WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.179 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:11.040 ! We're going to go back to the beginning in the beginning, and that's the book of Genesis. 00:00:11.040 --> 00:00:15.519 We recently as a church finished, we went through the book of Acts and now we're going to start 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:20.080 off God willing in the next few months to go through the book of Genesis, the first book 00:00:20.080 --> 00:00:26.440 of the Bible, the beginning of the Bible. And why are we going into Genesis? It's the first 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:32.899 book and it lays the foundation. Genesis lays a foundation for how we read the Bible and 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:37.480 not just how we read the Bible, but how we understand this world. When we look out, we 00:00:37.480 --> 00:00:43.600 see the mountains, the oceans, the skies, the stars, who we are, where we came from. Genesis 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:51.500 lays a foundation for that. You can't start a movie midway through and expect to know the 00:00:51.500 --> 00:00:57.219 whole plot of it. Who hears, who hears watched the movie up the Pixar movie with the flying 00:00:57.219 --> 00:01:02.179 house and balloons, right? Well, if you miss the first 10 minutes, you miss that montage 00:01:02.179 --> 00:01:08.260 of him and his wife, the life that they lived. Then the movie, you miss something. It doesn't 00:01:08.260 --> 00:01:14.960 quite make sense. Then Carl is just a grumpy old man who hates kids on a crazy adventure. 00:01:14.960 --> 00:01:18.859 Unless we know the backstory, what happened to this with his wife. We don't know why he's 00:01:18.859 --> 00:01:25.620 trying to get there to paradise falls. Or if you're assembling a closet from Ikea, if you 00:01:25.620 --> 00:01:31.140 start from page 10 of the instruction manual, then you might assemble a few drawers. You'll 00:01:31.140 --> 00:01:35.060 have a few shelves, but there's, there's no frame to put anything in. You don't know what 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:40.579 to do with the dressers and, and all, and the coat hangers you're holding without that frame. 00:01:40.579 --> 00:01:44.980 And it's the same if we read the Bible, um, or we try to make sense of what we see in the 00:01:44.980 --> 00:01:50.740 world without the foundation, without the beginning, where, where this all came from and why God 00:01:50.740 --> 00:01:56.900 made it all. And so, yeah, that's, that's what we see in Genesis. The Bible is one big story 00:01:56.900 --> 00:02:02.219 of God fulfilling his promise to redeem people who don't deserve it. And that's ultimately, 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:07.620 as we celebrate it last week at Easter, that's through Christ's death and resurrection. His, 00:02:07.620 --> 00:02:13.939 Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection, but Jesus didn't just come into the world in a vacuum. 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:20.020 The climax of the cross, what happened last week at Easter, it's set up all the way from the beginning. 00:02:20.980 --> 00:02:28.819 In Genesis, we see God's good creation broken by Adam's sin and that brought death and suffering into the 00:02:28.819 --> 00:02:36.659 world. We see throughout Genesis. We'll see in the next few weeks, sin is pervasive in Cain, Cain killing 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:45.539 Abel in Noah, the flood in Sodom and Gomorrah, and even all the patriarchs in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 00:02:45.539 --> 00:02:51.780 everyone sins. But the theme going through is that God shows grace. He constantly shows grace, 00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:58.259 patience, faithfulness to people who don't deserve it. And God promises redemption to Adam, 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:03.300 to Abraham. We can trace these promises, these covenants that God makes throughout all the Bible 00:03:03.300 --> 00:03:11.219 from Genesis to Christ and to us. That's why we're going to Genesis. And on top of that, 00:03:11.219 --> 00:03:15.860 we all have questions. We all come with questions, big life questions. What's the meaning of life? 00:03:16.820 --> 00:03:24.180 Where did I come from? Why am I here? The answers to these questions, they start in Genesis because 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:31.060 that's the beginning. If we want to know our purpose, we need to know, we need to look to the one who gave us 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:36.900 purpose, who gave us life and meaning in the beginning. And so to answer those questions, 00:03:36.900 --> 00:03:41.699 we're going to, we're going to go back to page one of the Bible. And the Bible is clear on this. 00:03:41.699 --> 00:03:48.099 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Everything was created by God, designed by God 00:03:48.099 --> 00:03:54.420 and declared good by God. And this shapes how we see the world. It's all built in the foundation that in 00:03:54.420 --> 00:03:59.379 the beginning, God created everything and it was good. The heavens and the earth were created as a theater 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:05.780 to put God's glory on display, his majesty on display. Genesis one establishes that God is the 00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:12.180 absolute foundation for all reality. There's nothing that exists apart from what God has made apart from 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:17.939 who he is. And so we can only find answers to life's biggest questions by looking to our creator. 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:24.659 When we ask questions like, what's my purpose? How do I navigate our lives, our jobs, 00:04:24.660 --> 00:04:32.340 our relationships, our marriage? What am I here for? Ultimately, every answer is found in God because 00:04:32.340 --> 00:04:37.940 he's the one who made it all and designed it all. And he did it with purpose. It's intricate and 00:04:37.940 --> 00:04:42.980 purposeful. And so today we're going to go back to the beginning in Genesis one, and I'm going to invite 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:47.940 me up to read the word for us. Let's stand together. Let's stand as we read the word of God together. 00:04:47.940 --> 00:04:53.379 Genesis chapter one should be easy to find right at the beginning of the Bible. Let's stand for the word of 00:04:53.379 --> 00:05:04.980 the word of the Lord together. Genesis one. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:13.139 The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the spirit of 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:19.939 God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. 00:05:19.939 --> 00:05:28.100 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day 00:05:28.100 --> 00:05:35.060 and the darkness he called night. And there was the evening and there was morning, the first day. 00:05:35.860 --> 00:05:43.620 And God said, let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the 00:05:43.620 --> 00:05:50.420 waters. And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters 00:05:50.420 --> 00:05:57.860 that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening 00:05:57.860 --> 00:06:05.780 and there was morning, the second day. And God said, let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place 00:06:06.340 --> 00:06:15.540 and let the dry land appear. And it was so. God called the dry land earth and the waters that were gathered together, 00:06:15.540 --> 00:06:30.260 he called seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit in which there is their seed, 00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:43.700 each according to its kind on the earth. And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed in according to their own kinds and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:53.339 each according to its own kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 00:06:54.180 --> 00:07:06.319 And God said, let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years. 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:13.039 And let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so. 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:22.199 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night and the stars. 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:32.839 And God set them into the expanse of the heavens to give light to the earth, to rule over the day and over the night and to separate the light from the darkness. 00:07:33.539 --> 00:07:40.279 And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:50.259 And God said, let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens. 00:07:50.259 --> 00:08:01.699 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves with which the waters swarm according to their kinds and every winged bird according to its kind. 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:14.199 And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them saying, be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and let birds multiply on the earth. 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:18.800 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 00:08:19.599 --> 00:08:30.319 And God said, let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds, livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:41.100 And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:44.500 And God saw that it was good. 00:08:44.500 --> 00:09:03.659 Then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:08.139 So God created man in his own image. 00:09:08.740 --> 00:09:11.299 In the image of God, he created him. 00:09:11.959 --> 00:09:14.919 Male and female, he created them. 00:09:15.579 --> 00:09:17.620 And God blessed them. 00:09:18.299 --> 00:09:33.259 And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. 00:09:33.659 --> 00:09:44.919 And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit. 