The Pattern of Death
Memory Verse:
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16
Sermon Sentence: Temptation dresses up as truth and only slightly twists the words of God ending in the opposite of blessing.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16
Sermon Sentence: Temptation dresses up as truth and only slightly twists the words of God ending in the opposite of blessing.
Day 1
Read Genesis 9
This is not the type of story that you spend a lot of time with typically, I get it. The story is before this, the great Flood and Noah’s adventures, this just seems like a B-side, after the credits, story. But there are features in this story that should make your ears perk up and pay attention to it. No, not the weird way I told you in the sermon that I think this family tragedy went down, but other things. Like the idea that this happens right outside the ark, which is where the presence of God was with Noah. That is where the Cain and Abel story happened. That story has another similar quality of a brother's conflict and a broken family ending. Also, did you notice that the story started with Noah gardening and with consuming fruits in the garden? Genesis 9 really seems to be drawing you back to a few of the stories that have already been told in Genesis 2, 3, and 4. Noah’s garden was like a new Eden. And with a total restart, maybe this family will get the right direction. Then that thing happens. And we already know where choosing the wrong wisdom takes all of humanity, toward the idea in Genesis 6:5 “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth…” But this time we have a family going the wrong direction (Canaan) and two families staying in the right path (Japheth and Shem).
Do you notice other details in this story that give it importance and seem to make you think you should pay attention to it?
Why do you think the writer is repeating the blessing to humanity (Be fruitful and multiply) over and over again?
What is the lesson that you take away from this story after reading it today? What does God speak to your life in this?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
This is not the type of story that you spend a lot of time with typically, I get it. The story is before this, the great Flood and Noah’s adventures, this just seems like a B-side, after the credits, story. But there are features in this story that should make your ears perk up and pay attention to it. No, not the weird way I told you in the sermon that I think this family tragedy went down, but other things. Like the idea that this happens right outside the ark, which is where the presence of God was with Noah. That is where the Cain and Abel story happened. That story has another similar quality of a brother's conflict and a broken family ending. Also, did you notice that the story started with Noah gardening and with consuming fruits in the garden? Genesis 9 really seems to be drawing you back to a few of the stories that have already been told in Genesis 2, 3, and 4. Noah’s garden was like a new Eden. And with a total restart, maybe this family will get the right direction. Then that thing happens. And we already know where choosing the wrong wisdom takes all of humanity, toward the idea in Genesis 6:5 “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth…” But this time we have a family going the wrong direction (Canaan) and two families staying in the right path (Japheth and Shem).
Do you notice other details in this story that give it importance and seem to make you think you should pay attention to it?
Why do you think the writer is repeating the blessing to humanity (Be fruitful and multiply) over and over again?
What is the lesson that you take away from this story after reading it today? What does God speak to your life in this?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Genesis 12:1-9
Families are important in Genesis ability to tell the story it wants to tell. Have you picked up on that in this study? Here is God calling a man away from his family and his land, to a place he would tell him. The promise includes a different land and a different version of family, one ordained by God. Later, we learn that Abram came from a family that did not worship God. So this is a big thing to ask and a big step of faith to take. Currently in the story, Canaan’s ancestors have the land in question and they are not following God, but rather have come up with their own ways of seeing gods and understanding the world. That is how their family started, a distortion in the family pattern. That pattern, that curse, carried on throughout time and has now dominated the land. That is the story of how it always goes in Genesis 6:5, remember. That’s why the Flood came. But God’s plan now is different. It’s not a washing away of the people, but rather a restoring of God’s people where they belong. But it starts with one man’s obedience to the call. Notice that the story has been that one person’s choice to disobey God has brought all sorts of bad patterns and chaos into the story. Now God puts His wisdom in front of one person. If He chooses to take this wisdom, the entire broken world is going to be changed! This story matters!
What do you think Abram went through mentally in making this decision?
How would you have arrived at the decision to go or not go?
What does this story show you about the choices that you make to follow God’s ways or not?
How does today’s devotion inform your prayers?
