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Notes
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Introduction
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Bible Reading 11/15 - 11/21: Ezek 31 - 43; Heb 12:14 - James 5:20; Psalm 113:1 - 119:16; Proverbs 27:18 - 28:7
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Review
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The Cross (Part 5)
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Preparation - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
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Expository Preaching
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Select the Passage - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
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When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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When Paul first preached to the Corinthians he avoided eloquence and superior wisdom so that their faith would rest on God's power rather than on human wisdom.
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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The message of the cross is foolishness to the perishing, and God uses this "foolishness" to save those who will receive it.
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Paul stuck to God's pattern so that the Corinthians' faith would be based on Jesus Christ and not on human personality or wisdom.
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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Jesus must be lifted up:
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Son of Man must be lifted up - John 3:14-18
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Bronze snake - Numbers 21:4-9
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Time for Son of Man to be glorified - John 12:20-33
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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It affects the way we understand our own salvation.
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Not by our own efforts.
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It affects the way we present salvation to others.
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The gospel is the God's power for salvation. - Romans 1:16-17; Romans 10:5-17
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Using human wisdom hinders this power. - 1Corinthians 1:17-18
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Human wisdom does not result in genuine salvation.
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We have to use the genuine gospel to genuinely save people.
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No more boasting about men!
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea
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It takes the story of Jesus and the cross to release God's power. It takes God's power to produce saving faith and spiritual maturity.
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Determine the Sermon's Purpose (what listeners should do):
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Be clear about what salvation is.
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Be clear in communicating salvation to others.
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Outline the Sermon
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Standing Issues
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From a word Bishop gave me:
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Make sure people do something with God's message.
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Make it plain:
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Use accessible language.
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Use modern day parables based on every day occurrences:
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Sitting at a stop light
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Driving through a green light
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Approaching a yellow light
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Being cut off in traffic
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Going shopping
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Going to a mall
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Going to school; sitting in class
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Going to work; sitting in your office;
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Keep it simple.
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Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
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Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
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Introduction
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We had another party for God this morning! Were you there?
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Did God enjoy your contribution to our worship today?
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There is no substitute for your individual experience with God!
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There is no substitute for your corporate experience with God!
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Would you turn down an invitation to a party for your parents?
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God is your Father - don't miss his party!
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We are called to worship together!
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Acts 2:42-47
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Hebrews 13:15
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1Peter 2:4-10
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At age 12 - 13 I travelled to Europe.
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The park in Paris and the girl who fained - Crisis French.
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Read the Passage - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
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When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
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Homiletical Idea
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It takes the story of Jesus and the cross to release God's power. It takes God's power to produce saving faith and spiritual maturity.
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Exegetical Idea
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When Paul first preached to the Corinthians he avoided eloquence and superior wisdom so that their faith would rest on God's power rather than on human wisdom.
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What does this mean?
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Background - Acts 18:1-18
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The message of the cross is foolishness to the perishing, and God uses this "foolishness" to save those who will receive it.
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This was true in the 1st century context of the passage.
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Today the idea of a dying savior is more acceptable.
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The message of the cross cut across their deepest inclinations:
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Nothing we bring to the table counts towards our salvation.
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Depending on Jesus means not depending on ourselves.
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Paul stuck to God's pattern so that the Corinthians' faith would be based on Jesus Christ and not on human personality or wisdom.
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Determine the Sermon's Purpose (what listeners should do):
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Be clear about what salvation is.
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Be clear in communicating salvation to others.
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Know what salvation is and what it isn't
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This makes a difference in our understanding of our own salvation.
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The message of the cross still cuts across our deepest inclinations:
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Nothing we bring to the table counts towards our salvation.
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Depending on Jesus means not depending on ourselves.
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What Salvation Isn't:
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It's not "following the rules", "being positive", etc.
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"May I never boast except in the cross . . ." - Galatians 6:12-16
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It's not trusting yourself.
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What Salvation Is:
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Trusting Jesus' death on the cross as your righteousness.
