Paradise Lost

[0:00] The 4th of November, Paradise Lost. Genesis 3.24, God drove out the man, and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

[0:20] Excluded. School pupils are aware of what happens to any pupils who continue to make trouble in school. They are excluded. This exclusion may be for a week, or in the worst of cases, it may be permanent.

[0:35] Disobedience always carries a penalty and a loss of the friendship and benefits of school. Adam and Eve had both disobeyed God, and they immediately became aware of what they had done and the consequences it would bring.

[0:50] They tried to hide from God, but they found they couldn't. God, too, knew what they had done, and in spite of the fact that God loved them, he hated what they had done.

[1:02] And he drove them out of the Garden, out of Paradise, and guarded against them going back in. Their exclusion was for keeps. This is the Bible's way of telling us about sin.

[1:17] Sin is disobedience to the commands of God. God hates sin. And while Genesis 3 tells us about the sin of Adam and Eve, the consequences of their sin have affected all of us.

[1:29] All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3.23 We, too, are excluded from Paradise.

[1:41] But in God's mercy and grace, Jesus came to rescue us and bring us back to God, back from our exclusion. A prayer.

[1:55] Dear Lord, how I thank you for your saving grace to a sinner like me. Amen.