Bartimaeus Baptist Temple Bartimaeus Baptist Temple

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "work?" For some, it might be what you do for a living. For others, it might be anything that requires effort. Some love it. Others hate it. Some consider it a curse; others, a blessing. Many of us think of work as a necessary evil, but that view has a huge problem. God created us to work. That we find much of it unpleasant has a lot to do with living in a fallen world.



The Garden of Eden was certainly a beautiful place. We tend to imagine Adam and Eve idly strolling about the place until the day that Satan showed up to ruin the mood. That he succeeded was actually Adam's fault, but that's another discussion for another day. I do not doubt that it was a wonderful and happy place to live, and at the end of the day they got to hang out with their creator.



But did you know that Adam had a job to do? "Then Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it." (Gen 2:15 LSB) We were created in God's image. He is a creator, and He is always working. It should be no surprise, then, that we were made to work.



So what happened? How did our relationship with work get so complicated? Does it have to be that way? And what about those of us who can't or don't work? If we were made to work, is there room for retirement? Do we ever reach a point where enough is enough? God's word has answers to these questions. I believe you will find strength and comfort in those answers.



"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." (Colossians 3:17)

Priscilla teaches us to look to Jesus for our example of love as described in 1 Cor. 13:4-8.

It's no wonder that some people in our society have tried to diminish the importance of fatherhood. God has revealed Himself as our Heavenly Father, so of course our enemy seeks to destroy the role and respect of our earthly fathers. Yet studies have shown what happens when the father is absent. Children without a father figure in the home are: at greater risk of poverty, more likely to have behavioral problems, more likely to go to prison, more likely to become pregnant as teenagers, more likely to be abused, more likely to use drugs or alcohol, and More likely to drop out of school. Those are just some of the findings published by the National Fatherhood Initiative.



Of course, not all fathers are good, so it is reasonable to ask what makes a good father. A good father guides, protects, and disciplines, but most importantly he does so out of love. A good father sets boundaries in order to protect his children. So it is with our Heavenly father. When we look at the Bible as a collection of rules, we miss the whole point, but the rules are there for a reason. God is saying, just like our parents may have said more times than we can remember, "Don't hurt yourself!" The boundaries are there because He loves us. When we do things the way He intended, life may not be perfect, but it will definitely be better.



Sin has consequences. God may choose to punish us because He loves us. The book of Hebrews, chapter 12, tells us that we should expect discipline from Him if we are truly His children. But I believe most of said punishment simply comes as the natural consequence of violating the natural order that He established. Sin is a cruel master, and it will eventually destroy us. Our text this week is from Romans 6:16-23.

If you’ve been involved in church a while, you may have heard someone make mention of the proper procedure for dealing with someone who has wronged you drawn from Matthew 18.  It is of course a sound approach, but it takes on much more gravity when we consider the context in which Jesus gave it to us.  The most important thing to know about it is that its purpose is redemptive.  The goal, stated simply in verse 15, is to “have won your brother.”



As we continue to rebuild, I want to shore up our foundation by bringing to mind some basic principles that should inform the choices we make, particularly with regard to sinful behavior and the conflicts that inevitably arise among us imperfect people.  We read Matthew 18:15-20, but it will be helpful to have read the entire chapter and have it in front of you as you listen.  It all fits together.

I know that I'm talking to people who don't need to be convinced of God's existence. I also know that we all have people in our lives who aren't so sure. It is estimated that 3 out of 4 young people raised in the church leave it while in college, in part because of the intellectual challenges they find there. No one explained to them the facts that actually support our believe. When they encounter atheist professors, they have no defense. In too many cases, adults have never really thought through their belief either, so how could they share with their children? Scientists with lots of knowledge and ego to match look down their noses and call us foolish for believing in a creator, but if we look at the evidence, it takes more faith to believe there isn’t one. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.” (1:20 CSB) We’ll cover at a high level some of the reasons why belief in God is completely logical, and I’ll share some resources with you that you can study for yourself and share with others. I know how much it helped me when I began to discover that one doesn’t have to check in the brain at the door of the church. Following Jesus requires faith. There are some things we cannot know and yet we must trust Him. But there is much that we can and should know so that we can effectively stand against the enemy’s deceit and help others to stand as well.

When we are walking with the Lord, why does stuff still happen?