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Jesus must be lifted up:
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Son of Man must be lifted up - John 3:13-18
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Bronze snake - Numbers 21:4-9
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I thought I as cool with God.
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Davey & Goliath, etc.
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When I was actually confronted with the gospel I rejected it.
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Communicate salvation effectively to others.
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Time for Son of Man to be glorified - John 12:20-37
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We must die in order to be truly fruitful.
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Like seeds, we must be broken in order for life to emerge from us.
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It affects the way we present salvation to others.
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The gospel is God's power for salvation. - Romans 1:16-17; Romans 10:5-17
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Using human wisdom hinders this power. - 1Corinthians 1:17-18
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Weakness, fear, and trembling don't hinder. - 1Corinthians. 2:3
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Human wisdom does not result in genuine salvation.
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We have to use the genuine gospel to genuinely save people.
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No more boasting about men!
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Conclusion
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It's time for you to be clear about salvation.
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Almost two thousand years ago God became a human being and died in order to restore my relationship with him.
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Have you given up trying to earn what Jesus died to give you?
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It's time for the Son of Man to be glorified by you!
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What do you tell people who ask you about what you believe?
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Have you allowed God to break you?
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Are you willing to share the simple message of salvation?
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Are you willing to share the message with fear and trembling?
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Either the French I had been learning works or it doesn't.
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New Material
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Preparation
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Expository Preaching
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Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through the preacher, applies to the hearers.
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Select the Passage
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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Subject
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Tools: How, Who, What, When, Where, Why
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Complement
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea
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Determine the Purpose of the Sermon
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Make it plain
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Use accessible language and modern parables.
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Make sure people do something with God's message.
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|
|
|
Keep it simple.
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|
|
Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
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Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
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Outline the Sermon
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God Is Love (Part 1)
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Preparation - Genesis 1:26 - 2:3
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Expository Preaching
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Select the Passage - Genesis 1:26 - 2:3
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Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
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Study the Passage
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NIV
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Hebrew Study Bible
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KJV
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The Message
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NASB
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RSV
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Discover the Exegetical Idea
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God created us in order to love and bless us.
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Analyze the Exegetical Idea
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Explain It: What does this mean?
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Love is the determination to benefit others at your own expense.
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Bless ("barakh" in Hebrew) implies benefit, prosperity, wellbeing.
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Prove It: Is it True? Do I believe it?
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God is perfect and self-sufficient.
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God exists in perfect eternal relationship: Father, Son , Holy Spirit.
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God doesn't need us to do anything for him.
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The only purpose we can server for God is as someone to bless.
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Apply It: What difference does it make? So What?
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The way you view God will determine how you relate to him.
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The way you view God will affect his ability to bless you.
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Formulate the Homiletical Idea
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God is love and love demands expression.
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Determine the Sermon's Purpose (what listeners should do):
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Understand that God created you to love you.
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Expect God to be involved in your life.
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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Decide How to Accomplish This Purpose
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Outline the Sermon
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Standing Issues
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From a word Bishop gave me:
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Make sure people do something with God's message.
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|
|
Make it plain:
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|
|
|
Use accessible language.
|
|
|
|
Use modern day parables based on every day occurrences:
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|
|
|
Sitting at a stop light
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|
|
Driving through a green light
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|
|
Approaching a yellow light
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|
Being cut off in traffic
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Going shopping
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Going to a mall
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Going to school; sitting in class
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Going to work; sitting in your office;
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Keep it simple.
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|
|
Use illustrations of truth out of my own experience.
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|
|
Impart faith to obey the Word and receive God's promises.
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|
|
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Introduction
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We had another party for God this morning! Were you there?
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Did God enjoy your contribution to our worship today?
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|
There is no substitute for your individual experience with God!
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|
|
|
There is no substitute for your corporate experience with God!
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|
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|
Would you turn down an invitation to a party for your parents?
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God is your Father - don't miss his party!
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We are called to worship together!
