The Story of Creation - Genesis Chapter 1-3
1 In the beginning, when God created the universe, 2 the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean
that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water. 3 Then God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared.Many of you reading this article
will have fond memories of bible stories and readings, some of which you
learned as a child and have read to others with so much enjoyment and memories.
You may still remember or even possess the picture book that you received for
attendance at Sunday School with many favourite stories and illustrations. I am sure you have found a long-lost Bible
belonging to a relative with turned down pages at favourite passages and
perhaps even some pressed flowers within.
Sadly many of us have moved away
from reading our Bibles each day and growing in our faith. If it’s been a while, many of us go back to
the beginning – Old Testament, Chapter 1 and read once again the story of the
Creation.
There are three main ways of
interpreting Genesis 1:1–3. These interpretations are sometimes categorised by
Christians as:
·
Literalist: Christians who believe
the Bible is the actual word of God. They
reject scientific theories such as the Big Bang and evolution.
·
Conservatist: Christians who do not think the
Bible was actually written by God – instead, they believe that the writers of
the Bible were inspired by God’s actions.
·
Liberal: Christians who
interpret the Bible metaphorically. They
accept the Bible will have contradictions within it as it was written by humans
and so is imperfect.
Genesis 1
states that the Spirit of God was moving over the waters . For Christians, it
was the Spirit of God that created the universe out of nothing. This is
important because it shows that God is omnipotent and the source of all
life. It also shows that the concept of the Holy Spirit
has been part of the universe since the beginning of time.
The account of Creation is
mentioned again in the Gospel of John. John starts his Gospel with the
words, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God (John 1:1).
John uses ‘the Word’ to refer to
Jesus, showing that Jesus was present at the Creation of the universe.
When looked at together, these
two accounts are very significant for Christians because they indicate that
the Trinity has existed since the beginning of time.
Trinity, in
Christian doctrine, the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three
persons in one Godhead. The doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be one
of the central Christian affirmations about God.
In
simple terms - The
Trinity is like an egg. Just as ONE egg has THREE different parts – the
shell, the white, the yoke – ONE God has THREE different Persons – Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. Similarly, we often hear the Trinity compared to an Apple. ONE
apple has three different parts – the skin, the flesh, and the seed.
If you attend
our regular Sunday service at 10 am, you will be able to not only hear the word
of God but enjoy the singing of Psalms & Hymns, traditional and
modern. Our singing has been improved
with the increase in numbers attending and we also have the Children’s address
where we sing some well known Children’s songs such as Jesus Loves Me, this I
know for the Bible tells me so. I will
make you Fishers of Men…..if you follow me.
Not so long ago we sung “Read your Bible pray every day….pray every day…pray every day…..Read your Bible,
pray every day and you’ll grow grow grow.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to read our Bible on a
regular and consistent basis and grow every day in our Christian journey. We know that when we read our Bible and pray,
we are showing you, our God’s character. Help us to learn of your wonderful
world and how you wish us to lead our lives as you have taught us. The word of God itself becomes alive in us as we
read it, and it leads us to take action. Through
your teachings we will grow in our knowledge of the One who loves us and gave
His life for us. All this we ask in
Jesus name, Amen.
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