Title: In the Beginning
Text: Genesis 1
Speaker: Jeremy Sickmiller
Date: 10-27-24
Sermon Discussion Guide
Take notes here
Good morning! I’d like to welcome those here with us today, those listening online and to those of you at our North Main Campus. I’m excited and privileged to be here with you today to share from God’s Word. My hope for today is that you’d leave being encouraged to live a life guided by Biblical truth and that you’d be drawn closer to Jesus.
For those who may not know, my name is Jeremy Sickmiller and I’m an elder here at Gateway Church. My wife Sarah, son Levi and I will be found attending our North Main Campus. Sarah and I lead a young adult life group, serve in Kidway, and other areas within the church. When we aren’t here, we enjoy spending time with our family, coaching my son’s sports teams, all things outside and raising animals. I’d say we give ourselves the title of “homesteaders.” With all that aside…
Today I have the privilege of continuing our series on the Westminster Shorter Catechism. A time where we’ll look at a question and then be provided with an answer. Proposing a question we may have and then what the Bible has to say about it. The purpose for these questions and answers is to help us better understand Scripture as it relates to a particular subject and to provide a summary of Biblical responses to help us understand the principles of the faith…while providing instruction for how we’re to live. We’ve already looked at the first eight questions, so feel free to visit gatewayepc.org/sermons for any questions you may have missed or would like to hear again.
As humans, we tend to think about things as it relates to time, we think about things as having a beginning and an end. Things like games whether it’s baseball, basketball or soccer games, they all have a beginning and an end. Maybe you like to read, well books also have a beginning and end, even if you’re one who reads the last chapter first. Even life has a beginning and an end. That’s just how we view things, all in response to how an event relates to time.
Well today we’ll be looking at the beginning of beginnings… you’ve guessed it… we’ll be looking at creation. And it’s in creation that we’ll see how God created all things that didn’t yet exist…not just a beginning of some things, but a beginning to ALL things. God is the creator of everyone and everything.
But before we get into creation, I want to take the time to acknowledge some views that exist when it comes to creation, views about creation that aren’t Biblical or aren’t supported by scripture. And for those of you here that may hold one of these views or even if you wouldn’t consider yourself a Christian, we’re glad that you’re here!
Now, we won’t be looking at every view, but a common view that wouldn’t be considered biblical is the big bang theory, a view that says the entire universe was created instantaneously with a big bang. Or how about the view of evolution where man wasn’t created, but as many years had passed, man slowly evolved from primates. There are also debates within the Christian community about the age of the earth or even the story of creation being a figurative 6 days versus a literal 6 days.
No matter where you stand or even if you don’t know where you stand on some of these views… I want you to be open to what scripture has to say about Creation. As Christ followers, Scripture is the final authority in our lives… it should be the lens for which we view and interpret all things. And it’s my hope that we’d do just that today, that we’d allow Scripture to shape our view of creation… that we’d allow the Holy Spirit to reveal his word to us. Let’s go to prayer so that we may be ready to accept what scripture has for us.
God, we thank you for your inspired word as it’s laid out in scripture. Holy Spirit, I pray that your word will be revealed to us today and that our hearts and minds would be ready and willing to accept what you have for us. Even though there are opposing views of creation, we can trust what you’ve given us in scripture. And as Christ followers, may our conversations about our differing views be filled with grace as to not allow it to cause division among the body. God, please guide our hearts and our minds today as we learn more about you and your character. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Introduce Creation and Q9/10
Today’s main text will come from Genesis chapter 1. As we will be talking about creation and the beginning, why not start in the beginning of the Bible. A fun fact for you… the name Genesis comes from the Hebrew word Rashait (ra sheet), meaning beginning or start. So, what a fitting place to start today.
Now would be a good time to find Genesis chapter 1 in your Bible or on your device.
As I mentioned earlier, we’ll be continuing the Westminster Shorter Catechism, today we’ll be looking at questions 9 and 10. Yes, we’ll be overachievers by looking at not just 1, but 2 questions.
