Caleb Drahosh \\ The first seven verses of Genesis 3 describe for us the events through which sin is introduced into the world. The serpent deceives the woman by making counterclaims to the God's commands given in Genesis 2, effectively undermining the belief in God's generosity and goodness. As a result, the woman takes and eats of the tree and shares with Adam, who in willful rebellion, also eats.

Caleb Drahosh \\ God made man in His image to represent and reflect Him in creation, to work and keep the garden, and to establish families which would continue to carry out God's purposes. And although sin would enter the world in Genesis 3, Jesus came to earth and lived as the new and better Adam; He would carry out God's purposes in creation perfectly. And He would become the way that we are brought back to God's original design ultimately realized in New Creation.

Caleb Drahosh \\ After creating everything in chapter 1, Genesis 2:1-3 records God resting from His work. Once the work is finished, God sets aside a day for the purpose of rest and He also welcomes His people into rest. We are commanded to set a special day aside each week for the express purpose of worshiping together as God's people. While our work here on earth doesn't end, God's creation work and His redemptive work are finished.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Once the stage is set in 1:1-2, God speaks into existence everything that exists. God chooses to create through His word and everything that He creates by His word He calls good. On the sixth day, God created man and woman in His image. Humans are created beings, made from dust, and yet bear the Imago Dei. We see the power and grace of God, demonstrated in His word.

Caleb Drahosh \\ The first few verses of the Bible introduce us to a Creator God. We find in Genesis 1:1-2 the story of how things began, not just a take on it, but the objective truth: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." God is the main character of the Bible––His creative acts are what begin His story. We are woven into this story and we find all that we are in who He is.

Caleb Drahosh \\ What is the result of the inbreaking of Jesus into our world at Christmas? The result is the complete certainty of the promise of the realization of hope. Our hope is that God, through the atoning work of Jesus, will set things back to the way that they were originally intended. We often settle for lesser hopes—the weekend, a vacation, a clean bill of health. But God is diligently and eagerly bringing about a greater hope. Newness, joy, delight, and eternal satisfaction are ours in Christ Jesus.

Caleb Drahosh \\ When we act sinfully, we are prone to shift the blame; we seek to justify our actions and attitudes. But just shifting the blame onto others or self-justifying can't actually deal with the underlying problem. Isaiah knows that sin and guilt are the problems and the only way that these can be dealt with is through substitutionary sacrifice. So he introduces us to the Servant, Jesus Christ, the One who would stand in for us and bear all of the suffering and affliction that was rightfully ours. However, this Servant isn't to be pitied; He is to be praised. “Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9).”

Caleb Drahosh \\ We long for things to be right in our world. We desire the end of conflict, injustice, exploitation, pain, suffering, and fear; we desire to find rest, security, satisfaction, and wholeness. In short, we long for Shalom––the realization of all of these desires. But who has the power to bring about Shalom? God does and He does it through Jesus Christ. What does Shalom look like? It looks like a sapling in a felled forest. A small start––a baby in a manger––that leads to the whole earth being covered with the knowledge of God. Jesus stands at the center of it, as a signal to the nations. Come and see what God has done; through a tiny child He brings about Shalom for His people.

Sermon audio starts at 1:03:53

Caleb Drahosh \\ God's jealousy is our joy. Isaiah writes in 9:7 that it is the zeal––or the jealousy––of the Lord that will accomplish God's purposes. God’s purpose is to passionately acquire that which is rightfully His: glory, honor, praise, and worship. Because of sin, things aren’t right, but God is bent on making things right. And when God acts on His jealousy, the result is our joy. Nothing could be greater for us than for God to act according to who He is. God sent Jesus, a child born unto us, in order to carry out God’s plan, make things right, and end the oppression of sin and death. Therefore, our joy is increased.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Disciples are hearers and doers. They are men and women who are strengthened by grace, prepared to suffer the loss of all things, and are continually remembering and meditating on God and what He has done on their behalf in Christ as revealed in Scripture. As those who humbly see themselves as part of Jesus’ story and not their own, disciples naturally make disciples by pointing others to the infinite worth of Jesus Christ with their words and with their lives.

Therefore, at Buffalo City Church we state our mission in this way: we exist to make disciples who make disciples of Jesus Christ.