It talks about the relationships between men and women.
[24:43] You'll desire him, but he'll be a jerk. Maybe you didn't read that, ladies, but that's basically what it said. You're going to have pain between children and parents.
[24:57] You're going to struggle and you're not going to live forever. And when you go to work, when you go to work, it's not going to be fun.
[25:08] See, work was meant to be enjoyable, a pleasure, something we like to do, but now you're going to plant stuff, you're going to work hard at it, you're going to hope and pray on it, and it's going to disappoint you.
[25:20] It's not going to come out that good and you'll eat what you get because we broke it and now it's cursed. When I grew up, Buffalo was a strong city.
[25:36] We had what we called heavy industry. Anybody remember this? We had plants everywhere. There was Republic Steel and Bethlehem Steel and Western Electric and Westinghouse and Bell Aerospace and GM and Ford.
[25:51] The list goes on. Hundreds of thousands of great jobs that were provided by the industrial strength of Buffalo. My father would talk about how if you didn't like your job, you just walked out and went down the street and got another one.
[26:06] It was no issue, really. It was great. When I was young, I used to drive for a clothing company and we'd go through the warehouse district of Buffalo. It was this hustling and bustling area where there were these huge buildings that they stored all kinds of stuff in.
[26:24] In our case, it happened to be clothing and we'd go to all these different things that were all full of life. By the time I got to be graduating from high school, the unemployment rate had gone to 17%.
[26:40] 17%. We talk about how bad it is when it's 8 or 9% and I'm talking the official unemployment rate in this area was 17%.
[26:51] You couldn't get a job, any kind of job. There were five of us kids, four of them left the area because there were no jobs. Not no good jobs.
[27:01] There were no jobs at all. It was tough to watch places that used to employ 10,000, 15,000 people just go like that and collapse.
[27:15] Fell apart. Because everybody had to have a little bit more. Everybody had to have just a little more that they would take from that until they destroyed it.
[27:28] Greed and disrespect respect for each other and for all that had been provided for generations of people. It was hard.
[27:39] And life can be hard, painful, and broken. When we sin, it has repercussions. We might think it only hurts us, but it hurts a lot more than us.
[27:53] We break everything, all of creation. In Romans chapter 5 and the 12th verse, it says, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and this way, death came to all people because all have sinned.
[28:08] You see, everybody's a part of this. Who out there has never done anything wrong? How many of you out there have never done anything wrong on purpose?
[28:21] Yeah, I didn't break the mug on purpose, but I didn't try to hide it either. We do wrong. We're broken, and we've broken the whole of creation.
[28:35] Did you notice it said even the dirt is cursed? The dirt itself is now cursed. The ground is cursed. We can't go back to Eden.
[28:48] There's flaming swords and angels, so we can't get back to innocence. We look at those little children, and we just want to be there, but we can't because once you've eaten that fruit of evil, you can't go back.
[29:08] We've fallen. We were made in the image of God. We were glory, and now we're dirt, dirt people.
[29:19] From dirt you came, dirt you returned to. You're just a pile of dirt. Getting depressed yet? But it's true. We even have to eat from dirt because we broke it.
[29:36] And so this massive, incredible industrial complex and this wonderful place we built has all fallen apart. Now it's broken. Now it's poisoned.
[29:47] Now it's decay. Now it's destruction. And the magnificent opportunities are now poison.
[29:59] We're talking about places to go visit. You should take your kids to Love Canal. Used to be a neighborhood. Used to be homes and houses. There was a United Methodist Church there.
[30:09] It was a wonderful place. You should take them through the broken, run-down buildings of Buffalo. Drive quick, but you should go there. Because they need to see sometimes that there's a dark side to the world and that what we do makes a difference.
[30:26] Oh, I know. You didn't put any of those chemical drums out in those fields in Niagara Falls. I hope it wasn't you. But you poured your oil from the oil change in your backyard.
[30:39] You poisoned it. You broke it. You're a part of it. The difficulty is is that we need to come to understand who we are and what we've done.
