In the Beginning

Genesis 1 ESV

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

As Julie Andrews said in The Sound of Music, “Let’s start at the beginning. It’s a very good place to start. At the start of 2026, it makes sense to start at the beginning.

The word Genesis means the beginning, the origin of how something came to be. So the Bible begins with Genesis, the beginning. And how does Genesis begin?

In the beginning, God...

To understand why this is important, we first have to look at what the purpose of the Bible is. For the Jews, who wrote and collected these scriptures, the Bible was meant to help them understand who they are as a people, where they come from, and what their purpose is. I think we can all relate to that.

How many of us have a book of family history? When I was a kid, my mom had an old book written in German. It was a history of her family coming from Germany. About 30 years ago, one of my mom’s cousins had the book translated into English. It told the story about a man named Johannes Berkemeyer, who owned a large piece of land filled with birch trees. Berkemeyer means “lord of the birch trees.” The book goes on to tell how, as the state of things in Europe began to look bad, Johannes packed his family up and brought them to America and eventually found their way to a community full of German settlers in Hermann, Missouri, in the mid-1800s. The book describes Johannes and his children as they grew up and established their lives. The cousin who had it translated then added history of the next two generations, leading up to my grandparents. There is something powerful about knowing your family history. It makes you feel like part of something bigger.

When we look at the family history of the Jews, they don’t start with Abraham. They don’t start with Noah, or even Adam. It starts, “In the beginning, God...” Why?

It’s important that the Bible begin as it does because it sets up the foundation for the whole Bible. Here’s what Genesis chapter 1 teaches us.

God was before all other things.

Genesis establishes that God was there at the beginning of all things, which means God has somehow always been here.

Psalm 90:2 ESV

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Look at the language of this psalm. Before these things were (past tense), before you did (past tense), you ARE (present tense).

What does that mean?

God is not like us. We exist in time. We have a beginning, we grow, then we decline and die. God exists outside of time. Time has no power over him. It can be overwhelming when you think about God’s eternal nature. But it’s important to recognize that this eternal, unchanging person is out there. He exists, and he is involved in our story.

God created all things.

John 1:3 ESV

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Not even light existed until God created it. And look at the way God did it. It’s not in the way science would tell us. They see a compressed piece of matter spontaneously exploding to form all the planets, stars and galaxies throughout the universe.

But as you look at Genesis 1, you see that day and night were occuring BEFORE there were things like the sun, moon, and other lights in the heavens. In fact, the earth was mostly developed BEFORE the light God had created was gathered up into these heavenly bodies.

It’s also important to look at HOW God created everything. I’ve talked about this before, because it shows us how powerful God really is.

Genesis 1:3 ESV

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Genesis 1:6 ESV

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

Genesis 1:9 ESV

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.

Genesis 1:20 ESV

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”

Are you seeing the pattern here? God imagined these things, then he spoke, and they appeared. Not only did they appear, they showed up in wonderful variety. God didn’t just make an animal—he made them all. He did not just create a world—he created a balanced ecosystem where everything works together to facilitate the life of this world.

Which leads us to the final point for today.

God sustains all things.

God did not just create objects; he created living creatures. Plants live because of God. Animals live because of God. We live because of God.

And we humans don’t just live. We are not like the rest of creation. We were made in the image of God. God gave us the ability to reason and to create. We are capable of art, and we appreciate beauty. We have souls because God breathed his Spirit into us.

Acts 17:28 ESV

for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

God is our Father in the truest sense of the word. We come from him. We are sustained by him. We have our being in him.

So, if you truly want to know who you are and where you come from, know that your family history doesn’t begin with the first guy who used your last name. Your identity does not have to be anchored in the history of your parents or grandparent. Your worth does not depend on the reputation of your relatives.

Who are you? You are one created in the image of the Most High God, whose very word becomes reality. You breathe his breath in your lungs. You exist because he desired your existence. In God’s mind, he decided, the world will be a much better place with you in it.

God made you so he could love you. He wants a relationship with you. Isn’t it amazing that this all-powerful being, the source of all life and existence, actually want to have a relationship with us—with you? It’s true. He desires to have a relationship with you, as messed up as you may be. You just have to be willing to let him into your life.

To do that, you have to recognize him for who he is. We like to pretend that we are in charge, that we have all the power. Genesis 1 makes it clear that GOD is the one with the power. He was before all things, he created all things, and he sustains all things—including each of us. We have to acknowledge this and submit ourselves to him. When we do, he offers himself to us, setting us free from the shame of our past and giving us power to have victory in our lives.

If you are ready today to be free from the heaviness you have carried for such a long time, I invite you to come forward, kneel at the altar, and meet your creator. You can do this because Jesus has made the way for you to be reconnected with God. Whatever your past, whatever the mess, God wants you to give it to him and let him make it right.