May 31, 2026 · 02:01 PM
Created in God's Image
DD
Dee Dee HannahOpening Testimony and Sharing
My job is very stressful. I'm a probation parole officer. I work with people who, instead of going to jail, when they get in trouble with the court, they get put on probation, they have a suspended sentence. They'll say, okay, instead of being born in jail today for 120 days, you will be on probation for a year. I work with those people. A lot of the people that I work with are drug addicts. And. And I can say that's mostly all I work with is drug addicts. And it can be very, very stressful.
And I've noticed that if I'm in a bad mood, my day's always worse. And I think we're all human. One morning this week, I was really just. And I was in my car, and I never will forget, I was going by the old Kmart. Cause I was going to go pick one up to take me for a job interview. Matthew 25:40 And it was as if God said to me, you getting paid to help people? It was that still, small voice. 1 Samuel 3:17 It was as if he said, deep, you get paid to help these people. So that was my. And it made me stop and think, yeah. Now here I am grumbling. I'm getting paid to help these people, to. To try to try to get on the right track. And that was my experience this week.
Anybody else have any experiences? Nope. Okay, Doug, will you open this up in prayer and. And pray over me in the lesson?
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for this beautiful morning, Lord, you give us on this side of heaven. Thank you for this opportunity to come back over to your house one more time to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Come to you at this time, we ask you to be with Dee Dee Lord. Give her the physical strength and the mental strength to help us, Lord, learn more about you and get closer to you, Lord. That she began to be with her and touch her. Bless the remainder of the service, Lord, we give you the praise and glory and honor for everything that she Honor does. Amen.
And one more thing. When I was sharing that with you, there's other things God said.
I chose you to help these people.
John 15:16
Wow. God chosen to help those people. And here I am grumbling about it. So you think that didn't make my day different? And I think it made me stop and remember in the busyness, just because I remember I trinity down my radio. I thought I was going to try to be quiet. Now, if I hadn't trinity that radio down, you think I would have heard that small, still voice? 1 Kings 19:12 Maybe, maybe not. If I had trinity your music Blaring, singing about honky tonk. You think I would heard that? Still, small voice. Probably not. But I'm telling y', all, it is just like.
So I'm gonna try to remember that every day when I get up. I've chosen to do this. But you gotta remember we're all chosen for something. It's gonna be different, but we're all chosen for something.
Recap of Genesis Study
Alright, we started in Genesis and I asked you all if we could go through Genesis. We started in verse one and we ended at verse 25. Genesis 1:25 Now, before we get started, who can tell me who penned. And I say penned, that means write. Who wrote the book of Genesis? Do y' all remember?
It was Moses. And who was the book of Genesis written for? Y' all remember? It was written for the people of Israel. That's who he was writing to, writing for. And the setting which, when it was written was the region presently known as the Middle East. Is there a lot going on in the Middle east right now? Yeah. Yep, yep, yep. All right, I'm going to start over here. And if you don't want to read, you can say you don't want to read, but will you read Genesis 1:25, where we stopped just so we. So we'll know where we stopped last week?
Scripture Reading
And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind and cattle after their kind and everything that creepeth on the earth after his kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25+1
Bingo. God saw that it was good.
God saw that his work was good and he was pleased. People sometimes feel guilty for having a good time or feeling good about an accomplishment. This need not to be so. Just as God was pleased with his work, we can be pleased with our work. However, we cannot be pleased with our work if God would not be pleased with it.
What are you doing that pleases both you and God? Any thoughts? What are you doing that pleases both you and God? I read new words. I'm sorry. You think that pleases him? You think we know what else is. Oh, Janice is watching Geraldo. I'm still on tv. He used to be a talk show. Oh, Janice is watching Dancing with Stars. You think that makes him happy when you're not reading the word of God? I'm not saying you can't watch Dancing with Stars, but if that's all you fill your time with versus getting in the Word. All right, we want to go to verse 26. Will you read, Janice?
Colossians 3:23–24
Colossians 3:23–24 connects work and service to the Lord, a helpful passsage related to the sermon theme about work and attitude.