Families are important in Genesis ability to tell the story it wants to tell. Have you picked up on that in this study? Here is God calling a man away from his family and his land, to a place he would tell him. The promise includes a different land and a different version of family, one ordained by God. Later, we learn that Abram came from a family that did not worship God. So this is a big thing to ask and a big step of faith to take. Currently in the story, Canaan’s ancestors have the land in question and they are not following God, but rather have come up with their own ways of seeing gods and understanding the world. That is how their family started, a distortion in the family pattern. That pattern, that curse, carried on throughout time and has now dominated the land. That is the story of how it always goes in Genesis 6:5, remember. That’s why the Flood came. But God’s plan now is different. It’s not a washing away of the people, but rather a restoring of God’s people where they belong. But it starts with one man’s obedience to the call. Notice that the story has been that one person’s choice to disobey God has brought all sorts of bad patterns and chaos into the story. Now God puts His wisdom in front of one person. If He chooses to take this wisdom, the entire broken world is going to be changed! This story matters!
What do you think Abram went through mentally in making this decision?
How would you have arrived at the decision to go or not go?
What does this story show you about the choices that you make to follow God’s ways or not?
How does today’s devotion inform your prayers?
Day 3
Read Ezekiel 36:22-37
Most of us just don’t read the Bible from the perspective of the land idea that keeps coming up. Most of us are landowners, so it doesn’t really seem to matter much. So we skip over it and skim past it. But that is a mistake. You have to see that piece to get the whole story. We see it again in this passage. God scoops up His people and puts them in the land promised to them, washing them of their sins and destroying from them the idols. Then he gives them a new heart and a new spirit. Now it will be different. With the old heart, it kept bending toward the idols and the destruction. It was those things, those distorted ideas of who God was and how things work, the knowledge of good and bad, that kept sending them further and further away. But now it was going to be different! Now they would have new hearts and a new land. It is like a total restart of the original plan.
What are some things that you notice in this passage that draws your mind back to the Genesis 2 picture of the Garden of Eden?
How does God ultimately accomplish these verses?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Most of us just don’t read the Bible from the perspective of the land idea that keeps coming up. Most of us are landowners, so it doesn’t really seem to matter much. So we skip over it and skim past it. But that is a mistake. You have to see that piece to get the whole story. We see it again in this passage. God scoops up His people and puts them in the land promised to them, washing them of their sins and destroying from them the idols. Then he gives them a new heart and a new spirit. Now it will be different. With the old heart, it kept bending toward the idols and the destruction. It was those things, those distorted ideas of who God was and how things work, the knowledge of good and bad, that kept sending them further and further away. But now it was going to be different! Now they would have new hearts and a new land. It is like a total restart of the original plan.
What are some things that you notice in this passage that draws your mind back to the Genesis 2 picture of the Garden of Eden?
How does God ultimately accomplish these verses?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Judges 2:11-23
This week we have talked about the pattern that draws us away from God. The ultimate result of that pattern is death, which in the Biblical definition is far more than just an absence of a heartbeat or breath. Death is ultimately, in its fullest sense, far worse than the ending of life. Any pattern towards that is something to be greatly feared. The book of Judges tells that same story over and over again. It is the story of how a people get captured in their own messes and cry out to God for help. He sends help and all of the people rejoice and pledge loyalty, but only as long as the hero, the judge is still around. As soon as that person dies, the people go right back to their ways of destruction. In the beginning of the book, it gives us a bit more of a detailed look at that pattern. It tells the story of Joshua, the guy that followed Moses in leadership and how he encouraged people to stay with God for his whole life. Then he died, and the people began to do what it is that we have been talking about all week, they began to mix the good and the bad, they began to bring in the false gods. Notice that the category of the Baal gods is mentioned again here. These were the gods of the Canaanites, the ones that God always warned would get them off track. It’s that resounding question we fight with every time we read the Bible: why do these people keep going back to these gods? It's the same pattern we find ourselves in every single day as we fight the decision: will I take the wisdom of God, or will I take the wisdom from somewhere else?
How does this passage read like our culture and the experiences you have seen today?
What are some of the ideas that the next generation after you seems to be accepting that are against what God is offering?
