History of Community: Jeremiah 29:4-9

Jeremiah 29:4-9 ESV

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.

Pastor Doug Logan

Background on Being a Community on Mission

There is a false dichotomy between holy living and mission minded. But we are in Christ, and in Him, we are missional as well as holy.

God sends the church into the world. Mission is the purpose and reason for the church. Mission exists because worship doesn't. The mission is hard to see as a movement of believers. We draw people through the unity in our church. We are convinced that we are posturing to convince people to follow God. But that is not missional. The community is not a bunch of lone rangers!

Mission is not going or getting, it is knowing. Unless you know God's sending mission, you don't get it. Understand the task, then you can get there. Not only is the church sent. But the holy spirit is sent as well.

The sending God sends the church
John 20, Hebrews 1, Acts 1

Mission is not about ideas or theology. It is about God who loves us saving our slimey stinking souls.

Genesis: A flood of evil, a flood of judgement, a flood of grace

Genesis 6 & 7

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Noah's ark is a story told to children. There are even toys. But it isn't really a cute story. There's depravity, death, and judgement. Noah's ark probably floated in a sea filled with bodies of men and animals. Our reaction should be awe rather than aww.

What God Sees

In creation, God saw and He saw good. Now He only sees evil. In mankind leaving God behind and turning our backs on Him, we have devolved to become less than human. Some evolutionists would say we are improving over time. Yet the bible describes the cancerous disease called sin.

Total depravity is a doctrine telling us that the total extent of us are corrupted. Not the amount but the reach. We are like a cup of water. Just a drop of poison pollutes the entire cup. Every aspect of ourselves is corrupt. Every inclination of our hearts are sinful. Everything is mixed motives, even christians. The heart of sin is turning from God and calling our own shots. It is the same heart in Adam and Eve.

What God Feels

God feels our sin. He is regretful and grieved. He feels it personally. We may feel God is distant and emotionally detached, but He is not. He decided to be connected to His creation. Our sin personally pains Him. The grief in genesis 6:6 is the most horrific emotion used in scripture. It is felt by the brothers of Dina, who was raped. The death of David's son, Absalom. The feelings of a deserted wife. Sin makes God feel like a rape, the death of a son, and the deserted wife. That is the pain God feels with each sin we do. God is patient and He endures. But at some point, God's patience runs out.

What God Does

God is love, but He is also just. God is patient, but He will also judge. God's judgement is not harsh, but just. Sin is turning from God, essentially treating God as if He was dead. Deicide, killing God. While we can't literally kill God. We live as if He was dead. So in taking a life, we are sentenced to death. Hell is simply God choosing to take Himself away from people who do not want Him. In doing so, God takes away life, love, joy, and all good things that He is the source of... The absence of God is what makes Hell hellish. The ruin of the world was already done, so God let them have their way. Utter destruction.

Noah found grace. This is the first mention of grace in the bible. Noah is far from perfect. (He gets drunk and wasted later...) God gives Noah his favor. Not only did Noah and his family go into the ark, but sin also went into the ark. So why the flood? God was pointing towards a future judgement and a future grace. Jesus, the seed of Noah, will save more than one family. The coming judgement will make sure that evil will be completely purged. Only Jesus will save us and stop these cycles of evil and judgement. He will usher in the new Eden.

Application

Believe

Pray for those who have yet to believe

Recognize the personal nature of sin

Genesis: Life East of Eden - Where Sin Abounds, But Grace Prevails

Genesis 4

Rev. Charles Han

These chapters show the spread and ramping up of sin. The area to the east of eden show how sin plays out.

The character of Cain's sin

Cain's offering is rejected, Abel's accepted. Cain brings a offering of produce. Abel brings the first-fruit of his animals. This can be interpreted to say that Cain brought a second rate offering. So Cain is rebuked for his cheap sacrifice. Hebrews 11:4 speaks of Abel's faith. Cain's sacrifice was to get God's blessing. Abel was seeking God. Cain was characterized by a faithless, loveless, & cheap sacrifice. Abel was giving a faithful, loving, and costly sacrifice.