Scripture Reading
And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish. Of the sea, over the fowl, of the air and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping day that creepeth Genesis 1:26
upon the earth. What does it mean to have dominion? What does it mean to have dominion over something? Control. And what does this say? So that means those dogs don't have control over us, do they? Those dogs that we love, those cats that we love, that tractor that we love. I'm just making stuff. That fishing pole that we love, that boat that we love. Anything's got to have dominion. We're supposed to have dominion over everything, aren't we? Right. Okay.
Made in God's Image
Why does God use the plural for let us make men in our image? Why do you think that he said it like that? Why does God use the plural form, let us make men in our image? One view says this is a reference to the trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We've all heard of that, right? Three in one. Another view is that the plural wording is used to denote majesty. Kings traditionally use the plural form in speaking of themselves. So like King Charles, they would probably say, let us come and eat. Let us go to the sitting room. That's just the form of majesty. But it could be the three of one.
Right. Okay. Now let's go to. Okay, here's another question. In what ways are we made in God's image? In what ways are we made in God's image? Any thoughts? Love. Does God want us to hate each other? Does God want me to be jealous over Karen? Exodus 20:5 Cause she's prettier. Prettier than I am? Nope. No. Or because Angie's got better hair than I have? Am I supposed to not like her? Genesis 1:26
And you hit it right on there. We're supposed to love one better. God obviously did not create us exactly like Himself, especially in a physical sense. Instead, we are reflections of God's glory. God is sinless, eternal and unlimited. Although we are given the potential to be sinless and eternal, we are also given the choice to fall short. We will never be totally like God because He is our supreme Creator. Our best hope is to reflect his character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness. Genesis 1:26 Knowing that we remain in God's image and thus share many of his characteristics provides a solid basis for self worth. Human worth is not defined by possessions. Remember I talked about that tractor, the ME Nickels we have? And that fancy home we have? Or that camper we have that we get to go camping with? Go to the lake all the time. Not the finest. Does it. Achievements our Work is not defined by our achievements. When Daryl can catch 50 fish at one time, that doesn't define who he is, does it? Genesis 1:26 He's a good fisherman. And does that define his worth? He ain't gonna bring anybody else, is he?
Physical attractiveness, us ladies, this is a big thing with us. When we get old, we think we're not physically attracted anymore. We send them wrinkles. We think, oh, I'm not invaluable. But we are, right? Not supposed to look at that, are we? I'm sorry, I'm gonna shut. Oh, okay. See her sitting there going, are you sure, Bernie? I don't know if we got a blanket. Are you told? Not yet. Okay. Okay. Our public acclaim. You know what public acclaim means? If somebody has public acclaim status. So what? Your status is no more important than my status, is it? Not in God's eyes, The world's eyes. Genesis 1:26 It might be, but not in God's eyes. Because we are like God. We can feel positive about ourselves. I know growing up, sometimes I was told not to brag or be boastful. And in a sense, is that right? What is the opposite of doing that. Or the very, very opposite is thinking that you can't do anything right if all you're told is how you do everything wrong, what are you going to be? You're not going to be confident, are you? Acts 22:26 Knowing that you are a person of. Well, how do I say that word? Robert Cooper, Infinite. Infinite. Infinite. And what does infinite mean? We talked about it last week. God is infinite. Am I saying it right? God is infinite. We're not, are we? We don't know everything. We can't. But God is infinite. We'll never be a. So where God is, we'll never have his knowledge. Knowing that you are a person of infinite worth gives you freedom to love God, know Him personally, and make a valuable contribution to those around you. So we know we're valuable because of Him. Right? We gotta believe that every day, y'. All. We're valuable because of Him.
Male and Female in God's Image
All right, who we're next? Will you read verse 27? Did we already do 27? Acts 22:27 Okay.
Scripture Reading
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him. Male and female created he being, he made male and female. Genesis 1:26+1
Is there a difference between males and females? You better believe it. Physically, right? Physically we're different. What about emotionally? Big time. Gone to that on purpose. So, Doug, next time Janice is having a bad day and she's crying and says it's all your fault, just say God made you like eugenice Isn't it wonderful? Isaiah, praise God, Karen, next time. I don't mean to call you Peanut. That's all I know. You guys, next time Peanut fusses or I'm sorry, next time. Peanut gets mad because his toast is burnt. He wants his toast, right? That's the way God made him. You can say, thank you, Peanut. God, for doing what God made you to do. We're different. Aren't you? And aren't we glad?
