Week of 12/2-12/8: Foundation - Paradise Lost

Day Two: Gen. 6:11-14, 17-18 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and the earth was filled with wickedness. God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth. Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth. “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside. ... Understand that I am bringing a flood – floodwaters on the earth to destroy every creature under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will die. But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives.

ONE DAY I WAS EATING BREAKFAST with a couple that was interested in being on our core team of our church plant. I was excited to sit down with them because I thought they had a lot to offer the team. As we talked over breakfast at Cracker Barrel I got to hear the husband’s story. I knew he had a jail stint in his past, but I didn’t know any of the details. I expected to hear about some petty crime, and in my head I even thought about how cool it would be to have someone who served time is on our team!

As he continued to talk, I learned that he had spent more than 25 years locked up in a high security facility. I was shocked. And worse than that, I even lost my appetite, which almost impossible to do at Cracker Barrel. In my head I began thinking about the various crimes one could commit to receive such a severe sentence. I knew that the act had to have been very serious to get such a long sentence. As it turned out, the crime was severe. But God completely redeemed this man and uses him to this day to be a solid leader on mission for Jesus!

I knew this man’s crime had to be bad based on the extreme sentence he received. In Genesis 6 we read about God sentencing the people on earth for a crime. Judging from the sentence, which consisted of a worldwide flood, it is safe to assume that the offenses were severe.

What was the crime? The crime was filling the earth with wickedness and sin instead of filling the earth with the image of God. The Flood story ought to heighten our understanding of how bad sin is and remind us of the extreme penalty that we deserve.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why did God send the flood?

▷▷What happened to earth as a result of the flood?

▷▷What does the flood teach us about sin?

Week of 12/2-12/8: Foundation - Paradise Lost

Day Three: Genesis 11:1-7 At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They had brick for stone and asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth. “Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. he Lord said, “If, as one people all having the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OCCASIONS where I hear my kids screaming for me from the playroom downstairs. “Come look! Come look!” they say with such excitement that I can’t help but think, “This is going to be good!” My expectations are usually met with a sloppy, crooked, Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa, Lego house. I can’t say what I am really thinking, so with as much enthusiasm as I can muster up, I exclaim, “Isn’t that…something?!” What did I expect? These are kids, not architects, engineers, or builders.

In Genesis 11 we read about a story where God’s creation tried something similar. Man decided to build a tower to try to get to heaven and to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately for man, there were a couple of problems with this plan.

First, God clearly let humanity know that their job was to make His name known. Here we see them trying to make a name for themselves. The problem with that endeavor is it goes completely against God’s desire and intentions for man.

Second, it consisted of mere humans trying to do a divine work (build a tower to heaven). They were trying to be god of their own lives. Though we may try to make a name for ourselves or try to be god over own our lives, in the end, we are unable to do anything great on our own.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why did God disapprove of man building the tower?

▷▷What does this teach us about God?

▷▷What does this teach us about man?

Week of 11/25-12//: Foundation - The Story Begins

Day One: Gen. 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and He called the darkness “night.” Evening came and then morning: the first day.

HOW DO YOU KNOW if you are in a relationship with someone these days? You check their Facebook status, right? When I was in elementary school I used to pass a lot of notes during the day. This of course was before the days of texts, tweets and Facebook messages. The notes would go out on Monday and the recipient would usually be different from week to week. They would usually say something to the effect of: “(Insert Girl’s Name), do you want to be my girlfriend, check yes or no. “

Once I reached high school the girls didn’t respond as well to those childish notes. In high school you knew you were in a relationship if you talked to the person in between classes and if you spent hours on the phone talking at night. Those actions remind us that communication is the foundation and confirmation of any relationship.

It’s really interesting that out of the billion different ways God could have created the world, He chose to do it by speaking, or communicating. The Bible records it this way, “Then God SAID, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Gen 1:3)

Why does someone speak? To be heard and responded to, right? That’s called communication and it is the basis of all relationships. God choosing to speak creation into existence is evidence of His desire to be in a relationship with His creation. God is not silent nor is He removed from His creation. He is pursuing a relationship with His creation. The fact that God spoke the world into existence points us to these facts.

God didn’t stop speaking at creation. He has been speaking ever since. It’s almost like He is writing us a note or wants to chat with us between classes. Ultimately He is pursuing a relationship with us and desires communication with us. We can have this relationship with Him because He first spoke to us. Make no mistake about it, He is speaking. The real question is, are you listening?

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why did God speak creation into existence?

▷▷How does God speak to creation in today’s world?

▷▷What can you do to ensure that you hear God when He speaks to you?

Week of 11/25-12/1: Foundations - The Story Begins

Day Two: Gen. 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

Finish the story by reading 1:29-2:3 in your Bible.

LEARNING THE ALPHABET and how to add are two of the first things you learn in your academic career. Learning addition usually begins by the teacher asking the following question: “If you have one apple and I give you another, how many do you have?”

This is apparently hard to grasp at first because young kids often pull out their fingers to visualize this concept of addition. Over time the concept begins to soak in. But as soon as students begin to master that concept, another mind-blowing concept is introduced: multiplication.

The basis of multiplication is taking one number and adding as many times as the second number indicates. For those scratching their heads and getting their fingers ready let me explain further: 4*4 is nothing more than 4+4+4+4. Some might ask, why multiply when you can add? Multiplication allows you to combine much larger numbers much faster than mere addition. In essence, you multiply when addition isn’t big enough.

