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Bible class summary: Genesis 1
Recently we’re been reading through the first book of the Bible — the book of Genesis — and discussing what we learn about God from it, and about our relationship with him.
What follows is a summary of some of the things we learned from Genesis ch. 1:
- God’s word is powerful: He speaks and things happen. This theme took us to Psalm 33 and Hebrews 4. That God was speaking suggests his desire to communicate, teach and influence. There is a mixture of descriptions after God spoke: sometimes ‘it was so’, sometimes ‘God made…’ - implications: God commands are to be obeyed and God works to create as he desires. God’s word expresses his intention and that intention becomes reality by obedience and/or his work.
- Without God’s command stuff is formless (v2): we saw in this a strong parallel to human life without God: “vanity of vanities, all is vanity!”
- God was ‘careful’ in his creation: We wondered if the hovering of the Spirit of God over the waters (v2) implied:
~ an emotional concern for the earth (cf. Deut 32:11: the eagle fluttering);
~ an intimate involvement with the earth (Luke 1:35: HS overshadowing Mary);
~ an initial deliberation on the state of the earth and what he was about to do in banishing the chaos/desolation (i.e. creation was not just a whim on God’s part).
God has a lasting interest in creation (he sees that it is good after he has created; he names things, implying an acknowledgement of responsibility and ownership); he works with an order; he is methodical - it doesn’t all happen in one big cosmic lighting bolt but over a period there is a preparation of the earth for a purpose. We thought God is revealed in Gen 1 more like a architect/builder/gardener than a flashy magician. We thought ahead to chapter 2 and wondered if Adam’s naming the animals and work in the garden was to give him opportunity to be like God in positive ways.
We have a Bible class on Sunday evenings (at about 5pm; Dingley Rd) and Tuesday nights (7:30pm; location varies, so best to get in touch if you’re interested to come). You’d be very welcome to join us.
A blog from the Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas. Bruce Parker and Steve Johnson visit South America to see the projects on the go there. Informative and fun! Includes photos and videos.
Another neat YouPreach video made by our Christadelphian friends over in Handsworth. This one is about the family of believers.
Heaven is NOT the Bible’s Reward — an online version of our most recent Travelodge talk. The next talk is planned for June 2nd. More information to follow.
Old and New: The Bible - the Key to your Future
It’s an unusual combination: the oldest book and the future.
The Bible is the oldest book and it does hold the key to your future. It explains why God created the world and what he plans for its future. The Bible helps us to make a choice about the sort of future we want.
So, if it is so straightforward, why don’t more people get a grip on their future? The answer is that many doubt that the Bible is true. For some, its very age is a problem. They believe it is a collection of legends and folklore about mythical characters.
The reality is very different. The people and the places in the Bible are very real. You don’t have to go to Israel, Iran or Iraq to see the evidence; there is a lot to look at in London WC1. The British Museum has many inscriptions in both metal and stone, weapons of war, coins, tableware and everyday utensils that back up the Bible record.
Looking at things that have survived for thousands of years shows that the Bible is not about legends and mythical characters, but about real people and real places.
This is not the only way to test the reliability of the Bible; to get help to carry out your own reliability check on the Bible we can send you a leaflet, The Bible is True. Simply email your address to walsall@bibleawareness.co.uk
A clear, fair, impartial summary of Christadelphian belief and practice for the BBC’s Religions and Ethics site.
Our friend Richard Benson runs his own blog called “New in Christ”. In this article he discusses Paul’s “exuberant” language — how he uses words such as “full”, “all”, and “every” to emphasize the completeness of God’s generosity to us and the salvation He offers.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Here’s your chance to hear our own member Kevin Rawlings’ talk “Seeing through the credit crunch”. He talks about how our economy works (or doesn’t work at the moment) and how this contrasts with the principles God wants us to live by. Download the MP3 here: http://is.gd/eJlO or listen using the player above.
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