Genesis: Stories from the Start
How Can I Know?
July 23, 2023 • Colton Underwood • Genesis 15:7–21
God knew that we could never keep our hold on him, so he has unbreakable, he fastened his hand to ours. God knew that we would be prone to wander and leave the God we love, so he has sealed our hearts and hemmed us in by his love, a love that will not let us go. God knew that we would doubt and wonder, that we would question and struggle, that we would fall back into sin time and time again, so he did this, he walked down the aisle alone. #doubt #promises #Genesis #created #godcreatedtheworld #imageofgod #sermon #worship #firstpresbyterianbr #creator
Praying for Sodom and Gomorrah
July 9, 2023 • Scott Graham • Genesis 18:16–33
Why was God ready to judge Sodom and Gomorrah? Yes, of course, the sexual sin that is so graphically described in Genesis 19 is part of it, but that’s not the root reason. The prophet Ezekiel spells it out for us: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them.” (Ezekiel 16:49-50) #holding #praying #judgement #brokenheart #Genesis #created #godcreatedtheworld #imageofgod #sermon #worship #firstpresbyterianbr #creator
The God Who Sees
June 25, 2023 • Gerrit Dawson • Genesis 16
Sometimes, we have been so lost that we thought no one could ever find us. Perhaps we thought we had made a home in hell. Regular society seemed closed to us. We could never keep time with respectable people again. But as we remember the story of Hagar, we recall how God found us. We may have tangled our lives into such a mess that a ball of knotted fishing line seemed easy to unravel by comparison. But the LORD saw us. He regarded us. He scooped us up. He cut us free of the unbreakable knots that bound us. He showed us that he loves us. He set us back in community.
By Faith
June 18, 2023 • Barry Phillips • Genesis 12:1–5, Hebrews 11:8–10, Romans 4:3
God is sovereign. He is sovereign over everything. And it is God who calls us. The Lord said to Abram, “Go.” What an amazing revelation this must have been for Abram having lived in the darkness of the Godless culture of Ur. Abraham had to have asked, “Why me?” Sad to say that ours is a pagan culture as well. The gods worshiped in our culture are just as dominant and demanding. And God continues to “call” his people to be set apart, to be faithful and to obey. And it is God who enables his called ones to respond to his call.
God's Grief
June 11, 2023 • Gerrit Dawson • Genesis 6:5–8
God was grieved in his heart that his creation would not look to him. He yearns to be our God and to care for us as his beloved people. He has made provision for us to be saved from the hell of trying to solve our lives on our own. He has made provision to save us from the hell of his loving wrath against sin. Psalm 95 tells us, “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Look, this is the day of salvation. While the ark door is open, come inside. Come to Christ. This could be the first time for salvation. Or it could be that you are a rebellious Christian, holding on to control and a cherished sin, and he calls you, “Get out of the flood waters of rebellion and get back into the ark that is Jesus.” We get in the ark of salvation as we take in Jesus Christ by faith. The door is open. The flood is coming. Dear ones, get in the ark! #grief #brokenheart #Genesis #created #godcreatedtheworld #imageofgod #sermon #worship #firstpresbyterianbr #creator
Battling Brothers
June 4, 2023 • Gerrit Dawson • Genesis 4:1–16
The question is “What is God calling me to do now? If this is the way it is, then how am I going to respond faithfully to God in the next moment?” Cain was having none of that. He got angry. The elder brother was supposed to realize the dream for the family. And he had been rejected. Genesis tells us that his face fell. There was a storm cloud across his countenance. These boys hadn’t yet learned how to hide their emotions. His heart came out in his expressions.
Tongues Untied!
May 28, 2023 • Gerrit Dawson • Genesis 11:1–9
"I love Denver as a city. Downtown is vibrant. But I’m always struck by a contrast when I fly out of Denver. Inside the city, it seems huge. But as you ascend and see the city against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, it starts to look tinier and tinier. All the great works of man diminish as the plane rises and you see the stunning majesty of God’s mountains. Eventually, Denver is just a dot against the snow-capped peaks. So too, the great Tower of Babel might have looked mighty from the ground. But from heaven, it was less than a speck. The LORD had to come down, he had to stoop and squint just to see this little house of cards that was the great pride of man." #babel #Genesis #created #godcreatedtheworld #imageofgod #sermon #worship #firstpresbyterianbr #creator
Tragic Fall
May 21, 2023 • Gerrit Dawson • Genesis 3:1–7
The world is askew, and that begins inside me. The story of temptation and fall in Eden explains so much. It tells us why there is something wrong with everything. It tells us why we feel in our bones that it’s not the way it’s supposed to be. Only the people with a mighty Savior could dare to tell the truth about the depth of our sin and lostness. Jesus is God come to us as a man, to live out the faithfulness required of us which we could not give. Thanks be to God for the man Jesus who trusted the Word of God, even unto death, and so restored a lost race to life. #GodAsMan #Genesis #created #godcreatedtheworld #imageofgod #sermon #worship #firstpresbyterianbr #creator
Covenantal Relationships
May 14, 2023 • Darin Travis • Genesis 1:15–25
You were made intentionally. God did not create you at a transcendent unknowable distance when he formed you in your mother’s womb. Making his presence known, God has spoken life into your being from an up-close and intimate distance. He knows every intricate detail of the body he fashioned for you, and he creates good. #CovenantalRelationships #Genesis #created #godcreatedtheworld #imageofgod #sermon #worship #firstpresbyterianbr #creator
The Earth Before It Was the World
May 7, 2023 • Gerrit Dawson • Genesis 1:1–5, Genesis 1:26–31
We know creation does not work like it was meant to. But we can envision and describe how life on earth was meant to be. Before the earth became the world that rebelled against the Creator. The echoes of his intent resound all around us. There is still so much beauty, so much love, so much possibility. We still can dream of justice and harmony. And we’re still called as creatures to acknowledge our creator and give him thanks.