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As we come to the final sermon in this series of 26 sermons (that began 10 months ago on September 15^th of 2013) I want to refresh your mind a bit about where we have been…

We spent the first 9 sermons going over the events of Creation Week; 1 sermon on the Marriage of Adam and Eve; 7 sermons on the Fall and its consequences; 2 sermons on God’s decree of salvation; and 7 sermons on the Flood and its aftermath.

Genesis Chapter 12 begins the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and the founding of the Hebrew people and Nation. I intentionally decided before I began this series that I would stop with Chapter 11 and move on to my next series of Doctrinal Sermons entitled, “The Believer and Their Bible” that will continue (as the Lord allows) until Labor Day weekend.

I am planning to follow that series with a verse-by-verse exposition of Matthew Chapters 24 – 25 that will continue through November of this year. These two chapters cover what God has decreed for the “End Times” and will entail a lot of teaching on Biblical Prophecy.

This coming Lord’s Day, (as the Lord allows) I will demonstrate in Genesis 11 that in the 4,500 years that have passed since the events of Genesis 1 – 11, both the rebellion of man against God and the response of God to the rebellion of man against HIM have not changed!

Humans are rebels because of our fallen sinful nature and the presence of “Original Sin” in our spirit. God is perfectly holy and cannot and will not let sin go unpunished!

We will consider Nimrod and what we learn from him and from the fact that so many people were willing to follow him.

We will consider the attempt to overthrow the rule of God at Babel and how that has impacted the location of peoples in the world as we know it today.

We will see what a “Theophany” and a “Christophany” is and how we can understand something about why God would come to earth from time to time in some unusual forms.

Finally, we are confronted in the genealogies of Genesis 11 with the rapid decline in the span of human life! I will ask and hopefully answer the questions as to why and how God decreed this change.

I have enjoyed this series. I trust that this “capstone” sermon in the series will be a blessing to you.

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, (you are going to need it) and your family and friends by your side!

²⁰ “Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. ²¹ On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. ²² And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” ²³ Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”

One of the most complicated issues I face as a Pastor is when I speak to issues that conflate our love of God and our love for America. Of course, the two are different things; but, they are both real.

As Christians, we love God first and foremost… but, as Americans we also love our Country. We must be careful here; we cannot say, “My Country right or wrong” when our Country continues to go against the teaching of God’s Word in so many areas of life.

Because I love America, I long to see her as “One Nation Under God.” Sadly, that appears to be going away. Since our Nation (by and large) has chosen to turn away from God and His Word, we are going to stand against her more and more often.

I long to see America as she once was when our people – for the most part – honored God and stood for the kind of principles that God gives in His Word. Many Americans still do, of course, but the days when honoring Jesus was widely accepted among Americans may be gone forever in America.

I am completely convinced that because America has turned our back on God HE is beginning to turn His back on us! This is already a very different America than it was fifty years ago; and, only God knows what it will be fifty years from now.

Certainly there is hope. God can send revival at any time HE wishes to do so. Please join me in praying that HE will.

Due to the fact that God seems to be removing HIS “Hand of protection” off of our Nation, we are now facing several threats to our very existence as a Nation that we have never faced before. Some of the threats we have faced before have returned and they are more fearsome than ever.

As the Lord allows, this coming Lord’s Day morning, as we begin the celebration of the 238^th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I will address the subject of “The Greatest Threat to America.” We face threats financially, militarily, morally, ethically, and spiritually; but, one threat is more dangerous by far than all of these others combined!

We find a clear illustration of this threat in our text for Sunday, Acts 12:20-23.

We find the story of a people who had become so dependent on a human King and his government that they began to literally worship him and attribute to him the title of, “a god.”

We will also clearly see how the One True Living God reacts to such people and such governments.

I fear that America is rapidly becoming such a blasphemous people! We (as a Nation) tend to look everywhere and anywhere for our provision and protection except the one place we ought to look – Jesus Christ!

So, we will look to this story of a godless King and his stupid people who by attributing deity to him brought about his destruction and I will attempt to make three specific and pertinent applications from this text to the situation in America in the 21^st Century.

I hope that you will read through, think through, and pray through these verses carefully between now and Sunday. I hope that you will take these days of celebration to reflect on and pray about the “spiritual downgrade” we face.

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

This coming Lord’s Day, as the Lord allows, I will continue our survey of the first eleven Chapters of Genesis with a sermon that covers Chapter 10 as God reveals the immediate aftermath of the world-wide Flood and how HE repopulated the world.

The world was, of course, re-populated through the means of the three sons of Noah and their wives and their children and grand-children and so on and so on…

God takes time to list key members of these families:

In verses 2-5, God lists the descendants of Japheth.

