In the last article, we looked at some ideas of what it means to be made “in the image of God.” In particular, we talked about the fact that as a result of Adam’s sin, the image of God has been blurred and distorted in mankind. However, in the fullness of time, God sent Jesus, “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15 AKJV), to be the “last Adam” and to undo the damage done by Adam’s sin, that we may be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29 AKJV). This is truly...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – In the Image of God
At the end of Creation Week, after God had prepared the world and filled it with a spectacular array of plants and animals, He performed His crowning work of creation – the creation of mankind. Genesis 2 describes this creative act in some detail, but the verses in Genesis 1 majestically declare the essence and position of man in creation. While the animals were created “after their own kinds,” only mankind bears the image of the Creator. Over the ages, Bible scholars...
Read MoreGems From Genesis: Conflicting or Complimentary Accounts?
After a lecture at a university, a student told me that although he had a church background, he had become an atheist. When I asked him why, he said that one reason was because of all the contradictions in the Bible. I asked for an example, and he replied that there are two different creation stories, one in Genesis 1 and another in Genesis 2. Personally, I was glad that he chose this example of a so-called contradiction, because I myself had struggled with it in the...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – Our Active God
In the last article, we looked at the broad sweep of the drama of creation. Now let’s dig a little deeper and explore Genesis 1:1-2:3 in a bit more detail. If you can, take a few minutes now to read the passage, paying special attention to what you can learn about God, from just this section. OK, ready? Here are a few of my observations. What more can you find? Right from the start, God is there, taking the initiative, in control. He is “outside” of creation, separate...
Read MoreGems From Genesis – The Drama of Creation
Like a good movie, the bible starts with intrigue – with a powerful attention-getter: “In the beginning, God created. . . “ With this verse, we are drawn into the story – left with a sense of wonder, awe, and a desire to know more. What was it like before creation? Why did He create? What was His purpose? What motivated Him? What did He create? When did He do it? How did He do it? How long did it take? What was it like when He finished? For the curious child or...
Read MoreGems From Genesis 1
Genesis – the book of beginnings! What a treasure! There is so much hidden in these pages, yet they are too often skimmed through, overlooked, ignored, or even scoffed at in our “sophisticated” world. But stop and think what we would be missing without the book of Genesis. In Genesis, God gives us valuable information about Himself, ourselves, and our world, that we would have no other way of knowing for sure. In the pages of Genesis, we read about the creation of the...
Read MoreStanding on the Word
God’s Word has come under attack on many fronts. For over 25 years, our particular “assignment” in this battlefield has been to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and proclaim the truth of His Word, starting with Genesis 1-11. These passages are foundational to understanding the rest of the Bible. Genesis lays the groundwork for all the major doctrinal themes found in the rest of the Bible such as God’s sovereignty, man’s position under God, righteousness, sin, judgment, and...
Read MorePass the Peas (or the Genes) Please.
Before I became a Christian, I was taught that the Word of God was an outdated book written by primitive people who did not have modern scientific knowledge. However, the Bible revealed scientific knowledge thousands of years ahead of its time. About the same time Charles Darwin was developing his theories of evolution, a man named Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk and scientist, was performing scientific experiments with pea plants. His work on breeding pea plants reopened...
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Friends - Richard's Life was Changed!! - And this is why he is leading AOI's Colorado Family Camp! Join us July 30 - Aug 4 - conta.cc/3X4JroB pic.twitter.com/u8j1AP1Pmu