[30:52] And so we're going to go through the steps of grace. Because today the key to the kingdom is the most important key and that is grace. You can't even get into the kingdom unless you understand grace. And grace comes in many forms.
[31:03] First, we read about in verse 20. The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. You know why we have rules in the Bible? So that we would know how bad we are.
[31:14] God isn't under any delusion that you can keep him. He just didn't want you to think that you didn't do anything wrong. Because we're the kind of people that pretend it wasn't us. I didn't do that. Yeah, you did.
[31:27] You did. And we need to be convicted and we need to confess that we're the ones who are broken. The reason why I'm not in trouble with my wife for breaking her mug even though she was disappointed and hurt is because when she came home she saw it laying there and I said, I did it.
[31:45] I didn't take it out in the backyard and hide it. Oh, what happened to your mug? I have no idea where it went. Maybe one of the dogs did something. I have no idea. Must have been those guys over there. We think if we hide it, we think if we put it aside somewhere where people can't see it, then nobody will realize it's our fault.
[32:04] But it is our fault. Convicting grace. It tells us that we broke it and we didn't just break part of it. We broke the whole gosh dang thing.
[32:17] In chapter 8 of Romans, it says to us, creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it in hope that creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
[32:34] We know that the whole creation has been groaning us in pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Some people are under the delusion that the world is good, nature is good, nature is messed up.
[32:48] Oh, animals are all good. I watch my dogs. They go out and take a mouse and torture the little thing. That's not good. Hurricanes and tornadoes and destructive things, they're not good.
[33:01] This world we live in is broken. When we broke this world, we brought the whole thing down. We wrecked it all.
[33:16] If only Adam and Eve would have confessed, maybe this wouldn't have happened. If right from the very beginning we would have turned back to God, but they didn't, and so we live in brokenness.
[33:28] Now there's good news. God wants us to be convicted. God wants us to understand how broken we are and how much of a bad thing it is, but God still loves us.
[33:38] Even in the midst of the brokenness, even in the midst of sin, God chose his love for us. In this story, we've got Adam and Eve, and they're naked, and who provides the clothes?
[33:51] God does. Who provides something so that they can eat, even if it will be hard? God does. Who gives them children so that they feel like they're not filled with hope, but they still have purpose? God does.
[34:02] God blesses them again and again. One of the things we sometimes don't understand about God is that he loves more than we would love. In Matthew chapter 5, he says to us, I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you might be children of your Father in heaven.
[34:18] He causes his sun to rise on the evil and good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Real love is when you care for people that you don't even like.
[34:30] When I was a teenager, I've told you, my father called me his number two bum son. That was not a nice little name. That wasn't his fun way of talking about me.
[34:41] My father didn't even like looking at me. Now, I wasn't even getting top billing as a number one bum son. That was my older brother. But my father always, always provided us with dinner.
[34:56] He might not have looked at us and he would say he would keep his head down so he didn't have to see us. He didn't like the way we looked. It's true. He told us.
[35:07] But he always gave us clothes to wear. He always gave us a bed to sleep in. We were always provided for in spite of the fact that he wasn't happy with us. See, God loves us.
[35:21] And he wants us to know that there is a possibility of redemption no matter what. He tells us that there's always a possibility to return to the garden.
[35:34] Future hope. And that's what grace is all about. In the 15th verse of Romans 5, it says to us, we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
[35:45] The hope of the glory of God is the belief that glory is coming and so we have a better life waiting for us that we will return to Eden, that we can return to Eden, that the curse can be lifted.
[36:02] God wants us back in the garden. Now the way God does this is God steps into our brokenness. They talk about it again in Romans 5 where it says, the gift isn't like the trespass.
[36:17] For if the many died by the trespass of one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many? God poured his grace down into us.
[36:30] It was a different way for it to be. He became a curse for us. In Galatians chapter 3, it says that the Bible tells us that anyone who is hung on a tree is cursed by God.