Let’s go ahead and look at today’s questions.
Question 9 asks… What is creation? and question 10 asks… How did God create man?
These two questions are related but we’ll go through them each individually. Both questions relate to God’s creation of everyone and everything and it’s by going through these questions that we’ll see God’s character in creation and how God is the ultimate creator. We’ll also look at how we view God and his creation while asking the question, am I worshiping the Creator or am I worshiping his creation?
Let’s get right into it.
Question 9 again…What is creation? … Answer: Creation is God’s making everything out of nothing by his powerful word in six days – and all very good.
Going to our text for today in Genesis chapter 1, we read…
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
With a lot going on in this passage and many things being created, let’s try to sum it up a little and look at what happened each day.
Day 1 – God created light and separated the light from darkness, he created day and night.
Day 2 – God created the sky; we see this expanse as Heaven in our text.
Day 3 – God created dry land, seas, plants and trees.
Day 4 – God created the sun, moon and stars.
Day 5 – God created the creatures that live in the sea and creatures that fly.
Day 6 – God created the creatures that move along on the land.
Don’t worry if you didn’t catch or remember all that, we will NOT be having a quiz later!
So far, we have seen what God has created, but did you see how he did it? He created all things from nothing and by his word.
First, it’s not possible for us to create anything out of nothing. We may say that we created something out of nothing, but we always start with something… like a painting, we start with paint, a canvas and paint brush or when building something, we start with wood and some screws. When we create something, we always start with materials. Yet when God created everything, he started with nothing, no materials or supplies, nothing.
Second, we see that God created all things just by his Word. It’s not enough that he created all things out of nothing, he did it by his word. We see this phrase, “God said” in many of these verses. You see, God spoke creation into existence. This is just the start of how big of a God we really have.
Can you see just how big God is? If not, why?
Scripture can help us understand the why.
We can read the creation story and even be given every detail, but it’s only through faith that we can truly believe it.
Hebrews 11:3 says...
“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the work of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible”
Without faith it may be hard to believe that God existed before creation, or that the universe was created out of nothing. Maybe we say it’s… you had to have been there… or a… must see to believe kind of thing, because none of us were there in the beginning. It’s only by faith that we can believe… and this isn’t just for those who consider themselves Christian, even those who aren’t Christian have faith that their view is correct.
Let’s just say that we believe everything so far… you still may be asking, why did God create the universe? Great question, the Westminster Confession of Faith tells us…
In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to create the world out of nothing in order to reveal the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness.
Creation points us back to God himself to show us his glory. When we look at creation we should see God’s glory. Now, we can enjoy an ocean front sunset or even a cool and peaceful evening in the wilderness, but that should always point us back to the glory of God.
When you look at the beauty of God’s creation, do you see the glory of God?
Do you believe that God is worthy to receive glory?
If not, I want to challenge you to see if you’re worshiping creation rather than the creator.
God’s truly worthy to receive all glory as Revelation 4:11 says…
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
All glory and honor are due to God and when we worship anything other than God, we take the original intent of creation and distort it in a way that works for us. This is wrong… this is sin. We are to give glory to God and God alone, and this comes through worship. We are to worship our God as creator, yet so many times we tend to worship his creation instead. May Christians be known for worshiping God and not his creation.
After looking at what creation is, we’ll move into question 10 where we’ll see how God created man.
Question 10 asks… How did God create man? Answer… God created man, male and female, in his own image and in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, to rule over the other creatures.
From our original text today, we looked at verses 1 through 25 where we saw the creation story from day 1 through day 6. And for those of you out there that kept on reading… and I know you’re out there because I do it too, sorry Pastor Josh…you may be thinking that wasn’t the entire story. You’re correct, we’ll be picking back up in verse 26 to see the rest of creation that happened on day 6.
26 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.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 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.
