L-T Hopper
Genesis 4-5
Wherever there is grace there is sin and on the other hand whenever there is sin there is God’s grace. In Genesis 4-5 we see life outside of Eden. Life as we know it. There are two realities. There is the presence of sin and grace…
The Spread of Sin [34:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6)
The Spread of Sin: Download (24)Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Habakkuk can say this even though he knows what is coming is the complete destruction of his land.
He faces not just the loss of the luxuries of life but also the necessities including food. This is a good word for us in light of our current circumstances whatever they are.
Notice Habakkuk’s response – “Yet I will rejoice”
The source and object of his rejoicing is God himself. He is free from superficial happiness. C.J Mahaney makes this comment:- “Habakkuk has discovered true joy, which transcends circumstances and exists even in the midst of severe suffering – a joy found in God alone. And here alone is where you and I can find joy in the midst of our severest suffering.”
L-T Hopper
Genesis 3
Deep down, mankind is basically good. Deep down, mankind is basically evil.
This is the paradox of man – we are given a high position over creation and we are a dismal failure in our relationships with God, each other and the rest of God’s creation. We are this way because of the events of Genesis 3. It is absolutely necessary to understand who we are in light of Genesis 3 to make sense of our lives…
I like Reformed theology. I believe it’s what the Bible teaches. But I don’t like Reformed culture. I don’t believe it’s what the Bible teaches.
Reformed theology is all about grace deciding to treat people better than they deserve, for the sheer glory of it all. Sometimes Reformed culture doesn’t look like that, feel like that, taste like that. It gives people exactly what they deserve, as judged by the Reformed person. But who exalted him as judge in the first place? Our true Judge stepped down to become our Friend. That theology of grace must translate into the sociology of grace as we treat one another better than anyone deserves, for the sheer glory of it all.
“If our theology does not quicken the conscience and soften the heart, it actually hardens both; if it does not encourage the commitment of faith, it reinforces the detachment of unbelief; if it fails to promote humility, it inevitably feeds pride.”
J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness, page 15.
L-T Hopper
Genesis 6-9
Here we will see the reason for God’s judgment; the nature of God’s judgment and the way out of God’s judgment as we look at sin, Judgment and Grace…
The Flood - God's Judgement [36:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (8) The Flood - God's Judgement: Download (19)“Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others, but a humble saint is most jealous of himself. He is as suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The spiritually proud person is apt to find fault with other saints . . . and to be quick to notice their deficiencies. But the eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home, and sees so much evil in his own heart, and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts. . . . Pure Christian humility disposes a person to take notice of everything that is good in others, and to make the most of it, and to diminish their failings, but to give his eye chiefly on those things that are bad in himself.”
Jonathan Edwards, “Thoughts on the Revival,” in Works, I:399-400.
L-T Hopper
Genesis 10-11
Tower of Babel [36:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5) Tower of Babel Summary: Download (29)Bill Forgeard
Eph 2:11-19
The words of God to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 are a clear statement of God’s promises that will dominate the rest of the Bible. John Stott has written: ‘It may truly be said without exaggeration that not only the rest of the Old Testament but the whole of the New Testament are an outworking of these promises of God.’ Genesis 12:1-3 is the text the rest of the Bible expounds.
Don’t miss this Sunday at Lakeshore to find out why.