“It’s not my fault!”

Romans 3:10, 23 

“None is righteous, no, not one; 
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
 
When I was a wee lad growing up in south Florida, by far my most hated chore was to weed under the orange trees in the backyard. My brother and I would make a day of sitting in the shade pulling weeds, avoiding the muck of rotten oranges, and cursing Adam and Eve for sinning. The way we understood it, weeds were a direct consequence of the fall, and that little event fell squarely on their naked shoulders. Thousands of years later, we were forced to waste a perfectly good Saturday (back then, the only time to watch cartoons), paying for their poor choices.
 
But the truth of the matter is, that although Adam and Eve were the first to sin, we aren’t off the hook. A few centuries after the early church began, a doctrine called “original sin” came into favor. It was based on the idea that Adam and Eve’s sin caused a reaction down the genetic line of mankind that caused everyone to be born “into sin.” In other words, we can’t help it. We come out of the womb stained by the sin of the first couple and therefore deserve God’s wrath. And although there are far-reaching consequences of the fall and all the following sin that preceded us, it is only our own sin that condemns us.
 
Like a college kid with a semester of psychology under our belt, we can think of any number of reasons why it’s our parent’s fault, the government’s fault, our culture’s fault, or even the first man and woman’s fault. But as it turns out, original sin isn’t so original. We’ve all sinned and bear the blame of turning against the One who created us.
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • When you consider your own sin, and your tendency towards it, do you see it as directly from you, or is it someone else’s fault?
  • If we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, where does that leave us?

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Jon Price, Associate Pastor
 
Photo by Irene Dávila on Unsplash
 

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“Released from your shame”

Genesis 3:8-13

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
 
When Adam and Eve took the first bite, the fruit did not possess some kind of potion that opened their eyes to good and evil.  No, Adam and Eve chose to eat what God said not to eat, and immediately they experienced a conscious awareness of the other side of good.
 
The actions that followed were just the continuation of those feelings and the consequence of guilt from those actions. That trend has continued throughout history to where we are today.
 
Adam and Eve were now self-conscious and ashamed at what they saw in themselves.  They began to see what happens when we deviate from God’s design.  The only two things they knew to do was to cover up and give excuses.  They were hiding from God and trying to convince themselves and God that everything was fine, but it is no fun playing hide and seek with God.
 
Possibly, if they could cover themselves, their flaws would not be exposed. Maybe the awareness of their faults could be excused.  However, excuses and hiding do not take away the shame.  They only magnify the fact that something is wrong.
 
If you want to be secure with yourself and right with our Holy God, you must be honest.  God already knows what you did and no excuses will release you.  So, take a daily inventory with the Spirit of God and expose yourself to Him.  Without excuses, let God wash away your sin and remove your shame.
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • What are times in your life when you hid or made excuses for things you were guilty of?
  • Do you have sin in your life that makes you ashamed and need God’s cleansing?
  • Will you be honest with God?

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

 
Photo by Alex Iby on Unsplash
 

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Genesis 3:1-7

Genesis 3:1-7
 
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”
 
To watch the video from The Bible Project, click on the picture below.
 

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:*

  • In order to reject God’s warnings, what did the first humans have to believe about God, themselves, and the fruit? Be specific. Now consider a time in your life when you neglected God’s warnings. How can you relate with the first humans?
  • In order to appreciate and heed God’s warnings, what do you need to believe about God, yourself, and something you struggle to avoid? Be specific and write out your answer. Why do you or don’t you believe the truths on your list?
  • Review Genesis 3:7-8 and identify what kinds of things are lost after the first humans reject God’s warning. How have similar consequences followed your own regrettable choices?
*Today’s questions are from The Bible Project
 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
 
 

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“Thoughts from your Staff”

“A healthy marriage is when she feels like his princess, he feels like her prince, and both know that Jesus is King.”
Pastor Stephen – married 17 years

Prayer is key. Pray with your spouse every night. I firmly believe that is the main reason my husband and I are still married. It’s hard to stay mad at a person you’re supposed to pray with.
Joan Lehto, Ministry Assistant – married 27 years

Treva and I are “together.” We have seen great highs and lows in work, ministry, raising children, extended family, and health. Working through life together as we walk in our faith. Trusting God together when we could not see a way. We don’t know how strong we are until strong is our only choice.
Jim Sellers, Minister of Music and Sr Adults – married 42 years

I know God has given me my husband I get to share my life with. He is truly my best friend that knows me and loves me anyway. All the little things day to day are the big things. I love this quote, “A good marriage is one where each partner secretly suspects they got the better deal.”
Sharon Brown, Pastor’s Assistant – married 23 years

“Must be present to win.” Be present when you’re together, and make together time a priority – have fun, be serious, plan together, pray together, and minister together.”
Jon Price, Associate Pastor – married 23 years

I have always liked this quote. “A Godly marriage is when two people who deeply love God decide to love him together.”
Katie Marchman, Kids Director – married 15 years

Always be sure to compliment your spouse. “You’re so much better at washing the dishes than I am, that’s why I let you do it!”
Chris Stephens, Contemporary Worship Leader – married 8 years.

