Whispering Pines Church

We have seen Paul introducing his argument that it is not only unnecessary but WRONG to force people, that is, Gentiles to become Jewish if they are to become good Christians. We saw last week that Paul actually received his gospel of grace from God Himself, special revelation from the LORD. This week we see that another event in Paul’s growth as an Apostle also gave credence to his theology. It has to do with his further relationship to the church in Jerusalem. From it, you and I will learn about the development of the early church, and of the way change plays in our lives.

We have been studying Galatians, the 1st letter or epistle that Paul, the great Apostle wrote. In week one we looked at the person of Paul and the greeting verses that open the letter. In week two we saw the nature of the Genuine Gospel (The Good News) that God shares freely with mankind. This week we will see Paul defend the false accusation that he is peddling a “gospel” that he really “invented.” We will see that Paul strongly believes that God sovereignly controls all that occurs in our lives. Do you believe that? Please read Galatians 1: 11-24 in preparation.

We are in our 2nd week of studying Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. He will get right to the point of his writing his letter. He is astounded that the Galatians are turning their back on the gospel that he Paul had earlier brought to them. He says “he is amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him for a different gospel.” Like a soldier who deserts from his unit, this is incredible.

This week we begin our next series. We have been in Genesis, and starting this Sunday, we will be in the New Testament studying the Epistle to the Galatians. It is a very significant letter, written by the Apostle Paul and is believed to be his 1st letter. One of the key teachings of the letter is salvation by grace through faith, an essential of NT theology. In fact It played such a key role in the reformation that it was called “the corner stone of the Protestant reformation.” Because of its key teachings it is called the “magna Carta of Christian liberty,” proclaiming to modern generations that salvation from the penalty and power of sin comes not by works but by grace through faith in God’s provision.

Aside from Moses, no Old Testament character is mentioned more in the New Testament than Abraham. James refers to Abraham as “God’s friend” (James 2:23), a title used of no one else in Scripture. Believers in all generations are called the “children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). Abraham’s importance and impact in redemptive history are clearly seen in Scripture. (GOTQUSTIONS.ORG) This week we begin our discussion of Abraham. No one person commands more allegiance than Abraham, with those of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths looking to him as their progenitor. Have you wondered why the very first book of the NT begins Mt 1:1 “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:” Ever wonder why? It all began with Abraham.

We have in our survey of the first chapters of Genesis, seen much of the plan of God for His people. One of the most important is the building block of society, the family. What Adam and Eve established in their marriage, and family, several locations in the rest of Scripture fill in details. The LORD has given us more information and guidance as to the “operation” of the family. Pastor Rick takes us through several passages of Scripture, to give our Genesis series some “meat” regards the biblical family--rearing our families, God’s way.

If you were to say that things couldn't get much worse after the flood, we now find mankind quickly in rebellion to God, relishing in their flesh, in contrast to trusting in God. We look at the basic difference in the sins that brought about the flood and the rebellion of Gen 11, and the reasons why this second challenge to God's rule was so important. It will demonstrate to us one of the most difficult and challenging sins of man versus God--that man tries to elevate himself to replace God--to be egotistically self centered. It is after this rebellion that God will shift His emphasis from dealing with the entire mankind to a single family instead. This change is key to the truths that we know from the New Testament.

Genesis 8:22 – 9:28

The New Beginning Gen 7 23 Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. 24 The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days. What challenging way to end chapter 7. Death, death and more death. But God doesn’t leave us with that as our heritage. Chapter 8 starts, unusually with “But”… With this adversative, we see a new beginning. It is a beginning for us all; we all have a choice to make. Shown here in Gen 7 and 8, a choice of life or death.

The culmination of the ark “project” is upon us. Noah has finished the construction of the ark, has populated it with the animals God specified with God’s help. We will learn from the experience of Noah and his family, in the ark alone for a year. What can you and I learn from his experience both about himself and about God.

