Genesis
The Way God Intended
The Stage is Set
November 27, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 3:20–24
As the creation narrative comes to a close our Good Father has set the stage for a redemption that will display the glory due His name. As the garden is officially closed off with a cherubim guarding with a sword on all sides. Adam and Eve, newly clothed by the Father, will set off on a journey of faith in waiting for the TRUE Light of the World who would show us the Way to Life everlasting.
The Wisdom of Wise
November 6, 2022
The world did now know God through wisdom and it pleases God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. Our first parents fell because they believed the lie that more “wisdom” would make them like God. In the process they were puffed up in their own eyes and God was belittled. In the end they worshipped the created thing rather than the creator and their eyes were opened not to see themselves as more like God, but to the shame of their nakedness.
Marriage
October 30, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 2:24–25
In this section the author describes God’s explanation of the relationship into which Adam will enter into with the woman who has yet to be named. We call this “one flesh” union marriage. This ends with the crescendo of creation: the man and the woman both naked and unashamed. God was showing Adam that in loving union with another there was to be found unparalleled joy and freedom.
Combatting Loneliness
October 23, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 2:18–23
There is something profound to consider that in the garden of Eden “very good” and “not good” were realities taking place at the same time. This paints an incredible picture of the fact that “very good” could be used to describe the things around us and yet our deepest longing not be satisfied. It seems that we as sinful humans will do just about anything to avoid addressing this issue. God addresses this for Adam, giving incredible insight along the way, into the greater reality to come that would ultimately fulfill this deep longing in our hearts.
Genesis 2 Continued
October 16, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 2:10–17
What if Adam could speak to us today? What if he, as the one through whom sin entered the world, could give us some insight that could help us not fall into the same trap that he fell into? In a very real sense, Jesus, the second Adam, does this very thing. If we listen closely, Jesus speaks in His day as One who was there in those days. Jesus, as the One through whom righteousness would enter the world, speaks the heart and wisdom of God to those bound up in Adam’s failure.
Man In The Garden
October 9, 2022 • Roy Stokes • Genesis 2:4–9
This is the beginning of mankind’s existence in the world God created. As the crowning achievement of God’s creation, how would this omnipotent creator relate to man? In our day there are those who do not believe in a creator. They believe all that we see and know is the result of time and chance. Others believe there must be a “higher power” who created it all but is like an absentee landlord—a creator who wound it up and turned it loose to see what would happen. Holy Scripture, however, describes Him not only as the sovereign creator and sustainer but as the One who is actively involved and personally concerned with all the affairs of man.
Rest
October 2, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 2:1–3
It should absolutely grab our attention that the day the Lord blesses and sets a part is the day that God rests from His work. It is a wondrous thing that God would want us to know that rest was a part of His created order. May we see the goodness of God for us in His mandate that we join Him in it. This section is written in such a way that we realize that the kind of rest that God has from His work is not simply the absence of work, but that which comes at the completion of it. How then are we to join honor Him in such a rest? Praise Him that the kind of rest that we enter that truly honors and glorifies Him comes through belief that His work is ultimately sufficient. Christ, whose work is finished, is our rest. By grace alone through faith alone we enter His rest!
Creation (Part 4)
September 25, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 1:26–31
Oh that we would live considering all that it means for us that we were created in the very image of God. The Imago Dei. How would encouraged and strengthened we would be to live life believing God! And yet, how humbled we would be so as to truly live life considering others as more significant than ourselves! May this truth forever and always dictate the way we view God and man…and ourselves. This week we will consider several of the implications for our life as creatures who share in the very nature of God. We will celebrate the fact that it was, is, and always will be God’s nature to rescue and redeem us, through Christ, from all the ways our sin has marred that image!
Creation (Part 3)
September 18, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 1:3–25
The creation account is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is worthy of study that many have put into. God reveals Himself through His Word, through His delight, and through His ordering. In creation we have reason to trust our God as He sets forth His wonderful purposes which beautifully come into the light. In this text, there is so much to celebrate. Within the account of creation we can see God hinting at His plan for redemption. May we delight in every one of His good gifts as His creation and may we never miss an opportunity to gaze up His glory which shines in the face of our Lord Jesus!
Creation (Part 2)
September 11, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 1:2
The second verse in Genesis seems to be often overlooked in the excitement to get to verse three. After all, who can wait to get to the part where God speaks and brings light out of darkness? But what if verse two was meant to enhance the whole experience? It’s possible that verse two could help us enjoy the rest of the creation narrative all the more! The implications of the reality that God started with formlessness and a wasteland covered in darkness are far reaching. There are none greater than the reality that God would take such amazing pains to paint a vivid life-sized picture to help us gain perspective on the true and better creation story that has taken place in the hearts of God’s people! Oh may we learn to rejoice in the dessert and in the darkness as God sets the stage for the glory of His workmanship!
Creation
September 4, 2022 • Michael McCracken • Genesis 1:1
For the one seeking to live from a biblical world view the beginning is of utmost importance. Therefore it is of utmost importance that we begin with God. Most who will listen to this series will have no problem with this sentiment. However, scripture itself seems to point to a reality that we as humans have a tendency to forget, deviate from, and even willfully suppress this truth. If we are honest with ourselves there are some places in our life where we struggle to perceive and understand and respond out of the truth that it was indeed God in the beginning. At some point down the line God’s sovereign intentions will not line up with our minds and will and heart. Therefore, it will always be crucial that we are reminded that it is only by faith that we will not only please God, but understand as well.