In the beginning …

“In the beginning, God”  – The first four words of the Bible take us back to the point where we can go no further, back to the eternity of God.What do we find when we are taken back – into the heart of the eternal God?We find love. We discover that “God is love.”Creation is …

Help us, Lord, to be bold – and keep on praying that You will send revival in our time.

Isaiah 24:1-23 ‘They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord, exalt the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous …

We must choose …

Genesis 13:1-18The life of God's people - those who worship Him (Genesis 13:4) - is always set in the context of wickedness. There are always choices to be made. Like Abraham, we can choose to worship God, or we can be like Lot and choose to go the way of wickedness. The choices we make …

When, Lord, our message isn’t popular …

They had turned away from the Lord. They had chosen to go their own way (Jeremiah 2:13). When, Lord, our message isn’t popular, help us to remember that it’s Your message – not ours. You have not called us to preach a superficial message. You’ve called us to preach a searching message. We are to …

Privilege and Responsibility

Genesis 2:4-25Here, we see the privilege and responsibility of being human. As well as the privilege - created in the image of God (1:26-27), there is also the responsibility - in relation to (a) the creation: "farm the land and ... take care of it " (15); (b) the Creator: "you must never eat from the …

Grace found Noah!

Genesis 6:1-22As we read the story of Noah, we learn of the place of Noah within the divine revelation of the Gospel of grace. "Noah found grace" (8) might be turned around to read, "Grace found Noah." "Amazing grace ... I once was lost but now am found." The significance of Noah, highlighted in 5:29, is …

Enoch, Noah … and Christ

Genesis 5:1-32"Enoch walked with God" (22-23). Following this striking statement about Enoch's remarkable walk with God, we are introduced to Noah (28-32). Like Enoch, "Noah walked with God" (6:9). "Noah" means "Relief" - "Out of the ground which the Lord has cursed this child shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of …

The increase of sin … and the ray of hope!

Genesis 4:1-26This chapter tells the story of the progression of humanity, the increase of sin and, in it final sentence, the development of worship. There are interesting snippets of cultural information (20-22). There may be progress in the horizontal dimension - agriculture, music, industry, but history reveals, again and again, that all is not well …

For Christ, there was suffering. For us, there is salvation.

Genesis 3:8-24 Here, we focus on three verses. * Genesis 3:9 - "Where are you?" This is the voice of love: "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). * Genesis 3:15 - A prophecy concerning our Saviour and His mighty triumph over Satan For Christ, there was …

The majesty of God …

Genesis 1:1-2:3There is, here, a real sense of the majesty of God. He is "beyond description." We cannot comprehend Him. We can hardly put into words this sense of God's greatness. We are transported into an eternal dimension, which is so different from our earthly existence. We read, "In the beginning, God ... " (1:1). …

Brought to Christ, sent out by Christ

Genesis 8:1-22At the end of the flood, God said to Noah, "Come out of the ship" (15). We are "in Christ". He is the Source of our salvation. God has brought us into Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30). He does not bring us into Christ only for our own benefit. He sends us out into the …

God continues to carry forward His great purpose of salvation.

Genesis 16:1-16We move from salvation and the assurance of salvation to Satan and the activity of Satan. Sarai came with temptation - "Why don't you sleep with my slave? Maybe I can build a family through her." Abram gave in to temptation -"Abram agreed with Sarai (Genesis 16:2). The evil influence of Sarai continued: "Sarai …

Jesus Christ, the King of love and Prince of peace …

Genesis 14:1-24Following the conflict in Genesis 14:1-16, there is a great sense of the peace of God in Genesis 14:17-24. Here, we have a glimpse of Jesus Christ, the King of love and Prince of peace, the Great High Priest, who comes to us with bread and wine (Genesis 14:18). He comes to us with blessing. …

The Name that really matters …

Genesis 11:1-32Between the list of names in chapter 10 and 11:10-32, there is the story of what happens when we make ourselves the focus of attention rather than God - "Let's make a name for ourselves" (4). What a contrast there is between the tower of Babel, with the human builders trying to make a …

Driven out … (Genesis 3:23-24)

Genesis 2 ended with "no shame." Genesis 3 ends with something very different - driven out. What has changed? - Satan has come in, and he has brought sin with him. If the human story ended here, it would be a tragic story. It may have seemed that Satan had the upper hand, but we …

We read of Abraham … and we look beyond him to Christ.

Genesis 12:1-20 The blessing promised to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) takes us right on to the book of Revelation, to "the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven" (Revelation 21:10). The story of Abraham is more than a human story. It is part of God's eternal purpose which will find its ultimate fulfilment in …

Sin Comes From Satan. Salvation Comes From God.

Sin, Judgment … And Salvation (Genesis 3:1-24)Genesis 3:1   –  “The serpent” (Satan) raises doubts – “Has God said?Genesis 3:2-3   –  The woman tells Satan what “God has said.”Genesis 3:4   –  Satan contradicts God’s Word. Note the progression from questioning God’s Word to contradicting His Word.Genesis 3:5   –  “Your eyes will be opened.” You will see …