We’re going to begin tonight at the beginning. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Genesis. Did you know that the word “genesis” means “beginnings” or “origins?” I told you before how important I think it is for us to have a foundational understanding of creation. Ken Ham, the great creationist/founder of Answers in Genesis says that “All biblical doctrines, including the gospel itself, are ultimately rooted in the first book of the Bible.” These doctrines include the following:
So, what does the first verse of the Bible say? Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” My question to you, then, is: Why did God create the heavens and the earth? I have come up with 5 reasons:
- For His glory – In Psalm 19: 1-3 it says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”
- For man to glorify God – In Isaiah 43:7 we read, “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”
- For the world to be inhabited – Isaiah 45:18 says, “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”
- To show His character and that He is God – In Romans 1:20 we see, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
- And, finally, as an act of His will – It says in Revelation 4:11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
So, tonight, I would like us to concentrate on the six days of creation. The Bible tells us that NOTHING is too hard for God. I shared this verse with you when we were in the letter “A,” “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:” (Jeremiah 32:17). We begin at the beginning. In the beginning God created. What does created mean? “Created” means “to make out of nothing.” Hebrews 11:3 says, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” God made our world from nothing. And can you easily recall what God created on each and every day? That is our task tonight – to help you easily recall.
Keep your Bibles open to Genesis, chapter one, take your papers and follow me. What we’re going to do is draw the six days of creation on one side of one sheet of paper with two colors. There are pencils on the table, pick only two colors, and to begin with, you will only need ONE! Are you ready? Okay. Here we go. We begin by drawing two horizontal lines across our page. This is what I teach my Sunday School class every year, and they always tell me “I can’t do this!” but after we finish, they’re really excited and always want to teach the new kids, so I think you’ll enjoy it, too! http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2002/02/20/drawing-lesson-i-creation-days1
So, who remembers, first, without looking at their Bible, what God created on Day One?
Day Two?
Day Three?
Day Four?
Day Five?
And, Day Six?
Now, do you think you could do that again and remember?
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