A Curse, a City, a Call

Culture advances. Morality collapses. But the call of God still rings out.

In A Curse, a City, a Call, Pastor Zach Terry walks us through one of the most sobering—and strangely familiar—chapters in early Genesis. The curse on Cain is intensified, but in defiance, Cain builds a city. There, culture begins to thrive: ranching, music, metalwork… and murder. Yet, even in this dark hour of human history, a remnant begins to call on the name of the Lord.

What kind of world allows a murderer to become a city planner? What kind of grace allows him to live at all? And what kind of God steps into this brokenness with hope?

You’ll explore:

🌾 Why Cain’s curse made the ground itself rebel against him—and why sin always makes life harder than it should be

🏃‍♂️ Why Cain’s punishment feels unbearable—and how sin distorts our perception of justice

🏙️ How the first city was an act of rebellion—and a prototype for the corruption of culture

🔨 How Cain’s descendants shaped music, agriculture, and industry in a single generation—and what we can learn from their creativity

🔥 Why Lamech is worse than Cain—and how the spirit of vengeance has always opposed the grace of Christ

👶 Why Seth mattered to Eve—and how God reestablished the lineage of promise through him

📣 Why calling on the name of the Lord is our only hope—and how one generation sparked revival amidst decline

The chapter ends with a powerful contrast: the line of Cain builds cities and sheds blood; the line of Seth builds altars and calls out for grace.

And while Lamech boasts of vengeance seventy-sevenfold, Jesus will one day say, “Forgive… seventy times seven.”

You don’t have to go the way of Cain. You can answer the call.

📌 Keywords: Genesis 4 sermon, Cain’s curse, first city in the Bible, Lamech, calling on the Lord, Cain and Abel aftermath, culture and sin, biblical cities, Seth’s line, Pastor Zach Terry, Gospel in Genesis, mark of Cain, vengeance vs mercy, forgiveness 70x7, Jesus and Cain, biblical justice