Welcome back to the God of Creation online Bible study! This week our personal study focused on just one verse: Genesis 1:1. It’s amazing what we’ve already learned about the character of God, and we hope you were challenged and encouraged by this week. We can’t wait to dive into more of chapter one with you this coming week!
If you have any questions about how this study works, we’ve answered most of them here. Have more questions not answered there? Check out our Online Bible Study FAQs.
As a reminder, we’ll leave all the videos up until September 30, 2018, allowing some breathing room for those who join in late or miss a couple of weeks. After that you can purchase the video or audio sessions here.
Did you miss our first session? Don’t worry! Click here for Session 1.
- How does the knowledge that God created all things change the way you think about God? (page 21)
- How does the understanding that God is eternal change the way you think about your life? How is His eternality a comfort? (page 26)
- What aspect of God’s character has this week’s passage of Genesis shown you more clearly? (page 29)
- Is there one thought or sentence that stuck out to you in this week’s video? What stood out and why?
Before next week, complete Week 3: Six Days and a Rest (pages 34-49) in your Bible study book. We’ll see you next time!
I am enjoying this study.
1. Having the knowledge that God created all things puts life, and my life in particular, in perspective. How a God that his all powerful and eternal, creating every large and minute detail is still a personal God who knows me.
2. The understanding that God is eternal, and sees everything from beginning to end (including my sins) comforts me. His eternality and unchanging nature also helps and encourages me to focus my life on Him, that no matter what, He is God.
3. Knowing that God is self-sufficient shows me that I am free to live a life to glorify Him without me having to supply Him with anything. I need only to praise Him with my life.
4. The one thought that stuck out to me was that I need only concern myself with the WHO and WHY and not the HOW. We can debate and discuss how the world was created, but that only draws th attention away from the Creator. My goal should always be to point other to HIM!
1) God created all things good. Knowing this helps me better understand the word reverence. He is deserving of our reverence.
2) God’s eternality gives perspective to the world around us. It is another picture of him never leaving nor forsaking is. And although my life on earth is short, it is a promise of my eternality, a provision given to me by God through Christ.
3) In this section, God’s sovereignty, self-existence, role as Creator, eternality, and worthiness were made clearer to me.
4) The part that stuck out the most to me was the series of verses to answer the “why did God create” section, especially why He created humans.
1 – that we should treat all things with respect
2 – I am here for a purpose and it is a short time
3 – that He is our creator and is infinite
4 – that our purpose is to be a megaphone for the glory of God
I’m starting this study late, but I LOVE it so far.
The biggest thing that struck me with this week’s study and this session is a greater understanding of who God is. It is crazy to think that we can learn so much about Him through one verse. God’s eternality and His existence outside of time is amazing. I still can’t wrap my mind around it. I like how Jen pointed out He knows the past/present/ and future because He is in them all. This gives me a new perspective on life and its circumstances. Our obligation to God doesn’t come from our salvation, but or origin. So powerful!
I am really loving this study so far. I didn’t start until a week ago (July 20th), but since it is so interesting, it will be easy to catch up.
Like many of you, I have believed that God created everything. However, studying it this way has been so enlightening. I can see how I have been off course in ways due to my not really appreciating God’s infinite, everlasting existence and so many of the other aspects of God’s nature that I had not really studied before.
Question 3) Creator, eternal, infinite
As far as this weeks video, there were so many amazing parts. But I will pick this one:
Knowing where you came from makes all the difference in seeing where it is you need to go.
So very, very true. I will be sharing that one with my youth group soon.
Thanks to all who shared their thoughts – it was very helpful to me.
1. Knowing that everything is under the Lord’s control will help me to see God in all aspects of my life, because God is in control and created it all.
2. I am like a vapor, here for a little while. He will always be there for me.
3. He is Creator, eternal, self-existent, self- sufficient, sovereign.
4. God needs nothing. He is self-sufficient.
Love the R.C. Sproul quote “It is best not to shout where God only whispers”
1. God created EVERYTHING. We are ALL people of one God. This is a good motivator for me to be a better Christian and to treat ALL people with kindness and respect. Also, a good reminder for myself. This helps me with insecurities that I have, to know that I am also a child of God.
2. God holds all knowledge now and forever AND is not bound by time. WOW!! This helps to give me hope when I struggle with things that are out of my control. I struggle with not understanding why things are not happening as quickly as I would like. We cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. We have to have faith and know that because he created everything and knows everything, he knows what is best in our lives and the lives of those we love. He will tie it all together when the time is right. That time, is not always the time that we would like for it to happen. Knowing his time is different than ours, is reassuring to me and gives me some peace in the difficult seasons of my life.
3. Omniscient/Creator.
4. There are so many inspiring things that stuck out for me. I really like the examples Jen uses because it helps me to relate. The story about her friend’s pottery and how a human being’s value is derived from its origin. Everyone and everything has value because God made us/it! We take greater care when the owner is one we care deeply about. This helps me to know how important it is to have a close relationship with God. Also, to value ALL people because we were all created by God.
I also liked that he is a God who holds all knowledge, looks at our story and is deeply moved with compassion. That he also understands fully the limits of our comprehension and is able to work it all together because he knows it all and holds all power. It helps me to know that although he is so powerful, he is also a very loving and compassionate God.
Wondering what happened to session 3?? Does anyone know or who to contact?
Hi Jennifer! Session 3 posted on Thursday. Click here to view it!
1. God is bigger than I can fathom—greater than anyone or anything.
2. Compared to God’s eternality I am just a dot in the space of time—only here for a short while on earth. His eternality comforts me because though my body will die, He will still be alive to raise me from the dead.