Early in Genesis God gave Adam and Eve a God-sized vision and mission. Mere addition couldn’t handle this vision. This was a vision that required multiplication. The Bible says, “God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply.” Some might argue this is a mandate for married people to have lots of babies. To some extent this is what God means, but I think there’s much more going on here.

You might ask the question: “What were Adam and Eve supposed to multiply?” The previous verse twice mentions that man was made in the image of God. As soon as God said that, God then told Adam and Eve to multiply. He commanded them to multiply His image over all the earth. God desires a world that reflects His glory. This occurs when His image is multiplied throughout the face of the earth.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why did give the command to “be fruitful and multiply”?

▷▷What can you do to multiply God’s image here on earth?

▷▷How does this command further God’s glory?

Week of 11/25-12/1: Foundations - The Story Begins

Day Three: Gen. 2:18-25 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.” So the Lord God formed out of the ground each wild animal and each bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found who was like him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called woman, for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

GROWING UP, my parents had a way to make sure I understood the things they deemed important. Whenever they wanted to make a point, they would do so by stating the same thing over and over. I remember on many occasions my mom would remind me of something she wanted me to do upwards of five times. I remember thinking, “I get it! You don’t have to keep saying it over and over!”

Truth be told, I often times still didn’t get it. The point is that when our parents want something to stick they tend to repeat themselves over and over. God does the same thing in the story of Genesis. He says, “It is good,” over and over. He makes the point that what He does is good and is an extension of His goodness. This repetition is so consistent that when we see a different message communicated, we must take notice.

A different message comes in Genesis 2:18. Instead of once again seeing, “It is good,” we find God stating, “It is not good!” For the first time in Genesis something isn’t good. Why would God break His normal pattern of repetition? To make the point that Adam alone was not good. Adam alone misses a piece of reflecting God’s image. The best reflection of the image of God is an intimate community of two people bound together in marriage. Marriage was not designed merely for our happiness or companionship. God created marriage so that we may better reflect His image.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What caused God to declare, “It is not good!”?

▷▷How does marriage help reflect God’s image?

▷▷What can you do now, as a student, to prepare yourself for a future marriage?

Week of 11/18-11/24: Redeemed Response - Listening Together to the Voice of God

Day One: Neh. 8:4-6 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up.” Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. “

WHY DO WE CALL our teacher, ‘Mr.Smith’ instead of ‘John’?

Why do we answer our parents with a ‘yes ma’am’ or ‘yes sir’ instead of ‘yup.’?

Why do we refer to the president as ‘President Washington,’ instead of ‘George’ or even ‘Mr.Washington.’?

All of these titles are signs of respect in the American culture. There are many things we do in our lives that have no real function other than demonstrating respect. Yet, our culture values these things very highly.

Just as we have great respect for certain individuals, and address them accordingly, we find in the book of Nehemiah that the people of God had a great respect for God’s Word. The word ‘reverence’ means to have a deep or great respect. So, essentially the Israelites highly revered, or had reverence for, God’s Word.

This reverence manifested in several ways. We see that a great assembly of people gathered to hear the reading of God’s Word (v.2).The Word was read aloud and all the people ‘listened attentively’ (v.3).When the Word was read, the people stood up (v.5), and immediately thereafter they bowed down and worshiped with their faces to the ground (v.6).

Why did the Israelites do these various things as God’s Word was being read? These things were done out of deep reverence. They understood that what was being read was the very Word of God, and they treated it with extreme devotion.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Do you revere God’s Word? Why or why not?

▷▷Why is it important to have a reverence for God’s Word?

▷▷How can you develop and display your reverence for God’s Word?

Week of 11/18-11/24: Redeemed Response - Listening Together to the Voice of God

Day Two: Neh. 8:7-12 “Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read. Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.” And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.” Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration, because they had understood the words that were explained to them.”

IN TODAY’S WORLD, where nutrition and fitness have become increasingly chic, completing a marathon has become an ultimate goal for many. This 26.2 mile endurance run promises a great sense of accomplishment for those who complete it. It should go without saying, however, that completing a marathon is no easy task. A great deal of training is required to even complete a marathon, much less compete with other racers. For that already in reasonably good shape,

it may take up to half a year of daily training in order to fully prepare the body and mind for the race. For those out of shape, even more.

Interestingly, this ought to be the same way we approach God’s Word. We should not expect to flippantly open the Bible, turn to a random verse, read it, and truly encounter the living God. Look at the care and devotion to God’s Word in our text. In this passage, we see that the people explained, read, translated, and gave a clear meaning of the text to those in need of God’s Word. Then, they proceeded to tell the people to eat, cease their grieving, and begin rejoicing in the Lord. And the people did, “because they had understood the words that were explained to them. (Neh.8:12)” Look at all of the work that went into understanding the Scriptures. Understanding came after a long process of preparation and training for receiving God’s Word. If we truly want to encounter the power of God’s Word, we must be willing to prepare for receiving God’s Word.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What does it mean to prepare to receive God’s Word?

▷▷Practically speaking, how would one go about preparing to receive God’s Word?

▷▷Why is it important that you prepare to receive God’s Word personally?