Jesus is The Truth One of the most foundational beliefs we hold is that God is both true and good. In John 14:6, Jesus makes exclusive claim that He is “The Way, The Truth, and The Life.” What do these individual claims mean? Jesus is our connection to God the Father. He is both holy and good. God always does what is right. Do we believe that to be true of God? Or do we question Him when life does not go as we hoped? Psalm 85:10 tells us that in God “Kindness and truth have met. Righteousness and peace have embraced.” We cannot find this pairing anywhere else. God is the definitive standard for perfection, being perfectly kind and truthful at once. When questioned, we will find that God has reasons for even our biggest questions. His goodness runs deeper than we expect.

Elder Jason Moat shares with us ~~ Where do we look for strength? Turning from frustration and wanting vengeance to praising the Lord. Psalm 28:7

Genesis 6 In Gen 6 we see how mankind develops, in a way you could say progresses, but it is really a digression, a deterioration. In this chapter we will learn about the Nephilim, and more. With the help of Jude and Peter from the NT, we will understand about what happened in Gen 6. We will learn about the ark and covenants that God made with man.

Mankind’s Start – Not a Good One As we continue in the account in Genesis of the beginnings of mankind on the earth, we will learn from Genesis 5, and the first genealogy in the Scripture. Genealogies in the Bible are often “skipped over” portions of our readings. But I think we’ll find some very interesting and important lessons to learn. The application for us as believers will be seen in the phrase “walk”. How is your walk? Why is that an important question for us all. Pastor Rick

We have seen the effect that sin had on Adam and Eve. We recognize that, especially the self-centeredness, is something we see as a characteristic of our society. Because our society often applauds the values of Satan, it elevates self centeredness as a prized goal to emulate. In fact, there are two ways at least for us to “picture” the world, that of man-centeredness, which we call anthropocentric (regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed to God…) as versus theocentric, where God is the central motivating being. It is clear that man being central is lifted up as the greater value by many in the world. This Sunday, we continued to trace the degradation of the impact of sin, and see that it naturally will lead to death. And not just death in the general sense, but specifically death in that the first murder takes place. We will learn much about God, about the principle of grace, God’s teaching Cain about sacrifice.J

As we continue to study the history of mankind’s creation and fall, we now will see this week what the consequences or effects of the fall upon the human race will be. The Lord God said that the consequences of eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would be death. “ from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Gen 2:17. You might ask yourself, what are the consequences or results of the dying of Adam and Eve will be—this sermon will deal with it.

We continued to study the Book of Genesis this coming Sunday. We have already seen God’s love and grace in His creation of the universe and this world. A very special part of the earth is created for His special creation, Adam and Eve. We saw that in the creation of Eden. And the incredible provision of God for Adam is that the LORD recognized a deep need in Adam for a special partner. We studied that the last message in Genesis. God proclaimed “It was not good that the man was alone.” We saw how the LORD provided for Adam by making Eve from his side. Adam was “floored”; She was not only incredibly beautiful, but the perfect partner for Him. We saw the beginning of marriage and family. This week we will find out what were the components of sin entering the world. And the impact it had on Adam and Eve. We see that the elements of sin, its allure and its impact in our lives still affect us today.

Missionary Scott Brookins shared what their mission in Uganda is doing.

This Sunday we discover from Genesis 2 the secret of the foundational building block of society, THE FAMILY. It comes about not from TV or radio talk hosts and their thoughts for what a family should be about. It actually comes from God Himself, as He recognizes that Adam would require a special partner in his life. Up to this point, everything has been good that God had made. But God notes "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." The formula for a successful marriage is the same for the first couple as for you and me. We learn that secret this Sunday. Read Genesis 2:19-25 in preparation. And Pastor Rick is accepting questions on his Genesis series; if you have some thoughts or queries about this section, feel free to email him at Rhum76@gmail.com and put GENESIS ? for WPines.

We have been through a very difficult year, a "storm in life." Certainly Covid has changed our "normal." Perhaps you have had other challenges this past year such as financial struggle, family issues, health concerns. How has your faith been challenged, strengthened or weakened? We will be looking at "When Faith Is Not Enough" this Sunday.