Facing The Fracture

Morning Saints and Sinners. It's really good to see everybody. We are in a dive into this topic of send this morning and you guys only been on a sermon series, asking the questions of Faith. Now, you guys are blessed. One of my dear friends do Pastors nearby, his sermon series lately has been the ten commandments, so he actually walked through every single send right there. This morning, we're going to talk about where did sand come from. And what do we do with that today? Does anybody know the last two weeks? What we talked about and general and if you want hear no judgment.

Our purpose is to honor God, Amen. We talked about our image with how we are made in the image of God. And what we do with that was last week, which is the praise and worship God. All right, so the help with us remembering each week, All right. Our bulletins this morning. On the very front page. There's some questions there and the questions are not directly answered but are throughout the sermon by the end of this term. I hope is that you guys would be able to reflect and answer these three questions for yourself. And so, next week, when you come, we're building upon each question in the series and my hope is as a congregation, when were ask difficult questions in the community and by our family about faith, we have some answers to give like why do bad things happen to good people? For example, why does send happen? Why does illness happen? All of those sort of things. So, I want us to have some basic tools for our tool belts. We also call this the big church word, apologetics, we need to have some apologetics. So This morning, we asked the question. What is sin? And how did an enter the human race? It's a crucial question. And oftentimes I think it's unfair because we learn from scripture that the punishment of sin is Death. I'm really upset that Adam and Eve were caused all of us in this room today to die. All of us. But Without going to Ford, right? We learn that Jesus Christ is the second Adam, and that we are given eternal life. So while we die in this body, we live forever and ever and that's where we have our hope. if we miss understand sin, as the world does, we misunderstand everything about ourselves our relationships, our society, and even the gospel itself,

So we need to enter this morning, I pray cuz this sermon will not be 10 minutes. Let me just throw that out there. You see my points up there, but I wanted you to guys, to be able to follow along this morning, we need to answer with humility honesty and trusting that God is a god of redemption that he frees us from sin and death, and the devil and gives us eternal life. We read as we began this morning, Genesis chapter 3 1 through 7. What really happened in the garden? The Genesis 3 gives us a heartbreaking moment when Humanity experienced the first sin. I mean right there first book of the Bible God made them fresh right? He breathed the breath of life into Adam and then poor Adam, they took one of his ribs and made him a helpmate, right? And they are to work together. In Paradise, they have everything that they need right then and there they didn't even know they were naked.

T. Often. We see sin, simply as rule-breaking Adam, and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. How people think it was an apple? I have no idea that she was beside. Mark, it was not an apple or just a forbidden fruit. But I want us to look closer into this. Sin in itself, did not begin with the B of the fruits. No sin began with doubt. Amen. Ad questioning of God's character and most importantly God's word. He said what don't eat other forbidden fruits but what did the devil say? In Genesis 3, chapter 1, he says, but the god really say XYZ, you name it that God really say that it's Ruth's brothers and sisters sin is rejecting God's goodness and choosing our own definitions of, right and wrong. We are choosing to be like God and saying this is right, and this is wrong, and that's it. And we believe whatever we think. Is true. That society that is what we call Post modernity. And that is a society in which we find ourselves in 2025, but God's word is clear on what is right and wrong. There is black and white in Scripture that tells us. Yes this is okay. And yes this is wrong and it isn't to make us feel bad. It isn't to take the fun out of life. It is in fact to give us a life that is fulfilled. And we see that happen and Eve they could just follow one simple rule one simple sign they. In fact, we're tempted by the devil.

And the devil like Adam and Eve wanted to be like God had its roots.

Adam and Eve. Again in Genesis 3:5, wanted to be like God deciding for them self. What was good? Friends. At the heart, of every sin, we commence and I want you to hear this really clear. I have it bolted. So it means I need to emphasize it here.

