Thanksgiving Rest
God created us with a need for rest, which the curse and our culture have magnified, and we should use Thanksgiving as a chance to receive God’s gift of rest.
Genesis 1:31-2:3
Freedom, Limits, and the Nature of Sin
Sin promises freedom and fulfillment if I will reject God’s limiting commands and design, but this always produces deadly results rather than life, freedom, and flourishing.
Genesis 2:15-17; Genesis 3
Freedom – Embracing the Limits of Marriage and Sex
Freedom is found in embracing the truth that marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman, and it is the only proper context for human sexual activity.
Genesis 1:28; 2:20-25
Freedom: Embracing Feasting and Fasting
True freedom is found in a proper relationship with food, neither despising nor idolizing it, but rather rejoicing in it as God’s good gift which points to our ultimate need for God Himself.
Genesis 1:29-30; Genesis 2:15-17
Freedom – Embracing the Rhythm of Work and Rest
True freedom embraces the rhythm of work and rest, for body and soul, that God built into creation.
Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:1-3; Genesis 2:15
Embracing the Limits of Body and Soul
True freedom is found in recognizing humanity as including both body and soul, and embracing the inherent identity and limits of both.
Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:7
The Covenant of Creation – Part 3
God’s covenant of creation calls us to obey Him as our covenant Lord, embracing the limitations He built into us at creation, including receiving and celebrating the gift of Sabbath rest.
Genesis 1:26–2:3; Genesis 2:15-17
The Covenant of Creation – Part 2
In creation, God entered into a covenant with humanity as the image of God, calling us to worshipful obedience through proper relationships with creation, other humans, and God Himself.
Genesis 1:26–28; Genesis 2:18–24
The Covenant of Creation – Part 1
In creation, God entered into a covenant with humanity as the image of God, calling us to worshipful obedience through proper relationships with creation, other humans, and God Himself.
Genesis 1:26–2:3; Genesis 2:15–17
Humanity – Created For Community
As the image of the Triune God, the Divine Community, humans are by nature a relational, created to be part of a community.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18-25
Called To Be God’s Instruments In the World
God has called us to be His instruments in this fallen world, allowing Him to work through us to bring blessing in every realm of life and every corner of creation.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:4-7; 2:15; 3:14-19
Creation, Culture, and the Curse
Humans were created to cultivate culture by ruling and developing God’s creation, but the fall caused significant changes in creation and necessitated redemption.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-17; 3:14-20
The Consequences of the Fall on Mankind
The fall produced spiritual and physical death, division and distress for all mankind.
Genesis 2:16-17; 3:8-24
Paradise Lost: The Fall of Humanity
Satan always tempts us to doubt God’s word and His motives, and to seek our autonomy rather than submit to God.
Genesis 2:16-17; 2:25 – 3:7
God’s Call for Mankind
As the image of God, mankind is called to form and to fill the world, thus developing creation to display God’s glory.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:4-7; 2:15
Man: The Image of God
Man, the uniquely physical-spiritual being, is the image of God and crown of creation.
Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7
The Purposes of Marriage
Marriage must be centered on God, and its true purposes are found in fulfilling our call to display God’s image in all the earth.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18-24
Does God Allow Homosexual Marriage?
Although Christians must show compassion to those trapped in homosexuality, we must be clear that it is a sin, and that God would never condone homosexual marriage.
Genesis 2:22-24; Matthew 19:3-6
Is Cohabitation the Same As Marriage?
Cohabitation is different in both purpose and practice from marriage, and it does not fit the biblical parameters for marriage and thus does not benefit the individuals or society.
Genesis 2:22-24; Matthew 19:3-6
Christ – The Last Adam
Christ is the fulfillment of everything Adam was called to be, and He exceeds those expectations, bringing eternal life to His people.
Genesis 2:7; Romans 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:45