Point of Grace Online Worship - July 28, 2024

 July 28, 2024

“Four on Four” – Four Lessons on Grace from genesis Chapter Four

Rev. Mike Coppersmith

DEFINITION OF GOD’S GRACE:

God’s heart-cleansing forgiveness, life-changing kindness and extravagant favor found in Jesus Christ and freely given to people who don’t deserve it and can’t earn it.

THERE IS NOTHING TO EARN, BUT THERE IS MUCH TO LEARN!

FOUR LESSONS ABOUT THE GRACE OF GOD

Genesis 4:1-5

Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.’”2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Hebrews 11:4

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith, he still speaks, even though he is dead.”

Lesson One:

GOD’S GRACE IS A SPEAKING GRACE

Genesis 4:6-7

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Lesson Two:

GOD’S GRACE IS A SEEKING GRACE

Genesis 4:8

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked and killed his brother Abel.

Genesis 4:9-12

Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘\”Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

Lesson Three:

GOD’S GRACE IS A PERSEVERING GRACE

Genesis 4:13-14

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

Genesis 4: 15-16

But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Romans 2:4

God’s kindness leads you toward repentance.”

Lesson Four:

GOD’S GRACE IS A SAVING GRACE

Genesis 4:17-24

Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. 24 If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

Genesis 4: 25-26

Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.

Luke 3:38

…the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”

Hebrews 12:22-24

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good

Point of Grace Online Worship - July 21, 2024

Point of Grace – 7.21.24 Sermon Notes – “In the Beginning God…” Genesis 3:9-24

“Oh No!”

Genesis 3:8-24 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 2 revealed that God created 3 beautiful relationships for people to thrive within:

•                     People and their Environment

•                     People and God

•                     People and People

Genesis 2 7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being… 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”….. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 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.”

Genesis 3 reveals the “death” (ie…separation) of the Genesis 2 relational harmony. Hiding, blaming and self-justifying would now mark humanities broken relationship with God and each other. Hostility replaces harmony, even in their relationship with the rest of creation. Humanity’s attempts to fix themselves only worsen the “death” pains.

God’s Response? … … … Gracious Rescue!

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel”

“If one looks at the passage within the larger scope of the purpose of the Pentateuch ... much more appears to lie in these words ... It seems likely that the author intends these words to be read as programmatic and foundational for the establishment of the plot and characterization of the remainder of the book. In the narrative to follow, there is to be war (‘enmity’). The two sides are represented by two seeds, the ‘seed’ of the snake and the ‘seed’ of the woman. In the ensuing battle, the ‘seed’ of the woman will crush the head of the snake. Though wounded in the struggle, the woman‘s ‘seed’ will be victorious. There remains in this verse a puzzling yet important ambiguity: Who is the ‘seed’ of the woman? It seems obvious that the purpose of verse 15 has not been to answer that question, but rather to raise it. The remainder of the book is, in fact, the author‘s answer.” John Sailhammer – The Pentateuch as Narrative

16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Point of Grace Online Worship - July 14, 2024

Point of Grace – 7.14.24 Sermon Notes – “In the Beginning God…” Genesis 3

“Oh No!”

Genesis 3:1-8

Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made.

And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”

4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will [a]become like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings. 8 Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made.

“The character of the snake is a rich and dense narrative image with many layers of meaning. In Genesis 3:1, the snake is described as “shrewd” or “crafty.” This Hebrew word, “arum” (ערום ), is morally neutral, as it can describe the righteous and wise, like in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 22:3 The “arum” sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on, and are punished for it.” Tim Mackie – Bible Project Classroom

3:1b-5 And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”

4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.”

What is the serpent’s temptation strategy?

He is merely planting seeds of “doubt” in the goodness, trustworthiness and character of God … a wedge of doubt. As if he is saying,

“You can’t trust God’s generosity, His word, His intention with you…” therefore … you need to take matters into your own hands. God is holding out on you… He doesn’t have your best interest at heart.”

Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

Under temptation she saw the tree in a new light… her light … it became for them a way to be “independent” from the God who created them “dependent”. The serpent promised they would “become like gods”… the crazy thing is they were already made in the image of God – “like God”. The serpent lead the to “take” for themselves by their own authority what was already “given” them by their generous creator Father. They usurped God’s path into wisdom fullness of life and “took” over their story… choosing “self-rule” and independence.

Genesis 3:7-10 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings. 8 Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

Without the “breath of God” intimacy in their dependent relationship with God, the man and woman cratered under the weight of independent existence. They discovered shame, aloneness, fear, a new life of hiding from themselves, each other and God. They hid themselves from the “presence of God” and what does God do? “Where are you?” … the Creator God pursuing His “beloved” ’ayekah’ Where are you?

