WHY PREACH THROUGH GENESIS?

This Sunday we are starting our series through the book of Genesis. Why are we choosing to spend time doing this? I want to give you a few reasons why we’re so excited to walk through this book.

To learn to trust God as our Creator.
Genesis is going to help us learn to trust God as our good Creator. Genesis teaches us that God is the creator of everything, that he loves his creation, and that he rules over it in wisdom and goodness. God creates a good world for us, but then we bring death and corruption into the world when we sin in Genesis 3. We are going to learn to trust the promise God gives in Genesis 3:15 that someone is going to come who will redeem us from the curse of sin and restore all of creation, and so we will learn to trust God to keep his promises and do what he said he will do. The whole bible is about how God is going to fulfill this promise he gives in Genesis 3:15.
To learn what it looks like to walk by faith, live in grace, and rest in hope.
As we look at the lives of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, we will see what it looks like to walk by faith in this life when the fulfillment of God’s promises don’t seem to come quickly. In Jacob’s life, we will see what it looks like to live in God’s grace, as God shows us how he pursues sinners and rebels and wins them back to himself. In Joseph’s life, we will learn what it means to rest in hope because God is in control and working out all things in our lives for our good and his glory.
To see how the whole bible fits together in Jesus.
As the first book of the bible, Genesis is absolutely foundational to knowing who God is, who we are, why we’re here, and what our lives are all about. Genesis is the foundation of the whole bible’s story, and so understanding it will go a long way in helping us put our Bibles back together. We will see, week after week, how the whole Bible is about Jesus and what God is going to do to save sinners and restore his world through Jesus! Over and over in Genesis, we will see God give us hints and foreshadows of how he is going to keep the promise he makes in Genesis 3:15 to send a redeemer to save us. The book of Genesis is not primarily about things we are supposed to do or people we are supposed to emulate, but about someone we are supposed to see. Genesis was written to show us more of Jesus.
To see how the gospel is for all of life.
Throughout our journey in Genesis, we will see how “practical” the book of Genesis is and how it speaks into every aspect of our lives. Dysfunctional family dynamics, frustrated ambitions, work, relationships, suffering, sin, decision-making, trusting in God when he seems absent, and so much more is addressed in the book of Genesis. We will see how the good news of Jesus speaks into all of it and transforms all of it, how the good news is not just about us “getting saved,” but about transforming all of our lives.

Can’t wait to get started this week! See you Sunday!
Ryan Ross | Pastor of Discipleship
Ryan@veritasfayetteville.com