One of my favorite quotes is “We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.” It is a great reminder that with God in our marriage, we have all that we ever need! Yes, there will be struggles, we all have them… but when you pray and put God first, everything else will fall into place on His watch. We may not understand why things happen, but we know there is a reason for everything and God will get us through it, together!
Melanie Land, Financial Assistant – married 19 years

“A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.” Proverbs 18:22 CSB
Macon Jones, Pastor of Students and Young Adults – Still lookin’

By no means do we consider ourselves experts on the topic of marriage but here are 3 things we try to live by in our relationship. 1) Bring all to each other and bear all with each other. Complete honesty, even when it hurts, is key to a healthy relationship. 2) Strive to understand each other’s shortcomings and encourage each other with grace. A good example would be my swiftness to anger and my wife’s unwavering patience…I won’t give an example of her because she is perfect. 3) Learn to forgive and let things go.
Montana Ethridge, Communications Director – married 5 years

 
 

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“Why It Doesn’t Matter If Your Spouse Is Wrong”

1 Corinthians 13:4-5
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;” 
 
Every reasonable person knows there’s a right way and a wrong way to load a dishwasher. This being the gauge, it seems that a disproportionate amount of married couples are made up of one reasonable and one unreasonable partner. One statistic I’m sure I’ve heard somewhere proved scientifically that most marital strife comes from the unreasonable partner loading the dishwasher incorrectly. My wife claims she saw a statistic that most marital strife comes from the husband leaving all the kitchen cabinet doors open. Sounds like fake news to me.

The counsel I give to young couples before marriage is the same that I was given before April and I took our “big step” over 23 years ago. Love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs. We don’t strengthen our marriage by keeping track of and informing our spouse of their gaffs or variances from the right way to do things. It isn’t a contest, in fact, there are several things to remember when looking at this verse:
  1. When I win, WE lose. Relationships, especially marriages, are partnerships and partnerships grow through encouragement and support. But they’re weakened by nit-picking and criticizing. Marriage isn’t about ‘me,’ it’s about ‘we.’ In marriage, we learn to die to ourselves and put someone else before us.
  2. When You win, I win. Part of our responsibility in marriage is to be our partner’s biggest cheerleader and help them to become who God created them to be (not to mold them into our image). Those little barbs you are tempted to say when you’re frustrated weren’t put in your head by Jesus, and they don’t help the situation!
  3. You can’t trust the scorekeeper. It’s human nature for me to judge others by their actions and judge myself by my motives. We tend to cut ourselves slack when we compare and keep score. Besides, you don’t know all the times that your partner has cleaned up your messes.
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • How might your marriage change if you redefined winning with we instead of me? 
  • In what areas do you need to be a cheerleader for your spouse? If you’re not married, think about the relationships in your life and how you might answer that same question.
  • What are some ways that you can retire the scorekeeper in your head when it comes to your spouse and other significant relationships?

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Jon Price, Associate Pastor

Jon Price

 

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“But What if I’m Single?”

1 Corinthians 7:8-9, 32-35
“To the unmarried and the widows, I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
 
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.”
To single, or not to single – that is the question.
The first Christmas after graduating high school I asked a young lady to marry me. I felt the urge to merge – one hormone calling to another hormone – infatuation with the idea and privileges of marriage. Already in ministry, my fiancé began to experience the life of church leadership. Soon I was issued an ultimatum, the ministry or her. Well, I have now been in ministry over 40 years. Hurt – yes, blessed – definitely! God had someone in my future.
In today’s society, relationships are a big swirling vat of choices, life experiences, and human emotion. Some choose not to marry because; they don’t need the drama, they’ve witnessed horrendous breakups from trusted family or leaders, they’ve been hurt, or they can’t find that perfect person to meet their needs. Some are single because of the death of a spouse. Some are single because they have left a marriage or have been left. Single by choice or single by circumstance. What about being single?
The apostle Paul gives some guidance in I Corinthians 7. His main concern here has to do with correcting any wrong thinking about reasons to get married or to avoid marriage. Nobody should choose one over the other thinking it inherently more spiritual or more honoring to God. Those choosing to remain unmarried should make that choice based on the gifts God has given to them specifically. Those who choose marriage, or who are already married, however, should continue to honor their marriage commitment.
Being single does not mean being alone. You can interact with family, church, school, work, and hobbies. Paul speaks bout seeking God first in that most important relationship. When one focuses on serving God and serving others, the often self-absorbed mindset of single or married people now changes to a more outward focus on others. JOY –Jesus, Others, Yourself!
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • What are your thoughts and experiences from being single and how to they compare to what Paul says here?
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you?
Explain – what does the passage mean?
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today?
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jim Sellers, Minister of Music and Sr. Adults
Photo by Joel Mott on Unsplash
 

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