1-27-19 Sermon Notes – Week 2 and 3
Genesis – Day 1 to Day 3 – Genesis 1:1-13
Introduction
Last week, we almost finished discussing and analyzing verse one, “In the beginning….”
This week, we will be focusing on the first three days of creation.
Read Genesis 1:1-13
1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 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.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 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. 12 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. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.”
Message
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This is a statement with the purpose of drawing attention to the fact that all things had a real beginning. It is also brings to our attention that this verse is designed to help us see the ‘big picture.’ The following verses, beginning with verse 2, provide us with the details of creation.
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.”
This verse begins to describe the process of God’s creation and introduces the Holy Spirit’s role in creation.
This is a description of God’s creation being without form or shape, empty and covered with darkness. At that time, the universe and the world did not have the order that we see now. The earth was completely empty, lifeless and completely dark.
3 “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
“And God said, “Let there be light,”
This tells us the method that God used in creation and the power of His Word. Over and over, the Bible states, “And God said….”
“There was light.” This tells us that light, day, and night each existed before the sun and the moon were created on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19.) This shows us that light is more than a physical substance; it also has a supernatural aspect. In the new heavens and the new earth, there won’t be any sun or moon. God Himself will be the light (Revelation 22:5.)
The Hebrew word for “light” is ‘or which refers to the first waves of light energy that came on the earth. Later, God placed the “lights” (Hebrew ma’or, literally, light-bearers, verse 14) in the heavens. Some were to produce light and others were to reflect light. The primary purpose of these light-bearers was to mark seasons, days and years.
“And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”
This phrase is repeated six times in chapter 1 (Verses 5, 8, 13, 19. and 31). The Hebrew word for day is yom, which normally means a twenty-four hour period or the daylight portion of the twenty-four hours.
6 “And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.”
The “vault” or “expanse” refers to the atmosphere between the water on the earth and the clouds above.
9 “And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.”
Notice that this is the second time of seven times that the writer of Genesis said that God saw what he had created as being good. Each part of His creation was exactly as intended. God created the world to reflect His glory (beauty, splendor, wonder) and greatness. It was also a plan for the world to be a place for humankind could experience life and joy.
11 “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. 12 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. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.”
Once again, we see that God “saw that it was good.” Now notice that the plants and trees were full-grown producing seeds and fruit. Picture in your mind a time-lapse of a plant growing. Perhaps the sound of a ‘whoosh” might come to mind.
Concluding Remarks and Application
What is striking is all God had to do was to speak (“God said”) and IT happened and also the absence of chaos and how orderly God created all that we see around us. Imagine a sewing/knitting project or the building of a house and how that works. One step or phase followed by the next. No skipping allowed!
Next Week – The continuation of the series – “Origins! Created with purpose”
God Creates a Framework – Week 2 and 3 Study Notes
Light and Dark
Watch this quiz clip “Which Came First?” on RightNow Media: https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/illustration/98199
Now read Genesis 1:1-13.
During this study, please carefully read the actual text of the Bible – there are many details that we have read over for years but never noticed. What was a new thing that you noticed today?
How did you do on the quiz? Does creating light mean that God created the sun? What other explanations could there be?
On the second day, it says that God separated the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth. What do you think this means? Is there enough information to build a strong theory?
What was created on Day 3?
What is meant by the phrase “according to their kinds”?
Which came first, the plant or the seed?
Find 3 phrases that are repeated for each day (or most of the days) and explain the significance of each.
“Origins! Created With Purpose!” 1-13-19 1-20-19 Sermon Notes
“In The Beginning” Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-17
This week we continue the series “Origins! Created with purpose!”
Connection to the series theme
Almighty God is. That is, He exists. There never was a time when He did not exist. And, out of His sovereignty and divine prerogative, He created. While there was nothing lacking in God, He took the initiative to create. In so doing – both in terms of what He made and how He made it – He taught us much about Himself, ourselves, and our relationship to Him.
Introduction
We take so much for granted. We walk outside and experience the world around us, often without any thought of its majesty and grandeur. We see the sky, the trees, the ocean, the mountains, any of which is immense enough to overwhelm us as we try to consider its beauty and magnitude. In our defense, from our experience, there has never been a time when those things did not exist. So, it would be easy for us to take them for granted. However, there was a time they did not exist. In fact, there was a time when nothing existed at all – nothing, that is, except the God that made all we see and experience. And, it is His existence and activity that should cause us to marvel to an even greater degree.
