Part 1 of series
Beginnings: Creation of the World
In the very beginning there was God. God created everything and he did it by speaking. He would just say something and it would appear. God spoke and he created light and he created the sky, land, and the oceans. He created the trees and all the plants. He created the sun, the moon, stars, planets, and galaxies. He created all the birds and all of the animals in the ocean and all the animals on the land. God looked at everything he had made and was pleased. He thought it’s good. And then God created humans. He did this by taking some dirt, putting it the shape of a man and breathed into the man. The man became a living being. Now God took the man and put him in a beautiful garden on the earth. In the middle of the garden were two trees. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told the man, “You can eat the fruit from any tree in this garden but you can’t eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you do, you will die.” Then God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I am going to create the perfect companion for him. Now man was in the middle of the job that God had given him to name all the animals. As he looked around, he did not find any that was a good helper for him. So God put the man into a deep sleep and then took one of the ribs and from the rib, God created a woman. The man and the woman are known as Adam and Eve. They were both made in God’s image. They lived in the garden and had a perfect relationship with God. God bless them and said, “Have lots of kids and rule over and take care of everything on the earth.” God created everything in six days and on the seventh day, he set that day apart and paused to look around at everything that he had made and thought it was perfect.
Unseen Conflict: The Spirit World
When God was creating everything, he also created spirit creatures called angels. Sometime people can see angels and sometimes they can’t. God created the angels to serve him and to worship him. But some of the angels stopped worshipping God and rebelled against him. These fallen angels became to be known as demons and God sent them away from him. They went into the world and their leader is named Satan who is known as the devil. God has made all people in his image but Satan and his demons are at work today deceiving all of them. But God has declared his judgement on Satan and his demons that one day at the end of time, he will throw them in the fire that will never go out.
Broken: Sin Enters the World
While Adam and Eve were living in the garden, they had a perfect relationship with God. One day, the snake who is the most cunning out of all the animals God had made went up to Eve and he asked, “Did God really say that you can’t eat of any of the trees in the garden?” Eve said, “No, God said we can eat from all of the trees in the garden. It’s just the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that is in the middle of the garden that we cannot eat from.” God said if we even touch the fruit from that tree, then we will die. The snake said, “That’s not true. God knows that if you eat from that tree, then you will become like him and you will know good and evil.” When Eve saw how good the fruit looked, she was convinced the snake was right so she took some and ate it. She gave some to Adam who was with her and he ate it too. Immediately they realized that they were naked and for the first time, they were ashamed. So they took some leaves to make coverings for themselves. Later that day, they heard God walking in the garden and they were afraid so they hid from him from among the trees in the garden. God called out, “Adam, where are you?” Adam said I was afraid because I was naked so I hid from you. God said who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I told you not to eat from? Adam said, “Well, the woman you created, she gave me some of the fruit and I ate it.” God said to Eve, “What have you done?” Eve said, “Well, the snake tricked me so I ate the fruit.” God said to the snake, “Because you have done this, you are cursed and you will crawl on your belly and eat dirt forever. You and Eve will be enemies. Your descendants and her descendants will be enemies. You will bite her descendant’s heel but he is going to crush your head.” God said to Eve, “Because you have eaten the fruit, it will be very painful for you to give birth and have children. You will want to control your husband, but he is going to rule over you.” God said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit, the ground is cursed and it will grow thorns and weeds. You going to have to work really, really hard to be able to eat anything from it. You were created from the ground and one day, you will go back into the ground. After God finished saying all of this, he took the skin of an animal and made clothes for Adam and Eve. God then kicked them out of the garden because he knew if they ate from the fruit from the tree of life, they would live forever separated from him so God placed angels at the entrance of the garden so they could never return.
Rain: Noah and the Flood
After God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden, they had children and their children had children and people began to fill the earth. There became a point when everything that people thought and everything they did was evil. It broke God’s heart and he regretted that he had even made people. God decided he would wipe out all people and all animals that walked and flew. However, there was a man named Noah. He was a man of integrity and kept a good relationship with God so he told him that he was going to destroy the whole earth with a flood. He then gave him detailed plans to make a ship out of wood. This was to be for his family and for all the animals that God would bring to him. Noah began to build the ship and when he had finished, God brought to him at least two of each kind of animals that walked or flew on the earth. Noah loaded them onto the ship as well as his wife, his three sons, their wives, and all the food that was needed for them. God told Noah to get onto the ship and then God closed the door up behind them and sealed it and it began to rain. It rained and flooded for forty full days. It flooded to the point that it covered every part of the earth and every person and every animal that walked or flew died. After about five months, God made a wind to blow across the water and when it had dried up enough that the ship settled on dry ground. God told Noah to bring out his family and the animals. When he did this, he sacrificed some of the animals to thank God and to worship him. That pleased God. God told Noah, “I want you and your family to continue to have children and to fill up the earth. I want you to rule over everything I have created and care for it.” He told him, “I promise that I am never going to flood the whole earth like this again. When it rains, I am going to put my rainbow in the sky and this will be a reminder of my promise.”
