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22 Nov 2020

The Blessing In the Curse [Genesis 3:16-24]

Overview

Traffic fines. Demerit points. Jail sentences. They are all designed to discourage crime and cause change. God too, heaped painful consequences on man, to send a message after man sinned. So, the curses in the Garden of Eden were not just punitive, but actually restorative. They are set in the context of the 1st gospel of the Bible. God's intention is for man to see the horror of sin and be desperate for the salvation in God's promised saviour. Enter Jesus! Watch how he suffered the pains and sorrows of sin. Watch how he became a curse for us. And repent and believe in Him today that you may be saved! Listen to this sermon to find out more.


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A very good morning to all of you and welcome to Gospel Light Christian Church and our online service this Sunday morning. Glad you can join us as we continue our journey through the book of Genesis. We are looking at Genesis, chapter 3, verses 16 to 24 this morning. So if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to that portion of Scripture.

When I was growing up, I was a really really fat boy. My father loves to eat. He loves food and food is his love language. He doesn't talk a lot, but he shows his love by buying all kinds of delicious, but fatty food for us as a family. It doesn't help that my nanny who took care of myself, my sister was also someone who loves to cook. Her love language was also cooking food for us to eat.

I remember having three square meals, good meals every day. But at about 3, 4pm she would also come to us and ask us what else what would we like to eat. And I could still remember very fondly her durian glutinous rice porridge - her own concoction, her own version of ‘or luah’, which is fried oyster, without the oyster.

And I mean, I was feeding on all kinds of rich, great fatty food since young. And … and so I was a fat boy. Now I'm not putting any blame on them, I also happened to love to eat. And so it is not a surprise that I was a round, obese boy.

So when I got to secondary school, I had the privilege of joining a very exclusive club, with exclusive membership. This is only for a very special group of people and the club even has a very nice name to it. It's called the TAF Club. I'm sorry, it's not the Tough - Tough Club, but it's the TAF Club which is a name, which is an acronym that stands for ‘Trim And Fit Club’.

So it's an ironical name because all the members of the TAF club are not trim and fit. We are the very opposite. So people often laugh at us who are in this exclusive membership, that we are in the fat club, is the opposite club. And really indeed, I'm surrounded by people who are like myself, all fat and round and obese and so on.

Now, when I was in that secondary school, the overall in-charge of the TAF club was a strict disciplinarian. He is the discipline master of a school. Anyone who is late will get hauled up to his office and we’ll get our punishment. Anyone who has discipline issues will be punished, and he is the in-charge of the TAF club.

He is also a very well-respected man because he leads our gymnastics and athletics CCA, which has been perennial champions in the secondary school scene for years. So he is someone you don't want to mess around with. So we are under his charge, every week I remember, we will report to him two or three times a week. And we will be forced to do exercises so that we can lose some weight.

And sometimes when he is too lazy, I suppose to conduct those exercises, he will send the members of the TAF club to go catch roaches, cockroaches to feed his fish. But the whole philosophy I think of the TAF club is to stigmatize you, is to shame you. It's for you to realize how painful it is to be fat because now you're forced to be in the TAF club. And it is all I think with the intention to cause us to repent and to lose weight.

Now, I must say it has somehow worked in my life. Since the TAF club, since army days, I … I began to lose weight and so that is something of a history for me. I hope it stays as a history for me. But that's so common as a motivation, isn't it?

In Singapore, we have strict fines, strict laws with fines and … and punishment for those who violate the laws. That's why we call this a ‘fine’ City. There are demerit points for those who do not drive well. There are jail sentences who commit crime. And not just the government, but even at home, we understand this.

When our kids break the rules or when our kids disobey or are rowdy and naughty, what do we do with them? We discipline them. We want them to see and suffer the consequences, not because we hate them, but so that they may learn and repent and not continue in their sinful ways.

And so when Adam and Eve sinned against God, they suffered the guilt and shame and fear, we looked at that last week. But God added more consequences into their lives so that they may see the horror, the hideousness, the … the terrible nature of sin. So that they may learn, so that they may be reminded, so that not only they will be reminded, but their children and the children's children, and all generations will be reminded about how horrible sinning against God really is.