Man, the final piece of creation. God created man in his own image, he created them male and female. And God created man to have dominion over the other creatures already created. This is a big distinction between man and the rest of creation. Man was given authority over the rest of creation and man was created in the image of God, nothing else was. Man was set apart from the rest of creation.
Taking another look at verse 25…
25 God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock and small animals, each to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
We see that God created all sorts of animals and that when he was done it was good. Now looking at verse 31 and after man was created, we can see a difference.
31 Then God looked over all that he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
Did you notice the difference? Creation wasn’t bad before the creation of man, it was good. However, it was only after the creation of man that God saw what he had created was very good. Man was the final piece of creation, where creation went from good to very good. Where man was created in the image of God and given the responsibility of taking care of the rest of creation.
But what does it mean that man was created in the image of God?
Being created in the image of God, we are to be people who point others to God… that we wouldn’t worship ourselves as God’s creation, but that we’d worship God in all that we say and do. And we’d point others to God not just on Sunday morning while at church, but throughout the entire week no matter where we are. We are to be image bearers at work, the grocery store, school pick up line and even sporting events. We must live a life that reflects God in all things, no matter how big or how small.
I want you to be honest with yourself…
When people look at you, do they see a distinct difference in who you are as you bear the image of God?
Do you reflect God in all you do and say?
Sin makes it hard for us to do this, but we must strive to reflect God in all things. That we’d point others to God since we were created in God’s image. Let’s look a little deeper for what it looks like to be created in the image of God.
Our answer to question 10 tells us that man was created in knowledge, righteousness and holiness… all attributes of God. We’ll look at each attribute, look at the definition, what it meant for Adam and Eve in the garden and what it means for us today.
The first attribute we see is knowledge.
How did God create man? Answer, God created man, male and female, in his own image and in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, to rule over the other creatures.
Man was created in the image of God, in knowledge. This doesn’t mean that we know all things or that we are super smart, even though some of you may be. It means that we’d know the truth about who God is… it’s knowing the creator of the universe and continuing to learn more about him throughout our lifetime.
This type of knowledge isn’t something that resides only in your head but becomes heart knowledge. We can read scripture, memorize scripture and even be able to explain the Bible… which are all great things, but there must be a connection between the head and the heart. When our knowledge resides only in our head, we can know things about God without ever knowing him. Our knowledge must be more than intellectual, it must move from our head to our heart and encompass our whole being. And that all starts with knowing that God exists and is the creator of all things.
You see, all of creation can know that God exists through his creation. This is because God has revealed himself through creation. Now you may be thinking… this is just crazy… there is no possible way that God exists and if he does, there is no way he is revealed in creation. Well, let me give you a challenge. Remove any bias you may have or any preconceived notion and take a long look at creation. Really think about how everything had to align in just the right way.
Like how the Earth must revolve around the sun in just the right way and at the right distance so that life can be sustained. Or bringing it a little closer, think about all that must happen within our bodies for everything to function properly. We have science that can help us understand the complexities of our bodies and how they function, but that doesn’t help us understand how they were created. The human body is super complex, yet we have functions that happen without us thinking about it. Breathing for example is something that just happens, a God given gift that sustains our bodies.
We can come up with theory after theory but in the end, the answer is God. And the proof for God comes from creation.
Romans 1:20 tells us…
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20 NLT)
We all see creation daily. You see it in the mirror, as you drive, in children, in the changing of the leaves. Creation exists to point us back to the Creator… so what excuse do we have for not seeing God? None, there is no excuse.
Do you see God in his creation?
How often do you take the time to look at creation to see God?
Take the time to look at creation for how God is revealed and how it points back to him.
Moving onto the next attribute, righteousness.
Question 10 again...
How did God create man? Answer, God created man, male and female, in his own image and in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, to rule over the other creatures.
But what’s righteousness? A simple definition is being right with God.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created to be in right standing with God. They were free from sin and free from the penalty of death… giving them the ability to have a constant fellowship with God… able to walk and talk with him, there was nothing to separate man from God.
