Genesis 1-11 – Gospel Beginnings

GENESIS 1-11
GOSPEL BEGINNINGS


3 Sep 2017
Made for God (Gen 1:1=2:3)
by Tan Huai Tze

The Book of Genesis anchors our identity and purpose in something eternal. It asserts that we were made by God, and for God. In the opening chapter of Genesis, we see that creation reveals the glory of God. We have been created to experience God’s glory (Genesis 1:1-25), exercise his authority (Genesis 1:26-31), and enjoy his presence (Genesis 2:1-3). But, we all fail to do this because of the first Adam’s sin (Genesis 3). It is only through the second Adam, Jesus Christ (Romans 5), that we can be recreated (2 Corinthians 5:17) to be who we were made to be.


17 Sep 2017
Made to Work (Gen 2:4-17)
by Tan Huai Tze

Work is an essential part of who we are as human beings. Yet, work can be both frustrating and fulfilling at the same time. Genesis 2:4-17 shows us what God has put in place for good, flourishing work to take place. Yet, we can’t do this work because of the curse of sin. It takes the work of Jesus, on our behalf to remove the curse of sin, and so be able to work as God intended us to (Ephesians 2:10).


24 Sep 2017
Made to Relate (Gen 2:18-25)
by Tan Huai Tze

We were made to relate because we were made in the image of the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit existing eternally in perfect relationship. We need others who are both like us, and yet complement us. God is the Master of Ceremonies who mysteriously puts us into committed, promise-making, promise-keeping relationships so that we will both know ourselves, and do God’s work on earth.


1 Oct 2017
Broken by Sin (Gen 3)
by Tan Huai Tze

‘Sin’ is our declaration of independence against our creator. This leads to drastic consequences: cut off from the source of life, we are now cursed. We die physically and spiritually, we fight each other, our environment becomes hostile, and we become conflicted within ourselves. Yet, God in his mercy saves us from our sin, ultimately through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.


8 Oct 2017
Life in Sin (Gen 4)
by Tan Huai Tze

Genesis 4 paints a bleak picture of life outside the Garden, and East of Eden. We encounter the first murder and the perversion of marriage. At the same time society progresses under God’s common grace. God’s special grace to save sinners is hinted at through the birth of Seth, whose line will eventually produce Jesus Christ.


15 Oct 2017
Escaping Death (Gen 5)
by Tan Huai Tze

Everyone rages against death in one way or another. There is something abnormal, and scary about it. Death wasn’t part of God’s original plan, but came about as a result of our sin against God. Genesis 5 shows us the pervasiveness of sin and death, and yet also the continuation of God’s blessing and the possibility of escaping death.


22 Oct 2017
The World That Once Was (Gen 6:1-8)
by Daniel Chew

Injustice troubles us, and indifference to injustice outrages many people today. Yet God waited 120 years to deal with injustice, in a world very different yet surprisingly similar to ours. Genesis 6:1-8 depicts to us the forbearance of God towards sinners. Unlike us, God tempers justice with mercy, and in His mercy to the world of Noah’s time, we see a reflection of the great mercy and patience God has towards the world today, calling the world to repentance and faith, in light of the judgment to come.


29 Oct 2017
Escape from Judgement (Gen 6:9-7:24)
by Tan Huai Tze

Noah lived an exemplary life in a corrupted world. Just like the Reformers, he stood up against the corruption and compromise of his day. And just like the Reformers, he was a flawed man who found God’s grace. Noah and the Reformation show us that through God’s grace, we can live lives of courage and conviction, in a compromised and corrupted world.


5 Nov 2017
Restoration through Judgement (Gen 8 and 9)
by Tan Huai Tze

The story of Noah is also a story of restoration. After the flood, God recreates the world. However, the world has been altered by sin, and wickedness remains within human hearts. Therefore God needs to regulate the world to constrain sin. And, he also pledges not to destroy the earth again with a flood, a promise he can keep only because atonement will be made for the sins of God’s people by Jesus Christ.


12 Nov 2017
Origin of Nations (Gen 10:1-32)
by Tan Huai Tze

The genealogy in Genesis 10 teaches us that all nations have a common origin in the descendants of Noah who spread across the earth over a long period of time. In spite of this common humanity, nations share a common enmity against one another, and ultimately against God. It takes one who shared our humanity, and yet none of our enmity to set us right with God and one another: Jesus Christ.


19 Nov 2017
The Spread of Nations (Gen 11:1-9)
by Tan Huai Tze

Driven by pride and anxiety, early humans built the Tower of Babel in bold defiance of God. But God is greater and God is kinder than to allow them to self-destruct, and comes down and confuses their language. And God comes down another time in the person of Christ to gather a people from every tongue, who will worship Him and serve others.