GOD’S GREAT CREATION (Gen 1-2)

By Kerwin Rodriguez

You might of heard the lies, pushed upon you like its fact/

They look upon the skies and the earth that’s on the map/

And they say it was comprised by a bunch of random facts/

But their theories are the lies, and the truth is what they lack/

Back before there was a globe or a sphere/

Before there was a space on the earth’s atmosphere/

Before there was a ocean or a place or a pier/

It was all spoken into place by the engineer/

Be clear, imagine there wasn’t light anywhere/

There wasn’t any land or any sea for me to share/

So with you and me in mind, “LET THERE BE LIGHT” God declared/

And when God spoke there was light everywhere/

He separated night, and the 1st day was here/

On the 2nd day he separated heavens so the sky was clear/

On the 3rd day he separated waters, so the earth would appear/

With all its fruits and veggies, ready on the frontier/

On day four, he set the sun above the shore/

and the moon for me and you to be enthralled/

Then he drew the stars in the skies for us all/

So we can see the change between the spring and the fall/

But there was more/On day five/

he made the all the creatures in the sea to be alive/

he put the birds into the air so they could fly/

Day six he made the creatures of the land according to their kind/

He did this with you and me in mind/

Cause in that time, he formed man and designed/

A suitable Woman from Man’s side to provide/

A helper and partner that man couldn’t find/

So created in His image, he created mankind/

FALL OF MAN (Gen 3)

by Jerry Ramirez

PERFECTION!
How do you improve upon perfection?
You can’t! Cuz if you try, you end up moving in the wrong direction

See, that’s what happened to Adam & Eve
They wanted more than the perfection they had so they got deceived
They took their eyes off of Him who was their Creator
And they believed the lie told to them by the Hater

They were living Life in intimacy
With the one and only God, the Almighty
Everything in that Garden was theirs to enjoy
But the Deceiver came in, with a plan to destroy

To destroy the unity between God and man
To destroy that relationship using Man’s own hand
Against him
To test him
To prevent him
From Unity with Him

DECEPTION!
Its hard to see when it occurs
Cuz it always starts NEAR the truth but then works its way backwards

“I heard you can’t eat anything from these trees”
That’s what the Deceiver said to Adam & Eve
It was how he started his web of lies
And got us started on the path to our own demise

He planted in us a seed of rebellion
By suggesting that there was more to God’s perfection
The idea that God was holding out
Brought in our hearts a seed of doubt

Out of that doubt, came the sin of pride
Out of that doubt, forbidden fruit became pleasing to the eye
To know good &evil
To know wrong from right
To be like God
And so here we are, in our miserable plight

Believing the lie
That if we eat this fruit, we would not die
Made Eve reach up and stand up tall
“I know better than God”.. And this is how we fall

See, only in Him, can we truly live
It doesn’t matter how much we give
Of ourselves, or how good we try to be
Cuz He is Life… Only He.

So, with a bite
We’re disconnected from the Light
That sustained us,
Maintained us and gave us Life
And now our eyes are wide open shut
And the relationship with He who made us is cut

All they wanted was what they wanted...
Outside of His will & now we’re haunted
By the curse of our own doing
Cuz they refused to see the trouble that was brewing

So their eyes were opened and they could blindly see
The ugly truth of their reality
And sin opened the door for death to come in
Cuz we were cut off from Life by simple rebellion

It was a heart of foolish pride
That opened up their innocent eyes
To see their nakedness & so now they run and hide

They hide from Him, who sees all things
They hide from Him of whom all creation sings
They hide from Him who holds Time in His hands
They hide from Him who created Man

& so in foolishness & sin,
Human life apart from God begins.. And ends.

A SEED OF HOPE (Gen 3:15)

By Angela Evans

I was scared, so I wanted to hide. It’s difficult to explain—

it’s like from the instant I took a bite of that flavorful fruit,

I felt something was…off.  Like I did something wrong?

But at that point, what was wrong?

I felt it, but what did that mean? The serpent told me it was OK.

Where did he come from? It tasted sweet at first,

but there was this bitter after-taste…and this sinking feeling in my heart.

