In the Beginning, God...
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In the Beginning, God...
In the Beginning, God...
Intro - After thanking make sure to present the idea of the fall study - “Jesus. God’s plan from the beginning.”
[walkthrough style]
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pray
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he 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.
Gen 1:1-
In the beginning, God…that’s a great start isn’t it? ...
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[Ex Nihlio…God makes something out of nothing]
This beginning of scripture, and of life, is always so reassuring to me. I mean, we want there to be something bigger than us. We seem to sense there is something larger than what we are at work in this world.
Some call it luck, some call it Karma, some see providence while some others see chance. But for Christians, we must see God.
In the beginning of everything we do, we must see God.
We must see Him, because He is there before we are. He was there hovering over the waters as He prepared the heavens and earth. He was there bringing light to this new creation and separating the light from darkness. He was there in the light, and called it good.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.
Gen 1:6-
[Intentionality]
...Sometimes we think about God and wonder if He has a plan, don’t we?...
[pic of cake…thought vs what happened]
…God’s plans aren’t like our plans! God will see that good work in you to completion. It might not look like it right now, but in time, it will look just like He intends it.
[pic of what you thought it would be, and what it is..cakes?]
But here, in the beginning of God’s story, we find the plan taking shape in a completely different way. Just as the Heavens, Earth, and light is good, so too are the sky, land and sea.
God declares it good, because it is good.
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
You don’t have to look far outside of the story of Jesus to see that. Jesus didn’t look like the Messiah the Jewish people we longing for! But He was God’s plan nonetheless!
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
Gen 1:9-
[purpose]
Then God gave the land and the water and the sun and the night purpose! What a great reminder to us. Everything you see, it all have a purpose and meaning. It all matters! Not only does it matter, but the way God created it, was good!
[expand]
And that is an unbelievably important thing to remember church. We sometimes can get calloused and jaded as we get older. The things that once were amazing and beautiful to us can seem normal as we age. But we can’t let them! Their purpose, given by God, was to decorate this earth and to feed us! That is amazing! And we can’t lose sight of that.
[pic of grandfather mountain]
This past Monday, the girls and I were able to get away and take some time to be together…[talk about the trip]…at the end of the trip, as the girls were falling asleep in the back of the van, Kate and I were talking about life, and she said that it’s awesome to live so close to the mountains so that we can get out and remember just how wonderful God’s creation is.
I mean, how often do we overlook that? We get so caught up in our lives that we miss the life that God created - this natural world that God Himself declares good! That is it’s purpose.
Don’t look past it.
And if those things have a purpose, how much more do you?
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
Gen 1:14-
[The tools we need…time…]
So God makes a light - well two great lights, and an uncountable amount of other lights! Stars we now call them. Lights that one day guide the world to the Messiah, to God in flesh! The light that shined through the darkness of that night, and of this world.
So God makes a light - well two great lights, and an uncountable amount of other lights! Stars we now call them. Lights that one day guide the world to the Messiah, to God in flesh! The light that shined through the darkness of that night, and of this world.
As His plan comes together, God sees that it is still good.
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:20-
Gen 1:20-2
And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Gen 1:24-
[make sure it ends up talking about the stuff below, but then move it to our faith resting on our worship of our creator AND his sacrifice for us]
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he 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 a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. 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 vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
[God sets the stage…]
So let’s be clear about this picture that is being painted here. God is getting things setup for something…land, sky, light, water, plants, fish, birds, livestock, wild animals…God is loading creation with all these things that all have a purpose, but that all are leading to something else! And even so, God looks at all these things, things we look past every single day, and says that they are good!
But church, we need to remember that God has set this stage for something…[handout]…He has created this world:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
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from nothing
with Intentionality
He gave it a purpose
and all the tools it needed
to set the stage---
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
For You.
You.
pray
Everything. Every blade of grass. Every drop of rain. Every chirp of a grasshopper or call of a bird. Every ray of sunshine and every cool breeze. It was all made for you.
How do we know that?
Well, we are made to rule over it all! We are to have dominion,
Well, apart from God giving us dominion of all that He had created, God makes it clear to us on a more practical level!
[pic of fixer-upper]
Gen 1:
You ever see that show? [expand]…at the end, the wife, Joanna, takes some time to design the whole house. Putting everything in just the right spot, and making sure that it looks right and functions right...
That is essentially what has happened for us! God designed all of creation in such a way as to have us appreciate it, and feel at home in it! And that fondness, that connection that we have to creation, is the very thing that helps us to care for it the right way!
But that is just the human side of the equation. You see, God did all that, He designed this great house, He decorated for this party, if you will, for one simple reason!
proskuneo
In the Old Testament the word is hishtahvah , and in the new it is proskuneo. Now I mention that word on purpose. You see, it is a word that is used 171 times in the old testament and is almost always translated as proskuneo in the Greek. That word is used, then, almost solely in the Gospels, but save one reference, never used in the Epistles - the letters of Paul and others.
