C-14: God Created the World and People Spoiled It

Transcription

1 Title: GOD CREATED THE WORLD AND PEOPLE SPOILED IT Theme / Bible Basis: Review of Genesis 1-11 Bible Reading: Psalm 148, NLT Introduction: In our recent messages, we have read together from several stories in the Bible, God s book. In this broadcast we will see how all of these stories form one continuous story. We will also recall some of the most important truths from these stories. Space for Notes: (Yours and ours) Note to producers: We feel this review is a good message and a good repetition of major points for teaching. 1. How do the stories we have read in Genesis 1-11 form one continuous story? Let us recall what we have read so far in the Bible. A. First we saw that God reveals himself to people today through a book, the Bible. It tells us who God is and what God has done. The Bible is God s religious guidebook for the whole world. It tells us how we should respond to God. It tells us what kind of life God expects from us. B. Second, we learned about the beginning of the world. We saw that there is only one God. This one, good God made the whole world and everything in it. He made the universe with the sun and moon and all the stars. He made the water and the land. He made all the animals and plants. And he made people to be intelligent persons who speak with each other and create things. In this way, God made people like himself. God finished all of his creating work in 6 days. He rested on the 7 th day, and he wants everyone to rest every seventh day too. C. Third, we learned about the first people in the world. God made a man, Adam, and a woman, Eve. He placed them in a garden with many beautiful trees. He told them to have many children and to care for the garden. And he warned them not to eat the fruit from one of the trees in the garden. Satan, the enemy of God, disguised himself as a snake. He tricked Eve and convinced her to eat fruit from the forbidden tree. Adam ate the fruit, too. God punished Adam, Eve and the snake. The conse- Page 1

2 quences of Adam and Eve s disobedience were great. All people now have desires to sin and to disobey God. There is much sorrow and pain in the world. But God promised that he would someday save people from their sin and their sorrows. Adam and Eve had sons, Cain and Abel. Abel gave a good offering to God of the best of his flock. Cain gave an offering to God, but not out of faith, obedience and love for God. God did not accept Cain s offering. Cain became so jealous of his brother Abel that he murdered him. D. We also learned how people rejected God more and more. The people who lived after Adam and Eve became even more sinful. They became so bad that God was sorry he made them. He decided he would destroy the people by sending a great flood of water. God found only one person who pleased him, a man named Noah. God told Noah to build a big boat. Noah built the boat, then he filled it with two of every kind of animal and food for all. Then God shut the boat. Noah and his family and the animals were protected in the boat while God destroyed the people with a flood. A year later, the waters dried up. Noah left the boat. God promised Noah he would never again send a flood to destroy all the people. But even after Noah, people became bad again. They became proud. They began building a giant tower to unite themselves in opposition to God. God gave everyone different languages so they became confused and divided. So they separated and abandoned their proud scheme. What a sad story. God made the world a good and beautiful place. But people disobeyed God and spoiled our beautiful world. People became worse and worse, and God punished them. Thankfully, we will see that this is not the end of the story. In future broadcasts we will find out what God did to rescue people from this sad situation. 2. What are some of the truths we learn from these first stories in the Bible? What do they say that is important for our lives today? A. Everything God made was good. God made the world a good place. Sin and suffering are not God s fault. We should not blame God for Page 2

3 our troubles. Nor should we blame God for the evil things people do. Instead, we should praise him for his good creation. Listen as I read a song from the Bible: Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the LORD, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked. Praise the LORD from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and storm, wind and weather that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, reptiles and birds, kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, young men and maidens, old men and children. Let them all praise the name of the LORD. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the LORD! Psalm 148, NLT B. We are important. God made us in his likeness. God also gave us the command to fill and control his world. This means that who we are and what we do are very important to God. Page 3

4 C. We should obey God joyfully and give him our best. We ought to obey God because we are his creations. He has the right to tell us how to live because he made us. God is pleased when we obey him. God accepted Abel s offering because Abel gave God the best of his animals. Noah also pleased God by living right. D. God hates sin and punishes evildoers. God punished Adam and Eve for eating the forbidden fruit. He punished Satan for tricking Adam and Eve. He also punished Cain for murdering Abel. He destroyed the people with a great flood. And he stopped people from building the tower of Babel by confusing their languages. E. We should recognize that there is evil in our hearts. Adam and Eve, the very first man and woman, disobeyed God. Their sin brought about a change in all people. Now all people everywhere have desires to sin and run away from God. Cain murdered his brother Abel. The people of Noah s day were very sinful. Noah s descendants were proud and tried to build a tower that reached to heaven. All people today have the same desires to do what is wrong. That includes you and me. If we recognize the sin in our hearts, that should make us humble. In our humility we turn to the Lord for forgiveness and restoration. F. God is kind and forgiving if we turn to him. God forgave Adam and Eve, and he clothed them. God put a mark on Cain so that no one would murder him. God rescued Noah and his family in the big boat. God promised that one of Eve s descendants would defeat Satan. By doing all this, God showed his patience and love for people. We know that if we turn to him in humility and reverence, he will forgive us our sins and make us new people. Conclusion: Today we suffer pain, sorrow and death because of the bad choices the first people made. Worse, we are like them because we also disobey God and do what is wrong. We are all caught like an animal in a trap. Who will deliver us from this trap? Is there any hope for us? The Bible offers us good news. The rest of the Bible is the story of God s Page 4

5 plan to rescue people from sin and death. God called one man to follow him. That man s name was Abraham. God promised to bless all the nations through Abraham and his descendants. God did this through the most important of all of Abraham s descendants. His name was Jesus. Our broadcasts will follow God s story. We will see how: God calls Abraham, God makes Abraham s descendants into a great nation, and God sends his Son Jesus to save everyone who believes in him. Join with me as I pray to God now: Prayer: Creator of heaven and earth, thank you for making me special. Thank you for loving me and being patient with me. Please forgive me my sins. Rescue me from the evil desires that tempt me each day. Give me comfort in all of my troubles. I am eager to hear your good news about Jesus. In his name I pray, Amen. Page 5