Yet I ate.I love my Creator.

He is good and the works of His hands are magnificent.

I mean, look at this place!

We have everything we could ever need or want…me and Adam.

My man, I love my Adam. God put us here together.

I am supposed to be his help, his companion…But that sneaky snake.

Why oh why did I listen? What is this feeling?

After we ate the fruit, I felt exposed and ashamed.

It was so strange. I looked down and saw what I am.

My Maker saw it too…

My God- I felt so far away from Him!

I couldn’t understand the fear that had gripped my heart. I mean, I hid.

I hid and He felt far away, but still He came to talk to us.

He didn’t have to ask me what I did, but He did anyway. I answered…

He told me- us- what would happen.

The pain and difficulties we would experience as a result…

Eating of this forbidden fruit had consequences, I understood.

We have to leave this amazing place now, our first home…

Even though the things He told us brought this looming unknown,

something else happened too.

The Lord spoke to the serpent, condemning him.

And he said this really odd thing.

He said, “he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

I looked at Adam to see if he understood what was said,

but his face was blank. (ha.) I really cannot explain why,

but my heart kind of skipped a beat. I felt somehow lighter.

 I don’t know what it means yet, but I think it is good.

This promise God made, He is using me-fallen woman- for the future…

the seed of that cursed fruit gave way to this new seed within me.

Although I hid at first, I wasn’t scared anymore.

I can’t be scared, because He saw right through me—

and He loved me. He loves me. What could be more beautiful?

I do not fully comprehend it, but I feel it. He loves us. 

And that bitter taste that was left on my lips

has been replaced by the promise of hope.

O WRETCHED MAN  (Ex 20 & Rom 7)

By Edgar "Pooky" Reyes, Jr.

I feel I succeed only to fail again
Pursue perfection only to sin again

This lifestyles of ups and downs is not ME!

I run from this struggle
But this struggle is pursuing ME!

This sin nature has a grip on me
When I want is to be FREE!

Oh Wretched Man That I Am

I seek to overcome temptation with no victory
Breaking every commandment found in Exodus Twenty

You shall have no other gods before me
Is hard when all you seek is riches and money.

Honor your father and mother
Is something I think I do
Though they know nothing of the sinning I do

You shall not commit adultery
Ha easy
But though I'm not doing the action
Do I find myself staring and nodding in satisfaction

Let's continue

You shall not give false witness
You know gossip and lies
Spreading peoples personal business

Oh Wretched Man That I Am

Why can't I just do right
It seems so difficult even though I try with all my might
I continue to fall until this sinful darkness even though I see the light
But I know one day this little light
Will shine bright

Oh Wretched Man that I Am

But still I succeed only to fall again
Pursue perfection only to sin again

This lifestyle of ups and downs can't be ME!

I run from this struggle
But this struggle is pursuing ME!

This sin nature has a grip on ME!
When all I want is to be FREE!

RETURN (Hosea)

By Hannah Stuart-Walker

Have you ever
Sought after something
Only to find
That it was not there
Have you ever
Held something
As your ideal
And found it flawed?
Have you ever
Yearned after something
But the longing
Was never satisfied?
Have you ever
Believed that something
Would complete you
And it left you emptier

Well, I have - I have…
See I,
Am no different
Than Hosea’s wife
I have sought other “lovers”
Seeking - to fulfill my life
But, the Father calls out
Just - as - He - did
Then…

Return – to the Lord your God
Return – to the One who saves
For I have stumbled
For I have turned away
Return – to the Lord your God
Return – to the One who redeems
For He has torn me - that He may heal me
For He has struck me down - that He may bind me
So - by the help of God
Return - return

How we have
So quickly forgotten
The One who provides
Time after time
How we have
Fed upon the wind
Chasing after
The temporary
How we have
Worshipped idols
Mere reflections
Of the One true God
How we have
Run from the Rescuer
The One who saves
The One who redeems

Yes we have - we have
See we,
Are no different
Than Hosea’s wife
We have sought other lovers

Seeking to fulfill our lives
But the Father calls out
Just as He did
Then…

Return to the Lord our God
Return to the One who saves
For He will be as
A refreshing dew from heaven
Return to the Lord our God
Return to the One who redeems
For His paths are true - For His way is right
He is our healer - He is the binder of our wounds
So - by the help of our God
Return - return

SILENT NIGHT? (Luke1-2)

By Veronica Perez-Reyes

All can’t be calm

For Gods so loved the world and, 

The Prophetic timer He’s set has rung   
even though the warning to serpent

Wasn’t the first fist flung. 