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Acts 2:42-47
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Hebrews 13:15
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1Peter 2:4-10
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My experience as BSU Co-Chair 1977 - 1979
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Office equipment from Procurement Department Director
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Computer equipment from IPS Director
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Bulletin board space from Association of Student Activities
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Resources that my peers considered hostile or indifferent were actually willing to help us.
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Many people treat God as if he's hostile or indifferent.
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Transition - What does the Bible say?
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God begin's creating - Genesis 1:1-5
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.
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A perfect self-sufficient God goes to the trouble of creating . . .
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Read the Passage - Genesis 1:26 - 2:3
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Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
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Homiletical Idea
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God is love and love demands expression us.
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Exegetical Idea
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God created us in order to love and bless us.
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What does this mean?
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Love is the determination to benefit others at your own expense.
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|
|
|
Bless ("barakh" in Hebrew) implies benefit, prosperity, wellbeing.
|
|
|
|
Is it True? Do I believe it?
|
|
|
|
God is perfect and self-sufficient.
|
|
|
|
God exists in perfect eternal relationship: Father, Son , Holy Spirit.
|
|
|
|
God doesn't need us to do anything for him.
|
|
|
|
The only purpose we can serve for God is as someone to bless.
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What difference does it make? So What?
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The way you view God will determine how you relate to him.
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Just like my view of various MIT officials as a student leader.
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The way you view God will affect his ability to bless you.
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Take these steps:
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Believe that God created you to love you.
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Expect God to be passionately interested in your life.
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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Believe that God created you to love you.
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God created man personally and with provision - Genesis 2:4-17
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Expect God to be passionately interested in your life.
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Illustrations
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My family was not very invested in me having a girlfriend.
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Uncle Charlie telling Gail to "go home".
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God cares about our relational needs - Genesis 2:18-25
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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God's ultimate plan for Adam and Eve was to give them himself.
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God wanted them to realize their need for him as their relationship progressed.
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Illustration
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My tendency to gravitate towards father figures.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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God's children love - 1John 4:7-19
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Conclusion
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Believe that God created you to love you.
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Begin reading and reflecting on these Bible passages.
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Start thanking God several times a day for creating and loving you.
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Expect God to be passionately interested in your life.
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Set aside time to talk to God about what's going on in your life.
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If you need help with this ask someone to help you pray.
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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Set aside some time to let God speak to you. Have a notebook and pen available "just in case" he says something you want to remember.
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Write down what comes to mind as you listen.
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If you feel unsure of what you heard, ask someone to help you.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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Find someone new to be a blessing to this week.
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Get a partner to help you if necessary.
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Altar Call / Welcome Cards / Communion
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Welcome Cards - refer to script
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Benediction - Numbers 6:24-26
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“‘“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’
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Men's Prayer
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Discussion Questions / Topics (based on the indicated scriptures)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
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Genesis 1:26 - 2:3
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|
|
|
|
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
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Discussion Questions / Topics:
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Why do you believe God created you? How long
have youfelt this way?
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What Bible passages influence your understanding in this area?
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Genesis 2:4-17
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This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens — and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground — the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
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Discussion Questions / Topics:
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How often do you thank God for creating you and loving you?
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Genesis 2:18-25
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The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
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Discussion Questions / Topics:
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Do you believe God cares about your needs? Why or why not?
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Have you been behaving as if God cared about your needs? Discuss.
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Witnessing Activities
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1John 4:7-19
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us.
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Allow God to give himself to you.
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Take some time to let God speak to you.
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Write down what comes to mind as you listen.
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If you feel unsure of what you heard, ask someone to help you.
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Decide to be a channel of God's blessing to others.
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Is there anyone that you could be a blessing to this coming week? Tell your life group and get a partner to help you if necessary.
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Scriptures For 11/22/2009 Life Church Sermon
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.
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Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
|
|
|
|
|
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens — and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground — the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
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|
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|
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
|
|
|
|
|
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us.
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