Promises: A Child for Sarah
Many generations after Noah, there was a man named Abraham. He and his wife didn’t have any children. One day, when he was seventy five years old, God spoke to Abraham and said, “Leave your home country and go into the land that I will show you. I am going to bless you and your descendant will become a great nation and through you all nations will be blessed. Abraham did what God told him to do. He took Sarah and all that they had with them. When they arrived in the land that God had shown him, God said to Abraham, “I am going to give this land to your descendants.” Abraham built an altar and worshipped God. One night several years later, God said to Abraham, “I will protect you and reward you.” But Abraham said, “God, What good is that if I don’t have a son? All that I own will go to the guy that works for me.” God said, “No, I am going to give you a son. God took Abraham outside and said, “Look up at the stars and count them if you can. Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars.” Abraham believed God and God was pleased with him and accepted him. God didn’t just accept Abraham but kept the promise he had made. When Abraham was one hundred years old, his wife Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son and they named him Isaac.
God Provides: Abraham and Isaac
Several years later as Isaac was growing up, God decided to test Abraham. He called out, “Abraham!” Abraham said, “Here I am.” God said, “I want you to take Isaac whom you love to the mountain I going to show you and you sacrifice him to me there.” Abraham got up early the next morning got up and got the wood together. He took his two servants, his son Isaac and he went off towards the mountain. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the mountain so he turned to his servants and said, “You stay here and my son and we will go worship and we will come back to you here.” He took the wood and give it to Isaac to carry and he had the knife so they continued on. After a while, Isaac said, “Father, we have the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide for the sacrifice.” When they got to the top of the mountain, Abraham made an altar and put the wood on it. He tied up his son Isaac and put him on top of the altar and lifted the knife to sacrifice him. The Angel of the Lord came and said, “Abraham, Abraham, stop. Don’t kill him. I now see that you truly honour and obey me because you are willing to sacrifice your son to me.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram with his horns stuck in the bush so he took the ram and sacrificed that instead. He called the place, “God will provide.” The Angel of the Lord said, “I will bless you. I will make a great nation of you. Your descendants will more numerous than the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will be a blessing to all nations.”
Chosen: King David
God kept his promise to Abraham. Abraham’s children had children and they had increased until they became a great nation. They became known as the Jewish people. God gave them command in which they were to live and to honour him. He also send them messages through people called prophets. Many years after Abraham, God sent a message to his prophet Samuel. He said, “Samuel, I want you to go to the town of Bethlehem. I want you to find the man named Jessie. I have chosen one of his sons to be the next king.” Samuel went to Bethlehem and when he had found Jessie, he told him to have his sons come to him. Jessie’s oldest son was tall, strong, and handsome so when he arrived, Samuel thought that he was the one. God said, “No, Samuel. You are looking at the outside, I look at the inside. I haven’t chosen him.” In fact God didn’t choose any of the seven sons that had shown up. Samuel asked Jessie, “Do you have another son?” Jessie’s younger son was a teenager so he said yes. David, my youngest is out in the field watching the sheep. Samuel said, “Have him come to us.” When David arrived, God said to Samuel, “He is the one I have chosen.” God’s spirit came down powerfully on David and was with him for the rest of his life. David would be known as a man whose heart was after the things God’s heart was after. Some years later, David became king and God sent a prophet to him. The prophet came to David and said to him, “I chose you when you were out in the field with the sheep. I watched over you. I have been with you. I have protected you from your enemies. Now I am going to give you this promise. One of your descendants is going to become the king that I have chosen to rule forever. David went away from there and he prayed. He said, “God, who on earth am I that you would give me this promise. I know whatever you say is true so do just as you say so the whole world will know that you truly are God.
