No Trivial Matter

How well do you know history? If I asked you to name the 8th President of the United States, who would you say it was? Suppose I made it easier and asked you to name the 1st President of the United States. How confident are you that you could accurately name this individual? Suppose I told you if you answered, “George Washington” you would be accurate, but only if he was your answer to the first question and not the second one. What? Everyone knows George Washington was the 1st President!

Traditionally, George Washington is regarded as the “Father of our Country”, but was he the 1st President? In reality, there were 7 “Presidents” selected by Congress prior to the Constitution being adopted in 1789. George Washington was the 1st President elected under the Constitution, but what of those who served under the Articles of Confederation? But, what difference does all of this make? Unless I have some personal stake in who the 1st President was, does it really matter? It is just a story from the past that has little to no bearing on me!
How many times have we thought that about the stories in the Scriptures? I mean, Adam & Eve and the creation accounts are great stories, but what do they have to do with me? It is not like I have some personal stake in it, right? They provide some food for thought, maybe even some interesting trivia, but how do they help me with life in the 21st century?

This morning I am excited about our beginning a new sermon series from the teachings of Genesis because I take it as my mission to help each of us see the relevance these stories have to life in today’s world! We will not just be looking at interesting trivia or human interest stories. These stories were written to introduce us to God and are as relevant today as they were to those who originally received them! We will see over the next few weeks that we need to know about a God of TWO creations; we are blessed to have a God called both elohim and Yahweh; being given increased pain in childbirth as a result of eating forbidden fruit makes perfect sense; God was warning people about the flood almost 1000 years before it came; and many more matters that provide a clear picture of WHO GOD IS AND WHAT HE WANTS FROM US!!! I pray you will make every effort to participate in this study over the next three months.

By the way, the 1st President of the United States, if you accept those chosen under the Articles of Confederation, was John Hanson of Maryland. He served in this role for one year, during which time he worked with Congress to establish the Treasury Department, led them to adopt the Great Seal of the United States, which is still in use today, and was instrumental in the passing of a national holiday in which the 4th Thursday of each November would be declared a “day of Thanksgiving”. (I thought Franklin D. Roosevelt established this holiday?—I guess that provides material for another bulletin article!) Anyway, he may be the answer to a trivia question, but then again, some of what he did still applies to our lives today!

To listen to sermon, click Can God Handle My Mess?