Colossians 3:12–14
Colossians 3:12–14 (compassion/clothing yourselves) supports the sermon theme about treating one another with Christlike virtues.
Aren't we glad God made both man and woman in his image. Genesis 1:27 Neither man nor woman is made more in the image of God than the other. From the beginning, the Bible places both man and woman at the pinnacle of creation. Neither sex is exalted and neither is depreciated.
Dominion and Care for Creation
All right, who can we go? Are you trying for 3 and 28?
Scripture Reading
And God blessed them. And God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28
There's that word dominion again, isn't it? To have dominion over something is to have absolute authority and control over it. God has ultimate dominion over the Earth, and he exercises authority of loving care. When God delegated some of his authority to the human race. For the human race. Right. For the human race. He expected us to take responsibility for the environment and the other creatures that inhabit our planet. We must not be careless as we fulfill this church Like the Creator, we should care for the Earth responsibly and lovingly. All right, let's go on. Will you read next, Peanut? If you don't want to read, you'll have to. I can. Which one? We're on 29. Okay.
Scripture Reading
And God said, behold, I have given you every herd, her bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the Earth. And every tree into which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed. To you it shall be for meat. Genesis 1:29
Very good. I'm going to go back to the days of creation. The first day was light. So there was light and darkness. The second day was sky and water. The third day with sea and earth. The fourth day was sun, moon and stars. The fifth day was fish and birds. The sixth day was animals, man and woman to care for the earth.
And the seventh day, God rested and declared all he had made to be. Very good. Genesis 1:31 I'm just talking about that, so I want you to keep that in mind. My study Bible says man and woman were created to care for the Earth and commune with God. What does it mean to commune? When does the word commune mean? God wants us to commune with him, don't he? And when we don't feel like it, he wants us to commune with him. And going back to the days of creation, Lot was created first because everything without the plants would die, wouldn't they? Genesis 1:3 Plants have to have light. So think about that when you think about how things were created. Alright, Robert, can you read the next chapter? I think we're in 30.
Scripture Reading
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat. And. And it was so. Genesis 1:30
Will you go ahead and write 31, please?
Scripture Reading
And God saw everything that he had made. And behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31
So we're up to the sixth day. And what have we done so far? What word have we seen? Several times. Good. Good. In dominion. We saw that a couple times. But the main thing I want to point out is we see the word good.
And it was very good. God was pleased with how he created, for he saw that it was very good. You are part of God's creation and he is pleased with how he made you. James, did you hear that? You're part of God's creation. He is pleased with how he made you. James, did you hear that? And I'm not saying this to you, it's right here in the bottom.
If at times you feel worthless or of little value. Anybody ever felt like that? No. If you don't want to admit it, that's okay. God still knows it. You don't have to admit it. But if you ever feel worthless, when we got to remember, not worthless, are we? God didn't make anything worthless, did he? Nope. When I'm working with that person who does nothing but lie to me day after day after day and week after week when I go see him, and all they do is lie. Is that person worthless? Maybe in the human eye, but not God's eye. No. No. So remember, look at people that we deal with. We might have them in our families. We might think they're never going to change. They're no good. God's done with them.
Matthew 18:15
Matthew 18:15 gives guidance for private confrontation and restoration, relevant to Dee's comments about dealing with repeated sin.
God's never done with anybody, is he? God's all for breathing. There's always hope. Always hope. God made you for a reason. You were valuable to me. I want y' all to write that down. Genesis 1:26 God made you for a good.
God made you for A good reason. You are valuable to him.
All right. We want to go to Genesis James, are you comfortable with reading or not? Okay. Rhonda, are you comfortable with reading? Sure. Okay. Will you read verse two and one? Chapter two, verse one. This.
Scripture Reading
The heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. You ain't getting ready, read another one. I read a lot. Would you read another one? If I can see. Okay. And if you can, that's okay. And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made. And he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. Angie, we read the next one, roll three. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. James 1:1+1
Sanctified. What does it mean to sanctify something? You're a good reader too, Angel. What does it mean to sanctify something? When it says God sanctified it, what does that mean? Anybody else means he made it. Genesis 1:31 Holy. Sanctus is the Latin word for holy. What other word did we hear in this reading? We heard the word good. We heard the word good again, didn't we heard the word good?