In verses 6-20, God lists the descendants of Ham.

In verses 21-31, God lists the descendants of Shem.

The facts in this Chapter are simple and clear. The big question, with which I will spend nearly all of our time, is “Why did God preserve these lists of names and the stories of some of these people?”

Of course, we know that God has a perfect reason for everything that HE does, and Genesis 10 is not an exception to that rule.

Thankfully, God cares about people! He cares more about people than anything else HE has ever created. So he takes time to list and preserve the lists of these people as individuals and as families.

But, there is – of course – more here than just that. God has chosen a people from before the foundation of the world to be HIS chosen people. HE lists and preserves the lists and some of the stories of these Chosen People so we can see HIS faithfulness to them; and, HE brought His Only Son Jesus out of a particular line of these people so HE records these lists in order that Jesus would have HIS genealogy intact from Mary and Joseph back through David and through Judah to Abraham to prove that HE is the promised Messiah of Israel and the rightful Heir to David and qualified to sit on his Throne as the King of Israel.

We will also see two other points of lesser importance; the areas settled by the sons of Noah and their families, and how the biblical timing and math prove the reality of the fact that this great Flood and later re-population occurred about 4,500 years ago, rather than some hundreds of millions of years ago.

It is always a personal joy to me to shoot holes in the anti-biblical, anti-scientific, and nonsensical idea of the earth being “millions” or even “billions” of years old!

I hope you will read over this wonderful Chapter and pray over how it applies to your life today as you prepare your mind to hear the Word of God on Sunday.

I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

Pastor Lanny

There are stories that when you read them you just want to cry out, “Oh no! Say it isn’t so!” Sadly, Genesis 9 is one of those stories. We have just gone through Genesis 6, 7, and 8 where we met Noah, the hero of the story and the man God chose to save the human race.

And now, in the very next Chapter, we learn that he is human, just as we are; and, that he has weaknesses, just as we do. It is true… “The best of men are just men at best.” Sad. Noah was indeed a super man, but he was not “Superman” after all.

It has been well and often said that God only uses ordinary men because HE only has ordinary men from whom to choose! I am not so sure about that, but the Bible is certainly filled with the stories of famous men whom God used only to fail later. We think of Adam, Samson, David, Solomon, Simon Peter, and on and on. I suppose that this reality should give Christian men and women everywhere hope that if God can use broken people like these – maybe HE can use me!

Of course, we also learn that Ham, the youngest son of Noah, also lets us down in this story. We are not exactly what he did when he went into his father’s tent, (other than look at his drunk and naked father lying on his bed) but whatever it was it was enough to incur Noah’s anger and a curse upon Ham’s son, Canaan. So Noah lets us down and his son lets him down. Sad.

Key to the story is that God never lets us down! HE is a promise making and promise keeping God! He makes a covenant with the world that HE has kept to this day. Today, in the beauty of every rainbow we see and remember the faithfulness of God to HIS covenant.

We also learn about God that HE is a serious Being Who is serious about sin! HE not only drowns 99.999999999% of the people on earth; HE also brings judgment upon those who continue in sin even after their deliverance from the Flood. If fact, HE imposes and demands the death penalty on those who would – without legal sanction – take away a human life.

Noah teaches us that good men can be sinful and stupid. He was and too many times we are as well.

Genesis 9 is a Chapter filled with disappointment and failure. It does testify to God’s faithfulness; but, it also testifies to HIS unwillingness to tolerate sin in the life of HIS people; even those of HIS people whom HE has used greatly in the past.

And, of course, we are reminded again that all humans are mortal.

I hope you will take the time to read through this Chapter. I hope you will think through and pray though what it reveals to us about God and about men.

As my dear friend, Tom Rains always says…

“I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your friends and family by your side!”

Soli Deo Gloria!

Pastor Lanny

One of the best known and most instructive stories in the Old Testament is the world-wide flood during the days of Noah. It is also – of course – one of the most controversial.

This coming Lord’s Day, as the Lord allows, I am going to take “the biggest bite” of Scripture I have ever covered in a single sermon! Lord willing, we will cover these two and 3/4 Chapters of Genesis on one Sunday.

And, NO, we will not go until 3pm. (That is a nasty rumor started by the Elders to scare the Nursery Workers…)

I do think the sermon I have put together will both fully and fairly cover these Chapters and help you understand both the “Bad News” of world-wide destruction; and, the “Good News” of God’s gracious salvation that HE simultaneously accomplished in this historic catastrophe!

I will take the time to give you several introductory remarks to help you understanding the setting of these events. The outline itself is simple and will – I believe – help you come to grips with both the reality of this Flood and the reasons for it.

