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Genesis Study - Introduction

The Beginning of an Awesome Love Story

We begin this course with a few brief statements on what Genesis is all about by way of an introduction to our subject. Then we will proceed to look at what it means to be made in the image of God. After this, we will examine evidence from across the world that points to the intelligence of ancient man. Next will follow a look at Satan, evil and sin since they all crop up in Genesis - who is Satan and what is sin? How would we define evil?

Having looked at these subjects we will then move on to focus on covenant and ask ourselves why God didn't just give up on man when things started going wrong. Recognising that Adam and Eve failed to obey God then brings us to our next subject, - God's law. What are the rules of God all about? Our study of God's laws will show us that they speak of a heavenly Father who points out the right way to live. Then we will move on to look at holiness, since the God who approached Adam and Eve is spoken of as being holy throughout scripture. In doing so, we also see something that may initially seem rather strange - holiness, for the believer, begins with belonging. Throughout the study we will also be making a light comparison between holiness and psychology.

The next subject we deal with is the curse, since Genesis speaks of a curse just after the fall - so what's this all about? After investigating the meaning of curse and its effect on man, we will move on to look at prophecy - hope birthed into what may seem a hopeless situation.

Having dealt with all these areas and having discovered that God is gracious and loving, as well as being absolutely holy, we will pause and ask ourselves the following questions which are relevant to this study. Is God a hypocrite since he tells us to love all people, in the N.T., yet destroys whole people groups in the old? Who is the God who reaches out to us?

After this our course moves on to take a brief look at angels - but why? Because there is the mention of Cherubim guarding the entrance to Eden when Adam and Eve were put out. So what's this all about? In our study of this subject we will focus briefly on mercy (and yes it does fit in!)

Next, we will ask ourselves where Cain and Abel would have made their offerings to the Lord and link this in with what is called Holy Mountain Imagery across the world. We will see why there are such things as pyramids and mountain top temples in all ancient religions. We can also link this in with a section on the downward spiral of man-made religion.

Our next port of call is to take a closer look at Cain and Abel whom we cover in the next twelve sessions of our course. In looking at Cain, such issues as man striving to make God in man's image, guilt and false guilt, repression, and the anger of both Cain and God will be dealt with. As we focus on Abel, we will see that God's side of the covenant has never been broken. We will discuss what sort of man Abel would have been, had he lived. The study will demonstrate how man approaches God and we will link this in with words that can initially sound rather dry and theological, yet actually paint an amazing picture of our Father's heart. This then concludes module one in Genesis.

Module two will start by looking at man's makeup - body/soul/spirit or what? We will then unpack a few points from the genealogies of Seth and Cain since they, in a sense, speak of the first communities on earth. From this we look at wickedness, idolatry and worship. We find out, for example, that amongst other things, idolatry is an attempt to gain security and power. Having studied these subjects and all that has gone before; we will then be ready to move off into the rest of Genesis. But before we do so, we will tackle another section.

Man is now fallen and far from his true home; yet he is still called to covenant living, despite being under condemnation. So how is it that God reaches out to man? This study leads us to the following questions: Who are we? What is our purpose in life? What is the way of blessing and wholeness that is mapped out in scripture? What is the way of power and authority? Through a close examination of these topics it will become apparent that God has always sought to reach out to us in amazing grace.

This course is taught on a weekly basis and each module is one weeks material.

Do consider the answers to the questions that are asked in each section. It is worth keeping a record of your answers so that you can develop your thoughts and understanding as you read through the course material.

But most importantly of all, keep asking yourself what does the course tell you about God?

MODULE ONE SUMMARY · Genesis · Man in the Image of God and the intelligence of ancient man. · What is evil? · Who is Satan? · What is sin? · Covenant - so what's it all about? · Why God didn't give up on man (more about covenant)? · The Law of God - Torah · Awesomely holy; holiness and psychology. · The Curse · The Prophecy · Is God a hypocrite? · Cherubim and angels · Holy mountain imagery · The downward spiral of man-made religion · Cain - all six sessions! · Abel - all six sessions!

MODULE TWO SUMMARY · Man - body/soul/spirit? · Wickedness and the grief of God · Idolatry · Abel (1) · Abel (2) · Abel (3) and Substitution · Abel (4) · Abel (5) Atonement · Abel (6) Justification · Genesis – Genealogies of Cain and Seth

MODULE THREE SUMMARY · Genesis - Body/Soul/Spirit? · Wicked People · Genesis - Idolatry · Worship · Who are we?

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