For this week’s Announcements please visit: (waterschurch.org/events):

NEW BOOK BY PASTOR TIM: ENDING EMPTINESS: Ending Emptiness pre-order is available for Kindle download https://a.co/d/2bAnFFQ   

A print copy will also be available in our church lobbies in a couple weeks.

New England Locations: May 4th Church work day in North Attleboro – 8:00a – 12:00p. We will be working outside and inside.  Please bring hedge clippers/trimmers, leaf blowers, gloves if you have them!

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Reminders:

✳ Please regularly check your Planning Center profiles for requests to join your life groups, remove members from the list that no longer attend, or add members not listed. Please ensure that you have added no-reply@churchcenter.com to your email contacts so that you do not miss an email from Planning Center and encourage your members to do so as well.  This will ensure you do not miss a member request or any emails that come from the Planning Center site. Thank you!

Waters Class Schedule:

• 1st Sunday: Discover Waters – after 1st service
• 2nd Sunday: NO CLASSES
• 3rd Sunday: Connect Class – after 1st service
• 4th Sunday: Baptism Class – after 1st service

Waters Help: Need marriage and family care  or have a group member in need of marriage and family care?   Click here:  help resources page  or visit waterschurch.org/help

Location Text Alerts:

Key Verse: Genesis 2

Ice breaker

Q. Have you ever gotten super lost?

How To – Part 1

Be a Man

Genesis 2

In Genesis, we find God’s perfect plan for man.

The world has its targets set on men and men are in a battle about how to be what God wants them to be.  In Genesis chapters one and two, we see how it is supposed to be.

We live in an age of confusion but God has the answer.

The problems facing men:

1. Men face a SOCIAL problem: “TOXIC”

Toxic masculinity says that men are the problem, they should sit down and be quiet.  Fathers are not necessary.  This makes men feel insecure about being men themselves.  We have targeted men as the only ones that can be toxic.

Q. How does the label of ‘toxic masculinity’ affect men’s self-perception and roles in family and society?

2. Men face an ORIGIN problem. “APES”

We tell men they are ascendants of apes, that they are a billion-year result of an accident that happened way before they got here.  We wonder why children don’t value their own lives. 

There is no proof of evolution. We are made in the image of God, not animals.

Q. What are the implications of someone believing they were ascended from apes?

3. Men face a PURPOSE problem. “GTA”

In ‘Grand Theft Auto’ men get to play anti-man activities, act viciously, destroy cities, etc.  Men have become seduced by anti-purpose, useless entertainment.

4. Men face a SPIRITUAL problem. “FATHERLESS”

This is the epidemic of our time.  Men have anger, and resentment, and children who do not know who they are.

It is Father God, not Mother God.  He is a loving Father, caring, and compassionate, but He is a Father, not a mother.   Men are made in His image.  He is a warrior.

Exodus 15:2-3 (ESV)

Men are made in the image of a warrior God!  The Bible permits men to be men.  He commissions men to be men!

1 Corinthians 16:13 (ESV)

No matter your age, ethnicity, problems of the past, or struggles of the future, God is not done with you, He is not angry with you, and He has a plan, a purpose, and a calling for you.

Q.  Can you share from experience how understanding that God has a plan and a purpose for you helped you handle past or future challenges?

#2: A man is made for RESPONSIBILITY.

Genesis 2:15 (ESV)

This is the blueprint God mapped out.  Adam was to work and to keep.  This is imperative for every man.  Adam worked in the Garden, not on a couch or desk.   God wants men to be active, to get outside. 

He has called men to work, serve, and protect.

You have a fight on your hands and sitting on the sidelines is like waiting for the devil to take over your life.  Pray, and read the Bible.

Opportunity shows up in responsibility.  You can’t wait for it to happen. Every opportunity comes on the back end of responsibility.

A heavy TRUCK drives STRAIGHT.

Load up responsibility on the back of your life so you have something to live for.  Men cannot afford to veer off they have responsibility in Jesus’ name.

Q. The statement “Opportunity shows up in responsibility” suggests that fulfilling responsibilities leads to new opportunities. Can you share examples from your own life or others’ where taking responsibility led to unexpected opportunities?