[36:45] And yet Jesus hung on a cross so that we could be redeemed. He paid the price that we deserved. It would be good if you fixed what you broke.
[37:03] But imagine fixing what somebody else broke. Real love says that sometimes we redeem something we didn't break. That warehouse district that was getting all run down and crumbling around, some of you know it as Larkinville.
[37:19] You ever been to Larkinville? If not, you should go there sometime. It's a cool place. It's an office building actually but you can go for lunch and you can eat at the food trucks that they have there at Larkinville or you can go there for a concert and they actually provide this for free.
[37:34] And the guy who restored Larkinville didn't break Larkinville. It wasn't like he had this old building laying around. He actually went into an area of Buffalo that was messed up and against everybody else's advice decided to fix it.
[37:50] took his own money and fixed something that everybody else said was beyond fixing. And now everybody wants to be there. He redeemed what was broken not because he broke it but because love is stepping into the brokenness to fix it.
[38:10] In Romans chapter 5 verse 1 it says, since we've been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
[38:26] God actually justifies us. Justify is an interesting word. If you're writing up a paper on your computer justifying the margins makes them straight.
[38:40] Computers can do that. We tried to do it with our manual. Anybody remember the manual typewriters? You can't justify with a manual typewriter. We tried. It didn't work. It didn't work. We'd get it close but not perfect.
[38:52] Justify means it's perfect. You follow? That what was all messy is now perfect. We think of it in terms of legal terms as well.
[39:02] You're standing before the judge and you're looking for justice. So imagine you've done something wrong and you're standing before the judge. I was in the Amherst traffic court once.
[39:15] Yes, I was speeding. I'm admitting. Okay? And this is a big room. There had to be at least 200 or 300 people there and everybody that goes before the judge they're doing it over a speaker system so we all know what's being said.
[39:28] And this little lady goes up and stands in front of the judge and the judge says to her so what are you here for? She said I was speeding your honor. He said well how many tickets have you had in your life?
[39:42] And she said this is my first your honor. He said well how old are you? She said I'm 93. I said you're 93 and you've never had a traffic ticket before this one?
[39:55] She said yes your honor. He said get out of here. Get out of here. You don't have a ticket now. You're not going to have one in my court. If you've got 93 years without speeding you don't I don't know if you knew the judge could just throw it right at.
[40:07] God make it go away. She walked out of there not with points on her license not with going to school not with a fine just gone. Now we think that's kind of cool you know get out of a speeding ticket but imagine now you're standing before the judge and your crime is a capital crime.
[40:27] And if you're declared guilty the verdict is you will be executed. And you stand before the judge and you've been convicted you know it and you say I did it.
[40:43] I did it. I'm guilty. I've done it. I'm sorry. But you're right. I did it. I deserve the punishment. And the judge says you know what I'm not going to impose the penalty on you.
[41:02] You're free to go. That's justifying grace but imagine the judge instead takes off his robe comes down in front of the bench and puts on the shackles and goes to take your punishment for you.
[41:20] That's redeeming grace. See it's not that just Jesus said that's okay you're free to go like the traffic court judge who what was that that was no big deal he doesn't lose anything from that.
[41:32] This is the judge now goes and takes your place for the execution and dies instead of you. That's redeeming grace.
[41:45] Convicting grace is supposed to lead us to confess and to repent and change but God is the one who does the redeeming grace God is the one who does the justifying grace God is the one that makes us perfect in spite of who we are makes what's bad go away.
[42:04] Anybody here ever been to Tift Farms? Tift Farms it's in Buffalo believe it or not this is in Buffalo you can wander along pathways out in the fields you can see deer and metals there's hundreds of acres in downtown Buffalo that just look beautiful do you know what this was before they made it into a nature preserve?