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:58.879 You shall have them for food and every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth and everything that has breath of life. 00:09:59.079 --> 00:10:01.539 I have given every green plant for food. 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:03.199 And it was so. 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:07.459 And God saw everything that he had made. 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:11.740 And behold, it was very good. 00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:16.519 And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 00:10:18.139 --> 00:10:19.139 This is the word of the Lord. 00:10:19.319 --> 00:10:19.980 Please take a seat. 00:10:20.199 --> 00:10:20.679 Thank you, Mihi. 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:27.639 And God, we just want to see your glory in your word. 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:30.839 Help us to know that you are the eternal God, that you created us. 00:10:31.199 --> 00:10:34.639 And yeah, we have purpose and meaning in glorifying you. 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:35.559 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:10:35.719 --> 00:10:35.899 Amen. 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:35.939 Amen. 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:38.720 Okay. 00:10:38.939 --> 00:10:39.259 Yeah. 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:44.860 Since we're starting off in Genesis, in the beginning of this book, I just want to give some background briefly on Genesis. 00:10:45.740 --> 00:10:50.879 Genesis was written about, we think, 3,400 years ago. 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:54.399 And the book itself, Genesis doesn't say who wrote it. 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:57.779 It doesn't say in there, so-and-so wrote Genesis. 00:10:57.939 --> 00:11:09.480 But for thousands of years, both Jews and Christians traditionally considered Moses the author of Genesis, along with the rest of the first five books of the Bible, which we call the Pentateuch. 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:15.240 Moses is, of course, the one who split the Red Sea and said, let my people go to Pharaoh. 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:24.420 So Jesus, we know this because Jesus himself referred to other books in the Pentateuch as attributed to Moses. 00:11:24.560 --> 00:11:32.840 For example, in Mark 12, verse 26, he says, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him? 00:11:32.899 --> 00:11:37.180 That's Exodus, saying, I'm the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 00:11:37.179 --> 00:11:45.739 And so Jesus seemed to think that Exodus was given to Moses, and we think probably the other five books, the rest of the Pentateuch, including Genesis. 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:52.459 And so God likely gave Moses either direct revelation about what happened, because Moses wasn't there in the beginning, 00:11:52.859 --> 00:11:57.419 but God could have spoken to Moses and given him direct revelation about what happened, 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:05.899 or Moses compiled together other oral written testimony into this book under the inspiration of the Spirit about 3,400 years ago. 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:14.579 And I bring this up because that means that Genesis was written with a very different culture and audience in mind. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:20.179 One of life's biggest questions that everyone asks is, where did we come from? 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:21.240 Where did we come from? 00:12:21.939 --> 00:12:28.879 And this is a universal question, because everyone who's looked up at the stars in the sky has asked that question. 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:37.919 But we have to keep in mind that we asked this question from a very different viewpoint from Israelite farmers 3,000 years ago. 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:45.279 Yesterday, four astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after taking a trip around the moon in Artemis II. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:54.240 We live in a day and age where we can send people to the moon and see photos from the other side of the moon. 00:12:54.240 --> 00:13:02.379 We live in a society with telescopes and microscopes and DNA sequencing and radiocarbon dating. 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:05.620 The people of ancient Israel didn't have any of that. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:13.480 Humans didn't figure out that the earth was round until 1,000 years, probably after Genesis was written. 00:13:14.560 --> 00:13:18.580 And meanwhile, today we can see pictures of people orbiting the moon, 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.879 see the earth, that the earth is round from the other side, from the dark side of the moon. 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:29.519 We live in a culture that's looking to explain where we came from, from a very different perspective with science. 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.600 The Israelites weren't looking for these sorts of answers. 00:13:32.919 --> 00:13:37.439 They were surrounded by other cultures in the ancient Near East who believed in many gods, 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:45.120 who understood that the world was created when the plural gods, they fought and struggled and killed each other. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:48.240 And through conflict, the world was created. 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:55.759 Or these gods, they were lazy and they wanted to create humans so that they could have slave labor and they wouldn't have to work. 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:01.100 That's why, that's what some of these cultures believed about where we came from. 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:07.860 And that's what Genesis, that's the context, that's the culture that Genesis was written to address. 00:14:07.860 --> 00:14:11.940 And so when we read Genesis, we need to ask the right questions. 00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:13.139 Put it this way. 00:14:13.800 --> 00:14:17.440 If you had a time machine, you went back 3,000 years to ancient Israel, 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:19.560 and you asked one of them, 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:23.220 can I pay by octopus card at Café de Coral? 00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:26.060 How do you think they would respond? 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:28.300 They stared at you like an alien. 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:30.100 They'd ask, what's an octopus card? 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:32.560 Or actually, what's a restaurant? 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:34.080 I've never even heard of that. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:38.080 And we're talking about concepts that are so foreign to the understanding. 00:14:39.980 --> 00:14:43.259 And you may also get the same questions if you're asking questions like, 00:14:43.560 --> 00:14:47.780 where does cosmic microwave background radiation come from? 00:14:47.980 --> 00:14:50.540 Or what do you make of these carbon-14 atoms? 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:53.860 And DNA and geological records? 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:55.780 These are questions that we have, 00:14:55.940 --> 00:14:59.480 but they wouldn't have crossed the minds of these ancient Israelites. 00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:03.860 Genesis wasn't written to be a detailed scientific record 00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:07.200 of exactly what happened when God created the world. 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:12.180 Now, just because Genesis isn't a modern science textbook, 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:14.440 it doesn't mean that it's a fairy tale, that it's all made up. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:18.340 It's just myths like what they had in the surrounding cultures. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:22.379 Genesis describes real events, real history, 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:29.279 but it's not written to answer all our exact 21st century questions. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:33.259 What God wrote in his word is true, 00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:35.740 and it will match up with the world that he made. 00:15:36.339 --> 00:15:37.419 Some people have put it. 00:15:37.699 --> 00:15:38.699 God wrote two books. 00:15:38.899 --> 00:15:40.120 He wrote the Bible. 00:15:40.259 --> 00:15:40.959 He wrote his word. 00:15:41.439 --> 00:15:42.759 And he wrote creation. 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:45.360 He wrote the world that we live in. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:48.019 Both of these books reveal the truth, 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:50.199 the same truth about who God is. 00:15:50.839 --> 00:15:54.559 And yet, we have the responsibility to rightly interpret both of these books, 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:57.859 both the Bible and the world that we see, the scientific evidence. 00:15:58.779 --> 00:16:01.939 And Christians do that in different ways in Genesis 1. 00:16:02.239 --> 00:16:05.039 There's a variety of views within the church. 00:16:05.819 --> 00:16:12.359 There's the young earth view that God created the world in six periods of 24 hours, 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:14.359 6,000 years ago. 00:16:14.500 --> 00:16:15.239 That's one view. 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:19.560 Or there's a day age view where the six days in Genesis, 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:20.799 the seven days in Genesis, 00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:23.759 they might not be literal 24-hour days, 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:26.240 but could be longer periods of time. 