Drumroll Please

If you have a Bible, go and grab it, and open it to the book of Genesis, to the book of Genesis. We'll be looking at Genesis chapter 5, Genesis chapter 5. If this is the first time you've used the Bible, you could go ahead and grab the pew Bible in front of you. If you don't own a Bible, we would love for you to just keep that Bible for you to have a copy of God's Word. So again, if you look around, you should be able to find a pew Bible in front of you or next to you.

We'll be looking at the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, at chapter 5. I'm going to read the whole chapter for us and then we'll pray. Genesis chapter 5, we'll be looking at verses 1-32.

This is the document containing the family records of Adam. On the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God; he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and called them mankind. Adam was 130 years old when he fathered a son in his likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. Adam lived 800 years after he fathered Seth, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Adam’s life lasted 930 years; then he died. Seth was 105 years old when he fathered Enosh. Seth lived 807 years after he fathered Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Seth’s life lasted 912 years; then he died. Enosh was 90 years old when he fathered Kenan. Enosh lived 815 years after he fathered Kenan, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Enosh’s life lasted 905 years; then he died. Kenan was 70 years old when he fathered Mahalalel. Kenan lived 840 years after he fathered Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Kenan’s life lasted 910 years; then he died. Mahalalel was 65 years old when he fathered Jared. Mahalalel lived 830 years after he fathered Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Mahalalel’s life lasted 895 years; then he died. Jared was 162 years old when he fathered Enoch. Jared lived 800 years after he fathered Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Jared’s life lasted 962 years; then he died. Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. And after he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him. Methuselah was 187 years old when he fathered Lamech. Methuselah lived 782 years after he fathered Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Methuselah’s life lasted 969 years; then he died. Lamech was 182 years old when he fathered a son. And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands, caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” Lamech lived 595 years after he fathered Noah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Lamech’s life lasted 777 years; then he died. Noah was 500 years old, and he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. — Genesis 5:1-32 (CSB)

Let's pray. Lord, we pray as we look at this line, this lineage coming from Seth, that you would help us to trust in Christ alone. Help us to see your glory in your Word this morning. We pray by the strength of your Holy Spirit, and it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Some of you were wondering if I was actually going to read the whole chapter. Well, I did, and I will again. But first, I want to talk to you a little bit about how to do a drumroll. Anybody here play drums? I can think of one person here that plays drums, maybe two. The way that you would play a drumroll is to learn your rudiments. A really basic pattern like a paradiddle, which is left, right, left, left, right, left, right, right. Get comfortable doing these basic rudiments over and over and over again. And as you practice those basic beats, you start to speed up. As you get familiar with the pattern, the pattern accelerates. It picks up speed. More familiarity builds up rapidity, and then it builds up to the point where it starts to sound just like a drumroll.

The Relentless Drumroll of Life and Death

Reading Genesis 5 can feel like the driest, most boring list of names that you could possibly read. I used to joke with people that chapters like Genesis 5 are where Bible reading plans go to die. But if you pay attention, if you read these names, if you read these verses, you start to recognize a pattern. Your eyes start to read faster. You recognize it. You get familiar with it. You can actually start to accelerate through it. And I wonder if you can see the pattern here in Genesis 5: Life, then death. Life, then death. Paradiddle, paradiddle, over and over and over again.

You see, Genesis 5 is more than just a list of names; it is a drumbeat. It is a pattern: life and death. And as humanity expands and dies, it asks the question of whether there is hope for mankind. If you listen to the drumroll carefully as it picks up speed, as it repeats itself over and over and over again, you can start to hear God's plans in the background steadily still coming to pass. I wonder if you can hear the pattern here in chapter 5.

The main idea that God wants us to grasp this morning is to recognize this pattern of mankind. That's actually the two points of today's sermon: this exact drumbeat. Point one is going to be about life, and point two is going to be about death. Life and death. Life and death.

Life: Our Created Identity

Let's start with point number one, life. Read again with me verses 1 and 2.

This is the document containing the family records of Adam. On the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God; he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and called them mankind. — Genesis 5:1-2 (CSB)

Some of you have Bibles that are built to last for generations. Some of your homes might have giant tomes of family Bibles with lots of pages before you even get to the book of Genesis, right? These Bibles are designed to last. Most likely, all of the Bibles that you have have a little page on the inside cover for you to inscribe with a pen whoever gifted the Bible to you and what your name is, so that if you lose your Bible in these abundant pews, someone can find it and return the Bible back to you.

But for those Bibles that are a little bit more permanent, that are meant to last a little longer, you might see other additional pages: pages like weddings or births or deaths, ways to keep track of your own family from generation to generation. And people that own those Bibles passed down generation after generation can look back at those pages and see the legacy of their own family tree, this pattern, the drums.

And similarly, Genesis 5 here starts a new section in the book of Genesis. See, Genesis 1 kind of establishes creation and how God created the heavens and the earth. Chapters 2 and 4 focus in on the very first human beings, Adam and Eve, and the consequences of their sin and the effect on the rest of the planet. And now, Genesis 5 begins to expand in a new section, starts to expand to show this family tree, Adam's family tree.

And it's not just a random inscription of one dude's family line. Adam represents all of humanity. His name literally translates to