The beginning - a very good place to start

Last week we started the e100 Bible reading challenge as a church, and last Sunday's message was based on the first five readings, which came from the first 11 chapters of the Bible, Genesis 1-11. (Click here to read a previous post and find out more about e100).

The chapters that we read included the stories about the creation of the world, of how Adam and Eve rebelled against God, the flood and Noah's ark, and the Tower of Babel.

Of course there are lots of questions and discussions that we could have about these chapters, and no doubt there are some who would like to ask the obvious questions relating to science and the Bible / creation and evolution... But if that is our first question then I think we've missed the point of the story. You will only get sensible answers from the Bible if you ask the right questions - and I don't think that these chapters are inviting scientific questions. Rather they invite questions about 'who is God?', 'who am I?', and maybe most significantly, questions about my relationship with God.

And when it comes to 'who am I?' there are some really exciting things to think about, but also some really challenging ones. Being created in the image of a creative God surely has massive implications for how we view ourselves and others, how we expect to be treated, how we treat others...

But these chapters also raise the issue of pride and reveal something of its consequences. Ultimately pride keeps us from acknowledging God and giving God first place in our lives. It is this rebellion against God that the Bible calls 'sin', and it is sin that leads to a broken relationship with God.

Genesis 1-11 sets the scene and introduces the problem of a broken relationship with God. Genesis 12 to the end of the Bible in Revelation 22 is the story of how God set about sorting this out. If you've never read the story it will take a few weeks to reach the ultimate answer to sin - the death of Jesus on a cross...but there are lots of signposts along the way.

Click here to listen to this message