Genesis 1:1-5, 26-31 | Sermon Resources | 9 January 2022
Pastor Billy is out sick, so we’ll take a quick but deep dive into Genesis 1 this Sunday before picking up the Ephesians series next week.
Sermon Summary
Many young people don’t think the Bible and church are relevant to today’s world. Millennials are fleeing the church and identifying as nonreligious in higher numbers than ever before. How can an ancient book have anything to say to us in our materialistic society where we think can we define our own identities totally apart from God, if we even believe that God exists? May I suggest that the Bible can totally and radically alter our compass, help us find our bearings, give us purpose and a meaningful identity, and radically help our relationships. We’ll look this Sunday at 6 assumptions in today’s world that are challenged by the first chapter of the Bible:
- We are here by accident.
- History is cyclical, having no beginning and no end.
- We can create.
- We define what good is.
- We are no different than animals.
- Work has no meaning
Sermon Discussion Questions
- Cornelius Van Til wrote, “Taking for granted that he must start his effort to know himself and his world from within himself, [modern man] cannot even find himself.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
- How does the Bible challenge the assumption that we are here by accident?
- Contrast the beginning and end of the world. See Genesis 1 and 2 Peter 3:3-13.
- How does the Bible explain the existence of evil? Why is the Bible’s teaching about God creating out of nothing important?
- What are the dangers of defining what is good apart from God? While Jesus taught that we will no longer marry each other in our resurrected bodies (Matthew 22:30), we read in Gen. 1:27 that both male and female are in the image of God. How does this challenge the transgender movement?
- What is the Bible’s perspective on our relationship with the animals? See Genesis 1:28, Jonah 4:11, and Proverbs 12:10.
- According to a 2011 Gallup poll, 71% of American workers are either not engaged or actively disengaged at work. How does the biblical perspective on work infuse meaning and dignity into work? How does God’s model of rest in Genesis 2:2 challenge workaholism?