So we are reading today, Genesis 3, about the curses that God has pronounced on humanity and upon this world. But I want you to understand that this is in the context, not so much that God wants to eliminate man, but that God still loves man, and still wants to save man. So even in those curses, I want us to notice that there are blessings. This is a sermon title, that I hope you'll remember – ‘The Blessings Even In The Curse’, because that's really what it is all about.

So let's begin by looking at what God cursed humanity and this world with regarding sin. The first thing we read of in verse 16, is that of tremendous travail and pain for the woman when she delivers. I used to be a medical student and in order for us to graduate, all of us will have to at least participate or witness or help out in five deliveries.

It used to be very easy in time past - too many women delivering, too few doctors. But today, a lot more doctors, a lot more private patients, it is not easy to find women delivering that you can help in. It's all in private hospitals and medical students can't get there.

So oftentimes, we will have to camp out in the hospital, we stay there for the whole day, whole night, just waiting for one or two ladies to deliver, and we rush there to kind of help out. And it will not be very difficult for you to spot one actually, because when a woman delivers, sometimes she screams and she yells with all her breath, because it is so, so painful.

I mean, when I see a woman deliver, the pain is so great, that when a doctor actually uses a scissors, a pair of scissors to enlarge her birth canal, she doesn't even feel it. I mean, that is to me so amazing! The pain of the contractions is so great that even when the doctor cuts to enlarge a birth canal, it's no big deal anymore because the pain of the contraction overwhelms everything else.

You know, it's in those days, those times that I am so thankful I'm a man, not a woman having to deliver. But that is part of the curse. God says, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.” [Gen 3:16] So this pain, extreme pain in childbearing is a result of God's curse upon man. It's a direct result from God, upon man because of his sin.

Now not only is she going to experience pain in childbearing, she's going to experience pain and struggle in her marriage. We see that the woman would have a desire actually to dominate the man. And it is absolutely frustrating for her because she is actually not allowed to do so, yet that is what she wants to do.

We read that again in Genesis, chapter 3 and verse 16, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” So your desire shall be contrary to your husband. You will want to rule over him. You will want to be opposing him. You will want to rule over him because we see about 15 verses later, the same phrase, repeated in Genesis 4:7, “Sin is crouching at the door, like an animal waiting to pounce.” Sin is like an animal, animal wanting to get the better of you. And it is described by, “Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

So you see this battle, you see this desire to … to kind of dominate. And because it's spoken of in such proximity, these two verses, that's the way we should interpret Genesis 3:16 - that the woman wants to dominate over the husband. However, God's plan, God's will is that he should be the head and you should be the helper or the woman should be the helper and he shall rule over you.

And so there is the battle of the sexes in the family. The husband is to be the head, but the wife is not going to quietly follow. She wants to rule over. She wants to dominate. And actually that's part of the curse, you see.

So for the woman, she goes through these pains in her life. Two very significant events. Two very significant parts of her life. As a wife, as a mother, when she gives birth, and when she relates with her husband. And when she goes through these difficulties, let it be reminded, these are the curse or the curses that God has pronounced on the woman.

The man, however, is not spared. The man's curse is in the domain of his work. For a farmer, it might be someone working in the fields and that is the direct curse that God has given in Genesis 3. But we extrapolate it to understand that work today can be very frustrating. Work can be very futile. Work can be very painful. And that's all because in Genesis 3:17-19, we are told that because Adam sinned against God, God then pronounces a curse.

He curses the ground because of man, and in pain again, for the woman there is pain for the man there is pain. “In pain, you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your face, you should eat bread.” So, there is toil now in work.

Prior to this when God gave Adam work, it was joyous work, it was fruitful work, it was enjoyable. But now there is toil, there is difficulty, there is great frustration. So men, if you find work tough, that's part of the curse. If you're frustrated at work, that's part of the curse. Yes, they … they are direct causes, like a difficult colleague, difficult boss, difficult economy, broken things in the world. Sure! But ultimately, behind it all is God's curse upon the work of man because of sin.

So now we see that man, woman suffer consequences, but the world we live in also suffer consequences. We see that God said that, “The ground is cursed because of you.” [Gen 3:17] And later on in the New Testament, we read that actually the effect is even more than just a thorn and a thistle.

