Sunday Worship Service
From Creation to Consummation
Gen 1:1; Ps 14:3; John 1:12; Rev 21:4
Proposition: Humankind began at creation, then corruption set in. God offered redemption in Christ so that one day we might see God.
Application: Receive the Lord Jesus into your heart.
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I believe in the Big Bang Theory. God spoke and “Bang” the heavens and the earth were created. It has been said that if you believe the first verse of the Bible, then you should have no problem with the rest of Scripture. If we believe God is big enough to create anything, then God can do everything. Everything draws its existence from God’s existence. He is the First Cause.
He is the Uncreated Creator.
This morning, we will do a quick and brief survey of the history of humankind from creation to corruption, from Christ to the consummation.
- God and Creation (Gen 1:1): God has a plurality to His being. He is Father; He is Son;
He is Spirit. The triune God created the entire cosmos. Not just the Father; not just the Son; not just the Spirit; the entire Godhead created the entire cosmos, and He created the cosmos out of nothing. There is something rather than nothing because God exists. That something is the heavens and the earth. And earth is the focal point of God’s program.
After God created plants and animals, He created humankind. Then He said it was very good. But something happened to humanity. Sin infected the heart of every person. G. K. Chesterton once said, “this one thing is certain – mankind is not what he is meant to be.” As a result, God’s verdict is no longer very good but that no one is good.
- Problem of Corruption (Ps 14:3): The story is told of a man in Scotland who was walking through a park one Sunday afternoon holding a small New Testament in a leather case. Thinking the case contained a camera, a group of young men asked him to take their picture. In response he said, “I already have it.” When the perplexed youth asked him where and when he had taken the picture, he took out his New Testament and read from Romans 3:12 and said to them, “that is your picture.”
About 50 years ago psychiatrist Dr. Karl Meninger wrote a book titled Whatever became of sin? When we think about it nothing has happened to sin, but something happened to us; we don’t like to admit we are sinners; we don’t like to talk about sin. The next time you go to an office party mention sin and see how long it takes for someone to change the subject.
Turning Aside: Sin causes us to turn asidefrom the Lord. Like a bad wheel alignment, when following our sinful desires, we wander from the will of God (Isa 53:6). As we go our own way, we become useless to the Lord.
Spoiled: What happens when we leave a carton of milk on the kitchen counter? It turns sour. It is useless to drink; no longer good to put in our bowl of cereal. Apart from the work of God’s grace human nature is like sour milk in God’s eyes. Turning away from the Lord renders us useless to Him. Sin makes us unprofitable to God (2 Tim 2:21). When God created humankind, He said it was very good. Now God’s verdict is that no one is good.
None Are Good: We may do good deeds. We may say good words. We may think good thoughts. But we can’t be good as God defines good. The problem is not out there the problem is in here (i.e. the heart). But the Lord has supplied a solution to the problem of sin. He offers a remedy for sin by giving us a new heart; a heart that will not turn aside from the Lord.
- Receive Christ (John 1:12): This verse is one of the clearest statements in Scripture about how our sin problem is dealt with. As many of you know I have a chronic cough. f I have a bottle of medicine that is proven to cure any coughing no matter the cause would that medicine do me any good? Of course it would. But I must take it. The effects of the treatment kick in only after I take it.
In the early 1800’s President Andrew Jackson issued a full pardon to George Wilson, a man sentenced to be hanged. Wilson refused the pardon. Could he legally refuse the President’s pardon? The supreme court justice John Marshall declared: “The value of the pardon depends upon its acceptance. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.” And so it was. To receive the forgiveness of sin and to become a child of God, we must receive the Lord Jesus into our lives. To receive Him and to believe in Him are one and the same. Becoming a child of our parents requires a birth. Becoming a child of God requires a second birth. We are not born children of God. We become children of God through a second birth. When we receive the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, we have the right to claim the status child of God. There is no greater privilege than being admitted into the family of God. And being a part of the family of God as His child we have a future inheritance.
- Future Consummation (Rev 21:4): The goal of our salvation is to see God face to face. All effects of sin, all causes for tears, all knowledge of sadness, sorrow, or pain, will be forever gone (Isa 35:10).
Suppose you were in a dark room, the shades down, the curtains closed, and you want to let the light in. What do you do? Do you first put out the darkness so the light may enter? How crazy is that? In the same way we cannot be rid of sin before letting the Lord Jesus into our lives. By receiving Him sin will flee. God offers and faith accepts. Open the curtains of your heart at once and let the Lord Jesus shine forth.
Embracing Humility
Mark 9:33-50 |
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A Faith that Does Not Fail
Mark 9:14 – 32 |
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Kingdom Preview
Mark 9:1-13 |
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The Mission of the Messiah
Mark 8:22 – 38 |
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He Has Done All Things Well
Mark 7:31 – 8:10 |
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The Problem of Sin and The Triumph of Faith
Mark 7:17 – 30 |
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Truth and Tradition
Mark 7:1 – 16 |
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A Night Of Wonders
Mark 6:45-56 |
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The Cost of Service
Mark 6:14-29 |
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Little Is Much
Mark 6:30-44 |
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More than a Carpenter
Mark 6:1-13 |
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Faith Rather Than Fear
Mark 5:35-43 |
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A Faith That Makes You Well
Mark 5:21-34 |
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The Chain Breaker
Mark 5:1-20 |
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Faith In The Frantic Moments
Mark 4:35-41 |
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Shine Jesus Shine
Mark 4:21 – 34 |
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Spiritual Crop Failure
Mark 4:1-20 |
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Surviving the Pressure of Persecution
Mark 3:20-35 |
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Christ Among The Crowds
Mark 3:1-19 |
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Feasting, Fasting and Fault-Finding
Mark 2:13-28 |
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When Jesus Is In The House
Mark 2:1-12 |
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Follow The Plan
Mark 1:29-45 |
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Fishers of Men
Mark 1:14-28 |
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The Good News Begins
Mark 1:1 – 13 |