Sermon for 100624
Text: Genesis 2:18-25
Theme: A beautiful design
In the Name of the Father…Amen.
The Old Testament lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the heavenly Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen .
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:LSB 863:1-2 Our Father, by Whose NameOur Father, by whose name All fatherhood is known, Who dost in love proclaim Each family Thine own, Bless Thou all parents, guarding well, With constant love as sentinel, The homes in which Thy people dwell.
O Christ, Thyself a child Within an earthly home, With heart still undefiled, Thou didst to manhood come; Our children bless in ev’ry place That they may all behold Thy face, And knowing Thee may grow in grace.Memory verse!Genesis 2:18 (NASB95)
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
IntroductionOh, to gaze at the wonders of creation!
Watching the sun rise over a calm, still Lake Huron in Michigan.
Seeing the Grand Canyon in person.
Holding your child for the first time after being born.
Something so beautiful—pictures don’t do it justice.
Something so unbelievable I can’t believe it!
As awesome as the wonders of creation are, there is a greater wonder:
God’s design for humanity as Moses tells us in the Old Testament lesson for today from Genesis 2.
God’s design is something that offers us hope in times of despair, direction when we’re lost and confused, and assurance when faced with uncertainty.
Today, we’ll focus on ways in which God’s Design for Living Makes Good What Was Not Good.
I. God’s design for living provides for companionship (Genesis 2:18–24).There is a widespread epidemic of loneliness and isolation in our world today. This is not good!
Despite the growing population and other ways of connecting, such as social media, people feel more alone than ever.You can be in a room full of people like at a party and feel all alone.
The effects can be devastating for people.DepressionDiscouragementAnxietyApathy
Perhaps you feel lonely or lack companionship. Even in church of all places, sometimes, people are not connecting or developing meaningful relationships of trust and care, things that are needed by all.
In God’s wisdom, He said:
Genesis 2:18 (NASB95)18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
He provided the animals, who were good for man yet not the suitable partner God desired for him.
Adam needed the companionship God provided in the person of Eve, who was herself a marvelous “building” of God: Genesis 2:22 (NASB95)22 The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
And what did the man say of the woman God had given him?:Genesis 2:23 (NASB95)23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
Each of them needed the special relationship and partnership in overseeing the creation that God gave them. This would be a mutual relationship in how they would work together, each with his or her own strengths and weaknesses.
The special relationship between man and woman God ordained is called marriage.
It is not to be entered into lightly,and is to be for life as Jesus tells us in Mark 10:9.
This is not to say that those who do not marry for different reasons are somehow deficient. Not to marry and to live a life of celibacy can be a godly choice for some, as the examples of the apostle Paul and our Lord Jesus himself demonstrate.
But in God’s good design for humanity, it is beneficial and a blessing to enjoy loving and trusting relationships with others.
II. God’s design for living provides for future generations (Genesis 2:24).God’s desire is that there would be future generations, which are a blessing.
The writer of Psalm 128 says it this way:Psalm 128:1–6 (NASB95)1 How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. 2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table. 4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD. 5 The LORD bless you from Zion, And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6 Indeed, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
It is out of God’s love that He desires more generations, as He has commanded: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).
God wants families to grow.
He wants more people to share in His fellowship.
Thus:“the two shall become one flesh” (Mark 10:8; cf Genesis 2: 24).
The procreation of humanity is God’s design and good for human beings.
The family unit is a blessing that is meant for the providing of consistency of companionship.
The family unit is a blessing to children to come so that they be raised in the Lord’s: Ephesians 6:4 (NASB95)4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
III. God’s design for living provides freedom from shame (Genesis2:25; Hebrews 2:17).At the end of our text, it says that Adam and Eve:
Genesis 2:25 (NASB95)25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
What a blessing to be free of any reason to hide anything from someone else.
To be without shame means that neither Adam nor Eve had anything to hide:no thought, no deed, no desire that would cause injury to the other.
Something would happen though to God’s perfect design when sin entered the world.
That would occur very soon with devastating effects (Genesis 3)!
With sin came shame, as humans realized that their thoughts are impure, and their actions are corrupt. Thoughts of lust, jealousy/envy, revenge, coveting, manipulating others.Actions such murder, adultery, stealing, etc.
The sense of shame is an insidious, debilitating experience that can crush our spirit if not dealt with. It can lead to: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, low self-esteem, anger, and feelings of emptiness.The effect of shame can be so intense that it can lead to self-destructive behavior such as addictions or even suicide.
God’s design is that we not live with deep shame.There are many self-help strategies for “coping” with shame, but most only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.
Jesus Christ is the only one who can truly remove our shame. How does He do this? He covers our shame by clothing us with His righteousness Revelation 3:18 (NASB95)18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
He also endured the shame of the cross so that we need not suffer the devastating effects of shame. Hebrews 12:2 (NASB95)
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
When our shame is covered by the righteousness of Christ, we can live together in community and fellowship, in close relationship with our loved ones:
both within the marriage relationship
and in friendships and family relationships other than marriage
These, in a small way, also provide for the companionship that is a part of God’s perfect design.
ConclusionThe wonders of creation are wondrous and wonderful!
Seeing the sunrise over a calm lake.
Seeing a natural wonder that takes your breath away.
Holding a newborn baby in your arms for the very first time.
Yet nothing compares to the goodness of God’s design for living.
It is a design that provides:
for human companionship, for future generations to live in His fellowship, and it provides an antidote, in Jesus Christ, to the devastating, relationship-ruining effects of shame in our lives. God’s design is truly the only design for living. Amen.
Let us pray:LSB 863:3 Our Father, by whose name
O Spirit, who dost bind Our hearts in unity, Who teachest us to find The love from self set free, In all our hearts such love increase That ev’ry home by this release May be the dwelling place of peace.Text: © The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000247
2 Corinthians 13:14 (NASB95) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. All of us are waiting and none of us will be disappointed. Amen.
The Lord continue to bless us, shine His face on us, be gracious to us, that He lift His countenance upon us, and give us His peace. Amen.
In the Name of the Father…Amen.