No Competition: Elijah vs. the False Prophets
Many years after David ruled the Jewish people, there was an incredible evil king named Ahab. He led people away from worshipping the true God to worship a false god. God sent his prophet Elijah to Ahab and he told Ahab that it is not going to rain until I say so. It didn’t rain and there was a drought and then a famine. Then God sent Elijah back to Ahab and when Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “Oh here is the wretch who is responsible for this disaster.” Elijah said, “It is not my fault. It is your fault. You are the one who led the people to worship false gods. You need to gather all the people and all their prophets and meet me at the mountain.” They all met at the mountain and Elijah told the people, “You need to make up your minds. If God is the true God, then worship him. If your god is the true god, worship him.” But the people didn’t say anything. It was their custom at the time that when they wanted something from their god to burn a sacrifice. Elijah told the people, “Your prophets are going to build an altar and I am going to build an altar. We are going to put a sacrifice on each altar but we are not going to light them on fire. Whichever god sends fire to burn up the sacrifice, he is the true God.” The people really liked this idea so their prophets built an altar and placed a sacrifice on it. They prayed really loudly all morning but nothing happened and no one responded. Elijah began mocking them saying, “You need to pray more loudly because maybe your god is asleep. Maybe he is on the toilet.” So they prayed even more loudly all afternoon. They even cut themselves with knives until they were covered with blood. But still, nothing happened and no one responded. Elijah built an altar and put a sacrifice on it and he dug a trench all the way around it. He told the people to put water on it. They poured so much water on it that it was completely soaked and the trench was filled with water. He then prayed, “God, show the people that you are the true God and you are calling them back to yourself to follow you with their whole heart. Immediately, God sent fire from heaven and it burned up everything that even the water in the trench was gone. The people bowed down low to the ground and they said, “God is the true God. God is the true God.” Not long after, the sky began to fill with clouds and soon it began to rain.
Promised Saviour: Isaiah’s Prophecies
Many years after Elijah, God sent another prophet named Isaiah to the Jewish people. Isaiah told them a coming promised Saviour who would sent as God’s servant. He said, “You have been living in darkness but God is going to send a great light that will bring you much joy. God will send a sign; a virgin will have a Son who will be God with us. He will bring peace as he rules over his ancestor David forever. This promised Saviour will also bring good news to the poor, comfort to the broken hearted and freedom to the captives but he will be hated and rejected. He will experience great sorrow and even take our sorrow upon himself. Yet people will think that he is being punished for his own sin but it will actually be for our sins because all of us have turned away from God. He will be beaten and whipped and like a lamb being led to be sacrificed, he won’t even fight back. Even though he will have done nothing wrong, he will suffer and die for our sins. He will be buried but God will bring him back to life. All of this is part of God’s plan to bring forgiveness and healing.” From then on, the people eagerly waited for this promised Saviour.
Arrived: Jesus is Born
Hundreds of years had passed since the prophet Isaiah told the Jewish people about a promised Saviour and they were still waiting for him. At this time they were ruled by the Roman Empire. There was a couple named Mary and Joseph who were engaged to be married and both of them were descendants of King David. One day an angel appeared to Mary and greeted her and said, “God is pleased with you. You are blessed. You will become pregnant and have a son and name him Jesus. He will be the king that God promised will rule forever. Mary asked the angel, “How is this possible since I am a virgin.” The angel said, “You will become pregnant by the power of God’s Spirit. The child that will be born will be holy. He will be called the Son of God. Mary said, “Whatever God wants, I am his servant.” Then the angel left and sometime later, Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant. He wanted to break off the engagement. Because he was a good man, he wanted to do it quietly so he would not shame Mary publicly. While Joseph was sleeping, an angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary to be your wife because she is pregnant by the power of God’s Spirit. She will have a son and you will call him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. So Joseph took Mary to be his wife. Later in the pregnancy, there was a census that required them to go to King David’s hometown of Bethlehem. When they had gotten there, it was time for Mary to have the baby but they couldn’t find a place to stay so they stayed in a stable. Mary gave birth to a son and they named him Jesus. All of this was to fulfil what God had promised through the prophet Isaiah, “A virgin will have a son and he will be God with us.”
Revealed: The Baptism of Jesus
About thirty years after Jesus was born, God sent a prophet named John. John was in the wilderness by a river telling people they should turn from their sins and turn to God. People would come to John and would confess their sins. John would baptise them in the river to show they have turned from their sins and turned to God. He would baptise them by dipping them in the water and bringing them out again. When John saw some of the religious leaders coming to him, he shouted at them, “You snakes. What are you doing here? You need to show by your actions that you have turned from your sins and turned to God. And don’t think you are safe from judgment just because Abraham is your ancestor.” The people asked John, “What should we do?” John said, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have a coat. If you have more than enough food, give some to someone who is hungry.” Some of the tax collectors asked, “What should we do?” John said to them, “Don’t take more money from people than what the government requires.” Even some of the roman soldiers who were there asked, “What about us?” John said, “Don’t use your position to intimidate anyone and be happy with what you are paid. The people all asked John, “Are you the promised Savour?” John replied, “I baptised you in the water but there is someone coming who is greater than I am. So much greater that I am not worthy to do the lowest job for him like take his shoes off his feet. He will baptise you with God’s spirit.” Then Jesus came to John and although he was sinless, he asked John to baptise him. John said, “Why are you asking this, you should baptise me. Jesus said, “This is what God wants us to do.” So John baptised Jesus and as he was coming up from the water, God’s spirit came down on Jesus like a dove and there was a voice from heaven that said, “This is my son who I love. I am very pleased with him.” John said to those around him, “This is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