[42:26] It was the city dump yeah that's where all the junk and the bad stuff that they didn't know what to do with went was right there and they've transformed it into something beautiful because you see what God wants us to do in response to his redeeming love is to bring grace to the world sanctifying grace changing grace grace that will transform the world see in life we get a little glimpse of heaven and a little glimpse of hell and the whole goal is that we'll point to eternity where it'll be perfect again and we'll try to bring a little more heaven to this world we live in because life is a struggle and I think we underestimate the struggle the struggle is with a lot more power than we realize Ephesians chapter 6 says to us our struggle isn't against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the powers of this dark world against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms there's bad in this world underneath what looks good there's brokenness and sometimes just because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not there anybody ever seen
[43:55] Mount Niagara over in Niagara Falls they've got a mountain built right in the middle of the city it's really kind of cool they built it right next to the outlet store so everybody could see the mountain that we built oh that's what's underneath it yeah it's a a a a toxic waste disposal site because we are so proud of the toxic waste we have in our world in our part of the country that we put it right in the middle of our global city right so everybody can see it and know we are proud of our junk well I'm sorry if you made that decision I'm not trying to pick on you maybe you work for them I don't know looks beautiful now really does and I'm glad they made it look beautiful instead of just pounded it up the way they used to and let the ugliness look for everybody else but we know that underneath there's still junk and that's where our life is underneath we know that there's still brokenness there's still problems in our world you know when we read that that verse 22 where it says that God is speaking to the angels and he says well now that they know evil they shouldn't eat from the fruit of life from the tree of life because they'll live forever and we think that's God just sticking it to us but you know what it really is is God is saying no if you're going to live in a world that has evil in it
[45:21] God doesn't want you to live in it forever God doesn't want to curse you forever God's goal is that there'll be an end to this at some point because this world is hard it's broken it has suffering and the suffering in and of itself can be pain just for pain's sake or it can be suffering that leads to strength again Pastor Sherry read from us from Romans where it says not only this but we glory in our sufferings how many of you glory in sufferings by the way you know because we know that suffering produces perseverance perseverance character character hope and hope doesn't put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us so we we go through convicting grace and that causes us to confess and turn towards God and he gives us redeeming and justifying grace but then God calls us again to turn towards changing this world and he gives us the Holy Spirit so that we have the strength to overcome the battle because the battle is real there's a battle between us and the angels of Satan the demons that were cast out of heaven that's what it talks about in this passage when it says that the snake went from being upright to being down in the dirt went from being living in glory to going down into the dust
[46:58] Satan was cast out of heaven in the book of Revelation it says he was cast out with a third of his demons in the book of Isaiah it tells us about it it says how you have fallen from heaven this is his title morning star son of dawn talking about Satan you've been cast down to the earth you who once laid low the nations you said in your heart I'll ascend to the heavens I will raise my throne above the angels of God I will sit and throne down the mount of assembly on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon I will ascend above the tops of the clouds I will be like God but you're brought down to the realm of the dead to the depths of the pit down here on earth where death is our currency because of the curse Satan has been cast into this destruction and he knows what his future is he will be cast into a lake of fire according to the book of Revelation torment and what he wants is to take as many of us with him as he can
[48:10] God wants us to be a sanctifying force in this world so that we can bring glory to the world some people I'll hear him say I want God to come back right now and bring his glory today so all this brokenness can go away I've had that prayer but mine sounds a little different God I want you to bring your glory but not quite yet because I have friends and family members I have co-workers and neighbors I have people in the church people in the community people in our world that I'm not sure that they're ready for God and the good news is God's not ready yet either because he loves us in spite of us in 2nd Peter he says this there it is the Lord's not slow in keeping his promises some understand slowness and said he's patient with you not wanting anyone to perish but he wants everyone everyone to turn to him to come to repentance and God wants us to be part of it
