Genesis- People Relating To God Part 9- Wrap Up Series

Genesis – People relating to God

Part 9- Final

Wrap up

Recap

One of my favorite movies is actually 2 movies

Monte Walsh

The original started Lee Marvin

The newest one Tom Selleck

I would hate to choose between them

Both tell the same story

Both have the same characters

Both Lee Marvin

And Tom Selleck

Are convincing as the Character Monte Walsh

There are many lines from this movie that I use often

Many situations in my life mirror the story of this man and his friends

But today

I want to focus on the scene where

Monte

Rides down the bay

If you have seen the movie

You know Monte is a well know as a Bronc Stomper- he is good at breaking horses

But he has aged a bit

Slowed down a little

And it seems early in the movie that he has finally meet his match when it comes to breaking horses

A big

Rank bay horse

That seems to be unbreakable

But

Late in the movie

Monte

Struggling with his identify

Struggling with a changing world

Mourning the death of his friend Chet

Lamenting the fading away of a life style

A whole culture

Gets a chance to prove he still has what it takes

He meets back up with the bay in a little town

And the ride is historic

This old bronc does everything

And I mean everything to throw Monte

Without success

He falls on him

Bucks through a wooden fence

Through a house under construction

Though the general store- scattering the dry goods

Out the huge plate glass window

Finally the horse submits

He surrenders to Monte

And

Monte

Calmly, coolly steps off

Steps to the head of the horse

Strokes his muzzle

With the love only a true cowboy can feel for a horse and says to parphase as not to cuss in church

Heck of a ride son

Heck of a ride

I can tell you Kind of like Monte

I had no idea when I bit off our study in Genesis

Where it was going to go

I struggled each week to teach in our bible studies life lessons

Lessons we could use in our personal lives

Patti and I tried to study and prepare and teach you and ourselves in the progress

How to use the lesson and examples from the first book of the bible

In our own lives

We have strived to look at

I mean really look at with a discerning honest eye

An eye grounded in scripture

The lives of these great people of the bible

And prayerfully

We can see ourselves in both their strengths and weaknesses

Their situations and circumstances

Then I continued the ride with

Preaching from the same passages or stories

From a slightly different of completely different perspective

I can tell you it has been quite a ride

I know this study has caused Patti and I to study and prepare together

And it is my prayer that by

Getting the church

The whole church headed in the same direction

We

I mean

You and I

And those to come will continue to grow spiritually

We will do as God’s word says

In 2 Timothy 2:15

“ Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”

Other versions of God’s word say

Study to show ourselves approved

That is what this is all about

Studying to learn

And

Learning so we can teach

Learning so we can

Grow ourselves

But

Learning so we can show the world the Love of Jesus

The book of Genesis starts off with the words

“In the beginning”

It is not accident that the book of John which we will begin studying next week

Starts with almost exactly the same words

In the beginning

It has been my goal with guidance from God

Hours of prayer

Reading

Study

And meditation

To Show you the relevance of the Old Testament in our lives today

It has been my desire to show you Jesus in the bible and in our lives

From the beginning of time

I have prayerfully showed you that

The bible is not some Old

Out dated

Writings by a bunch of dead people

But

It is the living

Life changing word of God

Just as real

Just a present

And just a relevant in our lives today

As it was to those who wrote it so many years ago

Just a real as it was to the first readers

And

Just as real as it will be to how ever many generations follow us

While we wait patiently On Jesus’ return as scripture describes

It is our duty as followers of Christ