At the heart of every sin, we commit is desire. The place ourselves about God and his word doesn't matter. What the saying is? I agree. All sin when we get to heaven is is created equal. All sin will be judged equally other than blaspheming of the Holy Spirit denial of Jesus denial of the Savior, right? Every other sin, if I'm a murderer or a liar, I have committed sin but at the heart of it is the place ourselves above God. Now we know who else did this, right? The angel, the most beautiful angel, Lucifer, he wanted to be above God. He thought he knew best. He thought the word of God was not valid, right? That's all. I really want you to think about this, to, in modern times. How do we often say, I know more than God's word now, in early Christianity, they had a group that did this the dontist, right, and they said, God gave them special Revelation and that Revelation was above the Bible. Does that sound familiar at all? And today's society, and I want you to think about other religions to that say they receive a special Revelation and it Trump scripture. Well, let's just let's just call it out. This is very uncomfortable for me, but we have to do it right. The Mormons have said that they have a special Revelation from God, through Joseph Smith, we have the Muslims who received a special Revelation through Muhammad, right? And the list goes on and on, and on, and that was declared heresy in the early, people died were convicted of heresy, with death, when doing this. But today is world. We can take anything that we believe Trump, scripture and you people expect us to just accept it. Feast and shattered relationships and Genesis 3:8 through 19. And again, in Romans 5:12 that we read, Notice the effects immediately. In Genesis 3:8. There is fear and there is shame Adam and Eve hid from God. And let me tell you when you are in The death of sin, you don't want to hear about God, oftentimes right? But praise the Lord, there are people that go and speak truth and in the middle of that sin. And then we see in Genesis 3:12 through 13 Adam and Eve and even got Eve blames the serpents when we send we like to have a scapegoat we like to blame people. Well, I'm do. I did that because of this. Has anybody ever related to that? What about this is a touchy topic. I get it. Right. This happens in marriages, this happens with kids, this happens with every bit of sin that we try to find someone else to blame. Please send doesn't just hurt us individually. That's the point brothers and sisters if fractured families, doesn't it? And fractures communities, and societies, and Romans 5:12 reminds us clearly there for just as Sin entered the world through one man. And death through sin, death came to all people because all send, we know this. I know, we know this is deep in our theology here. That all of us are sinners and all of us are saved by grace alone. But see this Brokenness runs deeper than personal morality you can have. In some ways you can have good morals without being a person of Faith, you can be a good person, right? But it affects every relationship. An institution of society. Faith is more than just marking the check boxes. It's having repentance for our sins and walking a new life. And we see the devastating effects of sin everywhere in our society, don't me. As a church. Here's where it gets a little uncomfortable. But remember, Jesus often confronts. Comfort The Afflicted, and confronts be comfortable. And as your pastor, I got to do the same to we live in a society deeply deeply fractured by sin. And it shows itself in many ways, we often prefer not to discuss in public. Now, I congratulate the kids they came up for children's moment and they openly discuss some of their sins and front of a bunch of adults and each other Doesn't Jesus say something about being like children when it comes to our faith? We need brothers and sisters to be open and honest with one another about our sin. And the hope is that we will not be judgmental towards each other. But we will hold each other accountable and that we will grow together. It's not an opportunity to have gossip information about each other. When we talk about our sin at church, right? It is an opportunity to help that person. See, in society, I just want to go through a little, a couple of the sentence, but I see. And maybe you guys see it too. We idolize Comforts and materialism. See our culture conditions us to worship. Well, success, and even pleasure. Creating a lifestyle built around ourselves rather than God and our neighbor. Now again, I'm from I'm from south Louisiana right around New Orleans I can tell you the city is completely built around Pleasure and Pain self, right?

And let me tell you, it's not just a New Orleans, is it? I here in Hancock County, especially we have a problem with drugs and alcoholism. I people going home and getting high and leaving. Their family is not providing because of pleasure, the scent of pleasure. We have a disregard, don't we for human dignity? Send manifest itself proudly and how we devalue human lives. abortion is treated as a rights, the elderly and disabled are viewed as burdens rather than blessings and friends, every life, as we've learned the last 2 weeks Bears, the image of God

