One of the things we as human beings struggle with is a sense of value and worth. In our highly technological and celebrity obsessed society, it is very easy to begin feeling unimportant and deservedly marginalized.

I firmly believe that if we truly believed in a Creator God, and the story of human origin we find in Scripture, we would encounter a whole new way of understanding who we are as human beings.

This Sunday we’ll be returning to our study in the first four chapters of Genesis – we’ll be reading ch 1:14-2:4. The last three days of the creation process will be in view, where God sets up the function of those creatures who will inhabit the environments he created in days one through three.

As you read the account of day four, take note of the responsibilities given to those celestial bodies. What do each of those duties suggest to you? Do you find it difficult to set aside your modern cosmology and imagine the universe the way the ancients did, where the sun and moon have agency?

Day five describes the swarmers in the sky and in the sea – fish and birds…as well as some other creatures that are far more intriguing, which we’ll discuss on Sunday. You might want to investigate these creatures yourself before Sunday (hint: whales is a bad translation).

Finally we come to the pinnacle of creation – human beings. What do you think it means to be “created in the image of God”? What function does God describe for the human beings, and how might that inform your understanding of being in God’s image? After each day of creation God saw his work and declared it good. That pattern changes on day 6 – a word is added before good. Why do you think God likes day six so much? What does that tell you about your value from the Divine perspective?

I really love digging into Genesis – I hope you can join us this Sunday!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.