The Principle of Rest
So out of this I'm gonna. I'm going to put my Bible, study it, I'm going to go along with it and sort of read into it. We live in an action oriented world. Would y' all agree with that? Agree with that. We live in an action oriented world. You do this, that happens this, that, this, that. We live in that world. Right.
Yet God demonstrated that rest is appropriate and right. So when we work all week and we get home from church on Sunday and we see weeds out in the yard, we camp on. Genesis 2:2–3 But do we have to? We can ranch, can't we? And when I say Sunday, I just do that because that's when I come to church sending out my Sabbath. Matthew 8:10–11 A day of rest. Sometimes we have trouble resting, don't we? You ever say holiday and I've done how many years? Ever said I wish there were more hours in a day? I say it a lot. But you know what that means? That means I'm doubting God. Cause if God wanted there to be 30 hours a day, we would have a 30 hour day, wouldn't we? He made it 24 hours and then in his eyes I should be able to get done what I want done in a 24 hour thing. Genesis 2:2–3 Can we work 24 hours a day? No. We think we can. Work, work, work, work. You gotta work, work, work, work. Get everything done. Get everything done. The world's gonna come to an end if you don't get everything done, is it? No, no, no. But we think we just gotta go. And I feel like society makes us like that. And we go to bed, we'll say, no, I don't have to. You know what else we're gonna learn how to do? We're gonna have to say no. Genesis 2:2–3 When people ask us, especially if you're a doer. I'm a doer. I like to do stuff and I'm a fixer. When somebody knows that, they'll be like, oh, we'll get Dede, we'll get Janice, we'll get Robert, we'll get Angie, we'll get Deb, we'll get Karen. Because they know we're doers. They'll do it. Is it okay to say, no, I'm not gonna do it this time? Well, sometimes we overload ourselves, don't we? And we feel guilty because we have to say, ah, I don't think I can do that this time.
Alright. Jesus demonstrated this principle. We're talking about rest, resting. Jesus, if God himself rested from his work, which he did on the seventh day, right? That's what the Bible says, on the seventh day he rested. And it should not amaze us that we need rest as well. Jesus demonstrated this principle when he and his disciples left in a boat to get away from the crowds. Y' all remember that? Remember that story? It's in Mark 6, 31, 32. Will somebody get to that and read that for me, please? Mark 6:31 Remember, we're talking about rest. Mark 6, 31, 32. I meant to mark these. The next time I teach, I'm going to write the verses down to hand them out to y'. All. So you'll have it and you won't miss it on the spot. Does somebody have it?
Hebrews 4:9–11
Hebrews 4:9–11 is relevant background for the sermon’s theme of entering God's rest.
Scripture Reading
And the apostles gathered themselves together to Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had David And he said unto them, come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure, so much has to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship, traveling. Mark 6:31–32
Did y' all hear that? Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest for a while. Jesus said that. So why don't we do that? Rest for a while. And they depart into a desert place by ship. Privately. Do you rest privately? Janice might be hard. Levi said, Granny, Granny. Granny. Granny. Impossible. Karen, do you rest violently or is Peanut saying, Karen, Karen. Karen. And you do rest, probably. We're gonna get to that place, don't we? To where we say, I'm gonna rest, probably. I'm not gonna let distraction get to me. So we gotta get it in here first, don't we? Yep. All right. Let me see what my Bible says on that chat. But it was, what, mark six, what, 31, 32. I ran 30, 31 and 32. Okay. Does anybody else have a Bible application? Life study Bible. Yeah. Well, that's what. That's what I'm getting most of my notes from. When the disciples had returned from their mission, Jesus took them away to rest. Doing God's work is very important, but Jesus recognized that to do it effectively, we need periodic rest and renewal. Jesus and his disciples, however, did not always find it easy to get the rest they needed. Neither do we. Do we? Okay.
