[1] In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,

[2] the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

[31] God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

[2:1] Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.

[2] And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.

[3] So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

INTRODUCTION:

"In the beginning . . ." Three words that are the opening words of both the Old and New Testaments.

"In the beginning . . ." Three words that bridge all of life and faith.

"In the beginning . . ." Not "Once upon a time." Not fairy tale beginnings. Not comic book beginnings. No, these three words, "In the beginning . . ." speak of a time before time even existed. A time when all that existed was God. And in that existence, existed a love and that love created a thought. And that thought moved to the first act of Creation.

These three words speak of time as God's time. The Old Testament says "In the beginning God." The New Testament says "In the beginning was the Word." Two ways to express the same concept. One to tell he story of God's Love for us. The other to speak that Love into flesh and blood. For the Word spoken by God was simple. One Word. "Jesus."

"In the beginning" God began to whisper creation into being, pointing here and there; stirring this pot and that; molding this lump of clay and nailing that leaf to that tree. In the workshop of God's heart, the one Word was being formed. As God continued to add light, sound, scenery, props and all the supporting characters to the main characters of this production of Creation; One Word, One Name began to fill God's mind. And that Word was "Jesus."

God spoke that One Word, "Jesus," and everything that was and is and is to come, was created. One Word filled with the Love, Mercy and Grace of God was spoken. God said, "Jesus," and everything that was created was created for and through Him.

What an awesome story this creation story is. A story beyond time and reason. A story that puts all of life and faith into the proper perspective. Before anything else there was God. Before anything else, God should come first. That's the created order. "In the beginning God." "In the beginning was the Word." Both Moses and John knew that everything begins with God. God is and should be first and foremost in our lives.

That's what this Bible Study we are undertaking is all about. Putting God first. Prioritizing our time so that we have time to read the Bible and to study and reflect on what we've read.

Now how do you summarize the first 13 chapters of Genesis and the first 10 Psalms? A daunting task, right? Well, there will probably be Sundays that I will have to choose a particular passage to focus on. And there will be times that I will be able to pick major themes. That's sort of the approach I took today. So, let's look at those.

I. GOD'S BIG INNING:

A. Did you know that Baseball is God's favorite sport? It is! The Bible starts off by talking about "In the Big Inning."

And in one sense, you could say that the Bible begins with GOD'S BIG INNING. God came up to bat and hit a home run. We call that Home Run creation. God knocked it out of the Park. God tore the cover off of the ball. And the ball was hit so hard and went so far that it's still traveling through time and space today. God's Creative is still working today.

And this whole concept of GOD'S BIG INNING, of God the Creator, puts all of life into perspective. These first thirteen chapters, and all of Scripture for that matter, remind us of the created order. God IS first. These chapters remind us of God's Sovereignty.

B. We've just finished a much contested presidential election. That election was all about power and who would be in charge. It was about who would set policy and procedure, who would be calling shots. Both candidates and both parties wanted to be the one elected. They campaigned for months so that they could be in charge. So, they could be "the man."

Genesis tells us that even though we've finally elected a president, he's not the one in charge, God is. Abbot and Costello's most famous comedy bit was "Who's On First?" Scripture tells us that God's on first. That God IS first. God is the Creator, the Chief Dude, the Head Honcho, the Big Kahuna, the Guy Upstairs, the Big Boss, the Old Man, the One In Charge, the Head Hog at the Trough, the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer; the Lord God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

Over and over again, Genesis tells us that God is in charge. And that God comes first.

II. THEN CAME THE SINNING:

A. One of the wonders of Creation is that God created us in God's own image. That's almost mind boggling. And it makes us feel special. It reminds us that if we're created in God's own Image, then we have almost infinite worth. God doesn't make junk. For a long time we simply basked in the glory of being created in God's Image and having a personal relationship with the Creator.

Unfortunately it didn't take us long to mess it all up. After GOD'S BIG INNING, THEN CAME THE SINNING. It only took three chapters. By the end of the third chapter we had totally messed up the best deal anyone had ever had. All we had to do was walk with God, love each other, tend the Garden and leave the fruit of one fruit tree alone. But we couldn't do it. It was too tempting. We wanted to be like God instead of simply loving and belonging to God.

We wanted to do things our way and not God's way. And it cost us the Garden of Eden. We call that Fall. We've suffered from the consequences ever since.

Clara Null of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in a 1995 Kid's Of The Kingdom article said: "She had just finished a lesson on Christian behavior and asked one of the students. 'Now, Billy, tell me what we must do before we can expect to be forgiven for our sins.'

And without hesitation, Billy replied, 'First we gotta sin.'"

He was right of course and we've done plenty of that. Ever since the Fall, ever since that episode with the apple or whatever the forbidden fruit was, we can't hardly do anything BUT sin. And from Genesis 3 on, is the story of our sinfulness and God's love for us despite our sinful nature.

B. If you look at the stories of Cain and Abel, the Tower of Babel, and the times leading up to the Flood, you see that we had become jealous, contentious, covetous and discouraged. And when we act like that things get spoiled.

An ancient legend tells of a king who walked in his garden one day to find almost everything withered and dying. Speaking to an oak near the gate, he learned that it was sick of life because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine. The pine was upset, because it could not bear delicious fruit like the pear tree, while the pear tree complained that it did not have the lovely odor of the spruce; and so it went throughout the entire garden. Every plant was jealous of the attribute of some other plant and had given up in discouragement.