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:30.039 So perhaps God created the world in longer periods of time. 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:33.220 Or some think that since God is eternal, 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:36.820 the way that he created, it transcends our understanding. 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:39.060 And so the days are just analogies. 00:16:39.180 --> 00:16:43.120 They don't perfectly correspond to days that we understand. 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:46.299 Some see Genesis 1 as a literary framework, 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:48.840 and the days are just more figurative or symbolic. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:50.440 These are just, 00:16:50.560 --> 00:16:53.980 that's just a survey of some different views that faithful Christians have held 00:16:53.980 --> 00:16:55.480 over time. 00:16:56.820 --> 00:16:59.919 I don't mean to say that all interpretations are valid, 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:03.100 or that finding the right interpretation is not important. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.059 How we interpret Genesis 1 is important, 00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:08.700 because it affects how we look at the rest of the Bible. 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:11.160 And also how we view creation, 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:15.700 impacts how we see the goodness of God and the horror of sin. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:16.960 For example, 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:18.019 if you hold to evolution, 00:17:18.320 --> 00:17:21.240 does that mean animals suffered before the fall? 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:21.980 They competed, 00:17:22.100 --> 00:17:24.460 they died in the very good world that God created. 00:17:24.860 --> 00:17:26.740 Now there are some Christians that hold to evolution, 00:17:26.740 --> 00:17:30.700 and our church doesn't have a stance in our statement of faith about this, 00:17:30.800 --> 00:17:32.540 but these are questions we have to ask. 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:34.800 These are questions opened up by that. 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:38.180 And there's also some interpretations that I can't accept. 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:41.460 Some people think that Adam and Eve were figurative. 00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:43.039 They were symbolic. 00:17:43.139 --> 00:17:44.119 They weren't literal people, 00:17:44.419 --> 00:17:45.779 literal people that walked on earth. 00:17:46.700 --> 00:17:48.200 But if Adam didn't sin, 00:17:48.659 --> 00:17:51.319 then what does that mean for us in the fall of man? 00:17:51.899 --> 00:17:53.579 Then maybe if Adam didn't sin, 00:17:53.579 --> 00:17:55.019 there wasn't one man that sinned, 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:57.240 then maybe we aren't ourselves stained by sin. 00:17:57.439 --> 00:17:59.779 Maybe we can just be good people and save ourselves. 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:02.399 And there's no need for the good news of Christ. 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:05.339 So how we interpret Genesis 1 is important, 00:18:05.919 --> 00:18:09.379 but I don't want to get too bogged down to the details today. 00:18:09.460 --> 00:18:11.679 I don't want us to miss the forest for the trees today. 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:18.460 Because the main point of Genesis 1 is to tell us that God created the world and it was good. 00:18:19.700 --> 00:18:23.700 If 21st century scientific questions distract us from that, 00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:25.980 and from believing and loving that truth, 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:27.920 then I think we've totally missed the point. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:31.600 We've actually just totally missed the point of what this passage is trying to tell us. 00:18:31.820 --> 00:18:33.160 There's answers to those questions, 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:34.620 but they're not the main point. 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:40.080 Genesis is not as much about how and when God created the world, 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:40.859 how and when, 00:18:41.379 --> 00:18:43.839 but it's answering the questions of who, 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:44.559 what, 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:45.059 why, 00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:45.960 who created, 00:18:46.439 --> 00:18:47.039 God did. 00:18:47.659 --> 00:18:48.740 What did God create? 00:18:49.299 --> 00:18:49.779 Everything. 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:51.720 Why did he create? 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:52.879 For his glory. 00:18:54.579 --> 00:18:57.500 Those are questions that Genesis is written to address. 00:18:57.619 --> 00:19:00.439 What Genesis tells us is that God did create the world. 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:01.319 He created everything. 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:04.960 Creation is a theater in which the glory of God is put on display. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:09.639 And we as mankind have a special purpose as created in God's image, 00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:12.960 to care for his creation and to glorify God and enjoy him. 00:19:13.120 --> 00:19:14.880 That's the main point in Genesis one. 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:16.400 From the beginning, 00:19:16.560 --> 00:19:20.240 Genesis tells us that the foundation of everything is God. 00:19:20.320 --> 00:19:21.420 It's all about God. 00:19:21.560 --> 00:19:23.320 Creation reveals the glory of God. 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:26.060 And so we'll start there to see that all creation, 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:27.820 to see what creation says about God. 00:19:28.040 --> 00:19:29.700 Who is it that made all of this? 00:19:30.060 --> 00:19:30.840 Who is God? 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:33.660 And the Bible opens with this in verse one, 00:19:33.820 --> 00:19:34.340 Genesis one, 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:34.780 verse one. 00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:35.819 In the beginning, 00:19:36.139 --> 00:19:38.139 God created the heavens and the earth. 00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:39.839 The Bible is clear on this, 00:19:40.099 --> 00:19:42.379 that there is one God who made everything. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:44.319 The world wasn't a mistake. 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:47.579 This world wasn't a meaningless cosmic accident. 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:50.299 God created the heavens and the earth. 00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:54.460 Now let's notice a few things about what it doesn't say. 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:56.079 Genesis one, 00:19:56.139 --> 00:19:57.839 verse one doesn't say in the beginning, 00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:59.619 God was created. 00:19:59.619 --> 00:20:01.559 It doesn't say in the beginning, 00:20:01.659 --> 00:20:02.739 someone created God. 00:20:02.959 --> 00:20:05.159 And that's because God was not created. 00:20:05.159 --> 00:20:06.159 In the beginning, 00:20:06.379 --> 00:20:07.899 there was God. 00:20:08.679 --> 00:20:10.779 Before there was anything at all, 00:20:10.939 --> 00:20:11.619 God. 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:13.719 Before time and space, 00:20:14.199 --> 00:20:14.479 God. 00:20:14.959 --> 00:20:16.019 God is eternal. 00:20:16.899 --> 00:20:17.619 Every now and then, 00:20:17.719 --> 00:20:18.039 kids will, 00:20:18.619 --> 00:20:19.339 someone asks, 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:21.099 where did God come from? 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:22.679 Who made God? 00:20:23.159 --> 00:20:24.639 Those are some questions our kids ask. 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:26.039 And the answer is simply this, 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:26.959 nobody. 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:28.799 God came from nowhere. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:31.799 No one made God because God simply is. 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:34.539 He was and is and is to come. 00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:35.960 He is without beginning and end. 00:20:36.379 --> 00:20:39.220 And that's reason to be in all of God and worship him. 00:20:39.399 --> 00:20:40.659 As it says in Psalm 90, 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:42.919 before the mountains were brought forth, 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:47.579 or ever you had formed the earth and the world from everlasting to everlasting, 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:48.639 you are God. 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:49.940 God is eternal. 00:20:50.639 --> 00:20:52.639 He was in the beginning before time began. 00:20:53.159 --> 00:20:54.700 He has no creator. 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:56.079 He created everything. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:58.759 Also verse one doesn't, 00:20:58.939 --> 00:21:00.419 verse one also doesn't say, 00:21:00.659 --> 00:21:01.740 it does not say this. 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:02.599 In the beginning, 00:21:02.899 --> 00:21:05.359 God and a bunch of his friends created. 00:21:05.899 --> 00:21:06.899 Or in the beginning, 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:09.059 the gods plural created. 