This dawn of redeeming grace

we should’ve known was gonna come

The One promised to

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Foretold of a might nation, and of a war,

But, also of a final victory won.  

That out of the Tribe of Judah:

Will rise up a Rod from the stem of Jesse

and a branch of righteousness

from the house of David.

It’s this divine time the Lord set in motion

so long ago that’s sprung.

Hung is a stars shining SO bright, and

Shepherds quaking in the fields at night.

There are armies of Angles with

Heavenly Host for the MOST

For from the highest place Mary’s little

Seed of hope, God’s begotten Son has come

not because HE needs us,

but because we need Him. 

CRUCIFY HIM! (John 19)

By Robert Rivera

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Could a day get darker than this?
Even though the sun shone brightly, could our hearts be harder than this?
It’s like I’m witnessing the scene but should I intervene?
I thought I was stronger than this.

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Pilate paraded my Lord Jesus Christ to the passion,
Irrationally taking action under the pressure of the masses
The Pharisees and the High Priest were pursuing satisfaction
I internalized my reaction, I thought I was stronger than this.

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Pilate took Jesus and flogged him
Gave him a crown of thorns and purple robe just to mock him
“Hail the King of Jews” they spewed as they clocked him
I didn’t try to stop them, I thought I was stronger than this

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Pilate caved in, he gave into their demands
He gave the Son of Man into their depraved hands
After they whipped him, they kicked him, inflicted such wicked tactics,
I watched and thought I was stronger than this

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

They dragged him as if he were a serial killing, drug dealing, child molesting, scum on the earth
Whose worthless birth cursed humanity – is this insanity?
They used every ounce of profanity to berate him, why do they hate him?
Why don’t I save him? I thought I was stronger than this

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Bearing his own cross they took him to the place of the skull
This was the worst act of humanity since the first sin in the original fall
From the Garden of Eden to Gethsemane to Golgotha on a cross
Is all hope lost? I thought I was stronger than this

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Two spikes ripped through the skin of the wrists and one through his feet
To stick him to the tree that was stained with the blood that dripped for you and for me
He struggled to breathe, my mind can’t conceive
How he grieved with the transgressions, the depression as God’s wrath on Jesus was relieved

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

They wanted to kill him and see the blood spilling in agony
Evil infested all that invested in this like meat filled with maggots

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

He was dying, why won’t anybody stop this?
God save him! He’s thirsty! I’m so sorry for my sin!

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

His heart rate is slowly stopping, blood, sweat, and tears are dropping

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Abandoned by not only man but by God I’ll never know the depths of his sobbing

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

The cup of wrath was nearly completely empty but not diminished

“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

“It is finished,” he bowed his head and gave up his spirit

The world seemed chaotic, had God lost all control?
What a psychotic afternoon but then it turned so dark and cold
Like a sacrificial Lamb he died that I might not be damned
Truly, he was the Great I am
I know now that I am not stronger than this
My strength comes from the Spirit of God indwelling within me
The sin that would kill me lost the sting of death
For because of his death I live in his strength

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST! (John 20)

By Luis Pacheco

RESSURECTION; RESSURECTION I SAY!