“It's the first word of the book of Lamentations, which is all about the exile. The tragedy of Israel's exile from the promised land. This is why I've come to refer to God's poem In Genesis 3, as God's lament. It's God's song of grief. That's what the book of Lamentations is. And it's his first question in the garden. ’ayekah’ Where are you? And when you use the vowels .... It's an exclamation. It's not even a word. It's just an exclamation. “Oh or oh no”….. very powerful. Yahweh’s first response is actually just a visceral, “Where are you? Oh no!” Tim Mackie – Bible Project Classroom

Point of Grace Online Worship - July 7, 2024

“In the Beginning God…” Genesis 2:4-25 July 7th 2024

3 Key Themes:

1. God as the Author of Blessing

2. Man as a Dependent Royal Priest

3. God as one who wants to be Found

God as the Author of Blessing

Genesis 2:5, 18, 20b

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for

the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground,

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable

for him.”…But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

When God is the originator, blessing flows, When God is the afterthought, death reigns

Genesis 2:10-14

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four

headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of

Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are

also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of

Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And

the fourth river is the Euphrates.

• 4 rivers named: Gusher, Buster, Rusher and Bloomer

• Literally "Increase, bursting forth, swift, and fruitfulness"

• They water the 4 areas where the entire bible takes place.

God's blessing, while found concentrated in a specific place is for the world

How does this help us understand scripture better?

Genesis 2:16-17

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the

garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when

you eat from it you will certainly die.”

God’s first command is not a prohibition, instead it is to enjoy to the fullest.

Man as Dependent Royal Priest

Genesis 2:7

"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his

nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."

• No other creature is created in the way Humans are created.

• Mankind is a God-filled image bearer.

Genesis 2:8-9

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he

had formed. 9 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.

To hunger and to thirst is apparently important for what it means to be human.

We are designed for dependency.

Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and

take care of it.

"Work it and care for it.” | “To serve and to keep” | (abad / ע) בד ) & shamar ( ש / מר

Bible Project Classroom

• The phrase “to serve and keep” (abad / ע) בד ) & shamar ש / מר ) refers to a priestly

service of worship. These verbs are used together as a phrase elsewhere only in

descriptions of the priests and Levites working in and around the temple.

• The word "work" is commonly used in a religious sense of serving God, and in

priestly texts, especially of the tabernacle duties of the Levites

• “to keep” has the simple sense of ‘guard’, but it is even more commonly used in

legal texts of observing religious commands and duties

“The tasks given to Adam are of a priestly nature: caring for sacred space. In ancient

thinking, caring for sacred space was a way of upholding creation. By preserving order, nonorder

was held at bay … the point of caring for sacred space should be seen as much more

than landscaping or even priestly duties. Maintaining order made one a participant with

God in the ongoing task of sustaining the equilibrium God had established in the cosmos.

…’to complete what was unfinished, and to preserve the existent, not as a status quo but in

a continuing, dynamic, even revolutionary process of remodeling and improvement.”’

Genesis 2:16-17

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the

garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when

you eat from it you will certainly die.”

God’s first command is to enjoy to the fullest.

But with great power comes great responsibility.

How does this help us understand scripture better?

Bible Project Classroom

Notice that the first command has to do with eating from all of the trees, not the prohibition

of the one (Gen. 2:16). The divine command is not arbitrary and is directly linked to

humanity’s continued enjoyment of life in the garden of Eden.

The prohibition’s purpose is to safeguard the divine intent for humanity to enjoy God’s own

life in the garden.

Whether or not to act with dependency on God’s is the question

every biblical “hero” must face

God as one who wants to be Found

Genesis 2:8-9

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he

had formed. 9 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.

God is creating a centralized location where both His Blessing and Himself can be

experienced & found.

There is a “located-ness” to God

How does this help us understand scripture better?

Jesus..

is the perfect Author of Blessing

is the perfectly Dependent Royal Priest

is the one who can be Found

Is the one who Finds

Point of Grace Online Worship - June 30, 2024

Point of Grace – 6.30.24 Sermon Notes – “In the Beginning God…” Genesis 1

Genesis 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so…. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,[f] and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

bibleproject.com

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/genesis-1/?utm_source=web_social_share&medium=shared_video

Insights from Genesis 1 for “getting” the rest of the story!

God at the Center

In the beginning, God… created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

“First, God. God is the subject of life. God is foundational for living. If we don’t have a sense of the primacy of God, we will never get it right, get life right, get our lives right. Not God at the margins; not God as an option; not God on the weekends. God at center and circumference; God first and last; God, God, God.

Genesis gets us off on the right foot. Genesis pulls us into a sense of reality that is God-shaped and God-filled. It gives us a vocabulary for speaking accurately and comprehensively about our lives, where we come from and where we are going, what we think and what we do, the people we live with and how to get along with them, the troubles we find ourselves in and the blessings that keep arriving.

Eugene Peterson – Introduction to Genesis – The Message

God Speaks Reality into Being ….. and its Good!

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good.

John 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Humans are made in the “image” of God “

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

God gave His “images” character, capacity, connection, purpose, authority and provision to be His partners/agents/representatives in moving forward the story initiated in Creation by developing, ordering, unleashing the potential of all of creation to be a place of unfolding life and beauty.

God is at rest with His Creation

3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation God’s vision has always been to “rest/dwell in peace” in His creation … especially with the crowning splendor of all He made – women and men.

That is what the rest of the story is all about!

