Sun, 31 December 2017
The Big Story “Chapter 6: Revelation” Revelation 5:9-14
|
Sat, 16 December 2017
In the span of a single day, an Argentinian woman received the two biggest shocks of her life. First she heard the heartbreaking news that her newborn baby was stillborn. Devastation. Later that day she discovered in the morgue that her baby girl was actually still alive.
The infant, named, Luz Milagros, or “Miracle Light,” was pronounced a stillborn on April 3rd, 2012. Twelve hours after she “died,” her parents went down to the morgue to uncover the baby’s body in its coffin. They wanted a picture for the funeral.
As he opened the box, the baby let out a sudden cry and the mother fell to her knees in shock. She said in a TeleNoticias interview: "That's where I heard a tiny little cry. I told myself I was imagining it—it was my imagination. And then I stepped back and saw her waking up. It was as if she was saying 'Mama, you came for me!' That was when I fell to my knees. My husband didn't know what to do. We were just crying and I laughed and cried, cries and laughter. We must have seemed crazy. I'm a believer. All of this was a miracle from God''
There was a miracle in the morgue that day! The little one that they thought was dead now is very much alive!
This morning I want to take you to another family whose baby had brought them laughter. In fact, his name, Isaac, meant “laughter.” As we will see, that laughter was silenced for a time when it seemed that Isaac, now a vibrant young man, was as good as dead. But God in His mercy spared Isaac’s life and, in so doing, pointed beyond that boy to another beloved Son who would die, yet live again. It’s all a part of “the big story” of God’s redeeming love.
The Big Story “Chapter 3: Redemption” Genesis 22:1-14
|
Mon, 4 December 2017
Johnella Howard, 72-years-old, and her caretaker, Susan Snow, entered a Publix grocery store in Florida. In the course of their shopping, Johnella apparently suffered a nasty fall. Her caretaker rushed to the management of the store to report the fall. Employees called 911 and first responders attended to her.
It was a nasty fall, because it was staged. Truth be told, she didn’t fall as much as she took a dive! The whole episode was captured on camera. The pair had come across some water in an aisle. The footage shows Johnella smearing the water around with her foot. She then kneels, and turns to sit, before lying down. In fact, the camera catches her adjusting her hair before getting into position.
The motive? Money. They sued the store for $300,000, but an investigation revealed the ruse.
What a fall from grace it turned out to be! Instead of getting $300,000, they were prosecuted and faced 35 years in prison. The temptation and transgression came back to bite them—hard!
I thought of this bumbling pair as I prepared for this week’s message. We are going to look at the story of the “fall of man.” That is how Genesis 3 is typically described. But the truth is, Adam and Eve didn’t fall as much as they took a dive. They knew God’s will but purposefully transgressed it in hopes of some payoff, but oh the heartache their fall unleashed!
As we will see this morning, all of us too have fallen and, in most cases, the reality is that we’ve just taken a dive. Like Adam and Eve, we’ve know what is right, but have often fallen for the wrong. Their story is really ours as well.
But here’s the good news: though we are fallen, we can be forgiven!
The Big Story “Chapter 2: The Fall” Genesis 3:1-9 and 21
|
Sun, 26 November 2017
The Big Story “Chapter 1: Creation” Genesis 1:1, 26-28 & 31
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (v. 1)
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (v. 31a).
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion . . . “ (v. 26)
|