Untitled Sermo
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Creation
Creation
Genesis 1:1-31
Genesis 1:1-31
Genesis/Creation details
The bible is one unified story pointing us to God.
The bible is one unified story pointing us to God.
Written by moses
Genesis is first of the torah or pentatuch…Gen-Deut.
God spoke with Moses face to face
Jesus and Paul affirm the creation
Creation and Re-Creation
Refutes the common myth and legend of the day of Moses.
Worship of other ‘gods’...sun, moon, starts…
YHWY created all things…”our God is bigger than your god”.
We can believe in Science and in God simultaneously.
We can believe in Science and in God simultaneously.
Science and Faith are not at odds.
Common Views of Creation:
Doubts are ok…there is logic and reason…
All science disciplines represented from scripture.
7 days that divide world
BibleProject.org
Prof. John Lennox unpacks the story of how modern science has come to validate the Genesis account (Seven Days that divide the world., pp. 151-155). He makes the observation that both current science and Genesis agree that history had a beginning. The difference is Genesis stated this several thousand or more years ago, whereas until recently science had worked on the basis of Aristotle’s theory that the universe was eternal. He quotes physicist Sir John Houghton: “For human beings to exist, it can be argued that the whole universe is needed. It needs to be old enough (and therefore large enough) for one generation of stars to have evolved and died, to produce the heavy elements, and then for there to be enough time for a second-generation star like our sun to form with its system of planets. Finally there have to be the right conditions on earth for life to develop, survive and flourish… But that is not all. Our current understanding is that for the universe to develop the right way, incredibly fine-tuning has been required in its basic structure and in the conditions at the time of the Big Bang” (Days, p. 153). The Big Bang, of course, is simply science’s term for what Genesis describes as God’s act of creation. The fact that Genesis arrived at the truth long before science might point to its accuracy! Lennox also quotes Prof. Arno Penzias, who won the Nobel Prize for science, as saying this: “The best data we have… are exactly what I would have predicted, had I nothing to go on but the five books of Moses, the Psalms and the Bible as a whole” (Days, p. 154)
Finally, Lennox cites Andrew Parker leading British scientist and evolutionary biologist, director of the famous Natural History Museum in London, who does not himself profess to believe in God, but upon engaging in research on the subject, found a whole series of parallels between the creation account and the modern scientific account of the history of life. Parker writes: “Here then is the Genesis Enigma: “The opening page of Genesis is scientifically accurate but was written long before the science was known. How did the writer of this page come to write this creation account?… I must admit, rather nervously, as a scientist averse to entertaining such an idea, that the evidence that the writer of the opening page of the Bible was divinely inspired is strong. I have never before encountered such powerful impartial evidence that the Bible is the product of divine inspiration” (Days, p. 144)
Faith strengthened from creation story…
The story of creation reveals God is the designer
The story of creation reveals God is the designer
…Nicene Creed
…there was nothing, but God.
The cosmos had beginning, before the earth took form, but not before God. It has not always existed. Time, matter, and space had a starting point.
Isaiah 45:18 (NLT)
18 For the Lord is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
“and there is no other.
“Formless” & “void”
The substance was there, but not form. Day 1-3 He added the form…then Day 4-6 brought function from within the form.
Illus: CAKE. you can taste it, you can smell it, and observe it. You can enjoy it. The foremost authority on cake baking, could taste it and probably tell you how it was made…but they cannot, in their own knowledge and expertise tell you WHO made it and WHY they made it.
The story of creation fills me with wonder and awe, fueling my delight in the Lord.
The story of creation fills me with wonder and awe, fueling my delight in the Lord.
… it is good.
Fruit to enjoy.
…sunsets didn’t have to be beautiful.
…there is a rhythm to stop and delight. To celebrate
The length of the day is irrelevant; what is important is the pattern of life God establishes. The readers, the people of the covenant, are encouraged to follow God though his week, alternating following the work he has assigned them and resting, culminating in the rest of the sabbath.
…delight today helps point me to the delight and enjoyment of what is to come.
Revelation 21 & 22
The story of creation reveals God’s desire is to abide with you.
..spirit, son, & father
…Gen 2 double clicks into the story of Day 6.
YHWH Elohim, not just ELOHIM…
References the covenant name for God.
… God spoke
He could have nodded, winked, waved, or made a fart sound with His armpit.
He chose to use words….send sound reverberating through the cosmos to create.
What things are created from, is what must sustain them, and they will one day return to.
God’ ruah gave life to us, is mean to sustain us, and will be the place we return to.
…God walked in the cool of the night (Gen 3:8)...we don’t have to hide from Him, but rater can abide with Him.
“The author of Hebrews shows us that the living and active word became a human who was tempted like we are and suffered like we do, so he can sympathize with our needs and weaknesses. Because of this, we are invited to keep our words aligned with his (Hebrews 4:14
). And since his words are gracious and true, we can be confident and come to him for everything we need (John 1:14, Hebrews 4:15-16). This is how the word of God can actively shape and recreate our lives.
Jesus is called the Word of God in John's Gospel because he is the human embodiment of the eternal word of God who created life at the beginning and is still actively initiating new creation life today. As we listen to Jesus’ words and let them shape and recreate us, we echo his creative words of life and participate in God’s mission to renew all of creation.”
Hebrews 4:12–16 (NLT)
Hebrews 4:12–16 (NLT)
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Communion
