Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO What happened to Eden? Mark MacLachlan On staff with SIM in Ethiopia March 23, 2003 Main Scripture texts: Genesis 2:10-14 | Genesis 3:1-19. Mark at headwaters of the River Gihon Genesis 2 describes the place where human life started. One of the rivers in that area was the Gihon. The village where we live in Ethiopia is just a few miles the headwaters of the Gihon, which today is also called the Blue Nile. We live somewhere near what was the Garden of Eden, but today Ethiopia is very unlike Eden, because it is so affected by sin. We see the power of Satan all around us in Ethiopia. His lies permeate society and culture. Indeed, we see people embracing sin, rather than fleeing from it. They have believed te lie that sin will bring them fulfillment. Instead, it brings death. We see the results of the curse of sin everyday -- people engaged in painful, backbreaking toil trying to tame the land; women whose health is sapped by the pain of childbirth. The only thing that can overcome the sickness of sin is the "balm of Gilead" found in Christ. We live in a resource-poor country. Manure is used for all kinds of things, from fuel to wall coverings. I once heard a woman say that she spends most of her life "collecting dung." Really, that's not too much different from what many people in America do. They spend their lives "collecting dung," rather than investing their lives in advancement of God's Kingdom. What are you doing with your life? Collecting things that won't last, or making a difference for Christ in a sin-cursed world? A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 030323a: What Happened to Eden? To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us