That is until the king came to a pansy. The king saw the pansy standing tall and straight. Its face was bright and full of cheerfulness. "Well, little flower," said the king, "I'm glad to find at least one that is happy in this discouraging scene."

And the pansy replied, "Your majesty, I know I'm of small account, but I decided you wanted a pansy when you planted me. If you had desired an oak or a pear tree, you would have put one in my place. Therefore I've determined to be the best pansy and the best flower I can be!"

That's what we're called to do too; to be the best we can be for God. But it's hard. Because of the fall and the burden of sin we bear.

III. A NEW BEGINNING:

A. But these chapters also tell us that even though sin came into the world, sin didn't and doesn't have the last Word. God offers each of us A NEW BEGINNING. Noah and Abraham both reflect that new beginning. Our God is a God of second chances.

Remember the words of our Communion ritual? "You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity [and] made covenant to be our sovereign God."

We rebelled and turned away but God didn't turn away from us. Instead, God found ways to call us back and to renew that broken covenant.

B. Our study reminded me of something I remember reading in seminary but had forgotten. While God was ushering us out of the Garden and pronouncing sentence on us and the serpent for our disobedience, God also made plans for our future redemption. God laid the foundation for events that would take place to change the world. Events that would change how we relate to God.

For centuries, one verse has been lifted up as a sign of the Messiah. Genesis 3:15. Here God is chastising the serpent and says: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."

Most scholars believe that this is the first foretelling of the coming of the Messiah. That the "He" spoken of here; the "He" who will strike the head of the serpent is none other than Jesus, the Son of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

We took it upon ourselves to seek our own way rather than God's. Over and over again we disobeyed and sought our own will. But "In the beginning God." spoke that one Word that changed all relationships forever. "In the beginning was the Word" and God spoke that Word, the name "Jesus" and the whole plan of reconciliation, redemption and salvation came into being.

And through Jesus, God's Word made flesh, we are offered A NEW BEGINNING.

IV. GOD'S PERSONAL INNING:

A. Jesus, the Word made flesh, was God's cleanup hitter. God took what we did, God took our sin personally and realized that the only way to help us keep from falling over and over again was to develop a personal relationship with us. So, you might call this GOD'S PERSONAL INNING.

We see that God started off that way with Adam and Eve. God walked and talked with them daily. God continued that relationship throughout all of history. At first it was only with one or two of us, though the attempt was made to be in relationship with all of us, many rejected it. The story of Babel is a perfect example of how pride filled we had become. And how puny our efforts were in relation to God's work. Ours was an ant hill compared to a mountain. Our effort was so small that God had to step out of heaven to see what we had done.

Over and over again we failed. It almost seems as if Genesis is the record of our failures, rather than a record of God's love. But you see, Genesis shows us that despite our failures, despite our constant turning way, God didn't give up. God continued to seek out that personal relationship. And God succeeded with some.

Look at Enoch and his family. "Enoch walked with God and was no more" scripture says. Theirs was such a close relationship for 300 years that one day while they walked and were while talking, it came time for God to go home. They had been so engrossed in the conversation that they didn't realize how far they had walked. God looked around and said to Enoch, "You know, it's closer to my house than it is to yours. Why don't you just come home with me." Enoch became one of only two people in the whole Bible who didn't die. The prophet Elijah being the other.

And then there was Noah and his family. Noah becomes the symbol for restoration and a new covenant by God with all of humanity. And Noah reminds us that God is a God of second chances and new beginnings. A God of redemption and starting over.

B. During the night a family's dogs started barking furiously. The dogs didn't usually bark unless there was a prowler or something was wrong. The next morning the family looked around but nothing was missing. Instead, something had been returned. Outside the front door were two car speakers that had been stolen six weeks earlier. A note attached to them read, "I'm sorry that I took your speakers, but now I have repented of my sins and asked Jesus to forgive me. I hope you will forgive me too. I no longer take other people's belongings. God has changed me. I am a new creature since I asked Jesus into my heart."

It was signed simply, "Saved." (1)

In GOD'S PERSONAL INNING we find God offering redemption for all who will accept it.

CONCLUSION:

I've got to close with a story I've already told a couple of times last week. I fell in love with it.

It seems Dad was late for his son Steve's baseball game. When he got there, he watched the opposing team score run after run after run in the inning. After the third out, his son's team came off the field. Dad went over to the dugout and found his son sitting on the end. "Stevie," his dad asked, "what's the score?"

"It's fourteen to nothing," Stevie replied cheerfully. Dad was flabbergasted that Stevie was so upbeat even though they were so far behind, so he said, "Stevie, you don't seem very discouraged by the score. What gives?"

And Steve said, "Why should I be Dad? We haven't been to bat yet!" (2)

Sometimes we look at the world and all we see is our fallen nature. We see all those things mentioned in the first thirteen chapters of Genesis; covetousness, murder, betrayal, jealousy, disobedience and all the other things we call sin. We get frustrated and irritable because we know that they are wrong but we just can't seem to help ourselves overcome them.

Genesis reminds us that we serve a God of hope, God of redemption, a God of second chances and do overs. God can and does turn things around in our lives and in the lives of others. We're called to trust God and the power of God's love.

We're called to remember that the words "In the beginning . . ." point us in the right direction and in the right relationship of God first.

1. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), February 1999, Submitted by Michael Kelley, Bettendorf, Iowa

2. DailyUplink Devotion for November 11, 2000

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