As we begin our series in Genesis, it is important for us to remember that the beginning of the story starts with God Himself. It is not that God was the first thing created, but rather that God was always there. The question, then, is why did God create at all? Was He bored? Did He simply need something to do? Today, we will see where it all began.
But first, some background of the book of Genesis. It is the first book of the Old Testament and serves as an introduction to the entire Bible. The first Hebrew word used in the book, bereshith, is also used as the title, since bereshith means “In the beginning.” But the English Bible uses the word “Genesis,” which is the Greek translation of the original Hebrew word. Genesis is a title that reflects what we find in the entire book, for it means “the origin, source, creation or beginning of something.” Therefore, Genesis is “the book of the beginnings.”
The author of the Genesis is not mentioned in the book itself. However, other parts of the Bible (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; Ezra 6:18; Mark 12:26;Luke 15:29, 31; John 7:19-23; Acts 26:22 1 Corinthians 9:9; and 2 Corinthians 3:15) indicate that Moses wrote the entire Pentateuch, which consists of the first five books of the Old Testament. Also, ancient Jewish writers and leaders of the early church all testify that Moses was the author of Genesis. Since the entire history of Genesis took place before Moses lived, his role in writing Genesis mainly was (under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit) to carefully fit together all the available written and oral accounts that we now find preserved in Genesis. In this way, Moses was much like an editor.
Genesis accurately records creation, the beginning of human history and the origin of the Hebrew people who lived in a covenant relationship with God.
Message
I. The Beginning
Genesis 1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
The Old Testament begins with a mind-blowing declaration: “In the beginning, God . . . “Moses says nothing of God’s origin because there is nothing to say. God had no origin. He always has been. There has never been a time when He was not. Why is this such a big deal? Because He owes His existence to no one and nothing. Moses knew this all too well. God introduced Himself to Moses this way in Exodus 3. Moses asked God who he should say sent him to Pharaoh. To translate God’s response into improper English, God said “I be” – that is, “I am” or “I exist.” He, therefore, as the only, divine, eternal, Supreme Being, stands above everything else.
This God who exists has a plan, one He has revealed progressively since He created the world. This plan began with God Himself. He works it out according to His will and by His mighty power. As His written revelation to us begins, we see that He is the central actor in this grand narrative. He is the one who alone existed before the world was created. He is the one who acted to create. He is the one who will continue to work until the culmination of His great plan.
II. God created . . .
God existed, lacking nothing in Himself, and yet chose to create the world and everything in it. The Hebrew word for “create” is bara meaning “to create something new” and used only in conjunction with God. God’s creative acts, both in terms of what and how He created, inform us about His character and nature. Passages such as Psalm 19 provide insight into God’s rationale for creating, indicating that, at least in part, God created in a way to demonstrate His glory through the things He made. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1).
A. Order
One aspect of God’s nature we see in creation is His work to bring order out of chaos. God took that which was without form and empty and gave it both form and substance. It is important to remember, however, that God is distinct from what He has made. Though God is distinct from what He has made, He is intimately involved with His creation. Contrary to the Deist, God did not simply create the world, wind it up, start it spinning, and walk away. Again, God is intimately involved with His creation, as we will see in His relationship with the first man and woman, walking with them in the Garden.
B. Power
Another thing we clearly see in God’s creative acts is His divine power on display. God spoke . . . and creation was. He did not labor or toil, as if it were some arduous task. He simply spoke the world into being. By His powerful Word He created the world, and by that same Word He holds all things together.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:1-3
15 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
C. Holiness
The final aspect of God’s nature we see in creation is His holiness and goodness, seen in His creation of light and its distinction from darkness. The contrast of light and darkness appears throughout Scripture to symbolize good and evil. We see this word picture taken up by the Apostle John in his first epistle: “Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him” (1 John 1:5).
Concluding Remarks and Application
How should the reality of God’s existence impact our lives today? If He alone is the eternal, sovereign God, working to bring about His will and plan, how do our lives and our plans relate to His?
How does God’s power, His intimate involvement with creation, and His goodness motivate us to glorify this awesome Creator and to live in submission and obedience to Him?