How do you combat these ideas in your heart and mind?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
This week we have talked about the pattern that draws us away from God. The ultimate result of that pattern is death, which in the Biblical definition is far more than just an absence of a heartbeat or breath. Death is ultimately, in its fullest sense, far worse than the ending of life. Any pattern towards that is something to be greatly feared. The book of Judges tells that same story over and over again. It is the story of how a people get captured in their own messes and cry out to God for help. He sends help and all of the people rejoice and pledge loyalty, but only as long as the hero, the judge is still around. As soon as that person dies, the people go right back to their ways of destruction. In the beginning of the book, it gives us a bit more of a detailed look at that pattern. It tells the story of Joshua, the guy that followed Moses in leadership and how he encouraged people to stay with God for his whole life. Then he died, and the people began to do what it is that we have been talking about all week, they began to mix the good and the bad, they began to bring in the false gods. Notice that the category of the Baal gods is mentioned again here. These were the gods of the Canaanites, the ones that God always warned would get them off track. It’s that resounding question we fight with every time we read the Bible: why do these people keep going back to these gods? It's the same pattern we find ourselves in every single day as we fight the decision: will I take the wisdom of God, or will I take the wisdom from somewhere else?
How does this passage read like our culture and the experiences you have seen today?
What are some of the ideas that the next generation after you seems to be accepting that are against what God is offering?
How do you combat these ideas in your heart and mind?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read 2 Chronicles 33:1-17
If you have been following along in our sermons for the last little while, you will recall looking at this story recently. This is the story of the worst king in Judah. Now that we are returning to it in the context of this sermon series, I challenge you to think about what is going on. Although Manasseh is accused of a lot of things, but notice how he does those things. He brings all of the Baal and Asheroth ideas and flavors and brings them into the house of the Lord. This was the big concern that God had for His people. He was not concerned that the idols had any real power or could overthrow Him, but rather that their ideas would begin to mix with His ideas. That there would be small variations and changes that crept into His house and changed His words. Was it really that big of a deal? Well yeah, because it led to death, as sin always goes towards. In other words, the house that was life had become a house that was death. Now they were sacrificing children, and clearly you get how far the distortion of God’s perspective, that children are a blessing and a good thing, is from the ideas of child sacrifice. This is how it works. The lie changes God’s words and therefore takes on something far from what God intended. Manasseh changed the truth of God creating the sun and moons and began to accept the created things as worthy of worship. This is the lie that Romans 1 talks about. Manasseh and the people began to trust other sources of wisdom and fortune telling that was not what God intended. After Manasseh did it, it started to spread to all of the people. So goes the pattern of sin and death.
What are some lies that you have noticed that have started to be brought into the “house of the Lord” and Christians have started to make the word of God change slightly?
Why are these dangerous to what a church should be?
What are some political ideas that are currently starting to do this in our culture right now?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
If you have been following along in our sermons for the last little while, you will recall looking at this story recently. This is the story of the worst king in Judah. Now that we are returning to it in the context of this sermon series, I challenge you to think about what is going on. Although Manasseh is accused of a lot of things, but notice how he does those things. He brings all of the Baal and Asheroth ideas and flavors and brings them into the house of the Lord. This was the big concern that God had for His people. He was not concerned that the idols had any real power or could overthrow Him, but rather that their ideas would begin to mix with His ideas. That there would be small variations and changes that crept into His house and changed His words. Was it really that big of a deal? Well yeah, because it led to death, as sin always goes towards. In other words, the house that was life had become a house that was death. Now they were sacrificing children, and clearly you get how far the distortion of God’s perspective, that children are a blessing and a good thing, is from the ideas of child sacrifice. This is how it works. The lie changes God’s words and therefore takes on something far from what God intended. Manasseh changed the truth of God creating the sun and moons and began to accept the created things as worthy of worship. This is the lie that Romans 1 talks about. Manasseh and the people began to trust other sources of wisdom and fortune telling that was not what God intended. After Manasseh did it, it started to spread to all of the people. So goes the pattern of sin and death.
What are some lies that you have noticed that have started to be brought into the “house of the Lord” and Christians have started to make the word of God change slightly?
Why are these dangerous to what a church should be?
What are some political ideas that are currently starting to do this in our culture right now?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
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