Day 2: Sky to Separate the Waters (Gen. 1:6-8)

Day 2: Sky to Separate the Waters (Gen. 1:6-8)

           

God's Work on Day 2:

• The description of God creating the expanse on Day 2 (God speaks, God makes, God names)
• The significance of God creating the expanse on Day 2 

Summary: God's initial creation was characterized by barrenness and darkness.  The darkness problem was solved when the Light shined on Day 1.  But what about the barrenness problem, that is, the lingering fact that the earth was still "without form and void"? God's work on Day 2 was a massive preliminary step in solving the problem, for it was on Day 2 that God created the Sky by holding back the waters.  The description of God's work on Day 2 is powerful and the significance of this work is breathtaking. 

Main Point:  God wants us to know that he made the sky by holding back the waters by his Word.

Discussion Questions:

• What is the most basic common denominator in God's work each day of the creation week? (see Gen. 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24-26).  How should the apostle John's description of the Word in John 1:1-5 shape who we think about God speaking throughout Genesis 1? (cf. Col. 1:16b and Heb. 1:1-3). 
• Discuss this statement: "In the context of Genesis 1, God speaking is God making."  (cf. Ps. 33:6; 148:4-5; Heb. 11:3)   
• What is the expanse? What are the waters below? What are the waters above?
• Would there be any reason that God would stop holding back the waters? (6:5-8, 9-14a)
• What would happen if God did release the waters? (see Gen. 6:17-22; 7:1, 4-5, 11-12, 20-24; 8:1-2; 20-22; 9:1, 8-17)
• What should the release and holding back of these waters teach us in our day (see 2 Pet. 3:1-15)

Application Questions:

• What would be a fitting, worshipful response to the fact that I was saved before God's coming judgment (fire) all because God is actively, mercifully and patiently holding back the waters?
• How should God's patience in temporarily holding back his judgement on unbelievers shape the way that I live the Christian life and interact with unbelievers? 

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for his patience which accounts for how you and others were able to be saved
• Praise God that you are not destined for wrath, but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ
• Ask God to help us, his people, live holy and godly lives as we await the return of Christ

God's Creation Foreshadows God's Salvation (Gen. 1:1-2)

Outline: God's Creation Foreshadows God's Salvation (Gen. 1:1-2): 

           

God created everything (1:1)

• God set the stage: creation (1:2a)
• God foreshadowed the story: salvation  (1:2b) 

Summary: With a big view of our eternal God fresh in our minds, we focus our attention on the fact that this eternal God created everything.  But we also note God's basic description of his initial creation: it was barren and dark.  This description seems to be very intentional on God's part. God must act again.  God must bring light and life.  And we shall see that the need of light and life was not just the physical need of the world God made but the spiritual need of the people God fashioned.

Main Point:  God created everything.  And God's initial work of creation is an intentional foreshadowing of God's eventual work of salvation.

Discussion Questions:

• Why would God initially create the earth barren and dark?
• What is the imagery of the Spirit hovering over the dark and barren earth meant to awaken in us as we read?  
• What can we learn from the progression in the text from a dark and barren earth to the Spirit hovering to light leading to life and flourishing in the rest of Genesis 1? 
• How does God's initial work of creation in Gen. 1:1-2 foreshadow God's eventual work of salvation? [Hint: Read Jeremiah's description of Israel's idolatry Jer. 4:23-26 that echoes the earth's initial condition in Gen. 1:2 along with his description of the heart change that is promised in the new covenant Jer. 21:31-34].  
• What role does the Holy Spirit play in salvation? (see. Ezek. 36:25-27; John 3:1-8; 16:7-11; Titus 3:5)

Application Questions:

• What encouragement and hope might you draw from Gen. 1:1-2 when you think about areas of unmet potential in your life?
• What encouragement and hope might you draw from Gen. 1:1-2 when you think about the state of unbelievers in your spheres of influence? 

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for his wisdom in initially creating the earth in a way that would remind us of the condition of the human heart and the utter need for the Holy Spirit's transforming power
• Praise God for the work of the Holy Spirit that has washed and renewed our hearts   
• Acknowledge ways in which you've either minimized or been ignorant of the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, especially when it comes to the Spirit's work in salvation
• Ask God to open our hears to see more clearly his mighty acts in creation and in salvation

Good News for Great Sinners (1 Tim. 1:12-17)

Outline of 1 Tim. 1:12-17: The Gospel is meant to produce...