Next Week – The continuation of the series – “Origins! Created with Purpose!”
The Real Origin of the Species
This week is a study of the way that Christians have seemed to have lost the battle of ideas about how the world was formed. How do you think that the argument was lost?
Please read this article about the history of the Battle. Here is a the history of the Battle. It’s is a little long, but worth the read.
Does this article change how you thought the argument was lost?
Describe philosophical naturalism in your own words.
How was the ‘Galileo affair’ used to attack people who tried to apply the Bible to the study of geology?
What does it say about your concept of who God is if He takes millions or billions of years to create the earth? Was He struggling over long ages to slowly figure out how to build it and create life on it? Is your concept of God that He is big and all-powerful or small and weak?
During this onslaught, the church was in conflict – many inside the church accepted the new ideas even though these ideas undercut the entire foundation of the Bible. There were many theories proposed to try to align the scientific ideas with the Bible: day = age, Gap Theory, and Framework Theory. Unfortunately, these theories are trying to re-interpret the Bible based on science. Science is placed in mastery over the Bible. There were many scientists who argued against the long age interpretations – Granville Penn, George Bugg, Andrew Ure, George Fairholme, and John Murray were some. One thing that they never did was to join into a formal organization to fight together for their ideas. That step wouldn’t happen until the Institute for Creation Research was formed in 1970 by Dr. Henry Morris.
Why are the formal organizations so important to the support of an idea in the culture?
Watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CylfWoHkT0
Why did so many pastors accept evolution?
Would you have been confident enough in the Bible to stand against popular culture?
Watch Cameron’s story “Creation vs Evolution” on RightNow Media: https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/illustration/114522
Have you ever felt like Cameron?
Have you ever been the student who didn’t stand up?
Read John 1:1-5, Romans 1:20, and Colossians 1:15-17.
Does the New Testament treat Genesis as an analogy?
Read Matthew 19:3-6.
Look at this verse again, “That He who created them in the beginning made them male and female,” (HCSB). What is Jesus referring to when He says this?
For more in-depth study, read The Great Turning Point by Terry Mortenson.
lee@westshorecommunitychurch.orgJanuary 4, 2019 1 Comment
“True Happiness” 1-6-19 – Galatians 5:22-23
We have just begun 2019 with the familiar phrase, “Happy New Year!” It rolls off our tongue sometimes like just another phrase such as “Happy Birthday” or “Happy Anniversary.” I think that most of us say all of these with best wishes for the persons receiving them. But, it got me to thinking about what makes us happy. Is it a new car, wide-screen television with the latest ‘bells and whistles, a delivery from Amazon, and the list that could go on and on?
It seems to me that we live in an increasingly unhappy world. We tend to focus on the negatives rather than the positives. We often find ourselves worrying about……… I saw an interesting quote the other day, “Worrying is like praying for something bad to happen.”
A few questions before we ‘cut to the chase.’
- What makes you happy?
- How long does your happiness last?
- What is true happiness?
- What does the Bible say about ‘true happiness?’
We have just celebrated Advent. One of candles represented Peace and another candle represented Joy.
As mentioned when we lighted the Peace candle, this is one area in our lives that we can control with the help of the Holy Spirit. We can have peace of mind when unhappy events are swirling around us. And if we have peace, we can have joy!
Let’s look at question #4 first. What does the Bible say about true happiness?
Two of my favorite verses are found in chapter 5 of Galatians.
5:22-23 New International Version (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
We could go to the Sermon on the Mount and read “The Beatitudes,” “Blessed or happy are those who…….” But I think that these two verses in Galatians give us guidance on what we can define as true happiness. Notice that one seems to build upon another and also that peace and joy are among the fruit of the Spirit.
So, stop and think about what each of the fruit of the Spirit mean to you. When finished, do you see how these all lead to true happiness?
On the practical side, I am going to list a few ideas that can help develop the fruit of the Spirit.
So, here goes.
- Love God, yourself and others
- Eliminate negative thoughts
- Have a positive attitude – look on the bright side
- Realize that money cannot buy happiness
- True happiness doesn’t mean being happy all the time
- Enjoy who you are because true happiness resides inside you
- Have a purpose
- Give to others without expecting anything in return
- Stop and smell the roses
- Know that God has your back!
Let’s not only make this a happy 2019, but with God’s help, a happy lifetime!