Creation of Man and the Garden
All right. Now where we at? We were on I'll marry this the story of Adam, because that's what we're fixing to go into. Genesis 1:26–27 Okay. Learning about our ancestors often helps us understand ourselves. Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, were the highlight of God's creation, the very reason God made the world. But they didn't always live the way God intended. Through their mistakes, we can learn important lessons on how to live rightly. Genesis 3:16–19 Adam and Eve teach us much. Adam and Eve teach us much about the nature of sin and its consequences. So right now we're going by Adam and Eve, and we're in Genesis 2, 1. Genesis 2:1 Angie, will you start us off? And I'm going to go back around the room. We've already been through three. We're up to verse. I'm sorry, Two. Four. Yeah. Verse. Genesis 2:2 Two. Four. Yeah. Four, please. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Lord God made the earth and the heavens. Very good. Genesis 2:4–6 You want to read one more? And every plant of the field before it was in. In the earth. And every herb of the field before it grew. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. Very good, Deb. Can you start at verse six? But then went up amidst from the earth and watered the whole place of the ground. Please. Okay, thank you. Out of the dust and ground implies that there is nothing fancy about the chemical elements from which we are made. Genesis 2:7
We're made from dust to ground. In my mind. What's that word again? Infinite. Infinite. Which I guess I would be. I would be finite. God would be infinite and I would be finite. Right. Finite. Finite. So in my finite mind, I can't imagine a human being making a crown, can you? And that's the whole point. We can't. No matter how hard we try, we can't process that because we're not meant to. Right? God is infinite. Am I saying. I'm not saying it right? Am I infinite? Infinite. God is infinite. We are finite. Am I saying that right? Okay. God is infinite. Meaning knows it all. We are finite. We don't know it all. Is that saying it right? We're finite. Remember? Our finite minds can't grasp it. But that don't make it not so, does it? Just because we don't understand it doesn't mean that it's not so. So, alright.
The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive with his breath of life. Genesis 2:7 When God removes his life giving breath, our bodies once again return to dust. In other words, when we die, we return to the dust. Therefore, our life and worth come from God's spirit. Many boast of our achievements only to fail soon after. Others have no achievements to boast about. But in reality, our worth comes not from our achievements, but from the God of the universe who chooses to give us the mysterious and miraculous gift of life. Value life as he does. How many of y' all ever seen a baby be born? Or had a baby? How many of us have had babies? Okay. How many of us have ever seen a grandchild be born? How many of us men, when you've seen that first grandbaby, saw it laying there in its first lot when it. When it's first born, Is that not amazing? God done that? That new life is God, right? All right, let's go back to reading. Where are we at? We in verse eight. Another rep. Okay. Janice, are you okay with reading three chapters? Three. Three verses. James 1:2 Three verses. Three verses.
Scripture Reading
And the Lord God planted a garden of eastward in Eden. And there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The Tree of life also in the midst of the garden. And the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil and the river out of Eden to water the garden. Genesis 3:8+1
And from thence it parted and became into four heads. Very good. The Garden of Eden was a showcase of the magnificent beauty God intended for his creation. Eden was no accident. Ezekiel 36:35 It was a place designed to be fully enjoyed. How many, Robert, have you ever been to Israel or Jerusalem or anywhere over there? No. Have you? Darryl? You have? Is the Garden of Eden anywhere? Do they know where The Garden of Eden would have been. No. Okay. That's always interested me. I've always thought if I go over there, I want them to tell me where was the Garden of Eden. But maybe it can't be found. Genesis 2:8 Right. That's always just fascinating to me, and I don't know why. That's deityology. That's what we want to call that, deityology. I want to know where the gardening was. Okay. The name and the tree of knowledge of good and evil implies that evil had already occurred. If not in the garden, you. Genesis 3:1–5 Then at the time of Satan's fall. All right, let's continue reading. Doug, can you pick up. Oh, it looks like some of these words in the room. Okay. The name of the first is Pisces. That is which compass. The whole land of Havoc. Havenah. Where there is gold, and the gold of that land is good. There is medallion. Medallion. And the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is. The same. It is that to pass the whole land of Judea Ethiopia. You go on. And the name of the third river is Watermelon. Yeah, watermelon. That is it. Which goes toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. Okay. And I'm going to read. I'm going to read 15 through 17 because we're going to come to a stopping place next week.
Romans 5:12–21
Romans 5:12–21 is helpful background for contrasts between Adam and Christ, which the sermon touched on.
We'll pick up an 18. So I'm going to read 15 through 17.
