Reflections On Genesis

Pastor Al

Genesis marked the first big sermon series coming out of a pandemic. In some ways, it marked a new beginning for us as a church. A few months before we began our Genesis study, we moved locations and services times in faith because we believe that’s what Jesus had told us to do. So, like Abraham, we set out not quite knowing what God had in store for us.

Yesterday, I preached the last sermon in Genesis and today sort of feels like the day after high school graduation. I began preaching through Genesis in January of 2021, now here we are with Easter approaching in April of 2022 and it’s finally come to an end. A few thousand hours have gone into the study, the preaching, and the content produced over our 50 weeks of study. I can’t believe we made it, maybe we should have signed each other’s yearbooks.

Personally, preaching through Genesis has been been a lot of fun. With an increase in censorship and cancel culture, it has been refreshing to study such a very frank and honest book of the bible. Genesis doesn’t pull any punches. While the world around us seems to be full of cover-up stories and conspiracies, Genesis was brutally transparent. I love that God isn't afraid of mankind’s brokenness, nor ashamed of the mess we make, but rather he enters into it with us. From Genesis chapter 3 on sin and its effects permeates through the lives of everyone and everything on earth. Yet, from Genesis 3 and on God is not passively observing, but he is actively rescuing and redeeming. The God of the bible is still doing this today!

Over the past month or so we have heard from several members of our church and I wanted to share some of their reflections with you. My hope is that you would be encouraged by what God is doing among us!

“Throughout Genesis, God has revealed to me his unwavering faithfulness. Every patriarch we studied had different hardships they faced during their journey but God showed time and time again. God always delivers on his promises. Even though his timing might be different than ours, we must have faith that his plans are greater than ours and that he is working everything out for our good. He is worthy of all our trust and in him alone should our hope be found. God has used this sermon series to forge my faith, to make me attentive to his voice, to prepare me for his mission, and to remind me that the promises in Genesis are still true for all of us today.”— Mack

“I have been so encouraged and challenged through our study in Genesis and so grateful for the provision of God’s word and how it has applied to my life very specifically each week. Studying the life of Joseph has taught me what it looks like to suffer well and to honor and trust the Lord in unfair circumstances and in difficult seasons. I’ve been encouraged to see that God uses these seasons that we call “waiting” to do so much more than simply make us wait for things. He is teaching me patient endurance and preparing, training, and pruning me in ways that can only be done when I am made aware of my weaknesses and limitations. It has been a great comfort to study Genesis with a body of believers and apply God’s word to the various things we are walking through together.” — Lauren

“During my life as a Christian, I had never been to a church that preached verse by verse through the Scriptures. Genesis was the first book I sat under and listened to the Word preached, and how great did it teach me! The three biggest areas of my life that the Lord grew me in through Genesis were trusting solely in the grace and faithfulness of God in the everyday things, loving and leading my family in the greatest capacity I can, and understanding the providence of God in a greater way. There is so much I can say about Genesis but the greatest thing I can say that I learned is that Genesis is a display of God’s dealings with sinful man and how He alone saves sinful men from their sins. Just as God spoke to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, or how Jacob wrestled with the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus, or how God strengthened Joseph in prison and finally reconciled him with his family so the Lord works with us in the same way as He did with them. These truths give me hope and encourage me to constantly be thankful and grateful for my salvation, life, and family and to live my life for Him alone and lead my family in knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.” — Rob

“I remember thinking about Abraham, how he continually tried to make things happen for himself instead of trusting God's word. God was true to His promises even after all Abraham's mess-ups. I need to lead my family more, I need to trust God.” — Michael

“I’ve learned about forgiveness. Even more so, I've been spurred on and encouraged to seek out forgiveness and to forgive those I've held in bitterness. I've learned that forgiveness heals and restores life to those in need of it. Like Joseph forgiving his brothers, "the spirit of their father Jacob revived." And in Joseph, forgiving his brothers caused the saving of his family and the preservation of the great nation God had promised. The studying of Genesis has been life-changing for me. I am fortunate and grateful to have learned and grown through this time, as it has caused me to look back and marvel at the goodness of God and His grace toward me.” — Andrew

“God will use us all. Genesis shows us that God molds and shapes broken hearts and broken lives. The people in Genesis were all undeserving and God was still active in their lives. The major characters in Genesis had serious character flaws. Yet, God still transformed them and used them for His greater purposes. God has used Genesis to help me realize that God has a big plan to bring the nations to Himself and I want to join him on his mission.” — Paul

“The themes I am most encouraged by in the Book of Genesis are two that I believe are essential to joy in the Christian life: justification and trials. “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” (ch. 15:6). This one declaration is a reminder of the simple Gospel, one that has carried me through daily doubts and struggles. Additionally, many instances of trials are seen in the lives of men like Noah, Jacob, and Joseph. Despite everything they endured, they had faith in the LORD, believing that He would carry them through tribulation, as He did.”

If you’d like to share what God has done in your life through our study in Genesis, we’d love to hear from you! Click below!