3. He is not limited by time—He existed before time began.
4. All human creativity is the vaguest whisper of the creativity of God. If there is even the vaguest whisper of being like God available to me, I want it—I want to be like my Father.
did session 3 post? sorry work has been super crazy this week
https://blog.lifeway.com/womenallaccess/2018/07/05/god-of-creation-online-bible-study-session-3/
Not sure what to think about this free online study: I have registered twice but never receive email announcing current video lesson so I have explored the Lifeway website to find teaching video AND it is Friday 4:30 and Session 3 is not posted yet. Am I missing something?
hankstergirl@hotmail.com
Hi! So sorry you are having trouble. We are checking on this for you. In the meantime, you can get started! The emails are just reminders. Click here to view the sessions that have posted so far. Thank you for joining us!
Hello! Thank you for your patience. It appears you have received the emails, but they have not been opened. I wonder if they went to spam or another folder? Try searching your inbox by the from name LifeWay Women or the subject line of the email. Hope that helps! Of course you can still join us each week on the blog without the emails. Let me know if you have any other questions!
1. I am in total Ah, not needing us but wanting us. Now that is totally awesome.
2. Knowing that he is always with me, listening to me, and guiding me as he is with everyone else is awesome.
3 Love
4. 2 things:
God speaks and creation springs into being.
When he says that he forgives every sin, because he
knows every sin from the start of your life to the end
of your life always and forever.
1. I think I grew up knowing and believing that God made everything, everything. To me, anything else is illogical. I have learned other things that make him larger and brighter, but that seems basic to me.
2 & 3. God’s eternality makes me understand that I am merely temporary here. I may change the world in some way, but in the end, my eternity isn’t here. It is comforting to know that he is here before, always, and after, he is constant. So I never need to worry about whether He’ll be there.
4. Something that got me this week and got me in this week’s video is that we were created to declare God’s glory.
I actually ended up talking to my husband about this on day one because I couldn’t give a satisfying answer to the Apply on page 5. We had a long talk about WHY sin was sin (because God says so?) And I finally got around to the fact that I just didn’t understand why we were even here, so I couldn’t really grasp why anything was truly good or bad aside from, well, God says so.
He explained that we are here to love, glorify, and honor God, and if believe that God is not the creator, then you are worshiping something that isn’t God.
Lauren, thanks for sharing! I love that this promoted conversation about those big questions in life and I like how your husband explained it!
I praise God that you were able to share your bible study with your husband. God bless your marriage .His in sight really helped me to see this more clearly.
1. When I look at some of the amazing things God created, i say things like: “How did He think of that?” or “He loves beauty for beauty’s sake.” or “You’d have to be crazy to think that there is NO creator!!”.
2. & 3. Before the beginning, God was already there. His eternity is too much for my finite mind to grasp. I must trust Him even when I dont understand.
4. One thing that stood out to me this week is Jen’s comment that “our thoughts are no more than a pinprick in His infinite knowledge.” We think of ourselves as so much more important than we are.
Since God created all and the lesson was on creation, I chose God’s character as self-existent. Knowing he is our creator makes me feel loved. God is all inclusive.
1) The knowledge that God created all things definitely affects the way I think about God. Since He created all things, they are His and exist for His purposes. We are among His creations. We belong to Him and exist for a specific purpose. He knows what is best for us better than we do. He wants us here, will help us and provide for us according to what He knows is best. We can trust Him completely with everything and be sure in His love for us.
2) The fact that God is eternal gives me great comfort. He has always been there and always will be. He is constant and never changes. My life is in His hands and in His control as the Master Planner and Master Coordinator (Controller?) of the universe. My life is important to Him. It is in His hands and I can take great comfort in that because it could not be in the control of anyone better.
3) I think that the aspect of God’s character that stands out to me most is His eternal constancy. He has always been, even before the beginning of time. He always will be, even after the end of time. He used His great power to create our universe for a purpose. He has been working out this purpose in our lives and our world ever since. He has not changed His “vision” or plan and we can trust Him to work everything in our lives toward His ends. This is for our best good and eternal destiny with Him. I can trust Him with everything.
4) The thought that struck me most in this week’s video was how small we are in comparison to Him and how little we can see of His purposes in many cases. The idea of our thoughts being no more than a pinprick in His infinite knowledge really struck me. Trying to work God out logically, as some do, suddenly seems very useless meaningless. I have heard people say they don’t believe that hell is a reality because it doesn’t make sense for God to do it that way. Such thoughts are meaningless because we don’t have all the necessary knowledge to make these judgments. I never thought about it that way before. It makes faith in God’s sovereignty seem more important than ever.
Thank you Anne. Your answers resonate with me!
1. God created all things including me. I belong to Him and that gives me great pleasure and knowing that He loves me. The Earth is His and everything in it. I think in Psalm 24:1-2 David mentions Earth because he was focusing on us and the love He has for us.
2. With the understanding of God being eternal means that my life has meaning and I have everlasting life. My spirit will always be with God. He will never leave me because He is eternal. God has and always will be my Creator and my home.
3. Since this whole week we spoke about Creation and Gods role in it, based on the words that Jen has in the back of the workbook I chose Creator as one of Gods characteristics.
4. I thought this weeks video was great, it had a lot of great insight. If I had to choose one thought that stood out to me in the video it would have to be that my sole purpose in my life is to be “a megaphone for God.” I never really thought about it like that because a megaphone is loud and based on what all God has done and blessed me with I should be loud in worshipping him. I SHOUT His name from the rooftops on a daily basis!!!