We read in Romans, chapter 8:20-22, that, “This creation, this world, this sin created world, is subjected to futility. It is in the bondage to corruption. And this world is groaning together in the pain.” So it's a description of how this world is actually breaking down. And a lot of what we see today, were not part of the original creation, but they came in after the fall.

You say, “What are some of these examples?” I will say, “Flooding, for example, that will be a result of the fall. I don't think there is flooding before the fall. But after the fall of man, this world breaks down. You have atmospheric, catastrophic changes in the environment and you experience flooding. Or the converse can be true, you have droughts in many parts of the world. Or there may be typhoons, and there may be volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes, and tsunamis and forest fires.” And all these are the reminders of God's curse upon this world. This world is breaking down if you don't already realize.

So we have that great pain in delivery, we have the battle of the sexes, we have frustration at work, we have this creation breaking down. But not only that, death comes in. So God said to Adam, “By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, we saw that till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken, for you are dust and to dust you shall return.” [Gen 3:19]

So now God says, “You will die. Your physical body will break down and you will return to dust. It's interesting, I understand that the body is about 70, 80% water, and the rest are made of elements. I'm … I'm told that they actually if you break it all down, form a pack of dust that are worth no more than $10. That's how cheap we can be!

But God says, “You will die. Adam because of sin, you're under the curse and you will die.” And that's why people die. And nobody cheats death. Nobody escapes death. In Chinese, we say,”生老病死” [shēng-lǎo-bìng-sǐ]. That's part of life! You're born into this world, you age, you get sick, and you die. And that's part of the curse.

And so when we see people today, afflicted with all kinds of diseases, we are reminded about the curse. You have COVID-19 today because of the curse. People wear masks today because of the curse. Now I'm not saying that, “It is a direct result of Adam's sin to COVID-19. But it is ultimately because of Adam's sin that then there are possibilities for all kinds of diseases that come into the world.”

And that's why you have knee pain, cataracts, constipation, white or white hair, yup, acne, tooth decay. Why do these things happen? They were never going to happen if Adam and Eve did not sin against God. Sin came in. Death came in. Disease came in. Decay came in. And cancer came in. And that's why it all happened.

So the ravages of sin are only too obvious for us to notice, right? Deep within our soul, there's guilt and shame and fear. And then God adds to that, the frustration and pain in childbirth and family and work. In the world we live in today, we have diseases, we have death. And ultimately, “God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden.” [Gen 3:24] There is an alienation of God from man.

A little boy was drawing and his mom came and saw him draw a car, a man within a car driving and two passengers behind him. So she asked, “Who is this and what is this about?” And the little boy said, “I'm drawing the Bible.” She said, “What? What are you drawing? Well, how is this the Bible?” “Oh, the Bible says, “God drove man Adam and Eve out of the garden. I thought that is what he did!”’

Okay, God did not drive a car but God evicted and chased man out of the garden. A symbol, a message, a statement that says, “Man will no more have the same communion with God because of his sins.” So all that is part of the curse.

But even as we look at the details of this curse, I want you to notice. Do you realize God could have just wiped men out but didn't? He could have just killed man, Adam and Eve there and then, but He didn't. He allowed them to live on. And the reason is because He has not given up on man. He is still going to use man for His glory. He is still going to love man and show his love toward man.

But even though He's not going to kill man, He wants man to be reminded about the ravages of sin, about the terrible nature of sin, about the consequences of sin. And that's why God gave the curse. So the curse is a kind of reminder, gracious, if I may say, “Gracious reminder to Adam and Eve and to all posterity, that it is a terrible thing to sin against God.”

God is still gonna love you. God still has a plan for man, but you need to learn the lesson about sin. Now I say that, “Because number one, God did not wipe man out. And number two, verses 16 to 24 actually follow from verse 15.” Remember last week, we said that, “This is a Proto Evangelion, which is the first message of the Good News.”

This is the first time God tells humanity, “I know you blew it. I know you sinned against me, but I'm not going to give up on you. I am going to send the Christ. I'm going to send a seed of the woman, a Savior who will crush the serpent's head, who will defeat the devil, who will reverse the effects of sin. I'm promising that to you. But in case you get complacent about it, you also need to suffer the consequences of sin, so that you're reminded about sin.”

