Advent: The Story Begins

Introduction

New advent series:

ASK: What is advent?

“The arrival of something”

This season we look both backwards and forward

We celebrate the first coming of Jesus (the birth of Jesus at Christmas)

We anticipate the second coming of Jesus (still to come)

Christmastime can get busy and swept up in gifts, and events, and songs

But really, this season is about Jesus

So we have done different series through advent season in the last couple of years

But this year (along with the main sanctuary) are doing a series called “The Story of God”

We don’t want to isolate the story of Jesus just to the first couple of chapters in the gospels

We want to see the whole story of God and his people from Genesis to Revelation

So God’s story with humanity begins in the very first pages of the Bible

Here we see God’s original intention for humanity and the earth

Scripture Reading

Genesis 1:1 (CSB)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:26–28 (CSB)

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image;

he created him in the image of God;

he created them male and female.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

Story and Context

Each of our lives are a unique set of stories

If I asked you to tell me about yourself

You would answer by telling a story

The more I would get to know you I would hear more and more stories about your life and begin to piece things together

And to understand the complete story you need all of the context to best understand everything

You overhear at a coffee shop: “I’m going to kill him”

What is your first reaction?

Maybe you need to call the police because she's going to murder someone

Maybe she just found out her dog peed on the carpet

Maybe she's writing a mystery novel and considering killing off one of the characters

My point is that everything happens in a context

Little stories fill in the larger context of our lives

Our lives fill in the context of our families

Our families to our communities, our nation, our civilization, our generation, etc.

We are part of a bigger story

One of our greatest problems is that we have forgotten our story

This was also one of the largest problems in Israel throughout the Bible

They had forgot their story and in return ended up being unfaithful to God

The Bible is written not primarily as commands but as a story

This is our story

And at Christmastime we remember one of the greatest moments in the story of God and his people

The Birth of Jesus - The God Man

The Word became flesh

The incarnate God

But often at Christmastime we jump right into the middle of the story

Imagine reading a book and starting halfway through it

Yes we know that it is about the birth of Jesus

But what is the context of the whole story?

Where does it all begin?

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be tracing God’s story with humanity

We are going to look at the whole story

And on Christmas Eve we will be celebrating that part of the story, Jesus’ birth

So this is the outline for this next month

The beginning of the story

The conflict/problem

God’s continued love to mend the problem

The long awaited messiah

What comes next in the story

So this morning we are looking at Genesis chapters 1 and 2

What These Chapters Are Not About

I think we often get the whole purpose of these chapters wrong

When reading anything we have to ask what the purpose of the writing is

The way we read a poem is different than the way we read a letter or story

I think when a lot of modern people read Genesis they want to treat it like a science or history textbook

They want to have proof for the things that they know

These words don’t address all of the questions we might have:

Creation vs evolution

How old the Earth is

The Bible is primarily concerned with telling a story!

And just because it is a story doesn’t mean its fiction

I can tell you many stories from my life and just because it is a story doesn’t mean it is fake

The Bible is telling us the REAL story of why we are all here

The background to existence

The larger context to all of our stories

What These Chapters Are About:

God

Who God is

He is creator

He has no rivals

He has no equals

His is king and owner over all of creation

Importance in ANE Context

Moses writing in a world of polytheism and different Gods

It may not connect like it did to the original hearers

But our God isn’t just the ‘Christian God’

He is the God over all

Genesis lays this out

Humanity

I know Char did this a couple of weeks ago:

But what word/words do you think of when you think of humanity?

Sinner, Evil, Wicked, etc.

Complex

Loved

The Bible opens with a clear vision of humanity and its role in God’s story

We are made in God’s image and likeness

Genesis 1:26 (CSB)

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.”

We are made to reflect God

Humanity is the pinnacle of God’s creation

ASK: How are we different than animals?

Reason/Thoughts/Intellect

Authority/Power

Morality/Conscious

Language

In all of creation, Humanity holds a special place

You are a representation of God to the world

You were created with purpose

2. We are given a role and responsibility

Genesis 1:26 (CSB)

“They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

God has a responsibility for humanity

We are to rule over creation and share in God’s authority

And I know that it can sound scary and that this verse has been used to excuse being bad stewards of the Earth but that is not the intention

People have taken this verse as the justification to exploit the Earth’s natural resources: like cutting down forests and adding to pollutions but that is not what this verse is about

How does God rule?

It is not a forceful power move and display of subjugation

God rules by caring and tending to those he reigns over

A good king reigns by caring and promoting flourishing for his subjects

We are called into this same calling

God has created the Earth for humanity to rule over by care leading to it’s flourishing

Guys, this is our story as humans

This is the larger context that we find ourselves in

You and I were created, different than the animals, in ways that reflect and represent God to rule and reign with God through care

And I know you guys know where the story is headed

The Fall

But before the fall, there is a clear vision set for God and humanity

The final thing I want to share on today is a theological term that I think encapsulates humanities purpose:

Covenant Partnership

What does covenant mean?

What does partnership mean?

God created us to be covenant partners

God created us to partner with him to rule over this beautiful creation

Why did God have to create us?

If God is all powerful, why doesn’t he just do it himself?

We have to understand who God is

God is triune

What does that mean?

EXPAND: God sharing his love

Metaphor - Children

Wanting to include us

This is who God is

So filled with love that it pours out into his creation and into us

And we’ll talk about it next week, but we know the story

Humanity fails

Despite God pouring out his love on humanity we find that we consistently reject God’s love and rebel

But God doesn’t give up

When Jesus enters the scene, he comes to make a new humanity

He comes to reclaim the lost people

To restore our meaning and purpose back to its original intentions

This is what we have been talking about the last several months throughout the Sermon on the Mount

Who knows the great commission?

Matthew 28:18–20 (CSB)

Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Genesis 1:28 CSB

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

Being a disciple of Jesus is not a ‘Christian religious’ thing to do

It is the one way we can truly be human

You and I were created to receive God’s love and reflect it to the world

We are tasked with forming communities of love and ruling and reigning with Jesus

Not ruling over, subjugating, but to rule with care to lead to prosperity

Conclusion

And so we start this series looking at the beginning of the story

Before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, before sin

We see in Scripture, God’s original intent for humanity, and it has not changed

This is our story

This is the story we are to live in

This is the story we are to tell others and invite them into

The story out there that most people believe is grim and depressing

They believe our story is that we randomly evolved from single cell organisms

That there is no purpose or meaning to life

That we are essentially just animals and we live and sustain our lives until we die

and then theres nothing more waiting for us after, the end.

But we are being invited into such a greater story

You were created with a purpose in love

You are a part of a bigger story (a story of humanity)

Your story doesn’t just end abruptly

You have a hope in the resurrection and in heaven

This is what makes us Christians

This is the good news

Not just that our sin can be forgiven, but that we might enter into eternal life here and now.

Lets pray.