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?

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

Day Three: Acts 2:42 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.”

WHERE I LIVE (North Texas), we don’t get much snow and ice, but when we do get the wintry precipitation, it can be a recipe for disaster. This is especially so at my parent’s house, which is in a fairly rural setting. This means that when ice starts to cause problems with the power lines, my parents are some of the last to get their electricity restored. During one particular cold snap my senior year of high school, our family went without power for about 3 days.

Not wanting to get caught in a situation like this again, my dad has now purchased a generator for those rare winter storms. Now when power lines go down, a simple starting of the generator provides energy to run the lights, heat, and TV (the big 3, in my opinion), until the electric company can get everything back and running.

Think about this for a minute. Every single power button and light switch in the house can instantly be restored by simply turning on the generator. This source of energy allows everything else to function. Without it, we are cold, dark, and bored. With it we have light, heat, and excitement. That single generator provides all of those things.

Notice here in Acts how God’s Word serves a similar impact on true Christian community. By being devoted to the Apostles’ teaching (God’s Word), they by extension fellowshipped together, broke bread together, and prayed together. That is, God’s Word essentially served as the life source for the Christian community. The power of God’s Word enabled those early believers to live their lives in close relationships with each other, constantly seeking ways to worship and obey Christ.

We need this same type of community today. We often gather around sporting events and other social happenings, but how often do we gather around God’s Word? We are quite good at fellowship, but we need to examine our reasons for fellowship.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Why is God’s Word so powerful?

▷▷How does the power of God’s Word affect your life?

▷▷How can you harness the power of God’s Word to impact the community you have with other people?

Week of 11/11-11/17: Redeemed Response - Understanding How God Speaks

Day One: Gen. 30:1-6 “When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. ‘Give me sons, or I will die!’ she said to Jacob. Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, ‘Am I in God’s place, who has withheld children from you?’ Then she said, ‘Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me so that through her I too can build a family.’ So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, ‘God has vindicated me; yes, He has heard me and given me a son,’ and she named him Dan.

I HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY of taking my kiddos to their GiGi’s house every morning before heading off to work. Every morning before leaving, I give each one of them a good-bye kiss. Recently Makenna, my two-year-old daughter, has decided on some days that she doesn’t want her daddy’s good-bye kiss. So when I go to say my good-byes, she’ll scream “No kisses!” and bury her face.

After a couple of days of this, I had an ingenious idea. Since she loves chocolate, and since GiGi always keeps a container stocked with Hersey’s Kisses, I pulled one of the bite-sized chocolates out, held it up, and simply asked, “Would you like a kiss?”

Her immediate response was “Yes!” As she went to grab the chocolate kiss from my hand, I quickly planted a smooch on her cheek. I got my good-bye kiss, and she got her chocolate. Everyone walked away happy. To put it another way, we could say: “Both are happy that Makenna received a kiss from her daddy.”

Look at that sentence. Both me and my daughter would be able to say that it accurately describes the situation, yet we mean different things. I am happy because I got to show my daughter affection before parting for the day. She is happy because she gets to eat a bit of chocolate before breakfast. The point is that we have to know more information before we can understand the fullness of that simple statement.

Reading the Bible require this same type of commitment. There are many things in the Bible that, if pulled apart from the rest of the book, would be very confusing or troubling. A prime example is the passage above. If we don’t understand the historical situation, the type of writing, and the ultimate point of the passage, we will have huge questions surrounding the Bible. In other words, for us to truly understand and apply the Bible to our lives, we must understand the context in which passages are written.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What is context?

▷▷Why is it important to understand the context of a passage of Scripture?

▷▷What can happen if we try to apply Scripture without understanding the context?