The Village Church in Greenwich Village » Sermons

The Child and the Rainbow

Annie — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:41:33 +0000

Gen 9:8-17

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:⁹ “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

Across the Genders

Annie — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:55:09 +0000

Gen 2:8-25

⁸ Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.⁹ And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.¹² (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

¹⁸ The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

¹⁹ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found.²¹ So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.²² Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
²³ The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman, ’ for she was taken out of man.”
²⁴ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

²⁵ The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Finding Work

Annie — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:43:43 +0000

Gen 1:28-2:20

²⁸And God blessed them. And God said to them,(A) “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”²⁹And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit.(B) You shall have them for food.³⁰And© to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.³¹(D) And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

¹Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and(E) all the host of them.²And(F) on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.³So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
The Creation of Man and Woman
⁴(G) These are the generationsof the heavens and the earth when they were created,in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵When no(H) bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man(I) to work the ground,⁶and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—⁷then the LORD God formed the man of(J) dust from the ground and(K) breathed into his(L) nostrils the breath of life, and(M) the man became a living creature.⁸And the LORD God planted a(N) garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.⁹And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.(O) The tree of life was in the midst of the garden,(P) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of(Q) Havilah, where there is gold.¹²And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.¹⁴And the name of the third river is the® Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵The LORD God took the man(S) and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil(T) you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you(U) shall surely die.”

¹⁸Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone;(V) I will make him a helper fit for him.”¹⁹(W) Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and(X) brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.²⁰The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field.

Do not be Ruled but Rule

Annie — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:36:17 +0000

Gen 1:3 – 2:1

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.⁴ God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.”⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.⁸ God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.²² God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis²

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

Living the Ancient Writings

Annie — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:43:36 +0000

Gen 1:1-27

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.⁴ God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.”⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.⁸ God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.²² God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

The Backstage Extravaganza

Annie — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:35:30 +0000

Genesis 1:1-3

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Wisdom for the Intuitive

Annie — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:03:51 +0000

Proverbs 2:1-6

¹ My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
³ and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

The True Meaning of Friendship

Annie — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:36:49 +0000

Ecclesiastes 4:1-12

¹ Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.
² And I declared that the dead,
who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.
³ But better than both
is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
⁴ And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵ The fool folds his hands
and ruins himself.
⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity
than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸ There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!
⁹ Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
¹⁰ If one falls down,
his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Identity

Annie — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:57:46 +0000

2 Kings 5:1-14

¹ Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

² Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.³ She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁴ Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said.⁵ “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.⁶ The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷ As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Wisdom, Not Answers

Ken — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:52:19 +0000

James 1:5-7

⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;