“If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”

Woody Allen

To make plans without regard for God’s purposes is to rebel against Him.

!

God’s sovereign purpose will always come to pass in spite of

man’s pride and disobedience.

The Gospel: Creation

God created all things good, including making Man in His image.

!

God intended all our relationships to be loving and harmonious.

The Gospel: Fall

Because of Man’s sin, the image of God in us was broken.

!

All our relationships were broken as well, beginning with our alienation from God.

The Gospel: Redemption

The Gospel is good news for Mankind about what God has already done in Jesus Christ

to make right our broken relationship with God, so that our other problems (and the world)

can be made right as well.

What the Gospel Means for You

Your sin is greater and you are more broken

than you ever dared to imagine. !

But in Jesus Christ, you are more forgiven and loved than you ever dared to dream.

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

Genesis 9:1

Genesis 11:1-9 !

Page 27, pew Bible

“What a Great Plan!”“And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.’”

vv.  3-­‐4

“And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar…”

v.  3  !

“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

v.  4  

“And the LORD said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.’”

v.  6  

“‘Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.’”

v.  7  !

“‘So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.”

v.  8  

“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering. On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain.”

Zephaniah  3:9-­‐11

Promise: A Unified Future

Jesus: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.”

John  17:20-­‐21

A Unified Future in Christ

“‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’”

Revelation 5:9-10

Heavenly Fulfillment: Unity of the Nations in Christ

To make plans without regard for God’s purposes is to rebel against Him.

!

God’s sovereign purpose will always come to pass in spite of

man’s pride and disobedience.

Love God: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”(Mark 12:30) !

Love others: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) !

Make disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

God’s Purposes for Us

ConfessionSovereign Lord, I confess that I have rebelled against You by making plans that ignored Your purposes for me and my life. !

I have not loved God with my whole being. I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I have not made disciples as I should have. Instead I have gone my own way. !

Please forgive me for my pride and disobedience, and conform my plans to Your plans. In Jesus name, amen.