Read The Gospel in Genesis: From Fig Leaves to Faith, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, at Bible Study Tools. 







"There is no doubt at all that judged from almost any angle you like, Genesis 3 is one of the most important chapters in the entire Bible. That may seem strange to some. Many Christians have felt that surely the whole Old Testament is unnecessary, that as Christians we need nothing but the New Testament. But the early church, which by then was mainly Gentile, decided that the Old Testament should be incorporated with the New Testament in this book that we call the Bible. And undoubtedly these early Christians were guided by the Holy Spirit to do this. They had prayed for guidance, and they believed they had received it. So they said that a Gentile who became a Christian needed the Old Testament just as much as a Jew did. And the reason is that the whole Bible is the history of God's dealing with men and women. It is the history of redemption. And what gives this third chapter of the book of Genesis such exceptional importance is that we are given here the history of how man first fell from the good estate in which God had originally placed him. In other words, it is the beginning of human history."


Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' "The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 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.

Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from 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 from the tree, and I ate.

"Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."
  
To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you." Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it;' Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever " - therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.    

Genesis 3

Read Falling on Deaf Ears? Why So Many Churches Hear So Little of the Bible; by Albert Mohler, President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; at Religion Today.








"In many churches, there is almost no public reading of the Word of God. Worship is filled with music, but congregations seem uninterested in listening to the reading of the Bible. We are called to sing in worship, but the congregation cannot live only on the portions of Scripture that are woven into songs and hymns. Christians need the ministry of the Word as the Bible is read before the congregation such that God’s people — young and old, rich and poor, married and unmarried, sick and well — hear it together. The sermon is to consist of the exposition of the Word of God, powerfully and faithfully read, explained and applied. It is not enough that the sermon take a biblical text as its starting point.
 
"How can so many of today’s churches demonstrate what can only be described as an impatience with the Word of God? The biblical formula is clear: the neglect of the Word can only lead to disaster, disobedience and death. God rescues his church from error, preserves his church in truth, and propels his church in witness only by his Word — not by congregational self-study."


And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam on his left hand. Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place. They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.   

Nehemiah 8:1-8

Jack Kelley has taken a deep look at end time prophecy found in scripture for the Steeling the Mind Conference, and shared his wisdom and insight with us at Grace thru Faith.  He relies upon scripture from Ezekiel, Isaiah, Zechariah, Psalms, Hebrews, Matthew, 2 Chronicles, 1 Chronicles, Judges, Jeremiah and Genesis.  It is his way to draw his conclusions directly from scripture.  It is also his way to speak in words we can understand, and with an honest integrity. 

Please read Middle East Flames, by Jack Kelley, at Grace thru Faith.


"Most of us agree that Isaiah 17 was given as a prophecy for our time. But I think like several other end times prophecies it combines a partial historical fulfillment with a complete future fulfillment. When this kind of staged fulfillment is the case, the partial fulfillment confirms that the complete fulfillment will also happen. I don’t think God leaves anything half done.

"Isaiah 9:6-7 is a good example of this:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.

"He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." "