[49:36] God calls us to bring grace into the broken world a little bit more heaven a little bit less hell now I know a lot of Christians like to use convicting grace they like to go out there and tell everybody what's wrong with them and there are a few people in this world that need to hear what's wrong with them I know that but for the most part we should use a small amount of convicting grace on other people and big doses on ourselves you follow and let God do the convicting of other people because I'll tell you what I discover is a lot of the people out there their problem is not that they need to be told what's wrong with them they need to be told what can be right with them they need to hear about the redeeming grace of God they need to know that they can have their sins forgiven and made perfect they need to know they can hear the words in the name of Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven because they're walking around in guilt and desperation and feeling so broken so broken that they honestly don't see what's the point in even trying and we have the answer we have the answer if we'll work to sanctify the world
[50:52] Romans chapter 5 verse 17 if the trespass of one man death reigned through that one man how much more would those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through one man Jesus Christ if we can bring that grace we can change the world and people will say well you can't fix the world it's it's beyond redemption we can't fix it but we can make it a little better do our part anybody know what an English meat pie is do you know where the best place to get them is in the world Parker's do you know where Parker's is located in South Buffalo in a tin can building can you imagine this people from all over the world including England are ordering their English meat pies from South
[51:53] Buffalo in some corrugated metal building there's the meat pies and what Parker's have done is they've actually done such a great job selling these silly little meat pies okay that now they've decided they're going to create a little touch of England in South Buffalo so what they're going to do is they're going to turn the inside of this tin can building into pubs and shops and all this kind of stuff little cobblestone streets so you can walk down the streets of England and they're even going to make an artificial cloud that comes along and rains on you from time to time so that you'll feel like you're truly in England and people say you're crazy and they even said we feel like we're probably a little foolish but we're going to do it anyways and they put out a flag the English flag in front of their plant because they sell English meat pies and the wonderful gracious people of Buffalo tear it down about every eight to ten weeks really really because we hate England so much really really but they're going to do it anyways they're going to do it anyways people will throw brokenness at you disappointment people will cause you to fear and have troubles people will criticize you for trying to offer love but that doesn't mean you should stop loving anyways doesn't mean we shouldn't offer hope and possibilities because God wants us to bring the good news of the glory that is to come you've heard me say it before somebody's going to say to you somewhere along the line they're going to be talking about being sick or this or that and they're going to say well better than the alternative you've heard that right and you know what the answer is no it's not it freaks them out stops them dead in their tracks you want an opportunity to share about
[54:00] God that's all you got to say no it's not they go what what this is what the book of revelation says to us in chapter 22 the angel showed me a river of the water of life as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God and the lamb down the middle of the great streets of the city on each side of the river stood the tree of life bearing twelve crops of fruit yielding its fruit every month and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations no longer will there be any curse the throne of God and of the lamb will be in the city and his servants will serve him they will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads and there'll be no more night there'll be no more curse they'll not need the light of the lamp or the light of sun for the Lord God will give them light and they will reign forever and ever and ever we can be part of the problem or we can point to the solution the redeeming the justifying the convicting and the sanctifying grace of God and the people in our world need it the children need it our teenagers need it the angry people that are yelling at each other need it the people that are out there struggling to try and get by in life and feeling disappointed and discouraged they need it the people who feel like there's no place for them in this world they need it we all need it we can live in the curse we can live to the curse we can live for the curse or we can live as people of that amazing grace that changes and transforms and brings the glory of God to this world today is the day for us to be part of the solution not part of the curse and live in the glory of God amazing grace how sweet the sound and saved a wretch like me
[56:34] I once was lost but now I'm found was glad but now I see t'was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed my chains are gone I've been set free my God my Savior has ransomed me and like a flood his mercy rains unending love amazing grace grace the Lord has promised good to me his word my hope secures he will he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures my chains are gone