That’s curious, given the word’s meaning. You see, it means to worship. And not just any old worship! It means the fall on your face, overcome with awe type of worship! It literally means to “bow down.” To fall on your face, overwhelmed at all that you see, so much so, that you can’t even look at it anymore!
That is what we are made for.
Perhaps more important, that is what this world was made for!
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Everything you see was put here with the intention of it causing you to wonder and be overcome with gratitude and awe. It is here to cause you to worship!
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you, Nehemiah writes.
Everything you see was put here with the intention of it causing you to wonder and be overcome with gratitude and awe. It is here to cause you to worship!
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In the Beginning, God...created this world from nothing, with intention, and purpose, giving us all the tools we need; He has set the stage for you to worship!
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Gen 1:
Listen, in calling everything “very good,” God worshipped His own creation, in a way! And really our worship of Him in what we see, it is the doorway to a deeper worship of Him and a deeper faith in general. If we harden our hearts to those moments, we risk losing out on the faith and life He has for us.
[make sure it ends up talking about the stuff below, but then move it to our faith resting on our worship of our creator AND his sacrifice for us]
We must worship all that He has made, Church. You know, I think that is why that word, proskuneo, is left out of the Epistles. You see Jesus really redefines worship for us, so the early church really didn’t have a use for that phrase when used as a separate act! You see they worshipped God continually! They paid attention to Jesus and understood that He forever changed both the location and function of worship!
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
We aren’t made to worship in one building on one day! God created everything so that we could, and would, worship Him every single day!
But we don’t just worship Him for creation, church. You see, creation is just the party. It is the location. It is overwhelming, and awesome, but it isn’t the whole package, it is just a reflection of the love and dedication God has for us!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Jesus is our light and life! He was there in the beginning! He was God’s plan from the beginning! Everything that you see, is intended to point us back to Jesus, and as we stand in awe of it, and are grateful to God for it, we are grateful to God for Jesus!
Jesus was God’s plan from the beginning! All that you see must be seen through His eyes! It is by His sacrifice that we are saved! His love makes us whole! His death for us allow us to worship Him, not just the way we have always worshipped, but in Spirit and truth! WE WORSHIP HIM IN ALL OF CREATION! FROM THE HIGHEST OF HIGHS TO THE LOWEST OF LOWS! WE WORSHIP IN THE GOOD TIMES AND THE BAD. IN THE SUNSHINE AND THE RAIN. THERE IS NO MOMENT WHEN GOD DOESN’T CRY OUT FOR US TO WORSHIP HIM THROUGH ALL THAT HAS BEEN CREATED, AND ALL THAT, GOD WILLING, IS YET TO COME!
WE ARE MADE TO WORSHIP! WE CAN NEVER LOSE THAT SENSE OF AWE AND WONDER THAT WE HAD AS CHILDREN! WE CAN’T LET GO OF THE AMAZEMENT OF THAT FIRST LOOK FROM THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN, OR OUR FIRST SUNSET AT THE BEACH! THE FIRST TIME YOU CLIMBED A TREE, OR OUR FIRST TIP-TOE IN A CREEK! OUR FIRST NIGHT UNDER THE STARS, OUR FIRST TRIP TO THE ZOO. ALL THOSE MOMENTS ARE GIVEN TO US TO REMIND US OF ALL THAT GOD CREATED FOR US AND ALL THAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR US! ALL THINGS THAT SHOULD OVERWHELM US TO THE POINT OF ABSOLUTE WORSHIP! DON’T EVER LET GO OF THAT FEELING CHURCH!
That feeling is what will keep you close to faith, close to God.
[pic of granpa mountain again]
That thought really came to me on Monday. As we were hiking up the trail, I found myself out of fear and assumed parental responsibility constantly trying to reign Olivia in…[talk about running ahead]…And church, if she would understand it, I would apologize. You see, she was worshipping God, and didn’t even know it.
WHAT BETTER THING TO DO! HOW MANY TIMES DO WE LOOK PAST GOD AND NOT KNOW IT! BUT WE AREN’T MADE FOR THAT! WE AREN’T MADE TO JUST LOOK AT LIFE AND NOT BE OVERCOME WITH WONDER! WE ARE MADE TO JUMP AND TO SKIP! TO RUN AND EXPLORE! WE ARE MADE TO WORSHIP GOD BY BEING GRATEFUL FOR ALL THAT WE HAVE AND NURTURING IT FOR OTHERS TO EXPERIENCE TOO!
And that is true BOTH with creation, AND our faith.
And the only way we can do that for either one, is to rest our faith, and our lives, on Christ.
He is our resting place. He is why we worship. In Him all things were made, and nothing that was made, was made without Him in mind.
Invitation
Logos pic
[need to talk about a couple important things…1. God created everything 2. God created everything Good 3. God created us, and we are thought to be very good 4. We were made last for a reason 5. That reason is that we were made to worship Him! Kind of like showing up to a party that was prepared for us.]
[Link Genesis with John right away...]