But man, through sin, has corrupted our relationship with God. We can strive to do everything right, but we aren’t perfect, we fall short of God’s standards. Bleak I know but God provided a solution for our sin which we will pick up a little later.
Then moving onto our last attribute, holiness.
How did God create man? Answer, God created man, male and female, in his own image and in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, to rule over the other creatures.
Man was created in the image of God, in holiness or… to be set apart.
You may be thinking, haven’t we already talked about how man was set apart from the rest of creation? Yes, but wait… there’s more. My hope by now is that you truly realize, man was created to be set apart from the rest of creation. Let’s explore this a little more.
God created man in intimacy. The rest of creation was created at God’s word while man was created from the dust of the ground.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 NLT
God formed man from the dust of the ground…can’t you just see God picking up dust from the ground, purposefully creating all features of man, then leaning down to breathe in the breath of life? Man, an intimate creation formed by the hands of God’s.
Man wasn’t just created in intimacy; man was also given dominion. Dominion to rule over the rest of creation. A role not given to all of creation, only to man. We can see this from our text for today…
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 ESV
God gave man dominion to rule and subdue every living thing in the sea, on the earth and in the sky. Giving man authority and responsibility, further showing the distinction between man and the rest of creation.
Up to this point, we’ve looked at creation, defined some attributes of God and how man was created in them, and looked at what it meant for Adam and Eve.
Now we’re going to look at what it means for us today.
It’s not the same for us today as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden… because of sin. Adam Eve’s sin had many consequences from being kicked out of the garden, to one day dying and for being separated from God… for God cannot be in the presence of sin. However, the consequences of sin weren’t just for them, but for all mankind. Sin has corrupted many things and comes with consequences for all of us.
I know you may be thinking… everything up to this point has been good… God created everyone and everything and saw that it was not just good, but very good. And now due to sin, man is no longer able to be in the presence of God… no more Garden of Eden… no more walking and talking with the creator God. This is all true, but God loves us and gave us a solution, he gave us his son.
As it says in scripture…16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV
Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve… resulting in death. But God gave his son so that whoever believes in him won’t die a spiritual death but will inherit eternal life. It’s with this foundation of faith that our lives are changed. God loves you so much that he sent Jesus to live the life that you could never live, to die the death that you deserved. Jesus didn’t just die for you, he died instead of you.
You are precious in his sight.
You are loved.
You are cared for.
You are valued.
How can that NOT change your life?
How can we continue to live in sin when God freely gave his Son for us?
In knowing what God has done for us, our lives should be changed, it should look different than the ways of this world. This is the why for living a changed life but how about the what? Colossians 3 gives us some good examples for what It means to live a changed life.
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:8-10 ESV
There are some concrete things that we shouldn’t do… anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talking, lying. These are things our sinful flesh is inclined to do… but when we believe in Jesus Christ, we are called to live a life free from these sinful habits… we are to put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. As Christians, we are to grow to become more like Christ. We are to look more and more like Jesus. And it’s only after we grow to become more like Christ that we start to become a reflection of the Creator. You see, the Bible isn’t intended to tell us everything that’s wrong, it’s to point us to Jesus.
Jesus, God the Son, took on human flesh and came to earth. He faced temptations on this earth, yet he did not give in…he lived a perfect life. He is our example of how we should live, how we should abstain from the sinful desires of our flesh…and to live in a way that would glorify God. This only possible by becoming more like Christ. Scripture again tells us…
20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV
We are to take off our old selves, you know the one that’s corrupt with deceitful desires that lead to sin.
And we are to put on our new selves, the one that’s created after the likeness of God.
Fellow Christian, we’re to seek to do what’s right and to live lives that are pure, contrary to the ways of this world. It’s not giving into the temptations of this world, for which there are many. It’s to show the glory of God as image bearers of him.