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:10.480 Or in the beginning, 00:21:10.579 --> 00:21:12.699 God and Satan fought and God won. 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:14.220 It doesn't say that. 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:15.559 It says in the beginning, 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.960 God created God and only God. 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:22.920 And this is radical when you compare the Bible with other ancient Near Eastern myths, 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:23.860 where there are many gods. 00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:26.980 And creation came by fighting and conflict. 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:29.319 One God cutting another God in half. 00:21:29.460 --> 00:21:29.700 That's a, 00:21:29.700 --> 00:21:33.799 that's a one Babylonian myth that the sky and the ocean were created. 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:36.660 When one God is cut in half and the top half became the sky, 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:38.380 the bottom half became the oceans. 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:40.620 But that's not how God put it. 00:21:41.280 --> 00:21:43.380 God is the one and only God. 00:21:43.460 --> 00:21:45.660 And he alone created everything freely, 00:21:46.060 --> 00:21:46.460 joyfully, 00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:47.140 purposely. 00:21:47.620 --> 00:21:50.960 He created the world without any struggle or competition. 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:53.880 And that's part of what we mean when we call God holy. 00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:57.240 To be holy is to be different and set apart. 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:01.720 And God's eternal nature is one thing that sets him apart from everything else. 00:22:02.340 --> 00:22:05.600 God is different because he is the only one who was there in the beginning. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:07.480 He's the only one who is eternal. 00:22:08.639 --> 00:22:10.219 Anything else you point to in creation, 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:12.980 there is a time when that thing was made. 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:15.579 Even chaos, 00:22:16.339 --> 00:22:17.039 even Satan, 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:18.899 even you and me, 00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:20.679 but not God. 00:22:21.199 --> 00:22:22.980 God is the only one without beginning. 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:25.500 And that's why in heaven they sing always, 00:22:25.740 --> 00:22:26.039 holy, 00:22:26.159 --> 00:22:26.399 holy, 00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:30.459 holy is the Lord God almighty who was and is and is to come. 00:22:30.459 --> 00:22:31.839 There is no one else like that. 00:22:32.639 --> 00:22:33.919 And this is the foundation. 00:22:34.659 --> 00:22:35.059 God, 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:36.359 he is great. 00:22:36.500 --> 00:22:37.539 He is magnificent. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:39.119 He is worthy of all glory. 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:39.980 He is eternal, 00:22:40.179 --> 00:22:40.619 uncreated, 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:41.559 sovereign, 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:44.259 separate from everything in creation. 00:22:44.259 --> 00:22:51.900 And what that means for us is that when we look at the world and try to make sense of it and ask life's big questions, 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:53.140 what is my purpose? 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:55.200 What is my meaning? 00:22:56.059 --> 00:22:56.259 Well, 00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:58.099 every answer has to circle back to God. 00:22:58.180 --> 00:22:59.960 Maybe we're looking from the wrong beginning point. 00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:01.500 What is my purpose? 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:02.000 God is, 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:05.180 it all depends on who God is because God made it all. 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:08.059 He's the one who created and defined reality. 00:23:08.059 --> 00:23:09.680 And we're not the main characters. 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:11.519 We're not the main characters of this world. 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:12.240 God is, 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:15.200 but he gives us an important part to play as we'll see later. 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:17.220 In the beginning, 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:20.580 God and God alone created the heavens and the earth. 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:22.980 And let's see how God does that. 00:23:23.059 --> 00:23:23.879 In verse three, 00:23:24.619 --> 00:23:26.000 God said, 00:23:26.419 --> 00:23:27.319 let there be light. 00:23:27.419 --> 00:23:28.500 And there was light. 00:23:28.619 --> 00:23:30.480 And God saw that the light was good. 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:32.859 Look at how God creates. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:34.740 He doesn't use his hands. 00:23:35.199 --> 00:23:36.339 He doesn't use tools. 00:23:36.339 --> 00:23:39.959 He doesn't go to the hardware store and buy some nails and wood. 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:41.699 God spoke. 00:23:42.399 --> 00:23:43.179 God said, 00:23:43.379 --> 00:23:44.980 let there be light. 00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:46.679 And there was light. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:47.899 He spoke. 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:49.299 And what he said happened, 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:52.039 what he said came into being. 00:23:52.959 --> 00:23:55.919 God created the world out of nothing. 00:23:56.519 --> 00:23:59.319 The term you'll hear sometimes is ex nihilo. 00:23:59.699 --> 00:24:01.259 God created ex nihilo. 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:03.439 That's just a fancy word, 00:24:03.679 --> 00:24:06.159 a way of saying that God created out of nothing. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:08.779 He didn't use any preexisting material, 00:24:09.300 --> 00:24:12.240 any preexisting matter or substance because there was none. 00:24:12.700 --> 00:24:16.480 God is the ultimate creator and origin of everything that exists. 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:17.840 As it says in Hebrews 11, 00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:18.980 by faith, 00:24:19.080 --> 00:24:26.640 we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 00:24:27.400 --> 00:24:29.580 God spoke and things were made. 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:31.100 He did it. 00:24:31.340 --> 00:24:33.180 God created out of nothing by speaking. 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:35.500 That's the pattern in the six days of creation. 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:36.740 As God speaks, 00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:38.339 things come into existence. 00:24:38.339 --> 00:24:39.500 Things happen. 00:24:39.940 --> 00:24:41.359 Lights light up the sky. 00:24:41.460 --> 00:24:42.839 The oceans come into existence. 00:24:43.019 --> 00:24:43.559 Dry land, 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:44.220 plants, 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:44.839 fish, 00:24:45.180 --> 00:24:45.400 birds, 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:46.019 animals, 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:46.859 mankind. 00:24:47.700 --> 00:24:50.440 They are created by the power of his word. 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:51.259 As he speaks, 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:54.200 he calls things into existence that do not exist. 00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:58.960 And this is the display of the power and authority and sovereignty of God. 00:24:58.960 --> 00:24:59.000 God. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:02.500 And just two quick implications of this. 00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:08.380 Number one is that if God speaks and things happen, 00:25:08.860 --> 00:25:10.579 we can trust in this God. 00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:12.500 We can trust in a sovereign God. 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:13.900 He said, 00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:14.799 let there be light. 00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:15.480 And there was light. 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:16.960 He said, 00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:17.980 Lazarus, 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:18.839 come out. 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:21.539 And a dead man walked out of the tomb. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:23.240 The sound of his voice. 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:25.119 We worship a sovereign, 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:26.160 powerful God. 00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:27.339 Our God is in heaven. 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:28.059 He does all that. 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:28.480 He pleases. 00:25:28.900 --> 00:25:29.640 We can trust him. 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:31.299 And number two, 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:35.220 we see that sin is just mind blowing rebellion. 00:25:35.919 --> 00:25:41.419 It's crazy to think about the fact that we rebel against God. 00:25:41.559 --> 00:25:42.399 We rebel. 