Description

In the Beginning

God begins with Genesis, bridging great spans of time with stories of repeated fresh starts: creation, the fall of man, redemption, and salvation, with hints of the final realization of God’s will and plan. With every fault, misstep, or failure — no matter how bad things are or how far we fall — Genesis plants seeds of hope. Anyone can begin again! This lesson focuses on God’s covenant and God’s promises as we study God making conditional and unconditional covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and others. Even in Genesis, we see how this same God now offers us promises based on a New Covenant. With this book of beginnings before us, we consider how the Lord promises us a place and an inheritance. He also bids us to come into a special community — His people. And above all else, we find reasons to rejoice in the Person of God. Humility is needed to learn and accept help from God’s mighty hand. Hands imply control, but truly hands are used for so much more. The greatness of God is highlighted by the analogy of His great hand that spans the heavens. We learn of God’s guiding hand through Isaac, His hand of discipline and blessing upon Jacob, and His mighty hand uplifting Joseph. Even today, God’s sovereign hand is present to guide us, bless us, and uplift us.