04 ORIGINS Small Group Bible Study

7/29/2019 04 ORIGINS Small Group Bible Study

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Creation: A Biblical Theme

Lesson Four

ORIGINS: Small Group Bible Study

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having

the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on

the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,

and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give

glory to him; for the hour of his judgement is come: andworship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea,

and the fountains of waters.

(Revelation 14:6-7 KJV)


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Photo credits: Hannah GoldsteinThis stone angel near my house is a reminder of the importance

of the first angels message in Revelation 14:6-7 about Creation.


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Intro...1.Welcome God's presence.

2.Share theBESTandWORSTthing that happened to you

this week.

If a need for prayer is expressed take time to pray for that

individual and need on the spot.

Key text...And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having

the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on

the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give

glory to him; for the hour of his judgement is come: and

worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea,

and the fountains of waters.

(Revelation 14:6-7 KJV)

Scripture Passages...Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:8; 31:13; Job 38-39; Psalm 8:4-8; 104;

Isaiah 45:18; Matthew 10:29-31; Acts 17:24; 2 Corinthians 4:6;

Hebrews 4:9-11; Revelation 14:6-7.

Todays World...In an effort to find answers to the meaning of life, cultures

around the world have passed down stories that explained

Creation: A Biblical Theme

Sharing Studying Praying Witnessing


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the emergence of man long before notions of the big

bang theory and evolution became accepted answers.

Examples include the Mesopotamian and Babylonian

accounts in the Enuma Elish, written in the 12th centuryB.C. and discovered anew in the mid-19th century A.D. In

this story, the goddess of the sea, Tiamat, is killed; and the

earth and the sky are subsequently created from the

remnants of her body.Dennis Bratcher, Enuma Elish: When on High, The Voice,

http://www.cresourcei.org/enumaelish.html(accessed September 13, 2011)

In another description of creation passed down by theIroquois, the foundation of earth is built by creatures of

the deep that carried mud from the depths of the sea and

placed it on a turtles back in order to save a woman who

had fallen into the water. The woman was the sky, and she

sat on the mound of mud.O. D. Duane, Native American Myths and Legends, Morganas Observatory,

http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/oberon.htm#IROQUOIS(accessed September

13, 2011)

Lesson Impact...Briefly share what points stood out for you in the lesson or

how the lesson study has influenced you.

Your Reason...Read Job 38-39; Psalm 104; Acts 17:24; and, 2 Corinthians

4:6.

Whats your reason for believing that God created the

heavens and the earth?

Why is your belief in the Biblical account of creation

important to you and how does it shape your future?
http://www.cresourcei.org/enumaelish.htmlhttp://www.cresourcei.org/enumaelish.htmlhttp://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/oberon.htm#IROQUOIShttp://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/oberon.htm#IROQUOIShttp://www.cresourcei.org/enumaelish.htmlhttp://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/oberon.htm#IROQUOIS


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The Sabbath Connection...Carefully read and examine analytically Genesis 2:1-3;

Exodus 31:13; Exodus 20:8; Hebrews 4:9-11; and,

Revelation 14:6-7.

What links do you see between the last act of Creation(the

Institution of the Sabbath), the Exodus of Israel(the journey

from Egypt to Canaan), and you being prepared for Christs

Second Coming?

Prayerfully read 2 Timothy 3:16.

What links do you see between this verse and Genesis 1

and 2?

Reflection...And on the seventh day God ended his work which he

had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all hiswork which he had made. And God blessed the seventh

day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from

all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3

KJV). This rest was purposeful and exemplified Gods love

for His creation.

Ellen White states, Following the example of the Creator,man was to rest upon this sacred day, that as he should

look upon the heavens and the earth, he might reflect

upon Gods great work of creation; and that as he should

behold the evidences of Gods wisdom and goodness, his

heart might be filled with love and reverence for the

Maker

In creating the Sabbath, God also portrayed His


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unconditional love for His people by creating a time He

knew would be essential for our peace of mind. God saw

that a Sabbath was essential for man, even in Paradise. He

needed to lay aside his own interests and pursuits for oneday of the seven, that he might more fully contemplate

the works of God and meditate upon His power and

goodness. He needed a Sabbath to remind him more

vividly of God and to awaken gratitude because all that he

enjoyed and possessed came from the beneficent hand of

the Creator...

The Sabbath was committed to Adam, the father andrepresentative of the whole human family. Its observance

was to be an act of grateful acknowledgement, on the part

of all who should dwell upon the earth, that God was their

Creator and their rightful Sovereign; that they were the

work of His hands and the subjects of His authority.Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p.47.

Thus, the Sabbath is Gods signature on everything He has

created.

As you reflect upon the above, what is God impressing you

to share?

Creation & You...Access Genesis 1:27; 2:7, 22, 24; Psalm 8:4-8; Isaiah 45:18;and, Matthew 10:29-31.

What does Gods Word say to you?

What assurance and value does this give you when the

rough times come?


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God literally formed humans with His own hands. In

Genesis 2:7, the Hebrew forformsuggests anact of

moulding and fashioning into a form corresponding in

design and appearance to the divine plan.The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 2nd ed., p.222.

