In The Beginning Series

BEGINNINGS

INTRODUCTION

The new is as old as the Bible, the more things change the more they remain the same, whatever will be has been and there is nothing new under the sun. People repeat themselves tediously, predictably and laughably. Chapters 1-11 talk about who God is, what He did and why he did it.

SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING (GENESIS 1:1-2:3)

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.

The scientist walked up to God and said “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you; We’re to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don’t You just go and get lost.”

God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, “Very well, how about this? Let’s say we have a man-making contest.” To which the scientist replied, “Okay, great!”

But, God added, “Now we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam.” The scientist said, “Sure, no problem” and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God looked at him and said, “No, no, no. You go get your own dirt.”

Genesis is a universal, historical and theological account of God, his creation and man, yet it is not a science book because science asks the question “How?” but Scriptures answers the question “Why?” God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. The world that God created is beautiful, rich and matchless. It’s a wonderful world, a strange planet and an earthly paradise.

Where are we from? Where is man heading? How should we live? How did God create the world? Why did He give life to man?

God Ordered the World from Chaos to Creation

1:1 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. (Gen 1:1-5)

In Bruce Almighty Jim Carrey plays TV reporter Bruce Nolan, who is offered the chance to be God for one week instead of complaining incessantly that God is failing at His job. Bruce is initially jubilant with the powers, using them for gain and show, such as impressing his girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) and causing miraculous things to occur at the otherwise mundane events that he covers, wishing a meteor to harmlessly land on earth. Before too long Bruce realizes things in his hands are out of control and that the city under his watch is in chaos because people in the city believe the Apocalypse is imminent due to the meteor strikes.

God’s creation coincided with the first imperative (“be”) in the Bible (v 3). On day one of creation, God created the light and God saw that (“because”) the light was good (1:4) – the phrase “God saw that.. good” is repeated daily – once for each day, no more, no less (Gen 1:4, 10 , 12, 18, 21 , 25). The world is suited for us, its properties are jarring and the conditions are right.

Encyclopedia Britannica says that the earth is a terrestrial body whose solid surface, abundant waters and oxygen-rich atmosphere have combined to create conditions suitable for life…The Earth is a nearly spherical body with an equatorial radius of slightly more than 6,378 kilometers (3,963 miles)…The Earth's magnetic field shields the planet from the most direct effects of the ionized gas that constitutes the solar wind, carving out a cavity known as the magnetosphere.

http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0,5716,108974+1,00.html

Earth’s enormous size keeps it from losing its interior heat so that it remains geologically active. Its density provided enough gravity to hold onto a substantial atmosphere and a large ocean. Its distance from the sun, around 93 million miles, keeps the earth at an average temperature with which life can exist - between the freezing and boiling points of water. If it’s too hot, we become barbecue; too cold, we become Popsicles.

The 23.5 degrees tilt of its axis gives earth her seasons. We can go surfing and scuba-diving in the summer, and skiing and skating in the winter, slipping and sliding all the way.

The earth spins around like a top. It is like a huge spaceship rushing through space at about 60,000 miles per hour. (Understanding the Earth 8, Tom Williamson Morristown, NJ/Macmillan Publishers Limited/84).