𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• Describe the weirdest picture or scenario you have ever seen. What made it look odd?

• Have you tried using a face filter? How does it make you feel looking at an image of yourself that you do not recognize?

• Tell us about something you have created (e.g., painting, story, art, photo). What inspired you to create it?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟯𝟭

When we look at the world around us, what we see—including destruction and injustice—is far from ideal. Our lives are marked by how we have adapted to this fallen world. But this was not God’s plan when He created the universe. So what happened? Let’s look at God’s word to discover His plan for us and the rest of creation, and what disrupted it. Today, let us see how the way we live will be shaped by the truths in His word.

𝟭. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟯𝟭 - 𝟮:𝟮

(Study 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭.)

In the beginning, God created everything out of nothing just by the power of His word. He spoke the world and all that is in it into being. He also brought order from chaos and disorder (Genesis 1:1–2) and designed the natural order of things. That is why God is the only true Creator. To this day, He sustains and governs creation for His glory and for our benefit. Knowing this, what should our posture be? (Matthew 6:25–26) 

𝟮. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲. 

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟲-𝟮𝟳

(Study 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟴–𝟯𝟬; 𝟮:𝟰–𝟵, 𝟭𝟱–𝟮𝟱.)

God made humans, both male and female, in His image and likeness. Like God, we have the ability to think, feel, communicate, be creative, and be in a relationship with Him and others. Being made in His image means that God has called us to be His stewards and representatives on earth, reflecting His character, heart, and will. This also speaks of each person’s inherent value. Regardless of our background or status, our lives matter to God. He loves us so much that He desires a relationship with us and has set a purpose for us (Genesis 1:28). How do you think this could change the way we see God, ourselves, and others?

𝟯. 𝗦𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 

𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘵𝘦.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘵𝘦.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵, “𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 . . .”

𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟭𝟭-𝟭𝟰

(Study 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯.)

After creating the world, God blessed the man and woman, and gave them stewardship over creation (Genesis 1:28). He also gave them a command with a consequence—not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). One day, a cunning serpent deceived them into mistrusting and disobeying God. Because of this, God’s good design was tarnished, His image in humanity was distorted by sin, and our relationships with God, each other, and creation were broken. Furthermore, the rest of creation had been corrupted and became subject to death and decay. What does Romans 8:20–24 say about the state of humanity and creation?

The good news is that God did not leave us in our sinful, fallen state. Even in the midst of our fallenness, God already had a plan to redeem mankind (Genesis 3:14–15). It was fulfilled when God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to restore His image in us and our relationship with Him. Our response to this is faith in His finished work. 

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Knowing that you were made in the image of God, what does this tell you about your God-given identity? How do you think this should affect your daily life? 

• In what ways do you see brokenness and injustice around you? How can you bring hope and be a steward of God’s creation instead? 

• Who do you think needs to hear this message of sin and salvation? How can you share this with him or her this week? 

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• In a world that seeks identity in many places and people, pray that your identity would be secure in God alone. 

• Ask God to give you the grace to participate in God’s mission of restoring creation, people, and relationships, living every day in light of being made in His image. 

• Pray that everything you do for others would be motivated by love, and that it would lead them to a relationship with God as well.