So in sin, in judgment, God has not forgotten mercy. And in His mercy, he doesn't want us to forget His judgment. So that's why I say to you, “That even the curse, even though the curses are severe, they're bad, they’re terrible, yet they're actually very merciful. They are signals. They are reminders. They are messages from God saying, “Hey, Don't forget you have sinned against me! Hey, don't forget things are not right! Repent, come back to me. Turn back to me through My Son, Jesus Christ.”’

So next time [sic: your child] you gives birth, don't just think about the child, think about your sin and think about how God is wanting you to repent. Next time, when you have a quarrel with your husband, be reminded about sin, and about how God wants you to return. Next time, you have a hard time at the field or when you're working, be reminded today that you have sinned. We are sinful and yet God wants you to return to Him.

Next time, you go through this world and you see the breakdown of society or breakdown of the environments around us, be it flooding or droughts, when you watch the news about typhoons and when you hear about volcanic eruptions, or when you see earthquakes and hear about earthquakes and hear the news about tsunamis and forest fires, don't forget, God is crying out to you, “You have sinned.” We are a sinful people and you need to turn back to God.

And how about death? Whenever you see or hear or know about death, please be reminded, life is not what it should be. This is God's gracious reminder to men to turn back to him. COVID-19 is God's thunder clap from heaven, so that we might not go on in our complacency, but be reminded that God is angry with men. God is angry with sinners. The wrath of God is being revealed. And when we see people wearing mask, or when we see diseases, cataracts, knee pains, let's be reminded.

So the Bible says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind and the living will lay it to heart.” [Ecc 7:2] I tell you, “It's a good thing for us to be reminded about the, the somber nature of death and funerals.”

I, I know for many Chinese people, we don't like to go funerals. We think it's very bad luck. It's misfortune. It's a .. it's not good that we should bring children there. But you know what, I like to bring my children to funerals. I like to tell them about funerals. I like them to face up to the reality of death in this world and tell them that death is a curse from God, because man has sinned against God.

And as they face up to this over and over again, as they see sin and the ravages of sin, I hope they are reminded about God, about His holiness, about His righteousness. And yet God is so loving, so gracious, so merciful, to promise us a Savior and to give us salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You see, God knows we need these reminders and that's why He gives all these curses, all around us in every stage of our lives. From birth to death, life is filled with reminders of the painful consequences of sin.

I think it's a little bit like how God would teach the Jews in the nation of Israel. There is a repetitive pattern that they see every day, every month, every year. That men and women will have to bring animal sacrifices to kill. And you can imagine, the horror and gore of all that sacrifice.

They would hear the animal scream maybe. They would hear the animals bleating, the sheep bleating. They will, they will see blood. They would maybe see the blood flow down the drains and the rivers. They will see all that gore. They would see the smoke; the black smoke arise from the burnt offerings.

Why? Because Hebrews 10 tells us, “With the sacrifices of … of the animals, there is a remembrance of sin made, every day, morning and night, every year, every month.” You see God wants His people to be confronted regularly, all the time about sin. Why? So that they might repent, and that they might be saved, and that they might be reconciled with God. That God's heart!

God did not eliminate Adam and Eve from the word - go, but God gave the Proto Evangelion and then God gave all these curses, because they are shrouded in the context of love and mercy and warning and salvation.

And I think that's why parents we buy canes. Canes, as I've said, “Are reminders, reminders of how bad this disobedience is.” And it's not because we love for them to be in pain. I hate to discipline my kid kids. I hate to cane my kids. They don't believe it, actually, I think they do. But I hate to discipline my kids, it pains me but I have to do it because ultimately I want their good. I want them to learn and I think it's the same for God.

So God pronounces a whole list of curses upon men, culminating in verse 19, saying that, “He will die.” What do you think Adam would respond? How do you think he will respond? Well, he's now going to name his wife, he's going to give his wife a new name. What do you think he will say about the name of his wife?

The man in verse 20, called his wife's name …. What do you think it will be? I may say, “Grim Reaper”. In that, “Wah! Because of her sin, we now all die. She's the one who brings death.” Well, that may be what we might suggest.

