As we wrap up our journey through the gospel of John on Sunday mornings, I could not be more excited about jumping into our next sermon and worship series, which will take us most of the way through the summer months.
You may recall that the Gospel of John begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1.1-3) Back in December, when we first began looking at John, we learned that, in that passage, John was intentionally echoing the opening words of our Bibles, from Genesis 1. John’s words served as a sort of hyperlink to Genesis and the creation narrative. It was, in part, John’s way of saying that Jesus (the Word Made Flesh) was God.
Beginning Sunday, April 24, we will jump back in time to the opening book of the Bible, and we will focus on the first eleven chapters over the next three months, or so. My hope is, of course, to better understand each of these chapters in their original historical context, but also the part they play in the larger context of our Scriptures. Why are these eleven chapters recorded for us? Was it just so we could debate over creation and evolution, or was it something more than this?
I think you can tell that I think it was something more, something way more. For I have come to believe that all things have their genesis in Genesis, and in particular, the first eleven chapters of Genesis. We will look at the text each week—and invite all of you to read through the passages several times each week—so that we can get a better feel for what God was and is up to in these chapters. But we will do even more than this.
One thing we will do beyond considering the original context is take note of the fact that throughout the rest of our Bibles, the writers regularly draw from the well of Genesis 1-11 for their imagery and theological content. In other words, these chapters are important. But there is one more thing we will do as we walk through this first movement in the book of Genesis.
We will look at how each of these chapters points us to Jesus.
What in these passages points to God’s bigger plan to rescue all of humanity and, indeed, all of creation?
I hope you’ll join me, and I invite you to become a little better prepared each Sunday by signing up for our Daily Scripture emails. You can do that by clicking on the button below.
Until then, I pray you continue to experience and enjoy the beauty and wonder of Jesus’ resurrection this Easter season.