HE IS RISEN,

 HE WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME;

LISTEN:

“IN THE BEGINNING “IS “NOT ONCE UPON A TIME”

AND

“IT IS FINISHED” IS NOT “THE END”

AN EMPTY TOMB IS THE START OF THE STORY

 FILLED WITH THE GREATNESS OF GOD’S GLORY

“RESSURRECTION, RESSURRECTION I SAY”

WHAT I WAS, WHAT I DID, DEFEATED

DEPLETED;

MOST IMPERFECT LESS, THAN PLEASING;

 LOOKING FOR THE LIVING AMONGST THE DEAD

WHO WOULD THINK A DEATH ON A TREE

WOULD BE THE STARTING POINT FOR YOU AND FOR ME

“AHHHH, RESSURECTION!”

HIS PERFECT LIFE LIVED IN OUR NAME,

CAN BE OUR ONLY CLAIM;       

YEE MUST BE BORN AGAIN HE SAID;

AND SO HE WAS, SO HE IS, AND SO WILL ALWAYS BE

I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR THEE;

AND HE IS, HE WILL AND FOREVER BE;

JESUS, THE LIGHT, THE TRUTH, YESHUA HAMASHIA, LION OF JUDAH, BRANCH OF JESSE, SON OF GOD, SON OF MAN; JESUS!

NO NAME CONTAINS HIM

AND NO TOMB COULD HOLD HIM!

FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE RECEIVE A PERFECT BIRTH AND LIFE;

 ALL DEATH IS CONSUMED WITH HIS DEATH;

ALL LIFE PERFECTED BY HIS ……:

RESSURECTION RESSURECTION I SHOUT!

THE LIE WAS TOLD, THE BITE WAS TAKEN;

THE HEAL WAS BRUISED, THE HEAD IS CRUSHED

HALLELUJA RESSURRECTION  I SCREAM!

GOD'S REDEEMING LOVE

By Eric & Erikah Rivera

You might be thinking that this was more than a Christmas story

We've talked about Adam & Eve, trees, thieves, and glory

Glory to God because we celebrate more than just a baby

but a baby who is God

a God baby

God became a baby

God always planned to become a man to save me

Peep the picture that’s painted in Scripture

Eve ate the fruit and it proved to be bitter

We're all sinners, good and evil embedded in our hearts like a splinter

This mixture brought sadness, sorrow, & cold hearts like the winter

Sin now hangs over our head like a light fixture

But don't despair 'cause this is the clincher

baby Jesus Christ will mend hearts like a stitcher

All of Scripture points to this very child

To say this is a nice story is just too mild

You see, From Genesis to Revelation

All of creation lived in anticipation of this deliverer

Who would do what man never could on his own

Instead God offered us a loan

When He allowed His own son to groan on our behalf

When He took our place

That was God’s grace

Thanks be to Christ who chose to embrace what we deserve

I know it’s absurd but all that you’ve heard this evening is true

Yes, God cares that much for you!

Christmas should remind us that God desires our fellowship

And made a way for us to have a right relationship with Him

Joy to the world! The Lord has come!
O come let us adore Him
O come! Come all you faithful
Come celebrate the one
Who comes and gives speech to the dumb
Feeling to the numb
Hope where there's none
Joy when it's done
Life from now to kingdom come
Where else can you run
For unending, unconditional love?

Reality is, many do not choose this love
Even though it fits the hole in their heart like a glove
Year after year people live without getting what Christmas is all about
And yet, Jesus is without a doubt worthy of our praise and adoration!
He took away our condemnation.

Condemnation will cease
Devastation will flee
Desperation turned to peace
Fear of Damnation put at ease
Easy to say, but not easily done
God worked a miracle that day, on the cross of his Son

He was born in a manger
Grew in wisdom and stature and favor

Lived as a teenager
and as a man he had convictions from which he didn't waver
but was betrayed by his betrayer
All the haters filled with anger put his life in danger
He would hang on the cross as a savior
was then buried in a tomb like a treasure
And after three days he would raise from the grave to our pleasure
Now offers eternal hope without measure
And a relationship with him that will never ever sever

Died on my behalf
Took away my sin and shame
I can now live as someone new
When I call on his name and say,

"Jesus, I'm trustin' in you."

Christmas starts it all
Good Friday bought it all
Easter conquered it all
Tonight we declare it all

So I pray you won't dismiss this
Redefining of these words, "Merry Christmas."
Good Night.