Faithless and loveless towards God

When God rebukes Cain, he gets angry. Cain could have turned towards God and repented. Instead he gets angry and depressed. He doesn't get the reward he wanted. So the brokenness between God and Cain turns into brokenness between Cain and Abel. Envy is worse than covetousness. Covet makes a person steal. Envy makes us wish to destroy the thing someone has. In both cases, the person has empty hands, but in the case of envy...the desire is to empty the hands of the other person.

Envious and murderous towards Abel

The murder, the envy, the hatred is all forgivable. So why is the punishment so harsh? Cain has no concern for his brother. He excuses himself from that. He has more concern over the punishment than what he has fine. So God punishes hoping Cain will repent. Cain follows in the footsteps of his parents, Adam and Eve.

Stubbornly unrepentant

Consequences of sin

Sin is trying to destroy us. There is no middle ground with sin.

Sin devours.

Our relationships with others is distanced. Our walk with god is distant. We are never quite at home.

Sin alienates.

Sin gets worse. Adam and Eve sin. By the second generation, Cain murders his brother over a sacrifice. By the seventh generation, we see Lamech. Seven represents completion. Lamech can be seen as the finished endpoint of sin. Cain asked God for protection. Lamech has no such desire. He also introduces polygamy into the world. He breaks the institution of marriage. He is vengeful. He kills people for injuring him. He is without remorse. The disease of sin had run the full course. It ends with unloving and blind hearts, rock hard towards God.

Sin progresses.

Cure for sin

We bring second-rate sacrifices to God. So God brings the first-fruit sacrifice in our stead: Jesus.
Hebrews 12:22-24 Abel's blood cries out for justice, condemnation, and a curse. Jesus' blood cries out for mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

If the grace of God in Jesus dwells in your heart, you will bring first-rate sacrifices to God. You will walk closely with God.

Genesis: Free... Free fallin'

Genesis 2:1-24 ESV

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
These are the generations

of the heavens and the earth when they were created,

in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The nature of temptation and sin

The serpent is crafty and has evil intent. Revelation 20:2 alludes to the serpent as Satan. Yet he was created and became evil by choice. And more importantly, he is not God's equal.

How does temptation work?
   Questioning God's word
   Questioning God's character
   Doubt the reality of consequences and judgement
   Twisting of God's word
   Prioritizing pragmatic values over God's word
   Delighting in Aesthetic Appearance and Sensual Desires over God's word
(Matthew 4:1-11 is another example)

The consequences of sin

Sin turns everything upside down. The serpent, representing creation, tells the woman what to do. The woman leads her husband into sin. Man is absent from guarding and leading his wife. The original hierarchy of creation is flipped.

Layers of brokenness
   Man's relationship with God
   Man's relationship with himself
   Man's relationship with others
   Man's relationship with nature

The nature of God

A pursuer of sinners: seeker of the astray
A promise keeper: He promises redemption in His curse on the woman
A prodigal God: covering sin, guilt, and shame with a sacrifice (wastefully extravagant)

Genesis: Made for relationship

Genesis 2:18-25 ESV

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Made for relationships

Consider creation up to this point. Everything is good. But then God says that Adam's alone-ness was NOT good. Adam goes through all the animals... Not one was suitable. So we can say this verse was to show the first feeling of loneliness. Not good. There is an innate need for relationship within us. This is from our creation in the image of God. God is himself a community, relating between the Trinity. Man is meant to live as a community with relationships. It is part of what makes us human. We want to be vulnerable, accepted, and loved faithfully. Not only in marriage, but also our friendships.

Mangling of relationships

We hurt others. Rejection, self-centered, not sharing and hiding ourselves, etc. That is what we do and what is done to us.

We are meant to be in relationship with God first.  When our relationship with God is broken, our relationships with others break down. As we will see next week, Adam and Eve reject God going into shame and divisiveness. One generation later, the culmination of broken relationship in the murder of Abel by Cain.