Or maybe we say, “The man called his wife's name, Sabo Queen.” She's the one who caused all this problem, she's the sabotager. Well, we might also say, “The man called his wife's name, So Suay. Suay is a Hokkien vernacular, a dialect in here in Singapore, that means so unlucky. “Aiyah! It's … it's just my bad fortune to get to know this wife.” Or Adam, I think might call his wife, Si Liao Lah. Again, Hokkien that means we are dead already, we are really dead.

Now he can have all these pessimistic names and he will not be wrong. But it's interesting, after hearing the Proto Evangelion and the list of curses, Adam had the right perspective. “Adam called his wife's name Eve …” [Gen 3:20]

Now that's interesting, the word, ‘Eve’ means life or life giver. Now, it doesn't seem like she's going to be the life giver. I mean she's the one that actually led Adam into taking the fruit and sinning and therefore incurring all this death. But no, Adam said, “She is life! She's a life giver! Because she was the mother of all living.” [Gen 3:20]

What do you mean? Because I think Adam understood, Adam totally grasped what God said in verse 15, “That from her offspring, or her offspring from her, her offspring will bruise the serpent's head.” So he absolutely got it! He absolutely, I think understood that through Eve will come a Savior, who will be the source of life to a world that has plunged into sin and death. I think that is what it all meant.

If we were to camp a little and think, why would Adam call Eve, Eve. No more or rather, that may even supersede the first name, woman, that's her new identity. Yes, she is woman, she came out of man. But more so now she's Eve, she's the mother, she's the mother of life, she's a giver of life. She's the Eve who would bring forth the Messiah, the Savior, the Conqueror.

Now I think it is because Eve and Adam, they understood this, that, “God then made for Adam and his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.” [Gen 3:21] As I said, these are leather jackets provided with the death or sacrifice of animals. And I think this is a picture, a foretaste, a kind of a type to speak of how God would send a Savior, how God will send the offspring of Eve. And He will sacrifice Himself, and He will die to save His people from their sins.

And so thousands of years later, in the book of Matthew, we are told that this Jesus who is born into this world will be the Savior. The Bible says, “You shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” [Matt 1:21] And what did Jesus do? Like the animal that must be sacrificed, He will be sacrificed on the cross, to die and to pay for the sins of the world, to destroy the works of the evil one.

Oh yes, Adam and Eve sinned. And because of their sin, all who are born from Adam's line, have sinned in Adam. We are sinners in Adam, and we actually also sinned by our nature. And so we all die! But from Eve's offspring will come Jesus born of the Spirit, and He will be the One who will give life. How? By giving His life, by dying on the cross, and saving us from our sins.

And you know what, as I think about it, every curse that God has pronounced upon humanity and upon this world, in a sense Jesus will die for them, will die for sin and reverse that curse. How? Because He's going to bear the brunt of that curse.

Remember, woman, women they are going to experience sorrow, sorrow in child giving. And … and in a sense, Jesus experienced sorrow for us. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 53:4-5, “That He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, afflicted …” He went through lots of pain, not just physical pain, but more supremely, the spiritual pain of being alienated from God, which He has never experienced before.

But He suffered all that sorrow. Why? It was for our transgressions. “… He was pierced for transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities, upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds, we are healed.” So Jesus, in order to give us life and salvation, would go through that sorrow. So in the garden of Gethsemane, He said, “My soul is very sorrowful even to death.” [Matt 26:38]

You realize that there's a battle of sexes at home. But it is Jesus, who brings about healing at home, and brings about healing in society, that brings about healing between arch enemies of different cultures and races. That's what we read of in Ephesians 2:14, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility”

It's interesting that in Jesus Christ, the Jews and Gentiles who are loggerheads, who are arch enemies will be united as one, in the Church of Jesus Christ. Well, He endured separation from God that He might bring us peace.

Remember about how He, how God said that, “We would sweat, by the sweat of our brow, we shall eat bread.” Well, it's interesting, I read that in the Bible, “Jesus sweated.” But His sweat is not like our sweat, “His sweat became like great drops of blood” [Luke 22:44], as He agonized over the coming pain and shame of going to the cross and being alienated from God.

