Paradise Lost

Story

Listening to Lies; Desiring the wrong things; Hiding from God - a good picture of what our choices can do: isolate us; distance us from people and God

Sin - the root of life’s problems

we physically hurt other people; tear down with words; ignore the poor; low self esteem; anger issues; haven’t spoken w/family in years; withhold generosity; homes with a toxic environment (don’t want to go home); hurt ourselves, other people; distant from others; distant from God

the list goes on: easier to prove the existence of sin than the existence of God

the root of life problems

Upfront: this is a sin sermon (don’t like the ‘sin’ sermon? unless it’s someone else’s;

I’m not a bad person; I don’t come to church to be judged; leave feeling worse than I did before; a preacher judges your past; disagree over what is or what is not; controversial topics (yesterday’s was ordaining gay persons, today’s is racism)

Romans 3:23 NIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

falling short - thoughts and decisions that fall short of God’s will

Haven’t we all done that?

Sermon Outline: Listening to Lies; Desired the wrong things; become Distant from God (church; hid;

Listening to Lies - begins in the head

Genesis 3:4 NIV

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.

Did God really say that? Is that really a sin? It’s not going to hurt anyone else.

Rationalize sin. Convince ourselves; gathering people like us and agree with us (makes sense - hard to spend time with polar opposite - politics; race; sexuality; religion);

That’s good: potential problem - rationalize our own problems, sin

sin begins with ideas/beliefs (racism - you are, I am not; common definition?)

my strongest, long lasting relationships come from honest assessment of me;

leaving God’s path and determining your own path

Desiring the Wrong Things - begins in the heart (wanting wrong things)

Genesis 3:6 NIV

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

1. instant gratification - wanting now what should be enjoyed later

e.g: take out a loan rather than save; hyprocrisy to be accepted;

2. enjoying now what should not be enjoyed at all:

revenge to satisfy resentment; bullying to satisfy desire for power; racism to satisfy a sense of superiority; gluttony satisfies desire for food (as enjoyment, not nourishment)

friends who defend bad behavior; loving criticism (ideas and actions); those are the people you trust - love enough to wound

Hiding From God - results in distance from God and people

Genesis 3:8 NIV

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.

haven’t spoken in years; prayed in years; prayers are empty and formal; put up a false front; not serving in Jesus name (self centered); not reading Bible (desire me time than God)

Salvation - from what? (turning to God; from sinful ideas and desires);

Romans 3:23–24 NIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

restore relationships; heal the hurts caused; transform the world

Shame from our past; cycle of sin in the present; cycle of sin; self centeredness; from

Romans 3:23–24 NIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Christ paid an enormous price for sin - not just to satisfy God’s wrath, but to bridge the gap

1. Doubt what God authority - it starts with doubt

Make decisions without

Genesis 3:1 NIV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Legitimate doubt: questions about God, problem with evil; confusion

question - Did God really say that?

Jesus quoted bible

2. Dismiss God’s Authority -

Genesis 3:4 NIV

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.

easy to do - make excuses; rationalize

Make decisions without submitting

Do our own thing.

Make decisions without praying.

Desire the wrong things. (instant gratification; instant solution)

Genesis 3:6 NIV

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Make choices without considering spiritual consequences

Sin Defined: Leaving God’s intended path, and setting off on your own

Result: Avoiding God.

Genesis 3:8 NIV

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.

Romans 6:23 NIV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.