#3: A man is made for PRODUCTIVITY.

You don’t see productivity until you to take responsibility.

Genesis 2:10–14 (ESV)

God wants Adam to succeed.  God wants men to succeed in the workplace, in marriage, and in child-rearing.   Success is God’s plan for men.

Genesis 3:17–18 (ESV)

The curse of sin is the lack of productivity.  Here is why some hate their job because their job resides in a world filled with sin.  Sin brings less return than the effort put into it.

Jesus is our second Adam. What Adam did Jesus undoes.  Jesus brings back what Adam lost in the first Garden.

John 15:5 (ESV)

A godless man might have a lot of money but no fruit.  A godly man may have no money but much fruit.

Q. Explore the difference between worldly achievements and spiritual fruitfulness.  How can one strive for spiritual productivity in a material-focused society?

1. Produce OCCUPATIONALLY.

He wants your work to go well.  We don’t hear of the men in the Bible’s hobbies, but we do know what they did for work.   God finds men already active in their occupation and raises them to do things beyond the physical.

Proverbs 24:27 NIV

Get a job, work, make money, earn income, and then get the house.

Men are not made for women to take care of them. God wants the man to provide for the woman.

2. Produce INTELLECTUALLY.

You grow intellectually after you grow occupationally.

The world says you need a degree.  Unfortunately, in many cases, the degree saddles you with debt and leaves you with no experience.

Jesus grew in wisdom as he worked with his hands with his father.

A job you hate may teach you life lessons you can use in the future.  You learn on the job, not for the job.  God grows you and develops you.  God sends his Spirit and equips you, and you get growth value added.

Q. Discuss the pros and cons of pursuing higher education in today’s economic climate. How can individuals balance the need for academic credentials with gaining practical, on-the-job experience?

3. Produce GENEAOLOGICALLY.

The greatest reward can be your children.  There is no greater investment you can make.  Children are a blessing you will never regret.

Genesis 1:28 (ESV); Psalm 127:3–4 (ESV); Psalm 127:5 (ESV)

#4: A man is made for COMMUNITY.

Genesis 2:18 (ESV)

The Lord starts to create a community for Adam. He created a community for Adam first with Himself.  He spoke to Adam.  He had a relationship with God before he had a relationship with his wife. 

Men must hear God’s voice that they are made for community with the Father.

Psalm 1:1-3 (ESV)

Genesis 2:19–20 (ESV)

God realizes in the process of being responsible and productive, man needs help.  God gave Adam a wife. 

Husbands and wives work together in the kingdom of God.  Then they have children and then educate them.

Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)

Genesis 2:22–23 (ESV)

These are the first words Adam spoke.  It was a song, a poem.   

This is what men are made for romance and love of a woman.  Men should celebrate their wives because she is a gift from God.

Q.  Discuss the importance of having a solid relationship with God.  How can and does it influence other relationships within family and community?

#5: A man is made for LIVING SACRIFICIALLY.

God says to lay down your life.

Genesis 2:21–22 (ESV)

Deep sleep is a euphemism of death.

Ephesians 5:25 (ESV)

You are made to lay down your life.  This is why military men are the most honored men in our culture.  They lay down their lives for us, they give up opportunities for us.

Policemen and firemen should be respected because they lay down what they could have so we could have what they don’t have.

#1: A man is made to be FULL of the HOLY SPIRIT.

Responsibility, productivity, and community are not going to happen if you don’t have the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 2:7 (ESV)

He was filled with the Spirit.  Sin comes in and breaks the Spirit.

Jesus comes as 2nd Adam and gives us the Holy Spirit.

John 20:20–22 (ESV)

Jesus died and rose again so we could have the Holy Spirit so we can be responsible, productive, and have community.

Sermon in a sentence:

Men are COMMISSIONED by God for RESPONSIBILITY, PRODUCTIVITY, COMMUNITY, and living SACRIFICIALLY in the power of the HOLY SPIRIT.

Challenge: Begin each day with a prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to fill your life. Ask for guidance, wisdom, and the strength to fulfill your responsibilities and engage meaningfully with your community.