00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:47.019 We actually have the ability to rebel against a sovereign God. 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:51.139 When God speaks things that don't even exist, 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:51.940 obey him. 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:53.700 When Jesus said, 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:54.039 peace, 00:25:54.119 --> 00:25:57.700 be still the wind and the waves obey him. 00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:00.059 When God says to us, 00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:01.480 trust me, 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:03.059 we say to him, 00:26:03.220 --> 00:26:03.419 no, 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:04.200 I don't want to. 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:06.579 All creation obeys, 00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:08.159 but we don't. 00:26:09.099 --> 00:26:09.839 Cosmic rebellion, 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:10.619 that's what sin is. 00:26:11.879 --> 00:26:14.119 But we've gotten a bit ahead of ourself because in creation, 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:15.819 so far in the Bible, 00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:16.619 there is no sin. 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:17.379 It was all good. 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:20.079 That's what God says about his creation every day, 00:26:20.419 --> 00:26:21.179 except for day two. 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:22.659 Not sure why he doesn't say it in day two, 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:23.379 but aside from that, 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:24.919 every day after God works, 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:25.339 every day, 00:26:25.399 --> 00:26:26.119 he sits back, 00:26:26.639 --> 00:26:28.299 looks at what he's made and says, 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:30.019 and God saw that. 00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:30.539 It was good. 00:26:30.899 --> 00:26:31.919 What God made was good. 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:35.179 God's design was perfect without defect or flaw. 00:26:35.879 --> 00:26:37.159 He's a master artist, 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:38.839 not like me. 00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:40.179 So I'm not, 00:26:40.299 --> 00:26:42.639 I'm not good at drawing or doing crafts. 00:26:42.980 --> 00:26:43.139 Okay. 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:43.919 When, 00:26:43.919 --> 00:26:44.619 when I was a kid, 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:45.319 I'd always, 00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:47.159 I'd always color outside the lines. 00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:47.799 It was not good. 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:49.619 When in eighth grade for art class, 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:52.619 I had to make this paper mache sculpture of Bill Gates. 00:26:53.479 --> 00:26:53.959 And trust me, 00:26:53.959 --> 00:26:54.519 it was, 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:55.219 it was not good. 00:26:55.299 --> 00:26:55.639 What I, 00:26:55.699 --> 00:26:56.799 what I made with my hands, 00:26:57.199 --> 00:26:58.799 I think we might have a picture of it. 00:26:58.819 --> 00:26:59.419 You can ask Jojo, 00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:00.599 but yeah, 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:01.659 what I made, 00:27:01.719 --> 00:27:03.179 it was not what I had pictured, 00:27:03.539 --> 00:27:06.979 but also what I pictured wasn't too good either. 00:27:06.980 --> 00:27:08.180 Cause when I close my eyes, 00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:08.500 I don't, 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:09.180 I don't see anything. 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:12.599 I just see black and some people visualize things that you can picture things. 00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:13.680 I just see black, 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:14.079 nothing, 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:14.799 nothing. 00:27:15.900 --> 00:27:16.220 Um, 00:27:16.420 --> 00:27:17.019 but that, 00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:17.519 what I made, 00:27:17.579 --> 00:27:19.180 but that Bill Gates sculpture was worse than nothing. 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:21.220 But, 00:27:21.340 --> 00:27:24.240 but when God steps back and looked at what he's made, 00:27:24.840 --> 00:27:26.320 he's proud of the work that he made. 00:27:26.600 --> 00:27:27.620 He was pleased with it. 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:28.980 God saw that it was good. 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:32.019 The world was just as he drew it up, 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:33.220 just as he imagined, 00:27:33.340 --> 00:27:36.220 just as he designed every blade of grass was in the right place. 00:27:36.360 --> 00:27:37.100 It was beautiful. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:39.400 It was intricately made because God is good. 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:40.799 And all that he does is good. 00:27:41.080 --> 00:27:43.080 And that's part of God's purpose in creation. 00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:47.160 God created the world out of love to share his goodness, 00:27:47.299 --> 00:27:48.740 to show his goodness with us. 00:27:48.740 --> 00:27:50.380 Psalm 145 says, 00:27:50.579 --> 00:27:55.420 the Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made. 00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:59.759 God created us so that we can taste and see that the Lord is good. 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:04.240 Creation displays the glory of God in the beauty of the sunrise. 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:08.480 We see the glory of God in the vastness of the universe. 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:10.400 We see the glory of God. 00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:14.240 When you see a picture of the earth coming up behind the moon, 00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:17.559 that's the glory of God in the oceans and the mountains. 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:22.059 We see the glory of God in birds that sing and flowers of the field. 00:28:22.159 --> 00:28:23.159 We see the glory of God. 00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:25.099 God created the world and it was good. 00:28:26.019 --> 00:28:26.899 That's its purpose. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:28.480 Creation reveals the glory of God. 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:34.500 And what makes creation so good and beautiful is that also it is incredibly orderly. 00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:38.599 God didn't just throw the universe together randomly, haphazardly, 00:28:38.700 --> 00:28:41.180 but he created it with order and purpose. 00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:43.700 God created the world in verse one. 00:28:43.700 --> 00:28:46.660 As we read, God created something. 00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:48.840 But verse two tells us this. 00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:55.259 The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. 00:28:56.080 --> 00:28:58.519 See, God created the raw materials in the beginning. 00:28:58.660 --> 00:29:01.700 God created, but the job wasn't finished yet. 00:29:01.700 --> 00:29:07.160 In verse one, it was like a lump of clay that was waiting for the potter to shape and mold it 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:07.860 and give it purpose. 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:09.740 The earth was formless and void. 00:29:09.820 --> 00:29:12.360 It lacks shape and it was empty. 00:29:13.320 --> 00:29:15.860 And the rest of Genesis one is God finishing that job. 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:18.880 He takes this chaos, this unformed substance, 00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:22.600 and over six days turns it into a beautiful orderly masterpiece. 00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:25.360 We won't go through verse by verse through all six days, 00:29:25.360 --> 00:29:28.759 but just want to give an overall structure of what God is doing. 00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:32.640 Because first, because we see in verse two, the world was without form. 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:36.799 God uses day one to days, one to three to organize creation. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:41.140 He gives it structures and structure boundaries and order. 00:29:41.339 --> 00:29:44.799 And second, because the earth was empty and void. 00:29:44.940 --> 00:29:51.519 God uses days of four to six generally to fill those spaces that he created and structured with fruitful life. 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:55.119 That's a basic framework structure of the six days of creation. 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:58.799 In day one, God created light and he separated light from darkness. 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:03.719 And some people think in addition to creating light on day one, God also created time. 00:30:04.359 --> 00:30:07.539 God, because it says God called the light day and the darkness night. 00:30:07.699 --> 00:30:09.759 There was evening and morning the first day, 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:12.759 even though the sun and moon stars were only created in day four. 00:30:13.199 --> 00:30:15.599 But in separating and naming night and day, 00:30:15.879 --> 00:30:18.939 that could be God creating time and ordering time. 00:30:19.639 --> 00:30:21.439 Next in day two, God created the sky. 00:30:21.439 --> 00:30:24.239 God separated the waters above from the waters below. