Origins: Embracing Beauty, Brokenness, and Belonging in God

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It is a pivotal book. It is a book full of starting points, full of origins. We get the starting point for families and for conflict. The word genealogy is kind of a big deal in the book of Genesis, as God is protecting and preserving his family and his line to fulfill his promise. And it shouldn't surprise us that God's story, our story starts with God creating a family, a man and woman. And they walk in the garden in the presence of God. And they're this beautiful family. [00:11:46] (38 seconds)  #FamilyAndPromise

There is an origin of hope and of warning, of hope in that God is going to provide a way, that God is going to protect, that God is going to be patient. There is a lot of hope in the future in Genesis. But there's also a lot of warning that sin is deadly and God's judgment against it is severe. And we will see that as we journey through the book. And so there's our starting point for both hope and warning come in the book of Genesis. [00:13:47] (33 seconds)  #HopeAndWarning

As we read and then teach through it on Sunday mornings, I want you to enjoy the beautiful origin of light invading darkness, of chaos becoming order, and the word creating life. I want your imaginations to run wild as you read chapters 1 and 2. It is so beautiful. God's story starts out so strong and out of nowhere. God needed nothing to create everything because this is a story about him. [00:16:11] (36 seconds)  #LightFromChaos

Things in Genesis 1 and 2 are going to be beautiful. We're going to see this incredible wedding take place. We're going to see a family get established. And just at the height of, it can't get any better than this, it feels like it takes a dive off a cliff. As in Genesis chapter 3 and 4, we get the origin of sin and brokenness. We hit mankind's starting point with sin, brokenness, and our need for rescue and redemption. [00:18:51] (31 seconds)  #FallAndRedemption

Almost on every page in Genesis, after Genesis 3, there's going to be this question that kind of nags at the reader of, is it this guy? Is it Noah? No, it's not Noah. Is it Abraham? No. Isaac? Jacob? Joseph? No. Moses? No. That's into Exodus. We'll have to get there eventually. But the question is always going to be, is this the one? Until we finally get to Jesus. And the answer is found, yes and amen. In him, we find our yes. [00:23:26] (31 seconds)  #WaitingForTheOne

How do we get back to the origin story that I think so many of us long for? We come to Jesus. We learn from Jesus. We rest in Jesus. He says his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. And so as we go through Genesis, we are going to see that Jesus is the one who fulfills God's beautiful plan. He is the one who redeems our sin. He is the one through whom we belong and are invited in to belong. [00:27:37] (28 seconds)  #JesusFulfillsGenesis

Genesis is a book about Jesus. It is going to foster and compel and further our faith and our desire to follow him and so at the onset the question is well what do we do what is our response as we enter into this adventure of studying the origin story of Genesis well this week I want to give you three things but because I'm a preacher it's really five and it might be seven we'll see as I go. [00:28:23] (34 seconds)  #FaithInTheOrigin

So much better is coming and then lastly and probably most challenging but we're a church that can do hard things I want to invite you to obey the Lord by confessing your sin and being with Jesus what we will see very early on in Genesis is that sin takes us into hiding and it isolates us and my very real fear and concern for our modern day culture is we continue to hide why I think Genesis 3 verse 8 is so heartbreaking is because it reads so often like my own story where I hide from the presence of the Lord and so my invitation to you this week is to begin a pattern of confession take time to confess start with the Lord go vertical first go to him and say Lord these things are are in the way of me having a right relationship with you he already knows them anyway be honest with him bring it into the light. [00:34:22] (70 seconds)  #FaithfulDespiteSin

Find someone who knows and loves Jesus. And if they are safe, lay that before them so they can help fuel your obedience. That is not a step to be taken lightly. So again, start asking the Lord, is there someone in my life that I can do this with? But you for sure can go to him. [00:36:36] (24 seconds)

But church, as we start this story, my hope and prayer is that we would marvel at the beauty of God's plan and his faithfulness despite our sin to do a great and incredible work. [00:37:00] (20 seconds)

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