4. What is Creation?

God created the universe out of nothing.
Use this to explain the faults of the evolutionary process.

John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16

God spoke all of creation into existence. Genesis 1:3-25. With man, He created us with His hands and breathed life into us.
When scripture says we were created in God’s image, it means we were created like God – similar to – and to represent Him.
The creation story is clearly seen in scripture, so we can trust it is true.

If God created everything then God existed before the creation – He is eternal.
He is worthy of our worship because nothing else can make something from nothing.

Our worth begins with the fact that we are His special creation – We are in His image and made by His hands.
What other things do we place our worth in?

God is greater than creation – He made all things and rules over all things

He is, however, intimately involved in creation. Job 12:10
Acts 17:25,28,29

We are dependent on Him but He is not dependent on creation. Psalm 46:1

All of creation was made to give glory to God – Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 43:7, Revelation 4:11, Jeremiah 10:12

He created the universe to show his greatness, to demonstrate his excellence, and to delight in his work.

Creation is also “very good” – Genesis 1:31, 1 Timothy 4:4

What are some ways the earth, animals, and us bring glory to God as creator?

Evidence for Biblical creation:
Geology: Radiocarbon in Diamonds
Astronomy: Recession of the Moon
Geology: Earth’s Decaying Magnetic Field
Biology: Dinosaur Soft Tissue
Anthropology: Human Population Growth
Geology: Tightly Folded Rock Strata
Anatomy: Design of the human body – nervous system
Anatomy: Embryo development
Intelligent Design: Irreducible Complexity
Molecular machines are considered to be irreducibly complex. An irreducibly complex machine is made of a number of essential parts, and all these parts must be present for it to function properly. If even one of these parts is missing the machine is non-functional. Evolution, which supposedly works in a stepwise fashion over long periods of time, can’t form these complex machines. Evolution is not goal-oriented; it cannot work towards a specific outcome. If a part of the machine would happen to form by random chance mutation (which itself is not plausible, see “Are Mutations Part of the ‘Engine’ of Evolution?”), but the other parts of the machine were not formed at the same time, then the organism containing that individual part (by itself non-functional) would not have a particular survival advantage and would not be selected for. Since the part offers no advantage to the organism, it would likely be lost from the population, and evolution would be back to square one in forming the parts for the machine. There is essentially no way to collect the parts over time because the individual parts do not have a function (without the other parts) and do not give the organism a survival advantage. Remember, all the necessary parts must be present for the machine to be functional and convey a survival advantage that could be selected for.

For further questions,  go to answersingenesis.org

5. What is Prayer

6. Angels, Demons, and Satan
Tonight we jump into discussing the spiritual creations of God.

Characteristics:
Created
Spiritual Beings
Moral Judgement
High Intelligence
No physical body

Angels
They form a group referred to in scripture as the host or army of heaven – Nehemiah 9:6
God can open our eyes to see them – Numbers 22:31
God can have them take on a bodily form – Matt 28:5

What do they do?
Guarding us – Psalm 91:11
Joining us in worship – Hebrews 12:22
Moral judgement when they decided to sin – 2 Peter 2:4
Have great power – Psalm 103:20, 2 Peter 2:11
(Contrast their punishment with Adam and Eve’s in Genesis 3:21-23)
They obediently carry out God’s plan –
They give us an example to follow in worship – Rev 5:11-12
Not to be worshiped – they are created like us – they are not God – Rev 19:10

Demons
Angels who sinned against God and now work evil in the world.
2 Peter 2:4
They fell because of their choices – they were a part of God’s creation that was called “very good” in Genesis 1:31
Jude 6 –

Satan is the name of the head demon – he is mentioned by name a number of times in scripture
1 Chronicles 21:1
Matthew 4:10
Luke 10:18
Other names for satan include: devil, serpent, Beelzebub, the ruler of this world, the prince of power of the air, the evil one
Satan is the originator of sin – 1 John 3:8, John 8:44,
Tempting of Jesus – Matthew 4:1-11

How do they deal with us:
Temptation
Doubt
Lies
Murder
Guilt
Fear
Confusion
Sickness
Envy
Pride
Slander

Satan and demons are limited in their power and acts by God himself
We can overcome them: James 4:7
They can observe us but not know the future or what we are thinking.

They are not responsible for all the evil in the world
Much of the evil in the world is the result of my own actions – I don’t need their help to sin
James 1:14, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Ephesians 4:27
I can fight – 2 Corinthians 10:4, 1 John 4:4

How are angels like us?
What do angels do in our world today?
What things about satan cause me to fear him? What about him is not that scary?

7. What is Man?
Genesis 1:27-28
Isaiah 43:7

Created for God’s Glory
John 10:10
Psalm 16:11
Zephaniah 3:17

Created in God’s Image
Psalm 19:1
James 3:9
Romans 8:29
Colossians 1:15
Colossians 3:10
2 Corinthians 3:18
1 Corinthians 15:49
2 Corinthians 4:4

Responsibilities as creatures in God’s Image

We are God’s representatives
As God’s image bearers on the earth it is our responsibility to help His people and His creation be like He intended for it to be