14 day plan

Summer of Love

Day 1 of 14

GNT

Genesis 1:26-28

26 Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small.” 27 So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, 28blessed them, and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.

The greatest way is love, the Bible tells us. But love can be complicated. Greg Clarke takes us on a tour through the Bible’s unfolding love story, focused here on the Old Testament.

“Love is love” has become a catchphrase of our times. But it does not have any meaning until we use other words and concepts to define what love is. The Christian starting point is to say that God is love. This series looks to the Bible to seek to understand our God, and the nature of God’s love. By the end of the series, I hope that the word ‘love’ has all the rich and flavoursome ingredients to it that Scripture has to offer. The
series covers the Old Testament, the period before Christ. We try to capture the way that God revealed his love to those who were waiting for the Messiah, waiting on the great revelation that Christians are now privileged to know.

Today we start a new series, Summer of Love, which has been prepared by Greg Clarke.  Greg is Chief Executive Officer of Bible Society Australia.

Reflection:  Love was the beginning  We begin at the beginning of all things, with the Creator making a world that he describes as ‘good’. He creates the world not because he needs it, or owes it anything, but purely out of love. Miraculously, God creates human beings in a way that is like God. We are given capacity to “rule over” the creation. This daunting and exciting prospect has to be carried out as if we were God. In other words, we should only rule over creation in the way
God would do so. That should give us pause to reflect on our own selfishness, wastefulness and hubris, and turn us instead towards God’s generosity, care and self-sacrifice. In verse 31, God expresses satisfaction with the whole project of creation, describing it as not just good, but “very good”. So good that he could, at that point, rest.

Question: Do you think of yourself as “acting like God”? In what areas of your life do you need to do this better?

Prayer: We thank and praise you, Almighty Creator, that out of your own perfection you gave us life. We are
honoured to be created in your image, and we ask that you guide us in true stewardship and care for your world, as your responsible and greatly blessed image-bearers.

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. Bible text from the Good News Translation (GNT) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (www.americanbible.org). LICENSEE shall reproduce the following trademark and trademark notice on the copyright page of each copy of the Licensed Products: ®

Days

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14

Genesis 1:1-31

The Story of Creation

1In the beginning, when God created the universe, 2the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water. 3 Then God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared. 4God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, 5and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the first day.

6-7 Then God commanded, “Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places”—and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it. 8He named the dome “Sky.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the second day.

9Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear”—and it was done. 10He named the land “Earth,” and the water which had come together he named “Sea.” And God was pleased with what he saw. 11Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit”—and it was done. 12So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw. 13Evening passed and morning came—that was the third day.

14Then God commanded, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin; 15they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth”—and it was done. 16So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars. 17He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth, 18to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw. 19Evening passed and morning came—that was the fourth day.

20Then God commanded, “Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.” 21So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw. 22He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number. 23Evening passed and morning came—that was the fifth day.

24Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small”—and it was done. 25So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.

26 Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small.” 27 So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, 28blessed them, and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals. 29I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; 30but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food”—and it was done. 31God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came—that was the sixth day.

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. Bible text from the Good News Translation (GNT) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (www.americanbible.org). LICENSEE shall reproduce the following trademark and trademark notice on the copyright page of each copy of the Licensed Products: ®