[58:15] I've been set free my God my Savior has ransomed me and like a flood his mercy rains and like a flood his mercy rains unending love on days and grace my chains are gone my chains are gone I've been set free my God my Savior has ransomed me as ransomed me and like a flood his mercy rains unending love amazing grace amazing grace the earth shall soon his uplife snow the sun forbear to shine but God who called me near below will be forever mine will be forever mine you are forever mine one day when heaven was filled with his praises one day when heaven was filled with his praises one day when heaven was filled with his praises one day when he was as black as could be
[60:26] Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin dwelt among men my example is he the word became flesh and a flesh and among us his glory revealed living he loved me dying he saved me marrying he carried my sins far away rising he justified freely forever one day he's coming oh glorious day the world became flesh and coming oh glorious day oh glorious day oh glorious day one day they led him up calvary's mountain one day they nailed him to die on a tree suffering anguish despised and rejected burying my sins my redeemer is he and that he'll patient and that he'll patient touched down on a tree and took the man's for me living he loved me dying he saved me burying he carried my sins far away burying he carried my sins far away rising he justified freely forever one day he's coming oh glorious day oh glorious day oh glorious day one day the brave hood could steal him one day the stone rolled away from the door then he arose over death he had conquered now is ascending my Lord evermore death could not hold him death could not hold him could break could not keep him from rising again living he loved his life my sins far away could not hold him could break could not keep him from rising again living he loved her
[62:38] And dear, my Lord evermore Death could not hold him And great could not keep him From rising again Living he loved me Dying he saved me Buried he carried My sins far away Rising he justified Freely forever One day he's coming A glorious day A glorious day Glorious day One day the trumpet Will sound for his coming One day the skies With his glory will shine Wonderful day My being I'll have one breath
[63:40] My Savior Jesus is mine Living he loved me Dying he saved me Buried he carried My sins far away Rising he justified Really forever One day he's coming A glorious day A glorious day A glorious day A glorious day Amen Amen You think we can't top that, huh?
[64:31] Amen Joy to the world The Lord is come Let earth receive the King Let every heart Prepare it through And heaven and nature see And heaven and nature see And heaven and nature see And heaven and nature see No more let sins And sorrows grow Nor thoughts invest the ground He comes to make his blessings low
[65:33] Far as the curse is found Far as the curse is found Far as, far as the curse is found He rules the world With truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of his righteousness And wonders of his love And wonders of his love And wonders of his love And wonders of his love And wonders of his love Please be seated You know, when they started playing that last night The people in the congregation went What?
[66:25] What? That's Christmas, dude But don't you understand The whole thing is all the same thing God stepped down Into the midst of our brokenness Was born into our troubles Not to judge us Not to make us feel bad But to redeem us And transform us That we might be raised in glory With him The curse Is lifted God gives us glory back again We can look forward To redemption So as we turn to God Let's remember We turn to God That we might change Each day Little by little Become more What God wants us to be To bring a little more of heaven Into this world And transform More and more souls to God Shall we pray?
[67:19] Dear God in heaven I have sinned I broke it I did it It's my fault Forgive me, Lord Redeem me And transform me That I might be A person Who brings change Brings love Brings grace Brings redemption Of God To this world And lives for glory Now and forever In Jesus name Amen You know I said this last week And I said you know In a minute You're going to be declared perfect Let's see how long You can make it last I had two people tell me They didn't get out of church So let's see if you can make The front door Okay Before you mess it up I know we live in a broken world
[68:20] But God doesn't want you broken He wants you good In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven In the name of Jesus Christ Your sins are forgiven Glory to God Amen Come to the table of mercy Prepared with the wine And the bread All who are hungry And thirsty Come and your souls Will be fed Come at the Lord's invitation Receive from his name God's hand Eat of the bread of salvation
[69:25] Drink of the blood of the Lamb To the table Everyone is welcome If you love God Repent of your sin And seek to live in peace As a disciple of Jesus Christ You are welcome To come to the table We are one in Christ Doesn't matter what church you're from Or if you're from no church If you want to come and receive All that God has for you this morning If you want to meet with Christ Come to the table The Lord be with you Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the Lord our God Blessed are you Alpha and Omega Whose strong and loving arms encompass the universe For with your eternal word and Holy Spirit