How about thorns and thistles? Well, when Jesus was crucified, “He wore a crown of thorns.” [Matt 27:28-29 ] How about death? Well, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” [John 11:25] He is going to die and through His death conquer death and come back to life. And those who die, we understand the significance of realizing Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

How about separation from God? Well, the Bible tells us, “That we can now enter the holy places.” [Heb 10:19-20] We, it's a … it's a symbolic way of saying, “We can now come near God. We can draw near to God.” Why? “… Through the curtain, that is through His flesh.” Through His sacrifice, there is no, no more barrier between God and His people. And that's the amazing reality!

So whatever the curse spoke of, Jesus by His finished work on the cross, resolved. And so 1st John 3:8, that familiar verse, we have been looking at, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” And He did all that, because “He redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” [Gal 3:13]

So Adam and Eve sinned. Curse was pronounced upon humanity. We live under this curse all our life. But Praise be to God, Jesus would come, He would take up that curse. He would become curse for us. He would suffer and die for us. And He would then deliver us from the curse.

And not only us, but the world will be delivered from the curse. “Jesus is made sin for us, so that we might be made righteous in Him.” [2 Cor 5:21] And now, “The whole of creation is longing for that day of being delivered from this curse.” [Rom 8:20-22] Why? Jesus paid it all! And one day we look forward to that, “Eternal new heavens and new earth where there will be no more curse, no more sorrow, no more sweat, no more toil, no more death, no more disease, because Jesus paid it all.” [Rev 21:1,4]

You see this is the marvel of the Bible. It can be a very complicated book, but it can also be a very clear and simple, straightforward book. We learned today, that man sinned against God. He suffers guilt and shame and fear, and God heaps upon humanity and upon this world, a whole range of curses.

Not because He hates us only, but because He also loves us. And He wants to provide a message for us, so that we will not go on our complacent ways, so that we might be reminded of our sin, we might repent. And then believe in His Proto Evangelion, that Jesus is that Savior given into this world to rescue us.

And the way Jesus saves us is that He becomes cursed for us. He bears our sins. He bears our curses, so that those who turn from sin and believe in Jesus might be found in Him - salvation, and everlasting life. And we will be destined for this glorious hope of being with God forevermore in a place where there'll be no more sorrow and no more tears. This is the Gospel. This is the Good News.

I urge you today, like many who have gone before you, would you repent of your sin and look to Jesus, God's Son to save you from your sins? I pray you’ll repent. I pray you’ll come. I pray you'll be saved, and find this wonderful life and light in God. Let's pray.

Once again, I want to give you this opportunity to respond to God in your heart, right where you are, in your homes, in your offices, wherever you are watching this, listening in to this. I believe God wants to reach out to you. To remind you of sin, to remind you of your own hopelessness and helplessness. And I pray that you will then be wise, to stop trying to earn favor with God on your own, but to realize that we have such a generous God, that even after man sinned, He would promise a Savior.

I hope you will see that Jesus did not just come to live a perfect life, but He took on our sins. He became curse for us, so that He might suffer and die and pay for your sins. So today if you will, repent and believe in Jesus, you can be saved. It's your choice and I pray, you will humble yourself and turn to Jesus.

I pray as a church we would be eternally grateful to God. I pray this morning as you hear this Good News of the Bible, as you hear the mercies of God, that you would say, “Lord, help me to present myself a living sacrifice. That my life will not be spent upon myself and upon my own dreams, but I'll be willing to die to self to follow Jesus, to seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness.”

I pray that you'll repent of your sin, you'll live in holiness in your home, in your workplace, right where you are. You'll worship God with your life of obedience. And pray you will be excited and convicted to bring this message of the Bible, this Good News to all around you. So may God help you today to make those choices to worship Him.

Father, thank You for this morning we can hear Your Word. Bless it to the hearts of Your people. May You draw many to Yourself in salvation. May You warm the hearts of Your Church that we might mature, we might repent and we might obey.

Help this church drink in this Good News of the Bible. Help this church live out the Good News of the Bible and help this church give out the Good News of the Bible. Thank You. We pray all this in Jesus’ Name, Amen. God bless.

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