Sermon Central
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Genesis
Contributed by Glenn Durham on Apr 10, 2010 (message contributor)
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1. The Beginning Of… Genesis
Contributed on Apr 10, 2010
God lays the foundation for all of life and godliness in Genesis.
Scripture Introduction Last week Rebekah and I bought a ball of twine for our pole beans. It came wrapped in plastic with a hole through the middle so that the string was dispensed from the inside. As I wrapped the bean-poles, the packaging held the shape of the outer shell of string, even as ...read more
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2. The Beginning Of… God
Contributed on Apr 10, 2010
God alone is self-existent; we depend on him for life and being.
Scripture Introduction Thomas Boston pastored from 1699–1731. A biographer wrote of his ministry: “If Scotland had been searched during the early part of the eighteenth century there was not a minister of Christ within its bounds who, both in personal character and in the discharge of ...read more
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3. The Beginning Of…the Universe
Contributed on Apr 13, 2010
God lays the foundation for all of life and godliness in Genesis.
Scripture Introduction John Haldane pioneered work in genetics, and in 1952 received the Darwin Medal from the Royal Society. Other awards he received included the Huxley Memorial Medal of the Royal Anthropological Institute and the 1960 Kimber Award from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. ...read more
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4. The Beginning Of… Creation
Contributed on Apr 14, 2010
God centers his creativity on the earth, forming a “nursery” for his children and revealing himself as gloriously worthy of worship.
Scripture Introduction Scott Adams, on several occasions, used his comic strip to mock the silliness of evolution. In one, Dilbert says to Bob the dinosaur, “Hi Bob. I haven’t seen you lately.” Bob replies, “I was doing some evolving. I noticed I have a zit that’s sensitive to sunlight. I’m ...read more
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5. The Beginning Of…the Earth
Contributed on Apr 14, 2010
God centers his creativity on the earth, forming a “nursery” for his children and revealing himself as gloriously worthy of worship.
Scripture Introduction Sir Arthur Conan Doyle understood well creation’s testimony to the goodness of God. In his memoirs, Sherlock Holmes makes a rather remarkable speech to Watson: “What a lovely thing a rose is…! Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to ...read more
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6. The Beginning Of… Mankind
Contributed on Apr 14, 2010
God humbles and gives great hope to mankind, created in his image.
Scripture Introduction “There are one hundred and ninety-three living species of monkeys and apes. One hundred and ninety-two of them are covered with hair. The exception is the naked ape…homo sapiens.” So wrote Zoologist Desmond Morris in his effort to analyze human behavior through the ...read more
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7. The Beginning Of…a Calling
Contributed on Apr 14, 2010
God enables his people to impact the world through the changes his grace works into us.
Scripture Introduction The word “dominion” connotes bad feelings for many. We are sensitive to the dominion of the tyrant oppressing for self-centered gain, or the husband cowering wife and children for his own pleasure, or the dominion of a religious fanatic who enjoys feeling god-like, or ...read more
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8. The Beginning Of… Work
Contributed on Apr 15, 2010
God lays the foundation for all of life and godliness in Genesis.
Scripture Introduction In honor of the “Green Eggs and Ham” which Rebekah made last week, I found the story, Dr. Seuss Goes to Work: I love my Job, I love the Pay! I love it more and more each day. I love my Boss; she’s the best! I love her boss and all the rest. I love my Office and its ...read more
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9. The Beginning Of… Rest
Contributed on Apr 15, 2010
God empowers our work by enabling our rest.
Scripture Introduction For those listening to a recording, it might help to know that our service this morning focused on the fourth commandment. Much debate about this law centers on the definition of the “work” in Exodus 20.10: “the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you ...read more
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10. The Beginning Of… Boys And Girls
Contributed on Apr 15, 2010
God requires that we value and appreciate his goodness in making us female and male.
Scripture Introduction Matthew Henry wrote of the first woman: “She was not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” That reminds me of ...read more
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11. The Beginning Of… Marriage
Contributed on Apr 15, 2010
God gives marriage to show the greatness of his love and to work out the glory of his grace.
Scripture Introduction If I ask you what is most like half the moon, is it half an orange? half a basketball? a round of cheese? The answer is the other half of the moon! So if we ask what is most like a man, the answer is a woman. And what is most like a woman? a man. Men and women are ...read more
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12. The Beginning Of… Economics
Contributed on Apr 16, 2010
God imputes value; faith agrees with his assessment.
Scripture Introduction How much is a person worth? I read that the average human body is: 65% oxygen, 18% carbon, 10% hydrogen, 3% nitrogen, 1.5% calcium, and smaller amounts of things like phosphorous, potassium, sulfur, iron, zinc, and copper. These elements can be bought for about four ...read more
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13. The Beginning Of… Temptation
Contributed on Apr 16, 2010
God’s ways, words, and wisdom, are questioned in tempting us to sin.
Scripture Introduction So, three men walk into a museum, one British, one French, one Russian. They stand together admiring a painting of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Brit says, “Look at their reserve, their calm. They must be British.” “Nonsense,” the ...read more
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14. The Beginning Of… Sin
Contributed on Apr 17, 2010
God requires faith in his Son as the solution to the doubt with which our sin began.
