1-7-2018 - In the Beginning

Theme: Loving

Theme: Loving

Loving

For Kids: Light and Dark

Light and Dark

Light is good for being active

Dark is good for sleeping

But even when it's dark we like to have a little bit of light.

Me

Frustrations with New Year's resolutions.

I'm good for about two weeks

Then something else becomes a controlling factor in my life.

We

We have a longing for new life

But we find ourselves bound the the past

God brings so much good into our lives that it is hard to deny

And that makes it even more difficult to handle the disappointments and tragedies in life

So we hang on to the promise of being a new creation for just a few weeks before slinking back to the prodigal's pigpen

Not because we are just bad people

But because our hope does not last

We will trust God for a moment, a day, a week, maybe two... but our whole lives?

That is a leap of faith

We will trust God in some of our temporary, seasonal things, but struggle most to trust Him in the constant, everyday details we have.

If God is good all the time, why does he still allow darkness in our lives?

God

Scripture

For the next several weeks we are going to look at the way God put our world together and try to learn how to better live in it.

Genesis 1:1–5 NIV

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.

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The opening line.

The first thing God wants us to know is that He is our Creator.

He takes responsibility for it all

Something we are not used to

There was no insurance plan in case something did not work out

He takes all the credit and all the blame

2 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.

Dark

A picture of unfathomable chaos

The ocean was one of the most terrifying things to people who were raised in the desert

God was there. He was not scared or bothered by that darkness and Chaos.

He was hovering close, but not consumed by it.

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

Light

God's first act of creation was to put a light on the subject.

This act was the first of many that brought order and filled out what was otherwise empty, wasted space.

What does the light do?

Light is the opposite of the darkness

It captures our attention

It allows vision

Vision allows order

4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Separation

Order follows creation

Order in the creation often looks like separation

First implementation of order is separating light and darkness

You won't get very far painting black on black

But if you have a contrast, an opposite, you can begin to make shapes

In fact, without that contrast, you just have one big blob of everything

Creating light allowed there to be multiple, individual things in creation.

Day and Night

Two separate, individual things

God did not create light because he hated the dark

He created light so that the dark could live into its true potential

What does that even mean?

Blind Man John Chapter 9

(Perhaps Bartimaeus from Mark)

Born blind

Child of darkness

Everyone in the light tried to figure out what or who was to blame

Jesus came with true light, restored his sight, and made him shine as a witness to God's glory

Bart's time in the dark made his time in the light that much more glorious

Bart's impossible darkness showed the light of Christ to be that much more true

Indeed, two chapters before the blind man, Christ calls Himself the Light of the World!

And it pointed out that, as much as we claim to be those who bring light into the world... we can't hold a candle to the light of Jesus.

When God created light, he did not just lighten up pieces of the darkness

He made something new out of nothing

And that new light formed a relationship with the darkness that changed it forever

Bit of that darkness began to reflect the light back, like moonlight on the water that fills the air

That's what Jesus does to you and I.

He is that first light as a human being and the more time we spend in relationship with Him, the more we begin to reflect His light around us.

That light is love.

The darkness has never understood it.

God did not destroy darkness altogether

He set it in proper relationship with His light and redeemed it.

He made it beautiful and valuable

He gave it purpose

You

How do you experience the light of God in your life?

Was it a one time thing?

Is it seasonal?

How do you see clearly without God's light to guide you?

What are you reflecting when you aren't receiving God's light?

It's not a question of whether you are light or dark yourself... we all have both working in and around us.

The question is... are you letting His light wash over and remake you, or are you trying to undo that first act of creation by covering up the light with darkness?

Praise or rebellion?

Loving God and Others or living for ourselves?

Have you stepped into the light and taken a good look at yourself... enough to know what you look like standing next to Jesus?

Enough to know who God is calling you to be?

We

The world, the darkness, is calling us also

Work and finance pressures

Fears about health and safety

Personal insecurity

Anything to keep us from being people who make disciples who make disciples

The darkness doesn't care if we come to church, as long as we keep it to ourselves.

What will we do with the light, the grace, the love that God gives us today?