1. Gratitude
2. Conviction
3. Hope
4. Praise

Summary:   Even 30 years after his conversion, Paul seemed to have never lost his gospel awe.  In fact, Paul was continually filled with gratitude for Jesus' saving grace, confidence in Jesus' willingness to save sinners, hope for those who are still lost in sin, and praise to the God who designed so great a healing balm for the soul.  In short, Paul couldn't get over the privilege it was to be saved by and entrusted with the gospel.  Have we lost our gospel awe?  May Paul's testimony help revive our awe for the gospel such that the fruits of the gospel (gratitude, conviction, hope, and praise) may be freshly manifested in our lives.  

Main Point:  It is a marvelous privilege to be saved by and entrusted with the glorious gospel.

Discussion Questions:

• According to vv.12-14, why is Paul so grateful?
• With Paul's track record, how could Jesus judge him faithful (or consider him trustworthy)?
• What is the clear statement of the gospel set forth in v.15?
• What do you think contributed to Paul's confidence in this gospel? [hint: Consider Paul's testimony and what Paul has seen the gospel do over the past 30 years of his life in ministry]
• How should we understand Paul's claim to be the "foremost" or worst of sinners?
• What was Jesus' special agenda in saving Paul (v.16)?  How might Paul's example bring hope to those who think their sin has put them beyond salvation's grasp? 
• Read v.17.  Do you think this is a fitting way for Paul to end his testimony?  Explain.  

Application Questions:

• On a scale of 1-10 (10- I'm extremely grateful; 1-I hardly think about it), how grateful am I for the privilege of being saved by and entrusted with the gospel?  
• How evident in my life are the gospel effects Paul expressed (gratitude, conviction, hope, praise)? How might I grow in these areas?
• What hope is there in this passage for my current struggle with sin?
• Is there anyone in my life that I'm tempted to think is beyond Jesus' saving reach?  How has this passage helped produce hope?  Pray for an opportunity to share the good news with them.

Prayer Points:

• Thank Jesus for His overflowing grace that washed away your sin and shame  
• Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any sin in your life.  Then ask for a cleansing flood of fresh grace to wash away any wrongdoing  
• Ask for a renewed appreciation of gospel grace and for faith and love to swell in your heart
• Ask God to save people you may be tempted to think are beyond His saving reach

Saved for the Salvation of Others! (Acts 26:14-18)

                                                                                                                        Visit fbcpierz.org/sermons to listen to this sermon. 

 Outline: Acts 26:14-18

1. Jesus saved Paul (vv.14-15, cf. 26:4-11 & 9:1-22)
2. Jesus sent Paul (vv.16-18)

Summary: Paul is standing before King Agrippa and is expected to give a defense, a defense against the Jews who want to see him put to death.  Paul responds by sharing his testimony, that is, by bearing witness to who he was (26:4-12) and then what Christ did (vv.13-18).  In essence, Paul is saying: “Jesus saved me and Jesus has sent me.”  For Paul, to be saved was to be sent.  To have his eyes opened was to be part of opening the eyes of others.  Paul was on trial because he proclaimed the name of the One who opened his eyes—Jesus Christ.

Discussion Questions:

• What was Paul like before he came to know Christ? (26:4-12; cf. 9:1-2)
• For the back-story, READ 9: 1-18 (cf. 26:13-15).  How was Paul converted?
• What role did Ananias play?  Does this teach us anything about how Jesus saves people?
• What did Paul do almost immediately after he was saved?
• Why do you think Paul grew strong in the wake of his conversionActs 9:22?
• What was Paul being sent to do?
• What is the relationship between being saved and being sent?
• How would you respond to someone who says, “Oh, but that is the great and godly apostle Paul…surely this kind of witness is not expected of me”? (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1; Isa. 42:1-7; Matt. 11:4-6)

Application Questions:

• What is your testimony?  Who were you and what did Jesus do to bring you to himself?
• Are you actively sharing your faith with others?  If not, what may be holding you back?
• “To be saved is to be sent.”  Do you believe this?  On a scale of 1-10—1 being barely applied and 10 being greatly applied—at what level do you live like this is true? 
• When we fall short of sharing our faith at the level that we should, how would Jesus have us apply the gospel to our hearts?  

 Prayer Points:

• Confess to God any failures to live like one who has been sent to open they eyes of unbelievers.  Receive forgiveness from Jesus, the only perfect Witness (1 John 1:9).
• Ask God to provide clear opportunities for you to share about Jesus and to give the courage needed to stand strong and bold and loving in those moments.
• Pray that God would fuse the idea of being saved together with the idea of being sent so that witnesses would become a more natural part of your life.
•  Pray that God will help you to teach others that being saved and being sent always belong together, for to be a disciple is to be a disciple maker.
• Thank God for the gospel and how he opened our eyes in salvation, bringing us from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God.