219
June, 1945
3
Outline and ¡¡»position B . B . S u t c U s t *
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Points and Problems H omer A . K en t
Children’s Division M rs . V irgil A rrowoob
Lesson material is based upon outlines of International Sunday School Lessons, copyrighted by the International Council of Re ligious Education; used by per mission.
LESSONS
LESSON FOR JULY 1 God’s Joy in Creation
them have dominion” was God’s com mand. Man was to be God’s agent in controlling creation and was given dominion over the works of His hands. “So God created man,” was God’s di rect and immediate act. Man was not the product of long eons of evolution. IV. T h e F in a l A pproval (1 :3 1 ) When God viewed the result of the six days’ work, He saw that all was “very good.” The heaven and the earth, the lights in the sky, the fruit ful earth, the man in the image of God—all was “ very good.” All was in innocency; holiness had not yet come to man; that could come only in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10; 4:24).' “The evening and the morning were the sixth day.” We begin with the light and end with the dark; God begins with the dark and ends with the light. Soon all the darkness will be gone and eternal morning will break. The production of a man possessing holiness instead of mere in nocency—a child of God through a spiritual birth rather than a mere creature of His hand will indeed be an everlasting monument to the grace of God. This man will fulfill God’s purpose and exercise dominion over the works of God’s hands. When we consider God’s approval upon His own handiwork in creation, we ask ourselves: “ Is He pleased with the work He has been able to do in our lives?” There was no resistance on the part of Nature; shall we alone of His creatures draw back from His hand?
LESSON MATERIAL: Genesis 1:1-5, 10- 12, 16-18, 26, 27, 31. GOLDEN TEXT: “ God saw everything that He had, made, and behold, it wa* very good” (Gen. 1:31). Outline and Exposition I. T he C reation of t h e U niverse ' (G en . 1:1) T HIS' is perhaps the most stu ous hypotheses are held by scientists, but the wide divergence among them indicates that none of them actually know when this “beginning” took place. “In the beginning God created” and no human being has an answer to such questions as, “Who is God?” or, “What is God?” "In the begin ning God created," which is a word meaning '“to make something out of nothing.” .Summarizing this statement, we have a -declaration that at a time of which no one is aware, a being or an influence which no one has ever seen, took a handful of. nothing and molded it into the shape of the heaven:and the earth. If this opening statement of the Bible is accepted, there will be no stumbling over anything else in its pages. It is a call for faith, not an appeal to reason. When faith is pres ent, reason is wholly satisfied and God is glorified (Heb. 11:3, 6).
T h e R enovation of t h e E a r th (1:2 -5 , 10-2, 16-18) What period of time elapsed be tween verses one and two cannot be discovered, but in that period the earth became “without form and void,” unlike its original condition (Isa. 45:18). Then God began the work of renovation, not creation, as is generally believed. Light broke in upon the darkness. Day and night began their cycles. God, not man, named the light "Day” and the dark ness “Night.” Moreover, the dry land was allowed to appear above the waters. God called the dry land “Earth” and the waters “Seas.” Then the earth was made fruitful, produc ing grass, herbs, and trees, yielding fruit and seed for propagation. Finally, for the regulation of time on earth, God set two great lights in the firmament of heaven, one to rule the day and the other the night, thus dividing the full day into periods of light and darkness. III. T h e C rea tion of M a n (1:26 , '27) The origin of man Was by God's de cision, for God’s purpose and through God’s direct and immediate act. “Let us make man” was God’s de cree, without which man never would have been. Man is not the product of self-determination on the part of something already in existence. "Let
pendous statement ever written in any language. “In the be ginning" and ho date is given. Vari
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker