When I was asked to preach at Lonehill Village Church on Sunday 10th of November 2019 I asked myself this question:
If this was the last time I ever got to preach, what sermon would I preach?
This is a hard question to answer, but I can tell you that the sermon I felt lead to preach on Sunday is right up near the top of the list. It is in 2 parts which are separated by songs of worship. Here’s what it is about:
Part One
My references here are Genesis 2, Numbers 21, and Revelation 22 and this section provides the biblical historical setting for part two. It tells the story of how God created humanity in His image and entered into a sacred and eternal covenant with them. However, instead of fulfilling the covenant obligation to trust and obey God, Adam and Eve decided to rebel and seek to themselves be gods. As a result, the penalty clause of covenant kicked in and they died spiritually and were expelled from Eden. In them, all of humanity was separated from God, spiritually dead, and banished from the Tree of Life.
Then in Revelation 22, the very end of the story of the Tree of Life, we find a glorious picture of Eden restored and enhanced. The question is why? Why was Eden accessible again to human beings? What caused the change from banishment to restoration and from death to life?
Incidentally, if you are wondering what I mean by the word “Triptych’, the
Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as “Three closely related or contrasting themes or parts”. I cover the first and the last of these three related pictures in Part One of this sermon, and the third in Part Two
Part Two
This portion of the sermon answers the question ‘what caused the change from banishment and spiritual death to restoration and life?’ It does this by presenting what the Lord Jesus said to the Jewish theologian, Nicodemus, as recorded in John 3. The call to action throughout this part of the sermon is, “you must be born again!”
Please listen to what I consider to be one of THE most important messages I have ever preached by clicking on the play button below. As always, your thoughts are welcome.
[kad_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/WIr1XyAQgCI” ]
Renewed in the Spirit of your Mind