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:29.039 And God called the separation above our heads to be heaven or other translations say sky. 00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:33.099 In day three, God created dry land, separating land from sea. 00:30:33.660 --> 00:30:37.620 God called the dry land earth and the waters gathered together. 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:38.460 He called the seas. 00:30:39.400 --> 00:30:44.120 And so in days one to three, we see God separating and bringing order to what's formless, 00:30:44.620 --> 00:30:49.259 creating light, time, the spaces of sky, sea, earth. 00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:53.900 And now God moves on to fill the creation that he's formed. 00:30:54.059 --> 00:30:59.779 After separating out the dry land, God fills it with plants, trees, vegetation, each yielding seed. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:05.119 And now look, remember that God separated day from night in day one. 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:10.579 On day four, God fills day and night with sun, moon and stars. 00:31:11.419 --> 00:31:15.479 Remember on day two, God separated out the sky from the sea. 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:20.639 And now on day five, God fills the sea with fish, great sea creatures. 00:31:20.979 --> 00:31:23.399 And he fills the sky with birds. 00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:28.560 On day three, God had separated out the sea from the earth from the sea. 00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:29.500 He created dry land. 00:31:29.500 --> 00:31:38.180 And on day six, God fills that space, that dry land with livestock, creeping things, birds and beasts of the earth, all sorts of land animals. 00:31:38.560 --> 00:31:41.300 We see in six days, this is God's creative work. 00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:45.320 He brings order into what's formless, into chaos, life into what's empty. 00:31:45.320 --> 00:31:49.080 And he does that in an ordered and structured way. 00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:55.319 In six days, God takes what is formless and void and makes it functional, full of purpose and meaning. 00:31:55.460 --> 00:31:56.199 That's what God did. 00:31:57.399 --> 00:32:02.079 Now, there's one more thing that we're missing that we haven't gone over on the sixth day. 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:13.519 One thing that God created on the sixth day, after everything else, God created one thing that's special and different and created them different from everything else in creation. 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:14.919 And that's this. 00:32:14.919 --> 00:32:17.679 God created man in his own image. 00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:19.360 God created man in his own image. 00:32:19.360 --> 00:32:23.320 And by that, but when I say man, I mean all of mankind, both male and female. 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:29.120 He made us, he made mankind different, special, distinct from the rest of creation. 00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:36.259 And what separates us from everything else is that we were created in the image of God. 00:32:36.340 --> 00:32:37.180 That's verse 27. 00:32:37.180 --> 00:32:38.799 God created man in his own image. 00:32:38.900 --> 00:32:40.500 In the image of God, he created them. 00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:42.799 Male and female, he created them. 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:49.240 Actually, just before that, in verse 26, God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness. 00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:59.779 And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 00:33:00.619 --> 00:33:01.639 He made us. 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:04.740 He made mankind in his image on the sixth day. 00:33:04.740 --> 00:33:08.700 Now, what does it mean to be made in the image of God? 00:33:09.380 --> 00:33:10.279 Let's think about it. 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:11.099 What is an image? 00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:12.740 What's an image? 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:13.299 What's a picture? 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:17.160 An image is something that looks like something else, right? 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:21.380 If I pull out of my phone, there's a picture of me and Jojo, right? 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:22.380 It depicts us. 00:33:22.819 --> 00:33:24.079 This is an image of us. 00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:29.620 If you see this image, you know what we look like, even if you've never met us or seen us. 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:37.599 And so it is with us and God, as people bearing the image of God, we represent God and depict God to all creation. 00:33:37.739 --> 00:33:38.859 That's what images do. 00:33:39.219 --> 00:33:41.599 And it doesn't mean that we ourselves are God. 00:33:41.719 --> 00:33:43.939 That picture, that image is not me. 00:33:44.259 --> 00:33:46.419 And that's why God clarifies in verse 26. 00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:55.799 Let us make man in our image after our likeness, not as God, but after our likeness to be like God, not God. 00:33:55.799 --> 00:33:58.659 But we're made to look like God. 00:33:59.399 --> 00:34:01.539 And to be clear, God is a spirit. 00:34:01.619 --> 00:34:04.539 He doesn't have a body until Jesus took on flesh. 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:07.240 Then the son of God took on flesh. 00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:10.840 But yet God made us with some of his attributes. 00:34:11.400 --> 00:34:12.960 For example, we can love. 00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:13.860 God is love. 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:14.900 And we have the ability. 00:34:15.019 --> 00:34:15.699 We can love. 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:17.420 We can show mercy. 00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:18.800 We can show grace. 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:19.920 We are relational. 00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:22.400 We have wisdom and intelligence. 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:32.579 And sometimes we have creativity and we can be, we can be kind and caring and understanding this, understanding that we were made to be like a creator. 00:34:32.579 --> 00:34:35.860 That's the key to understanding some of the big questions that we have. 00:34:36.860 --> 00:34:37.740 Who am I? 00:34:38.059 --> 00:34:39.200 And why do I matter? 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:45.460 Well, the image of God means that our identity and significance is found in God. 00:34:45.460 --> 00:34:47.760 We are created by him. 00:34:47.860 --> 00:34:54.119 And as children of God, every person has value and dignity given to them by God. 00:34:54.940 --> 00:34:59.920 And this is something we, this is why we believe in human rights, in fundamental human rights. 00:35:00.840 --> 00:35:02.079 Everyone has worth. 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:04.559 Not because of anything that we do. 00:35:04.679 --> 00:35:06.099 Not just if you're rich. 00:35:06.199 --> 00:35:07.720 Not just if you have a certain race. 00:35:07.719 --> 00:35:17.019 Not just if you're a certain gender, but we all have purpose, worth, dignity, value, because we were all made in the image of God. 00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:24.039 If a king commissioned a painting of himself, that image is valuable. 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:25.939 Because it's his image. 00:35:26.039 --> 00:35:26.879 It's the image of the king. 00:35:27.539 --> 00:35:30.000 And that image would have to be treated with respect. 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:40.039 If you took a portrait of the king, you spat on it, you ripped it up in front of him, you stepped on all the pieces. 00:35:40.820 --> 00:35:42.920 That's an offense against the king. 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:47.659 Any attack on his image is an attack on the king. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:51.679 And in the same way, all of mankind bears the image of God. 00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:53.380 That's who we are. 00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:54.340 That's why we matter. 00:35:54.340 --> 00:36:05.680 That's why in Genesis 9, even after the fall of man, God says, if you shed the, if you kill man, shed the blood of man, that requires death. 00:36:05.740 --> 00:36:09.079 That requires a payment because we were all made in the image of God. 00:36:09.720 --> 00:36:10.860 That's why we have value. 00:36:10.940 --> 00:36:12.900 We matter because God matters. 00:36:13.760 --> 00:36:14.740 That's our identity. 00:36:15.600 --> 00:36:17.700 We can also ask, why am I here? 00:36:18.539 --> 00:36:19.840 What's the meaning of life? 00:36:20.720 --> 00:36:22.880 Well, notice what God says in verse 26. 00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:26.760 He says this, let us make man in our image. 00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:27.700 Us plural. 00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:32.780 In verse 26, let us make man in our image. 00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:36.140 There's ways to understand that plural. 00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:40.019 Maybe God is speaking as a plural of majesty. 00:36:40.360 --> 00:36:45.099 Like sometimes the queen or king might say, we did this as someone high and respected. 00:36:45.559 --> 00:36:49.660 But later in the Bible, we know that God is three in one. 00:36:49.659 --> 00:36:53.460 That's not revealed exactly in Genesis 1, but we know through the rest of the Bible. 