God will not Abandon Us

Josh Trice
Sunday, January 19, 2025
Out with the Old
Sunday Morning

God Will Not Abandon Us

A flip of the calendar isn't a magic wand, but it provides time to reset, refocus, to prayerfully reflect and recenter on Christ.While the new year is typically about adding new things—new goals, new habits, and new routines—this series challenges us to let go. To let go of things that weigh us down, regrets that hold us back, and destructive mindsets that are grounded in lies instead of in God’s truth

Locations & Times

First Baptist Church Seminole Tx

202 SW Ave B, Seminole, TX 79360, USA

Saturday 5:00 AM

All Things New

All Things New

Read Plan

Welcome to First Baptist. This page is where you will find the sermon notes and more information about what is happening at FBC.

Stay connected:
www.fbcseminole.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FirstSeminole
Twitter: @Seminolefbc
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@fbcseminole_youth

We meet Sundays:
9:00 am Worship
10:30 am Worship
Connect Groups throughout the week.

Generosity Through Giving

We want to thank those of you who give faithfully and systematically to our church. We hope you know how important your giving is to what God is doing at FBC Seminole, in our community, and across the planet through the different ministries we are able to partner with through your financial generosity. We've fixed plumbing, remodeled kitchens, replaced shingles, celebrated our teachers, and made  a difference in a host of other opportunities. Your generosity matters. We offer Financial Peace University on a consistent basis for those who need financial help.  It's a financial management system that allows multitudes to eliminate debt and live in freedom. Text the amount you want to give to 84321.

https://fbcseminole.org/give

hey

The Titanic: an infamous ship that sank after colliding with an iceberg.

Our world looks as if it is like the Titanic, doomed to sink further and further into the abyss of sin, death and chaos.
BUT, we need to remember who God is and what God has and will do. And so, we’re going to explore three things this morning: our situation, God’s action and our future.
(1) Our Situation: Always Sinking, but not Sunk
The news tells us that things are progressively getting worse or remaining the same. But we need to know that this is not how things are supposed to be. God intended the world to function as a realm in which He and mankind could coexist and co-rule (read Genesis 1-2).
The picture scripture paints is that our physical world, created by God, is, at its core, good. BUT, God’s good world has been taken captive by forces of evil that permeate and suffocate it.
Romans 5:12-14 MSG

You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.

hey

We (humanity) thought we had reached a peak at the turn of the 20th century. The World Wars ended that idea.

We are helpless to escape the situation that we are in. Sin and death are everywhere, and seem to be sinking our world into a deeper and darker abyss. The world is in sin because it no longer aligns to God’s created purpose. Just like us.
(2) God’s Action: Not Escaping, but Entering
God did not want to escape or avoid us and our world. He entered it. He took on flesh and blood so that he could be with us. Instead of evacuating the sinking ship, God entered it. Jesus is the proof of that truth.
Despite our situation, we see hope in the form of a man named Jesus. And Jesus doesn’t come with a life raft begging us to abandon our world. Instead, he comes with a plan and a purpose to renew and restore our world.

(3) Our Future: Not Demolition, but Restoration
hey

Buying a house can be scary. Especially before the inspection!

hey

I was scared there would be mold somewhere, growing unseen!

Sin is like mold. It spreads farther than you ever intended. It consumes. It ruins. Sin is the old mold that needs to be removed from our world. It is consuming it, ruining it.
But, you don’t destroy the entire house because of mold. Sure, it may take some major remodeling, but mold can be dealt with. God’s world has some mold in it, but that doesn’t mean he’s done with it. We see His plan of restoration in the closing chapters of the Bible.
Revelation 21:1-5 NIV

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

hey

We might see God as being like the Death Star: Always above us, and at any moment could destroy us, and someday may destroy our planet in a single shot.

God is not a Death Star, waiting for the right moment to blow up the Earth. God is loving, compassionate and caring. He cares about our world and He cares about us. Everything He has ever done is for that reason.
God is not abandoning or demolishing the moldy house, he’s moving in! God is not going to leave things as they are. He is going to renew and restore all things.
hey

Think of the iceberg in the story of the Titanic as sin and death. It’s power over our world looks like our doom. Sin and death look as if they will sink us for good.

God has not abandoned ship. God has not abandoned our world. God has not abandoned you. Our hope is not in escape. Our hope is in redemption and renewal.
The iceberg beat the Titanic because the Titanic still remains at the bottom of the ocean. But sin and death have not defeated God, because He is no longer in a grave.
Discussion Questions

1) In what ways does your personal world feel like a sinking ship? What about the world in general?

2) Have you ever wrestled with the desire to abandon ship? How does God’s coming into the world speak to that?

3) Have you ever viewed God as a Death Star? What fueled that view? What can help us correct it?

4) How have you personally experienced God as redeemer and renewer?

5)Read Revelation 21:1-5. What hope does this give you about your/our circumstances?

Scripture: Romans 5:12-14