I hope you will take the time to read through Genesis 6 – 8 as you prepare your mind and spirit to hear the Word of God on Sunday. I hope you will pray earnestly and ask the LORD to show you how these events apply to you and the world in which you live today.

Let me encourage you to think through these questions about the text:

How do we know that this story is true?

If these events are true, are there physical evidences of this event that can be seen and studied today?

If so, what are they?

How, and more importantly “why” did God spare the human race during this event?

What was God’s overall purpose for doing this?

What does this tell us about salvation today? I get it that they were saved from the flood; but, does this teach us anything about being saved from the judgment of God today?

And, of course, THE BIG QUESTION… What does this teach us about God?

I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, (you are going to need it – as you always do) a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

What we have in these 32 verses are ten genealogies in the Family of Adam and Eve from Creation until the Flood!

The Genealogy of Adam (5:1-5)  

The Genealogy of Seth (5:6-8)

The Genealogy of Enosh (5:9-11)

The Genealogy of Kenan (5:12-14)

The Genealogy of Mahalalel (5:15-17)  

The Genealogy of Jared (5:18-20)

The Genealogy of Enoch (5:21-24)

The Genealogy of Methuselah (5:25-27)

The Genealogy of Lamech (5:28-31)

The Genealogy of Noah (9:28-29)

In these 32 verses, we are given the account of 10 generations of Adam and Eve’s Family from Adam through the three sons of Noah. In fact, these 10 generations provide us with a reliable time line of 1,486 years from Creation until the Flood

We are given the age at the time of the death of ten of these men; and, their average at the time of their death was 777. If you don’t count Enoch, (who did not die but was transported directly to heaven at the age of 365) the average age of the remaining nine men at the time of their death was 912!

The youngest of these men at the time of their death (not counting Enoch) was Lamech, the Father of Noah, who died at the age of 777. In fact, the timeline shows that Lamech died the same year as the Flood; and, he may have – in fact – died in the Flood!

Enoch did not physically die in the normal sense; but, he was transported directly to heaven as was the Prophet Elijah!

(2^nd Kings 2:11)

We are given some additional and exciting information about Enoch’s life and ministry before he was taken up to heaven by the Apostle Jude in verses 14-15 of his Epistle:

“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 

In this Chapter, (including the genealogy of Noah in Chapter 9) we are told NINE TIMES both boldly and simply, “and he died.” Since the sin of Adam and Eve, this is the common denominator of mankind!

As the Lord allows, this coming Lord’s Day, I want to go through the Holy Scriptures and answer four vitally important and contemporary questions…

#1: What is death?

#2: Why do people die?

#3: What happens when people die?

And, the most important question of all…

#4: What will happen to you when you die?

I hope you will take the time to read over Genesis 5, pray about it, and think about it as you prepare your spirit to hear the Word of God!

There are only a few things that universally apply to every person on earth… and, this is surely one of them!

Someday, somewhere, someone will say of us… “and they died.” It is my sincere prayer that each of us will be ready for that day!

As my dear friend Tom Rains often says, “I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!”

Pastor Lanny

Exodus 1:22 – 2:10

1:22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

2:1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Amram and Jochebed may not be household names today, but they should be! They are, of course, the parents of Moses. Not much is known about them other than being his parents – and his brother Aaron and his sister Miriam. Together, they are mentioned in the Bible less than a dozen times.

But, even though we don’t know a lot about them; what we do know about them is vitally important… especially, Jochebed’s faithfulness in sparing the life of Moses and then raising him for the daughter of Pharaoh.

I thought about titling this sermon, “Jochebed, the Mother of Moses” but, instead I have titled it “Setting Up Your Children to be Used by God.” Why? Because what we do is more important than who we are! No one else but Jochebed will be the Mother of Moses; but, any Christian mother can do what she did! Any godly Christian Mother can set her children up to be used of God!

As we look through these eleven verses, I want to examine and explain the answers to five vitally important questions that she faced; and, that we still face today:

What are the implications for our children when the National Government becomes the enemy of God and His Kingdom people?

How should a godly mother respond to cataclysmic threats to the welfare of her child?

What can a godly mother do when there is absolutely nothing she can do?

Is it possible in such dire circumstances to have our prayers answered and to have our fondest dreams for our children come true?

How does a godly person respond when the will of God for our children is not the same as our will for our children?

Beloved Ones, while Jochebed’s situation was unique, Christians face these same kinds of situations both today and in the future.

On this Mother’s Day, I want to honor Jochebed and her faithfulness to God… but, more than that, I want to instruct and encourage God’s Kingdom people that God is still sovereign and He is still in charge of His creation.