00:36:53.799 --> 00:36:58.379 There's three persons, father, son, and Holy Spirit existing internally in one. 00:36:58.500 --> 00:36:59.379 That's the Trinity. 00:37:00.759 --> 00:37:01.719 Perfect in love. 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:05.339 Before, in the beginning, before he created anything, God was happy. 00:37:05.719 --> 00:37:06.420 He was in relation. 00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:08.019 The father loved the son. 00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:10.079 The son loved the father and the spirit. 00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:16.400 And so made in his image, we're made to be in relationship too. 00:37:17.059 --> 00:37:19.420 We were made to be relational, like God is relational. 00:37:19.619 --> 00:37:20.559 To love others. 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:24.139 To love all the fellow image bearers that God created. 00:37:24.259 --> 00:37:26.519 To love and care for the creation God created. 00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:30.099 But ultimately, we were made to know God and enjoy him. 00:37:30.219 --> 00:37:31.619 To be in relationship with him. 00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:33.860 That's one reason we're here. 00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:40.260 And also in verse 26, after God says, let us make man in our image after our likeness. 00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:40.820 He continues. 00:37:40.960 --> 00:37:42.079 He goes on and says this. 00:37:42.940 --> 00:37:52.720 Let them have dominion over the fish of the earth, the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 00:37:53.360 --> 00:37:55.059 And also later in verse 28. 00:37:55.059 --> 00:38:06.119 God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heaven and over every living thing that moves on the earth. 00:38:07.299 --> 00:38:08.940 God reigns over his creation. 00:38:09.119 --> 00:38:10.420 God, he created everything. 00:38:10.820 --> 00:38:12.079 He is, he's king. 00:38:12.179 --> 00:38:13.860 He's reigning, ruling over his creation. 00:38:14.659 --> 00:38:17.940 But yet his design is for us to take part in it. 00:38:18.500 --> 00:38:22.679 He made us, people made in his image to reign and rule with him. 00:38:22.679 --> 00:38:36.359 But we are to be representatives on earth to care for his creation, to subdue it, to continue working and turning, continue to order his creation and work for the good of creation. 00:38:36.819 --> 00:38:39.819 And this has implications for what we do day by day. 00:38:40.299 --> 00:38:41.879 This means that we work. 00:38:42.159 --> 00:38:43.460 God created us to work. 00:38:43.619 --> 00:38:44.500 Work is a good thing. 00:38:45.239 --> 00:38:46.839 He created the world in six days. 00:38:46.919 --> 00:38:49.440 He gave Adam things to do and said, this is very good. 00:38:49.519 --> 00:38:50.219 Work is good. 00:38:50.219 --> 00:38:53.359 God worked also in six days in creation. 00:38:53.799 --> 00:38:54.799 He worked hard. 00:38:55.359 --> 00:38:59.259 And part of God's design is for us to work alongside of him. 00:38:59.819 --> 00:39:01.899 In creation, God brought order to chaos. 00:39:02.019 --> 00:39:07.319 He turned what's formless, he took what's formless and turn it into something that's ordered with function and purpose. 00:39:07.699 --> 00:39:14.079 And when we work, we work as his image bearers, as people like God exercising dominion over the earth. 00:39:14.599 --> 00:39:17.959 God wants us to work for the good of creation. 00:39:18.099 --> 00:39:19.439 Work for the benefit of others. 00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:21.240 Because God didn't need the world. 00:39:21.760 --> 00:39:24.380 God, he was eternally happy. 00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:26.500 But he created the world. 00:39:26.599 --> 00:39:27.440 He ordered it. 00:39:28.059 --> 00:39:28.960 He made dried land. 00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:31.539 Without dry land, we wouldn't be able to be here. 00:39:31.940 --> 00:39:38.800 So when God worked on the third day to separate out land from sea, that was for our benefit. 00:39:39.300 --> 00:39:41.880 So we didn't, we don't need snorkels all day. 00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:48.180 He made vegetation for us to eat, animals for us to have dominion over. 00:39:48.179 --> 00:39:51.419 And so that's, that's the work that we take part in. 00:39:51.420 --> 00:39:56.079 See God's glory is shown in the mountains and the hills and the oceans. 00:39:56.079 --> 00:40:06.880 But God's glory is also shown when construction workers take glass and concrete that aren't formed and turn them into apartments that people can live in. 00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:09.400 Spaces that people can inhabit. 00:40:09.400 --> 00:40:14.380 God's glory is shown in the flowers of the field when we look at and see the beauty of that. 00:40:14.380 --> 00:40:23.700 God's glory is also shown when artists take paint, just buckets of paint, and orders them on a canvas to create something beautiful. 00:40:23.699 --> 00:40:31.319 God's glory is shown not just in how intricately he designed ecosystems and created our human bodies. 00:40:31.619 --> 00:40:41.159 That's also shown when lawyers pour through pages of legal code and pages of evidence to produce a structured argument to bring about justice. 00:40:41.939 --> 00:40:49.319 God's glory is shown when teachers take unformed students' minds and shape how they think and fill them with knowledge. 00:40:49.320 --> 00:41:02.800 God's glory is shown when, when you bring order to the chaos of your messy room, when you vacuum the floors and move clothes from that laundry chair and fold them and put them into your closet. 00:41:04.200 --> 00:41:08.559 We just finished the book of Acts and we know that we're called to scatter. 00:41:08.680 --> 00:41:10.260 That's, that's one theme we've been emphasizing. 00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:11.260 We're called to scatter. 00:41:11.400 --> 00:41:12.860 Go make disciples of all nations. 00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:14.480 Go to our workplaces. 00:41:14.860 --> 00:41:15.539 Shine us lights. 00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:17.820 Share the gospel in our workplaces. 00:41:17.820 --> 00:41:20.660 And that's a good thing that we're called to do. 00:41:20.740 --> 00:41:21.360 That is true. 00:41:22.160 --> 00:41:26.360 But that's also not the only reason we go to work. 00:41:27.120 --> 00:41:29.340 That's not God's only calling for us. 00:41:29.380 --> 00:41:31.039 That's not the only reason we scatter. 00:41:31.140 --> 00:41:31.980 That's what we see here. 00:41:32.280 --> 00:41:40.580 We are going to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth as his image bearers, to scatter as God's representatives to our workplaces. 00:41:40.579 --> 00:41:49.940 When we go to our offices, we reflect God, bringing order into chaos for the good of others, working hard for the good of others. 00:41:50.400 --> 00:41:54.799 And sharing the gospel is very important, but also not our only job. 00:41:54.920 --> 00:41:59.099 That's not the only reason work is good and has dignity and value. 00:41:59.099 --> 00:42:02.960 There's purpose in doing an honest day's work. 00:42:02.960 --> 00:42:12.519 And so God, he forms the world, fills it, crowns it with humanity, his image bearers, us equipped with purpose. 00:42:12.519 --> 00:42:18.380 And with that final piece in place, the stage is set. 00:42:18.860 --> 00:42:21.340 God's work is all done on the sixth day. 00:42:21.500 --> 00:42:30.860 And at the end of all this, he says in verse 31, God saw everything that he had made and behold, it was very good. 00:42:30.860 --> 00:42:39.260 And there was evening and those morning, the sixth day and other days, God said that his creation was good. 00:42:39.840 --> 00:42:44.039 But now that everything's done, humanity is made. 00:42:44.260 --> 00:42:48.480 There's people made in the image of God, the crown jewel of creation is there. 00:42:48.559 --> 00:42:48.980 It's complete. 00:42:49.380 --> 00:42:51.640 God calls it very good. 00:42:51.800 --> 00:42:52.800 It was very good. 00:42:52.800 --> 00:43:01.200 And that's important to keep in mind because when we look at the world today, it's hard to say the same. 00:43:02.100 --> 00:43:04.960 That the world is good, let alone very good. 00:43:05.680 --> 00:43:07.340 Because we see things that are not good. 00:43:08.200 --> 00:43:16.240 It's not good that there's war in Iran that's killing thousands and causing economic shockwaves around the world. 00:43:16.239 --> 00:43:25.379 It's not good also for the ongoing civil war in Sudan that killed hundreds of thousands and plunged millions of Sudanese into famine. 00:43:26.379 --> 00:43:28.819 In our jobs, we know it's not good. 00:43:29.339 --> 00:43:34.699 When we work so hard, sometimes the work is fruitless. 00:43:35.059 --> 00:43:35.899 It's frustrating. 00:43:36.359 --> 00:43:42.299 When we work overtime and our bosses don't recognize and criticize even the things that we do. 00:43:42.300 --> 00:43:46.320 It's not good to be frustrated when you really want to work. 00:43:46.620 --> 00:43:50.539 You really want to find a job, but that's not happening yet. 00:43:51.400 --> 00:43:53.360 And you're worrying about that, about paying rent. 00:43:54.840 --> 00:43:57.460 It's not good to have conflict in our family. 00:43:58.300 --> 00:43:59.519 We're made for relationship. 00:44:00.200 --> 00:44:03.220 It's not good that those relationships break down. 00:44:03.720 --> 00:44:07.300 Relationships between husband and wife, brother, sister, between friends. 00:44:08.019 --> 00:44:11.620 It's not good for us to be fighting coughs, wearing masks. 00:44:12.300 --> 00:44:15.320 That's not how God designed it. 00:44:16.180 --> 00:44:21.060 And that should make us think, man, look at how far we've fallen. 00:44:21.400 --> 00:44:25.039 Look at how far we've fallen from God's good design. 00:44:25.180 --> 00:44:27.760 Look at how we've twisted God's creation. 