[70:27] You are forever one God Through your word you created all things And called them good And in you we live and move and have our being When we fell into sin You did not desert us You made covenant with your people Israel And spoke through prophets and teachers In Jesus Christ your word became flesh And dwelt among us Full of grace and truth And so with your people on earth And all the company of heaven We praise your name And join their unending hymn Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might Heaven and earth are full of your glory Hosanna in the highest Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest Holy are you And blessed is Jesus Christ Who called you Abba Father
[71:28] You embraced a people as your own And filled them with a longing For a peace that would last And for a justice that would never fail In Jesus' suffering and death You took upon yourself our sin and death And destroyed their power forever You raised the same Jesus from the dead Who now reigns with you in glory And poured upon us your Holy Spirit Making us the people of your new covenant On the night before meeting with death Jesus took bread And he gave thanks to you He broke the bread And gave it to his disciples He said take and eat This is my body Which is given for you Do this in remembrance of me When the supper was over
[72:31] He took the cup And gave you thanks and praise And he gave it to his disciples He said drink from this all of you This is the cup of my blood The blood of the new covenant Poured out for you Poured out for many For the forgiveness of sin Do this as often as you drink it In remembrance of me And so in remembrance of these Your mighty acts in Jesus Christ We offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving As a holy and living sacrifice In union with Christ's offering for us As we proclaim the mystery of faith Christ has died Christ is risen Christ will come again Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here And on these gifts of bread and wine Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ That we may know the presence of the living Christ And be renewed as the body of Christ
[73:32] For the world Redeemed by Christ's blood As the grain and grapes Once dispersed in the field Are now united on this table In bread and wine So may we And all your people Be gathered together From every time and place Into the unity of your eternal household And feast at your table forever Through Christ With Christ In Christ In the unity of the Holy Spirit All honor and glory Is yours almighty God Now and forever Amen Shall we pray together the prayer Jesus taught us Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation
[74:35] But deliver us from evil For thine is the kingdom And the power And the glory forever and ever Amen Will those serving this morning please come forward Amen Amen Amen
[76:25] Ron And he's decided he wants you to come to dinner anyways Come and join him Be with him Celebrate the dinner He'll even look at you He'll still love you He'll redeem you And he'll bless you You're welcome at the table No matter who you are What you've done Where you've been You're welcome at the rail If you'd like prayers for healing and anointing If you'd like to light a candle Come and join us with the Lord Amen Amen
[77:55] Amen Amen Amen
[79:25] Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen If you're able, I'm going to invite you to stand as we're going to sing together, To God Be the Glory.
[80:25] To God Be the Glory.
[80:55] To God Be the Glory. Great things He hath done. So loved He the world that He gave us His Son. Who yielded His light and atoned Him for sin.
[81:10] And opened the life gate that all may go in. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice.
[81:22] Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice. O come to the Father through Jesus the Son.
[81:33] And give Him the glory. Great things He hath done. O perfect redemption! The purchase of blood!
[81:46] To every believer the promise of God. A twelfth of hell is the defender who truly believes.
[81:58] That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice.
[82:10] Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice. O come to the Father through Jesus the Son.
[82:21] And give Him the glory. Great things He hath done. And every once in a while I'll see a parent who's struggling to keep their little child, you know, contained in church.
[82:37] You know, and some people are like, Oh, can you keep that baby quiet? Me, I smile. I think it's the greatest thing. It's like we get a peek into Eden because they don't even get what's going on.
[82:48] You know, they're in here going like, Okay, when are you going to sing? Because this preaching stuff is kind of boring, you know? And they're trying their best. But I love it because for just a little piece of time, we get to see into Eden.
[83:00] We get to see into Eden. I know. I was a young parent. I get it. But what I got to tell you is, we need to be like those little children. And let the world peek into Eden.
[83:11] Not worrying too much that somebody might be uncomfortable with it. Because maybe they need to be uncomfortable so that they can go to glory. May God bless you. May God be with you.
[83:22] May God give you his strength. And may God help you to figure out what an English meat pie is. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[83:32] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[83:45] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.