In verse 22, the Hebrew word formadeis a word that is

synonymous with the verbto build.The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 2nd ed., p.226.

Rather than simply speak us into existence, the Creator

took time to kneel down and shape us Himself. Sonaturally, just like a parent, He deeply values every

offspring of each generation. In fact, He pays so much

attention to us that He even knows the number of hairs on

our head (Matthew 10:30).

Genesis 1:27 teaches us that we are made in Gods image.

This is the ultimate honour He could have bestowed upon

us! We are able to love, reason, choose, and feel emotionThrough Creation, God shows that He cares.

Connect...How does the story of Creation assure you of Gods

potential to resolve issues in your life?

Why is it often easy to forget about our Creator God in

times of trouble? What can we do in order to prevent this?

Conclude...Read Revelation 14:6-7.

Are you hearing God speak directly to your heart?


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Acceptance of the biblical account of Creation provides us

with a sense of self-worth. It answers two important

questions:(1) where do I come from?and(2) where am I

going?When God created the world, He made provisionfor our physical needs and for our emotional and spiritual

needs by creating the Sabbath as a symbol of His love for

us. The Sabbath allows us time to reflect upon and to

respond to Gods goodness in praise and worship. It is a

weekly reminder that God is in control of the past, the

present, and the future and that He has a plan for His

creation.

Recommended Reading... Chapter 2, The Creation, Patriarchs & Prophets,

Ellen G. White.

https://egwwritings.org/

Break into twos or threes and pray for

one anothers needs, as well as for your

friends and family...
https://egwwritings.org/https://egwwritings.org/


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LESSONS ON FAITHLESSON #4: THE POWERS IN HIS WORD

(Living by Faith)

Living by Faith


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Faith is the expecting the word of God itself to do what the word

says and depending upon that word itself to do what the word

says. When this is clearly discerned, it is perfectly easy to see how

it is that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence

of things not seen."

Since the word of God is imbued with creative power and so is

able to produce in very substance the thing which that word

speaks and since faith is the expectation that the word itself will

do what the word says and depending on the word only to do

what that word says, it is plain enough that faith is the substance

of things hoped for.

Since the word of God is in itself creative and so is able to

produce and cause to appear what otherwise would never exist

nor be seen, and since faith is the expecting the word of God

only to do just that thing and depending upon "the word only"

to do it, it is plain enough that faith is "the evidence of things

not seen."

Thus it is that "through faith we understand that the worlds wereframed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were

not made of things which do appear."

He who exercises faith knows that the word of God is creative

and that so it is able to produce the thing spoken. Therefore, he

can understand, not guess, that the worlds were produced, were

caused to exist, by the word of God.

LESSONS ON FAITH

LESSON #4: THE POWERS IN HIS WORD(Living by Faith)


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He who exercises faith can understand that though before the

word of God was spoken, neither the things which are now seen

nor the substances of which those things are composed,

anywhere appeared, simply because they did not exist; yet whenthat word was spoken, the worlds were, simply because that

word itself caused them to exist.

This is the difference between the word of God and the word of

man. Man may speak, but there is no power in his words to

perform the thing spoken. If the thing is to be accomplished

which he has spoken, the man must do something in addition to

speaking the word -- he must make good his word.

Not so the word of God.

When God speaks, the thing is. And it is, simply because He has

spoken. It accomplishes that which He was pleased to speak. It is

not necessary that the Lord, as man, must do something in

addition to the word spoken. He needs not to make His wordgood; it is good. He speaks "the word only," and the things is

accomplished.

And so it is written: "For this cause also thank we God without

ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God, which ye

heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in

truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you

that believe"-- in you that exercise faith. 1 Thess. 2:13.

This also is how it is that it is "impossible for God to lie." It is not

impossible for God to lie only because He will not, but also

because He cannot. And He cannot lie, just because He cannot. It

is impossible. And it is impossible, because when He speaks, the

creative energy is in the word spoken, so that "the word only"

causes the thing to be so. Man may speak a word and it not be


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so. Thus man can lie, for to speak what is not so is to lie. And man

can lie, can speak what is not so, because there is no power in his

word itself to cause the thing to be. With God this is impossible;

He cannot lie, for "he spake, and it was"; He speaks, and it is so.

This is also how it is that when the word of God is spoken for a

certain time, as in a prophecy for hundreds of years to come

when that time actually has arrived, that word is fulfilled. And it

is then fulfilled, not because, apart from the word, God does

something to fulfil it, but because the word was spoken for that

time, and in it is the creative energy which causes the word at

that time to produce the thing spoken.

This is how it was that if the children had not cried, "Hosanna to

the Son of David," the stones would have immediately cried out;

and this is how it was that when the third day had come, it was

"impossible" that He should be any longer holden of death.

O, the word of God is divine! In it is creative energy. It is "livingand powerful." The word of God is self-fulfilling, and to trust it

and depend upon it as such, that is to exercise faith.

"Hast thou faith?"

First published in the Review & Herald, Jan 3, 1899By A. T. Jones & E. J. Waggoner

04 ORIGINS Small Group Bible Study

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