Point of Grace Online Worship - June 23, 2024

His House, His Name                 Sermon Notes                             June 23, 2024

Isaiah 56:4-8

4 For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant—
5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls
    a memorial and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
    that will endure forever.
6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord
    to minister to him,
to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
    and who hold fast to my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
    a house of prayer for all nations.”
8 The Sovereign Lord declares—
    he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather still others to them
    besides those already gathered.”

 Mark 11:15-17

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’[c]? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

John 2:13-17

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

“During the Holy Week of Passover, there was a Jewish custom called Bedikat Chametz. This custom was to fulfill the command in the law from Exodus 12:15.

Every year at Passover, children were commissioned by their parents to cleanse the home of all leaven. Many times, they would make it into a game where kids would be rewarded for finding any leaven within the home. As you know, leaven is the agent that influences bread to rise. It was a spiritual parallel for cleansing homes of any outside influences that had permeated the house. 

When Jesus entered the temple, He was literally entering His Father's house. As kids across Jerusalem were cleaning out the physical leaven in their homes in preparation for the Passover, Jesus was cleaning out the spiritual leaven in His dad's house. He was removing the lesser influence that had begun to overshadow the most important influence (ie. Prayer, relationship). The production of the house to fulfill the duties of the house had eclipsed the very purpose of the house. 

The purpose of the house was communion and right relationship with the Father. The production of doing things for God had overshadowed the purpose of the house–being in relationship with God. From Genesis onward, we know He desired a dwelling place on earth to be with His people. This is why Jesus said His house would be a house of prayer (relationship). The temple was a place to meet with, commune with, and be in right relationship with His people. 

Jesus was, in essence, stating emphatically that His Father's house is to be a house where people are in relationship with His Father. No other activity is to overshadow, disrupt, or hinder people from communing with God. The purpose of the house is His Father resting in, abiding upon, and dwelling with His people. All activities should serve this end.” 

–      Michael Miller, His House, His Presence

Psalm 132:3-5

3 “I will not enter my house
    or go to my bed,
4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
5 till I find a place for the Lord,
    a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 

Mark 11:17

17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? 

We need to ask the Lord again what He is calling His Church to be in these days. 

“Evidently, Jesus believed that the people who were a part of God’s House should live in accordance with the naming of the house.” 

–      David Butts, Forgotten Power

Point of Grace Online Worship - June 16, 2024

Point of Grace – 6.16.24 Sermon Notes – “Summer for the Soul” Part 3

What is the Holy Spirit up to this summer?

The Spirit give us Identity – making us Sons and Daughters of God

Romans 8 “the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

The Spirit makes us Influencers – bearing His fruit and His gifts so Jesus is magnified in our lives.

2 Corinthians 3:18-19 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

The Spirit powerizes us to be Living Invitations – for others to “come and drink from the water of life”.

Revelation 22:16-17

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.

 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who desires take the free gift of the water of life.

In the final lines of the Bible Jesus describes a beautiful partnership between the Church and the Spirit inviting the world to “come” and receive the free gift of the water of life!

The Spirit is constantly at work wooing people to Jesus!

Jesus envisions His church as a people the Spirit can lead others to so they might experience the refreshing presence of Christ in people and “come and receive the free gift of the water of life” for themselves. The Church is people, powerized by the Spirit, to be Living Invitations to “come and drink the free gift of the water of life”.

John 7: 37-39

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as[f] the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Being “Living Invitations”

B-egin with prayer for (3) people far from God,

L-isten to people as the Spirit creates opportunity for relationship,

E-at with them knowing that sharing a meal is an amazing way to pour value into people telling them they belong,

S-erve them as the relationship grows needs will surface that we can meet

S-tory - Sharing our own story with Jesus, authentically and respectfully invites people to “Come” themselves.

B.L.E.S.S. and Alpha is the strategy Jesus has given Point of Grace to be His “Living Invitation” church

Point of Grace Online Worship - June 9, 2024

Point of Grace – 6.9.24 Sermon Notes – “Summer for the Soul”

What is the Holy Spirit up to this summer?

The Spirit give us Identity – making us Sons and Daughters of God

Romans 8 “the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

The Spirit gives us Influence – bearing His fruit and His gifts so Jesus is magnified in our lives.

2 Corinthians 3:16-19 (NLT)

16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

We Become what we Behold!

In the Kingdom of God, who we are becoming is of infinitely greater value than what we are accomplishing!

“Who we are and how we act when being normal… … reveals how well we influence others!”

Going “Deeper” into His Presence (Beholding) will determine our influence “Wider” in the world!

Galatians 5:22-25

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

What is the Holy Spirit up to this Summer? Bearing this fruit in our lives! Our families, friends and world desperately need these influencers!

But there is a problem!

Galatians 5:16-21

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want.19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What is the answer to our conflicting “want to’s”?

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh……. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.

The Spirit gives us Influence – bearing His fruit and His gifts so Jesus is magnified in our lives.

1 Corinthians 12

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ…..

But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

We are the body of Christ – Jesus magnifiers to a world that need to see Him