Mending relationships

Jesus died to repair relationships. Both our relationship with God and with others. He empowers us in our friendships and in our marriages. God is always with us. So in all these things God is with us. That is our Jesus. We move towards others as Jesus moved heaven and earth to be with us. So those of us who have seen and understand, can move towards others. We can be vulnerable because all our sins and weaknesses are covered by the blood and righteousness of Christ. We no longer have to care about what others think of us. We can be accepting. Considering that we are all sinners before God, we can accept others. Their struggles, their sins. We can forgive and be with them. Through all things.

Even when others are not loving in this way, we are still called to love this way. Persist in living this way, and we may have a softening effect on others. The other person may mature and emulate our way of loving others.

Maturing and modeling effect of relationship

We were created for relationship. When we entered into relationship with God, we have also entered into relationship with all others joined with Christ. All other christians! This is not voluntary.

It is through deep relational investment that you mature and grow. (Hebrews 3:12-13) Sin deceives. This deception hardens us. We have sins not yet uncovered. These deep relationships uncover our blind spots.

"intentional intrusive, Christ-centered, grace-driven, and redemptive relationship" - Paul Tripp

We are to mirror Christ, each in a different way with different spiritual gifts. Not a single person on mission, but teams of people working to reflect the glory of God. This will attract non-christians. A group that loves radically, shares intimately, accepts fully is different from the world.

John 13:35

Genesis: The Beginning of Everything

Genesis 1:1-2:3 ESV

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens." So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 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."
So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Why are we covering genesis?

Scripture is one large overarching story spanning all the books of the bible. Genesis gives some principles that are foundational.

Components of a Worldview

A Theory of Origins
An Explanation of the source of evil and suffering
Instill Hope by offering a vision of how to fix what is wrong

what is the christian worldview?
Creation, the fall, and the gospel.

We are told that there are people who are reasonable and then there are those who have "faith" blindly ignoring reason and science. This is not true. We don't need to blindly believe.

This passage had been debated long before evolution became a theory. Before Darwin, christians debated how to interpret these beginning passages. There are multiple ways to understand them.

One that appeals to me is this interpretation. This passage of genesis can be viewed through the lens of the author's intent and the genre of this writing. This writing has the marks of poetry: Repetition of ideas and parallelism. So genesis 1 is not a historical account, it is poetic verse. Genesis 2 is more like a historical account. To say that genesis should be a historic account is like trying to say that a picasso should accurately describe anatomy. It was never intended to do so. So it is here.

Application

Creation is good, but God is ultimate.

Matter is good. So are spiritual things. This world is meant to be enjoyed. Food is good. Nature is good. Sex is good. But there is more than just materialism. There is more than just created things. There is still God.

Creation is ordered and purposeful.

God created things in an orderly way. God is not simply an inspector, he enjoys it. God rested from his work to enjoy his creation. God delights in man and all of creation.

The word is the agent that God uses to create and redeem.

God's word has creative power. It redeems and brings things into order. Just like creation. It brings order and fullness of life. The word is not only in the pages of the bible, it came in the person of Jesus. The word became flesh and died to redeem us.

The reason for god - keller
Total truth - nancy percy

Your labor is not in vain

1 Corinthians 15:14-32, 56-58 ESV

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Rev. Dan Whang

Paul is presenting the evidence for the essential resurrection of Christ. This is central to those who believe  in the hope that is found in Jesus. All our prayers, ministry, and lives would be in vain. The resurrection is real and it powers our entire lives.

Application

We can live our lives recklessly.

In christ, we have final victory. No matter what happens, when jesus returns God will restore all things.

Paul lived his life in danger and trials. He placed all his hope in the final resurrection. He accepted a hard and painful ministry because he was convinced of Jesus' resurrection.

The safe and calculated life is contrary to the resurrection.

For those who are promised eternal reward, holding tightly to things of the world looks nonsensical.

Be immovable.

Do not be discouraged by setbacks.
Do not stop striving in ministry.