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How do you preach the entire book of Genesis in one sermon? The answer is that you don’t, obviously. Except that we are now traveling through the Bible in a series called One Story. Each week, I will survey the next book of our sacred Bible. 

You know, I almost called this sermon, “It Was All There From the Start.”  I almost called this sermon, “Putting It All Together.” Instead, I settled on this title of Created In God’s Images to Live.  

Life. We see it spring up from a void here. Of what there was in that void or darkness, “chaos” is another word we hear used. Before time ever was, God set about creating in order to bring life and light where essentially nothing existed. 

Later, we’re going to hear John’s gospel begin and John will make a huge claim regarding Jesus, the Son of God. John will say that, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” 

One could wonder how John came to affirm that the “Word” always was and that Jesus was that Word, now comes to life? And that nothing was made without him, but instead everything was made through him?

Then, we pay attention to what Genesis 1: 26 says,”Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness…” I don’t know. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost make up the Trinity. That’s what I think that could be, right now. There’s a lot of mystery in that. In any event, we were created in God’s images to be fully alive. 

Soon, we get a clear case that God has done the most loving thing a parent could possibly do: God has given humanity free choice. On the other hand, humanity has used that freedom early on and has disappointed God. 

There are some things we are better off not knowing about. Into a world where death was not intended comes death now. Knowledge and independence come at a high price. Noah follows faithfully. Noah’s family is imperfect, though, and grace is extended where imperfection exists. 

Abram and Sarah come along, and a new covenant is struck. “Be faithful. Make your home in the land of Canaan. I will make you the father of a great nation. Your descendants will number greater than the sands of the sea.” 

Except that this one great nation is not blessed by God just to consider themselves lucky. They were charged, just as original humanity was, with taking care of all the rest of Creation. They were tasked with showing how we should live.

They were essentially asked to heal what sin had already done. They were intended to be a city set upon a hill. But importantly, given the freedom to choose whether to live into that purpose or not. 

When we understand their story as actually being all of humanity’s story, we understand what we, today, are still supposed to do. Alas, heavy is the head that wears the crown. Or, in this case, heavy is the burden of God-sized expectations. 

Fragile is the attention span of a humanity, so often given to seeking wants over needs. We can tend to choose fun over responsibility. We may go after independence over subjection and individuality over community. But none of those were God’s intent. 

Abraham begat Isaac. Isaac begat Jacob and Esau. Their sibling dynamics are nothing if not fascinating to watch. 

Jacob’s kids sold their younger brother into slavery and then lied to their loving father about it. They broke his heart. Of course, that was only emblematic of the heartbreak that a loving God was already suffering at the hands of humanity. 

But Joseph grew in favor with Pharaoh, with Potipher and perilously even with Potipher’s wife, but somehow dodged her advances. Jacob’s devious boys are all grown up, but still scheming as Genesis nears its end. 

Joseph beautifully reveals who he is, calls his brothers out on their evil and then pledges to look after his family anyway. Let me ask you a question. Do you hear a preview of the gospel of Jesus Christ in some ways up to this point? 

A loving God, still creating, has unleashed a power upon humanity. That power is grace. Grace to forgive and to provide, to protect and to guide.

DR. CHARLES QUALLS is senior pastor at Franklin Baptist Church. Contact him at 757-562-5135.