Don't Make An Excuse For Excuses

DON'T MAKE AN EXCUSE FOR EXCUSES

Gen 2 15-17, “15Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17but 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.”

Gen 3:11-13 “ 11And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

INTRODUCTION...

Excuses

Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, was an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, is the only athlete to have hit a Major League home run and scored an NFL touchdown in the same week. Sanders grew up on the mean streets of Fort Myers, Fla., where exposure to some would-be athletes spurred him to make a success of himself. He explains: "I call them Idas. 'If I'da done this, I'd be making three million today...If I'da practiced a little harder, I'd be a superstar.' They were as fast as me when they were kids, but instead of working for their dreams they chose drugs and a life of street corners. When I was young, I had practice; my friends who didn't went straight to the streets and never left. That moment after school is the moment we need to grab. We don't need any more Idas.

There are even websites on the internet that will help you generate an excuse! It is true... you type in the type of excuse you need and it generates one for you (www.zompist.com/excuse.html).Also, you can by a doctor’s excuse from a licensed physician for $14.99 to give to your employer (http://www.doctorsexcuse.com/) or PE or class or anyone else. I find that totally amazing!

What exactly is an excuse? In a court of law, "an excuse is a defense in which a defendant argues that he or she was not liable for his or her actions at the time a law was broken and thus he or she should not be held liable for a crime. a pretext or subterfuge--- an explanation offered as a reason for being excused

I THINK AN EXCUSE IS A REASON WE GIVE WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS THAT DOES NOT GO OUR WAY. IT IS THE 'WAY' WE DID OR DID'T DO SOMETHING.IT IS OUR REASON FOR NOT DOING SOMETHING WE KNOW WE SHOULD DO.

I. The Bible is full of people making excuses and making excuses is as old as human beings.

A. In Genesis chapter 3. Adam ate the forbidden fruit, then when confronted about it, he came up with an excuse: "The woman you put here with me-- she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it" (verse 12). Then the blame was shifted to Eve. What did Eve have to say? Genesis 3:13 records her excuse: "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

B. It was the serpent’s turn and he didn’t have a leg to stand on.

EXCUSES WHY PEOPLE DON'T ATTEND CHURCH REGULARLY

A. Now that the nice summer weather is here I think we will stay home today and enjoy the

beautiful day.

B. Oh I don’t to get dresses up to go to church, I need a break from dress clothes, I think I will

stay home.

C. The building gets so hot this time of the year.

D. The building is kept so cold.

E. Every time I go to church they are asking for money.

F. The people I sat next to didn’t talk to me and they didn’t seem very friendly.

G. The pews are too hard; they hurt my back and are so uncomfortable.

H. The service times just don’t fit into my schedule.

I. That place is filled with a bunch of hypocrites.

J. That pastor is so long winded that by the time he is done the restaurants have a long wait just

to get a table.

PEOPLE HAVE SO MANY REASON FOR NOT ATTENDING CHURCH.

II..THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN CALF

A. In Exodus 32 The people of God finally arrived from Egypt and settled at the mountain of God

to receive the Ten commandments.

1. Moses was gone a long time and the people became restless. The people wanted Aaron,

Moses’ brother, to make idols that they could worship.

2. hey gave him gold. He made a calf. They were persistent in their request. Moses returned with the Ten Commandments in hand and asked Aaron if he had made the idol.