From womb to tomb. All of us everyone in society Bears. The image of God, we have a distorted sexuality, we witness widespread confusion about identity and sexuality with Society, redefining truths about gender and marriage, it's painful and divisive. But let us approach this with compassion and Truth. God's design for human relationship is purposeful. Beautiful and life-giving. The breakdown of the family is the one that breaks my heart. And the neglect for children. Too often we see families. Fractured by selfish choices, absent, fathers strained, marriages and neglected children who grow up without genuine love. Discipline and guidance, Often, we have shuttle and brace for hatred. Don't, we anger. And even division Society pushes us to demonize those who disagree with us, politically, culturally, religiously, social media, and politics amplify the bitterness and Division in our country. And our world scripture calls us to love. Even those, we find hardest to love. The prey even for our enemies. How radical is that? The pray for our enemies? And these are the painful realities friends there symptoms of a deeper disease. And if we never named, it will never seek a cure. So, how do we begin to confront sin?

And our hearts and our society confronting send brothers and sisters begins with Camilla tea and confession. We've all confessed this morning at the beginning of service that we are people that send tea and Psalm 51. King David gives the model. I love this scripture.

Psalm 51:10 create in me. A clean. Heart o God. Create in me. A clean heart. O God. Change starts, when we acknowledge the sin within ourselves first. If we go around thinking, we were so religious and we have no sin, I think we then become like a Pharisee of the Bible. We don't want to do that. We want to acknowledge as David did our own sin. What church, personal confession, isn't enough alone. We must speak truth boldly boldly speak. Truth as we ask as quoted many times, the poster in my office from Bonhoeffer tonight to speak, is the speak. We must confront sin in our society lovingly and courageously within our families workplaces, and even the culture, Loving and supporting families and marriages. Offering care rather than judgment for those hurting and Confused defending human dignity, caring, deeply about the sanctity of life. We have a pro-life clinic right here in town, we've supported them financially. But what other ways can we support? We can go to the pro-life March in Washington, DC. It is in the middle of December. I don't know why, but the nalc and the lcmc, every year go, we could be a part of that. Offering Clarity and compassion around sexuality and identity helping our youth find truth rooted in God's love rather than in cultures Mass confusion. Rejecting hatred and choosing love across political and societal and racial lines. We confront sin, not the hot, not by hiding behind self righteous judgement. I want to hear. I want you to hear that really clearly. Goodbye and biting the grace truth and love of Jesus Christ. And I got in our epistle reading this morning. We read, we're sending Kris graced increase all the more Thankfully sin brothers and sisters never gets the final word. Amen. Send does not get the final word hear Jesus. Does Jesus Took the full weight of humanity sin upon himself. He died on a cross for all of us talks, he died by suffocating on his own blood, that all of us can have eternal life.

And at the cross, he bore the Brokenness of our hearts, our families, our society, and our world, at through his resurrection, he proclaimed victory over sin death and the devil. And here is our Hope Church, no matter how deep the fracture of sand, runs the grace of God, run still God's grace transform, Sinners Like You and Me, Broken homes in the loving homes and bitter division into genuine community. Imagine Community here at St. James, I'm getting towards the end. Just look at my points there. Unafraid to acknowledge our Brokenness. Unshakable e committed to the redeeming power of Grace. What if we as a church become a Beacon of Hope, Truth and Love here in Greenfield, what if we committed to modeling gracefield conversation? Every person in this church felt that they could be open and honest about their struggles and that we would be there to support each other. We would have support a family Ministries compassionate Outreach, and loving engagement, and are fractured Society Church. That's what we're called to be people who boldly confronts in. Compassionately and Brace centers and joyfully proclaim, the radical Grace of Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters sin entered the human story through doubt. Through fried the Rebellion but Grace enter the story through Jesus Christ. Offering Redemption restoration, a new life. today we humbly face the fracture of sin in ourselves, and in our society, Courageously confronting with broken and boldly. Receiving the overwhelming, Grace of Jesus and hear this clearly beloved Church. No matter your past. Your present struggles. Cuz we all have them.

Our society's Brokenness. There's always hope in Jesus. Come receive, a new and let us walk together, sharing the healing and transforming love of Jesus Christ, and our broken world. Amen. And amen.