Scripture Reading
And the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress and to keep it. What does that mean? To put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. What does that mean? Keep all them weeds out of it. Right. Keep all the animals out of it that come in to eat it. Make sure the corn stands upright however he's to dress. You all know what that means. And the Lord commanded the man, saying, of every tree in the garden, thou may freely eat. But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou surely die. Genesis 2:15–17
Pretty strong words, isn't it? But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
The Trees and Human Choice
Were the tree of the life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil real trees? That's what my Bible question is. Ask something for us to think about. Were they real trees? Two views are often expressed. The trees were real, but symbolic. eternal life with God was symbolized by Eating from the Tree of Life. The trees were real, possessing special properties. By eating the fruit from the Tree of Life, Adam and Eve could have had eternal life, enjoying a permanent relationship with God's children. I think that's why I've always understood it. But you can understand either way. In either case, Adam and Eve's sin separated them from the Tree of Life and thus kept them from attaining eternal life.
Interestingly, the Tree of Life again appears in description in Revelation 12:22 of people enjoying eternal life with God. God gave Adam responsibility for the garden and told him not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Rather than physically forbidding him from eating, God gave Adam a choice and thus the possibility of choosing wrongly. Genesis 3:6 God still gives us choices today. And we too, including myself, often choose wrongly, don't we? We're human. Sometimes we make wrong choices. Have you ever made our own choice, Janice? Oh, yeah, James, you ever made our own choice? Yeah. We all have, haven't. God still gives us choices today, and we too often choose wrongly.
These wrong choices may cause us pain and irritation, but they can help us learn and to grow and make better choices in the future. Living with the consequences of our choices is one of the best ways to become more responsible. Y' all agree with that? I don't mean to resort back to me, but those people that I work with, when I tell them, if you don't stop what you're doing and start doing this, you're going to end up going to prison. I tell them that it's choice, isn't it? Genesis 3:16–19 And when prisons were invented, they were invented for people, and we're taken out of society. They go to prison. When they come out, they don't want to go back there. They say, wow, I don't want to go back to that prison. I'm going to be in society. That was the way prisons were originally designed. Thus there are consequences. I'm going to doing this again. I'm not going back there. I'm going to make better choices, right? Genesis 3:6 And I'm using as an example, we can all go around and talk about choices and how they affect us. And wrong ones we've made that can. At the time, we think they're bad, but when we look back, they make us better, right? If we let them, we're going to let them make us better. How many times y' all been Peter Okay, why? I've got one more thing. I'm gonna hush. Why would God place a tree in the garden and then for then. And then forbid God and then forbid Adam to eat from it. Remember, we're talking about the tree of knowledge, good and evil.
Deuteronomy 30:19–20
Deuteronomy 30:19–20 frames choosing life over death, which supports the sermon’s point about choosing to obey God.
God wanted Adam to obey, but he gave him the freedom to choose. Without choice, Adam would have been like a prisoner forced to obey. Ever thought about that? Thus, two trees presented an exercise in choice, with rewards for choosing to obey and sad consequences for choosing to disobey. Obey, disobey. There's a difference, right? There's a difference. Especially if you ever had kids. Obey, disobey. When faced with the choice, choose to obey God and choice. When we're faced with the choice, we've got to choose to obey God. If we choose any other way, we're choosing wrong. Deuteronomy 30:19–20 Right? We got to get a place in our lives where we say, I'm not choosing anything else. I'm choosing to obey God. That's where we gotta get. And if we're not there yet, we gotta figure out, well, how can I get there? We gotta strive for that. We're gonna make mistakes along the way. Made a mistake. I'm not doing that again. I'm gonna come better. We'll make that mistake again. All right. Any thoughts, concerns, dislikes, suggestions? Everybody ready to have church? Okay, lift your pastor up. Always lift your pastor up. Does somebody want to dismiss the class? If nobody wants to argue, going once, twice. Okay. It'll be me.
Closing Prayer
Dear Godfather, we just thank you, Lord, for letting us get together this time and just learn more about you, Father. Genesis 2:16–17 I pray that what we learn is blessing to you, Lord. And that we don't put ourselves in your place at all, Father, but that we are David about you and that we understand, Lord, that the Bible is where we start, Lord. Nothing else helps us to learn but you. Father. I pray for Darrell as he preaches this morning. Just lift him up on high, give him the words to say, and help us to have tentative ears and in our hearts to be open to what he has to say. Father, we love you and we pray for this little church. And we pray, Lord, that we can grow and that we can just be more like you in everything that we do. Father, these things we ask in your name. Amen.
You said God made us for a good reason. And I didn't cat the last part.