We can still be faithful to HIM and HE will always be faithful to us!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

He was, of course, the younger son; and he was, like his brother, adored;                                 he always strived to live his life in obedience to the will of his LORD.

He knew the stories all by heart, how the Serpent had ruined their home;                               about Paradise lost, the price of their sin, and the damage rebellion had done.

Without faith, we can’t please Him;  without faith our sacrifice fails;                                     without faith, we can’t worship our wonderful Lord; without faith, only evil prevails.

He always loved his older brother, a hero through all of his years;                                           and he simply could not understand, the source of his parent’s great fears.

They lived together and they played together, but they seemed to grow further apart;         yet, he never suspected how deep was the dark that had stolen his brother’s cold heart.

Then came a Sabbath, like every Sabbath, a day of worship and rest;                                       but unlike every Sabbath, on this bloody Sabbath, one offering would not pass the test.

Without faith, we can’t please Him; without faith our sacrifice fails;                                     without faith, we can’t worship our wonderful Lord; without faith, only evil prevails.

He never would see his Father again, nor his Mother, or the hearth of his home;                     but suddenly he saw the face of his Lord, for his brother had picked up a stone.

Genesis 4:1-17

¹ “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” ² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. ⁶ The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? ⁷  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” ⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. ¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. ¹⁷ Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.”

James 1:15 “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

There are at least seven profound theological principles given in these fourteen verses. As the Lord allows, I plan to work through all seven of them next Sunday morning!

Here are some of the key questions that come to mind as I read through these verses:

Why does God allow people to be born and live in the world who are going to commit horrific crimes later in their life?

Even though God knew full well what Cain was going to do; God allowed him to be born and grow up – and, God did not stop him from doing what he did. But, God still held Cain accountable for (and punished him for) what he did!

Why is it that not every child of godly parents turns out to be a godly person?

God both commands and demands to be worshiped the way HE desires. Why will HE not accept any other form of worship?

Whether we like to accept this or not, this is a fallen, broken, and sin cursed world; and in this fallen, broken, and sin cursed world people really do horrific things to one another!

What will happen to those who do not repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as their Savior?

Are the repercussions upon the sins of sinners something that only occurs in this present life?

If someone is going to die and go to hell, is it true that God’s continuing goodness to unsaved people as long as they live another form of HIS righteous judgment upon them?

This is a very informative and foundational passage of Scripture. I hope you will take the time to read over, pray over, and think through these seventeen verses as you prepare your mind to hear God’s Word on Sunday!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and you family and friends by your side!

To effectively study the Bible, you will need three things…

#1 TIME:

1. Set aside time to read One Chapter per day!

2. It does not matter when that time is as long as it works for you on a consistent basis!

3. If you miss a day, get back at it the very next day!

4. Set aside one hour per week to follow up on your notes about words you do not understand, things that grab your attention, and questions you have, etc!

#2 TOOLS:

1. A quiet and private place!

2. A good contemporary version of the Bible:

– English Standard Version (Best)

– New King James

– New International Version (1984 only!)

3. A highlighter, a note pad, and a pen!

4. A Vine’s Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words!

5. A good one volume Bible Commentary such as:

– MacArthur Bible Commentary (Best)

– Matthew Henry Bible Commentary

– New Bible Commentary (Inter Varsity Press)

#3 TECHNIQUES:

1. After deciding which Book of the Bible you are going to study, PRAY for God to give you understanding of what you are about to read and a passion to obey it!

2. Read the entire Chapter at one time!

3. Next, go back over the Chapter and highlight and write down the following:

– Any words you do not understand!

– Any phrases, sentences, or verses that grab your attention!

– Any questions that come to your mind!

4. Look up any words you do not understand in your Vine’s Dictionary!

5. Use your Commentary to find the answers to the questions you have about the Chapter.

(Contact your Pastor about any questions you have when you cannot find the answer in your study tools!)

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE:

1^ST JOHN Chapter 1 (English Standard Version)

¹ “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—

² the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

⁶ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

Words:

“confess” (v.9)

Things that Caught My Attention:

If we confess our sins, we are BOTH forgiven and cleansed!

According to Proverbs 28:13 “confess” means to BOTH confess and forsake my sins!

Questions:

1. What or Who is he talking about in verses 1 to 3?

Jesus Christ!

2. Who is the “we” in verses 1 to 3?

The 11 disciples who were eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of Jesus!

3. What does it mean in verse 6 to “walk in darkness?”

To live out my life apart from the light of God’s Word informing how I live!

4. What does it mean in verse 7 to “walk in the light?”

To live out my life continually applying the Word to how I live!