Scripture Introduction The last time I preached, we learned four steps in resisting temptation by studying Satan’s attack on Eve: 1) believe that sin brings misery; 2) respect the power of the evil one; 3) recognize Satan’s devices; and 4) honor God’s truth. Unfortunately, as ...read more
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15. The Beginning Of… Fear
Contributed on Apr 17, 2010
God heals fear through faith in his promises.
Scripture Introduction Bill Watterson, the creator of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, describes well the feelings of guilt and fear which overtake Calvin after he breaks his dad’s very expensive binoculars. His dad does not yet know about the incident, but Calvin’s anxiety causes him to ...read more
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16. The Beginning Of… Promise
Contributed on Apr 19, 2010
God meets our every need through the promised Messiah.
Scripture Introduction When we were in Jackson, MS, our pastor told us about his interactions with a young follower of Satan. After speaking with him several times, Pastor Mike asked him directly, “Is it because you hate Jesus Christ and love the devil that you worship him the way you ...read more
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17. The Beginning Of… Pain
Contributed on Apr 20, 2010
God curses the universe for our rebellion, but in discipline there is hope.
Scripture Introduction In certain segments of Jewish culture, there is a way of pretending to say something nice, then adding a twist that turns it into a curse. Alan King lists a number of these in his Great Jewish Joke Book: • May you inherit a hotel and die in every room. ...read more
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18. The Beginning Of… The Way Of Cain
Contributed on Apr 21, 2010
Unbelief is the root of our sins and the great threat to our souls.
Scripture Introduction Edward Everett Hale first published his novel, The Man Without a Country in 1863. He created an American army lieutenant, Philip Nolan, who developed a friendship with Aaron Burr, and is then tried as an accomplice when Burr is accused of treason. During his testimony, ...read more
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19. The Beginning Of… Unbelief
Contributed on Apr 21, 2010
Unbelief is the root of our sins and the great threat to our souls.
Scripture Introduction Earlier this week I told my sister about my surprise that John Piper had invited Doug Wilson to speak at the Desiring God Conference. Nancy told me that others must have felt the same because Piper defended his decision on his web site. So I watched the video. Dr. ...read more
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20. The Beginning Of… A Godly Line
Contributed on Apr 21, 2010
God graciously preserves a godly line in the midst of ungodly cultures.
Scripture Introduction The most basic definition of the word, “theology,” is the study of God. I have many theology books, wise and thoughtful writings explaining who God is and what he requires of us. In none of those will you find a genealogy. Yes, some comment on the ...read more
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21. The Beginning Of… Judgment
Contributed on Apr 21, 2010
God’s judgment by flood calls all to humble repentance and humble dependence.
Scripture Introduction Many web sites explain, “All I Really Need to Know, I Learned from Noah’s Ark.” They contain wisdom like: Plan ahead – it was not raining when Noah started. 1. Stay fit – when you are 600 years old someone might ask you to do ...read more
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22. The Beginning Of… Deliverance
Contributed on Apr 22, 2010
God delivers his people by a mighty hand and outstretched arm.
Scripture Introduction Near the end of his life, Moses exhorts the congregation to faithfulness by reminding them of God’s great work of salvation in their lives. Deuteronomy 4.34: “Has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by ...read more
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23. The Beginning Of… Covenant Promises
Contributed on Apr 22, 2010
God’s promises deliver his people from despair and empower faithful living.
Scripture Introduction Lest we suspect that God is like Santa, winking at sin and hoping we will be more nice than naughty, the Bible records the catastrophic and world-wide flood in the days of Noah – God’s judgment on the rampant violence and wickedness which characterized ...read more
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24. The Beginning Of… Human Government
Contributed on Apr 23, 2010
God gives government to preserve the life we cherish.
Scripture Introduction How are we to interact with government? One extreme seems to vilify everything from Washington, hoping to have little or nothing to do with the state, and fantasizing about a world in which they have even less to do with us. The other side seems to deify the state, ...read more
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25. The Beginning Of… Sin (Again)
Contributed on Apr 23, 2010
God’s grace overwhelms the “second chance.”
Scripture Introduction To give someone a leg up means to help them climb higher by standing on your knee or in your cupped hands, like a human step stool. A billboard in St. Louis advertised a local church by proclaiming: “Jesus gives a leg up!” That is both helpful and ...read more
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26. The Beginning Of… Confusion
Contributed on Apr 23, 2010
God confuses the world to protect his people, while the gospel of Jesus makes all things new.
Scripture Introduction In my pastry class, a student noted that everyone liked sweets. The Chef-Instructor misheard what was said and began answering the question: “Why does everyone like sweets?” She said that when we were cavemen, we saw people eating bitter things more often ...read more
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27. The Beginning Of… Israel
Contributed on Apr 24, 2010
God starts something big with very small people.
Scripture Introduction In the first eleven chapters of Genesis, Moses introduces key themes and doctrines forming the parameters of life. This prologue actually ends with chapter eleven, but like any good writer, the end of the preface is a “page-turner,” not suited to ending a ...read more