Sisters and brothers,
Happy Monday to all! It was wonderful to worship with all of you yesterday. We learned from Genesis 4 about Cain’s murder of Abel and the downward spiral of sin. Cain’s faithless sacrifice was not accepted by God, while Abel’s was accepted. God in His love came to Cain and warned him about the danger he was in because of his anger over this. However, Cain’s continued to allow his anger at God and Abel to fester, which led to his murder of Abel. Then, when God again graciously comes to Cain for Cain to confess his evil deed, Cain refuses to confess and shows no remorse over the murder of his brother Abel. That is the way of sin. Sin starts small and grows. Sin is progressive. Sin will enslave. And the ultimate end of sin is death. We see sin’s downward spiral in this event. The sins of one generation can lead to greater rebellion, greater sin of the next generation, especially if those sins are not confessed. Sin springs out of faithlessness, out of not believing God’s Word. We think we know better than God, so we ignore what His Word tells us and warns us about. Faithlessness leads to broken relationships between both God and each other.However, we also learned that sin does not have the last word. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins so in Him we are made right with God. Never forget evil will be destroyed. The world will not destroy itself by nuclear war, through climate change, or any other means. Jesus, the seed of the woman, fulfilled the promise to crush the head of Satan when He came the first time to die in our place and rise again. Jesus is coming again to completely destroy evil, restore creation, and rule and reign in righteousness forever and ever and ever. The faithlessness of men will not negate the promises and faithfulness of God.
Remember to keep praying continually for each other.
Love being your pastor,
Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church