00:44:29.900 --> 00:44:33.460 God said it was very good, but that's not the case now. 00:44:34.100 --> 00:44:35.780 How will this all be made right? 00:44:35.780 --> 00:44:39.280 That's the tension set up in Genesis. 00:44:40.780 --> 00:44:43.180 That the world wasn't meant to be this way. 00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:51.620 When we look at this world, the worldview in Genesis that we see is what we see now, that wasn't God's design from the beginning. 00:44:51.780 --> 00:44:53.480 It wasn't meant to be this way. 00:44:53.480 --> 00:44:55.039 But there's hope. 00:44:56.099 --> 00:45:02.740 Because the God who said, let there be light, also brought light into this broken world. 00:45:03.500 --> 00:45:05.219 He sent his son, Jesus. 00:45:05.400 --> 00:45:07.480 That's the storyline set up by in Genesis. 00:45:07.900 --> 00:45:11.860 Everything in this Bible, it's one story pointing to the cross. 00:45:11.860 --> 00:45:14.380 How will this all be made right? 00:45:15.820 --> 00:45:19.780 God sent his son, Jesus, light of this world, to point us back to God. 00:45:20.620 --> 00:45:21.599 We've all sinned. 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:24.079 God is the sovereign God, creator of everything. 00:45:24.340 --> 00:45:25.280 He's the main character. 00:45:26.120 --> 00:45:28.059 But we've turned that world upside down. 00:45:28.140 --> 00:45:29.519 We've made it about ourselves. 00:45:29.740 --> 00:45:32.320 We've taken our eyes off of God and look at what? 00:45:33.140 --> 00:45:34.340 Look at the result of that. 00:45:35.039 --> 00:45:39.340 Jesus came to redeem us, to point us back to God. 00:45:39.340 --> 00:45:46.039 Jesus died to free us from the curse of sin and rose from the dead so that he can make all things new, 00:45:46.240 --> 00:45:52.200 to create the new heavens and earth, to make us new, to be the people that God designed us to be, 00:45:52.420 --> 00:45:58.000 to restore to us the perfect image of God that God made us to be. 00:45:58.100 --> 00:46:04.860 People who look like him, bearing the image of God perfectly, not as a flawed image, not as a broken image, 00:46:04.860 --> 00:46:09.680 an image that says God lies, God cheats, God hates people. 00:46:09.800 --> 00:46:11.180 He is quick to anger. 00:46:12.140 --> 00:46:13.099 That's what we are now. 00:46:13.140 --> 00:46:14.559 But Jesus died to make us new. 00:46:15.559 --> 00:46:16.840 The world isn't our home. 00:46:17.380 --> 00:46:18.700 We were made for more than this. 00:46:18.699 --> 00:46:25.139 We were, we, we, we, we long for hope of redemption for new heavens and earth. 00:46:25.399 --> 00:46:28.099 When Christ returns, where he wipes away every tear. 00:46:29.219 --> 00:46:30.319 That's what we've set up. 00:46:30.439 --> 00:46:31.819 That's, that's what's set up in Genesis. 00:46:32.059 --> 00:46:34.039 This is the good world that God's made. 00:46:34.399 --> 00:46:35.619 Look at what we've made it. 00:46:36.699 --> 00:46:41.019 And as we wrap up, we started by asking big questions of life. 00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:42.379 Who am I? 00:46:42.639 --> 00:46:43.379 Why am I here? 00:46:43.939 --> 00:46:44.879 What is it all for? 00:46:44.880 --> 00:46:52.599 Genesis gives us, tells us that the only solid foundation we can build our lives on is God. 00:46:52.940 --> 00:46:55.460 Because he is the one who is there in the beginning. 00:46:55.700 --> 00:46:58.160 He's the eternal, uncreated king. 00:46:58.900 --> 00:47:04.579 And if there is a God who speaks and galaxies come into existence, blood vessels form intricate trees, 00:47:04.700 --> 00:47:07.800 then I want to listen to what this guy says. 00:47:08.019 --> 00:47:11.180 I want to listen to what God says because he is good. 00:47:11.260 --> 00:47:12.800 When he speaks, it is good. 00:47:12.800 --> 00:47:13.980 What he says is good. 00:47:14.880 --> 00:47:19.700 And when God is the foundation, we can rest also in our identity. 00:47:20.440 --> 00:47:22.220 That we are made in his image. 00:47:22.800 --> 00:47:32.740 We don't have to earn our worth in our careers, our grades, and how much we are liked by others because we all have value and dignity. 00:47:32.920 --> 00:47:35.019 We are loved, created in the image of God. 00:47:36.019 --> 00:47:37.039 And God's our foundation. 00:47:37.380 --> 00:47:38.519 We have purpose in our work. 00:47:38.519 --> 00:47:42.360 God is a God who brings order to chaos. 00:47:42.539 --> 00:47:43.800 He works to bring order. 00:47:43.800 --> 00:47:49.780 Every time we sweep the floors or organize a messy spreadsheet, we're acting out of God's creativity. 00:47:50.380 --> 00:47:54.179 As people made in his image, doing the work that God did. 00:47:54.179 --> 00:47:58.879 When God is our foundation, we also have hope to face this broken world. 00:47:58.880 --> 00:48:02.360 We know now this world is not very good. 00:48:02.360 --> 00:48:07.840 But good news is that the God of Genesis one is also the God of revelation 21. 00:48:07.840 --> 00:48:11.680 And he says this, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. 00:48:11.800 --> 00:48:14.240 He will dwell with him and they will be his people. 00:48:14.239 --> 00:48:17.399 And God himself will be with them as their, as their God. 00:48:17.519 --> 00:48:21.139 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. 00:48:21.639 --> 00:48:26.399 Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away. 00:48:27.359 --> 00:48:28.399 That's where we're heading. 00:48:29.019 --> 00:48:31.799 This is the beginning, but that's where we're heading. 00:48:32.219 --> 00:48:39.059 Hope where everything will be made new, restored, and made even better than how God designed it in the beginning. 00:48:39.519 --> 00:48:41.739 Because now we see Christ. 00:48:42.199 --> 00:48:44.059 We see the hope that we have in Christ. 00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:45.699 The redemption we have in Christ. 00:48:46.179 --> 00:48:47.539 That's what we're looking forward to. 00:48:47.699 --> 00:48:49.859 That's the end of the story set up in the beginning. 00:48:50.039 --> 00:48:51.039 That's the hope that we have. 00:48:53.359 --> 00:48:55.099 Invite the worship team up now. 00:48:55.819 --> 00:48:57.479 And let's pray together. 00:48:57.879 --> 00:48:58.979 Let's thank God for what he's done. 00:49:03.719 --> 00:49:04.779 God, we praise you. 00:49:05.399 --> 00:49:10.359 You are the only holy, sovereign, eternal God. 00:49:10.619 --> 00:49:11.839 Made heavens and earth. 00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:16.300 Everything is from you, through you, to you are all things. 00:49:16.440 --> 00:49:17.579 To you be the glory forever. 00:49:18.340 --> 00:49:19.920 That's what all creation cries out. 00:49:20.120 --> 00:49:22.300 If we didn't praise you, even the rocks would cry out. 00:49:23.019 --> 00:49:24.539 The heavens declare the glory of God. 00:49:26.200 --> 00:49:29.180 Lord, help us to just see your beauty. 00:49:30.240 --> 00:49:30.840 Worship you. 00:49:30.840 --> 00:49:35.559 And Lord, we confess we've fallen short. 00:49:35.559 --> 00:49:40.320 We've fallen short of your design for us. 00:49:41.340 --> 00:49:46.240 We bear your image, but we misrepresent you to all creation. 00:49:46.800 --> 00:49:47.700 We have sinned. 00:49:48.300 --> 00:49:49.140 And we repent. 00:49:49.139 --> 00:49:58.500 And we look to Christ who died for us to restore your creation to how you've designed it and better. 00:49:59.759 --> 00:50:01.000 Thank you for what you've done. 00:50:01.900 --> 00:50:04.420 Help us to fix our eyes on you. 00:50:05.599 --> 00:50:08.000 You are the foundation of everything. 00:50:08.519 --> 00:50:09.819 The foundation of all reality. 00:50:10.639 --> 00:50:14.299 Help us to keep you in mind as the God that you are. 00:50:14.300 --> 00:50:16.100 Father, you deserve the glory. 00:50:17.060 --> 00:50:17.860 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:50:18.580 --> 00:50:18.780 Amen. 00:50:21.519 --> 00:50:25.260 Lord, we thank you that you made creation. 00:50:26.960 --> 00:50:29.580 And that you wanted to be in relationship with us. 00:50:29.880 --> 00:50:30.920 Right from the beginning. 00:50:31.740 --> 00:50:35.800 And that you continue to want to be in a relationship with us. 00:50:35.800 --> 00:50:44.200 So we pray that as we go forth, as we carry our day to day, Lord, that we will have you in mind. 00:50:44.340 --> 00:50:47.740 That we will learn to love you more every day. 00:50:48.519 --> 00:50:49.460 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:50:50.160 --> 00:50:50.420 Amen. 00:50:51.200 --> 00:50:57.340 All right, please, can we take a seat just to quickly finish the service? 00:50:57.340 --> 00:50:57.460 Yes. 00:50:58.740 --> 00:51:03.559 Yeah, I was just reflecting on what Gabe was sharing. 00:51:03.780 --> 00:51:08.579 And I admit, yeah, I was having a face show yesterday. 00:51:09.260 --> 00:51:11.039 And this is all relevant, I promise. 00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:12.620 I was having a face show yesterday. 00:51:13.260 --> 00:51:20.440 And my facialist just said to me, she's just recently moved houses, right, to somewhere that's further than where she works. 00:51:20.440 --> 00:51:27.380 And she said, oh, every day I am just going to work and going home and I sleep and I wake up and I go back to work. 00:51:27.579 --> 00:51:28.900 Life is so meaningless. 00:51:29.760 --> 00:51:29.860 Right. 00:51:29.940 --> 00:51:32.579 And I, like, my heart just kind of sank. 00:51:32.700 --> 00:51:38.920 I was like, ah, like, there's actually people out there who don't know their purpose. 00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:39.139 Right. 00:51:39.159 --> 00:51:43.960 And they don't know that there is a God who created them, that there's a God who loves them. 00:51:45.159 --> 00:51:47.800 And I was also reminded that even for me sometimes. 00:51:47.800 --> 00:51:54.200 And when you're, you know, kind of at work or doing kind of the mundane tasks, you forget that as well. 00:51:54.660 --> 00:52:03.840 And so, yeah, why don't we just take a moment to reflect on the sovereignty of God and how, you know, He, yeah, He loves us. 00:52:03.880 --> 00:52:06.680 And how He created us to be in a relationship with Him. 00:52:07.140 --> 00:52:10.180 And after a few moments, we could make our way.