You may be thinking… that’s easy for you to say, but:
You don’t know what I have been through.
You don’t know what’s going on right now in my life.
You don’t know the family dynamics that I come from.
What about all the hurt I have experienced?
Correct, I may not know your situation. But we have a good and trustworthy God that does. He knows everything about you and better yet, he can relate. Jesus faced many trials on this earth and was even put to death for things that he never did. We are sure to have trials on this side of heaven, but nothing compared to Jesus.
And yet, his death wasn’t a mistake, Jesus humbly and willingly went to cross for you and for me. He didn’t just die for you, he died in your place.
Do you understand the magnitude of that statement? That should have been you and me hanging on that cross, but God sent Jesus… he loves you that much.
We can have confident hope that he’s in control. Even with all that you have gone through, going through now or will go through. Just know that God’s got this… there isn’t anything too big or even too small that he’s not in control of. You can trust him no matter who or where you are.
Maybe you’re in a season where you think everything is going right… well guess what, God’s got that too. Thank God for this peaceful season of rest.
Maybe you’re here today and haven’t made the decision to follow Jesus. What’s holding you back? Right now, right here, God is calling out to you to welcome you home as his child. Don’t delay, make the decision today and call out to the creator God. The one who created everyone and everything.
Do you believe that God created everyone and everything?
How else do you explain how the universe came to be?
God had a purpose in creating the universe… the purpose of bringing him glory. And it’s our responsibility to give God all the glory. But so often we worship creation rather than the creator. We can still worship God while we enjoy his creation… we just need to make sure they are in their rightful place. And it’s by enjoying God’s creation that we can gain a better understanding of who he is.
For example, I was taking my son to school not too long ago. And for those of you who have to drive east in the morning, we were driving into the sun. You know the sun that almost blinds you? Anyway, my son and I got talking about the earth and how fast it spins and why we don’t feel like the earth is moving… If you know Levi, you know he always has a lot of questions! We continued talking about the earth and how it doesn’t just rotate, but that it revolves around the sun. I then went on to share with my son that just like how the earth revolves around the S-U-N sun, our lives are supposed to revolve around the S-O-N son.
What a great picture of God’s creation and how it ultimately points to him.
And as my son sat in the back seat asking questions and looking for questions from his Father… we too have the great ability to look to God for answers. He is our father, the great creator and he is accessible to all who call on him.
My son takes so much value in what I have to say to him. And for you fathers out there, there is a shameless plug on living by example. As fathers, we are to be a reflection not for just the world, but for our families on what our Heavenly Father looks like.
Do we love our family selflessly?
Do we pour scripture into our families?
Are we focused on our kids making the sports team, or our kids making the kingdom?
This one is for all of us, do we take much value in what our Heavenly Father says to us?
Now, you may be here may be thinking that you don’t hear from God and that he doesn’t speak to you… but let me remind you this… God has already spoken. We can see him as revealed through Creation, but we can also see him as revealed through scripture and through the Son Jesus Christ.
And as you go this week, may look at creation through a new lens… that you would see God through it and that you would give him all the glory that he deserves.
If this is new for you today, may this be the beginning for seeing and knowing God as he is revealed to you.
Let’s pray.
God, we thank you for your creation and how scripture tells of how it came to be. May our hearts and minds believe your word and that we wouldn’t add or take away anything from it. We also pray that as we look out to your creation, we’d see you. That we’d worship you as the creation and not your creation. We confess that we have worshiped creation; be it our families, our jobs or the things we have. We know that you’re worthy of all of glory and honor and it’s sinful when we worship your creation. May our desire be for you and you alone. You’re such a big and good God who showed your love for us that while we were still sinners, you gave your Son as a payment for our sins. We thank you for that precious gift… you alone are worthy of all glory and honor. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
As you go seeing all that God has created, may you worship the creator of all things and not his creation. You are sent.
Stories, news, and resources for things happening at Gateway Church.
.jpg)
