1rst Trimester 2013   THE ORIGINS

Lesson & References Index  (For the context Check www.biblia.com www.biblegateway.com) with notes added from the different versions of the lesson by our site www.sse6.blogspot.com-- Lesson 5 – January 26 to February 1

From: http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/13a/helps/lesshp05.html

 http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/13a/#Helps

 

Creation and Morality

(All Bible texts are in the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated)

Sabbath Afternoon

Memory text: Genesis 2:16-17

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

People often say they can see God reflected in physical things like stars, mountains, lakes, or forests. But can they see God reflected in the decisions His people make and in their behaviors?
This week we also will learn about our dependence on Him, how He made us in His own image, and how we can apply morality and accountability to our daily lives. Felix Otieno, Homa Bay County, Kenya, Collegiate Quarterly, Sabbath JANUARY 26, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Sunday – Our Dependence on the Creator

Genesis 2:7

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Exodus 32:15-16

15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing wasthe writing of God engraved on the tablets.

Luke 4:40

40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.

John 9:6

6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.

Genesis 2:16-17 - See memory verse.

Psalm 95:6-7

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:

Read Psalm 100

1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

In like manner, because we are always dependent on our heavenly Father for life and its necessities, it is always appropriate for us to accept God’s guidance. Because He is a God of love, we can trust Him to always provide what we need for our own good. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Logos: Our God-Given Rights Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 95:6, 7; Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 17:16-31; Phil. 2:1-8

Our Right to Ownership(Ps. 95:6, 7; Psalm 100) (Mal. 3:6 As the flock under His care, we need to depend on Him for life and wisdom...
If we accept the provision for salvation He has made through Jesus Christ, we will have joy in this life and after...
A Representative of God (Gen. 1:26-28; 9:6)This shows that humans were to represent God upon the earth. To this end, we are charged with the responsibility of taking care of His other creations...
God gave us the ability to multiply, fill the earth, and take care of it, implying that we are to also take care of each other, thereby exercising God's love to one another (1 John 4:7, 8)....
In the Footsteps of Christ (Phil. 2:1-8)The Bible instructs us to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44). With our human minds, we may think that this is impossible. Our Creator, however, loves everyone....
 (Luke 10:25-37) God wants us to be kind, merciful, and loving to all whose paths we cross, just like He was. When we are, we are bound together as a family in Christ.
Facing the Judgment (Matt. 25:31-46) God wants us to recognize Him in all situations of our lives whether we are happy or sad...However, God observes our every step as we go about our lives...
Do we have sympathy toward the sick, the hungry, the homeless, those who are in prison, and those whose lives have been devastated by war? What do we do for people who need help so that they will see Christ in us?
Seline Khavetsa, Nairobi, Kenya, Collegiate Quarterly, Sunday JANUARY 27, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Monday – In the Image of God

Genesis 1:26-28

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in Hisown image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 9:6

6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.

James 3:9

9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

As the Godhead is manifest in three Persons in relationship, so the image of God in humans is expressed in relationship of male and female. The ability to form relationships is part of the image of God. Relationships, of course, imply responsibility and accountability, which means morality. Hence, right here we are given a strong hint at how morality finds its basis in the Creation story. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com 

Testimony: A Picture of Jesus Deut. 10:17-19

God created us in His image so we could be His representatives on earth. God loves us and longs to be closer to us than earthly parents are to their children. He also wants us to love our fellow humans.
“In the story of the good Samaritan, Christ illustrates the nature of true religion. He shows that it consists not in systems, creed, or rites, but in the performance of loving deeds, in bringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness.”1 1 Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 497. in Silas Onyango, Nairobi, Kenya, Collegiate Quarterly, Monday JANUARY 28, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com
 

Tuesday – Made of One Blood

Genesis 2:23

23 And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”

Acts 17:26

26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

Matthew 23:9

9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

Proverbs 14:31

31 He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,
But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

Proverbs 22:2

2 The rich and the poor have this in common,
The LORD is the maker of them all.

Matthew 26:11

11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.

The Hebrew word for “Eve” (Havah) can be translated as “life-giver.” Eve’s name represents the fact that she is the ancestor of all humans. We are all one family in the most literal sense...
How is this another example of why a correct grasp of origins is crucial to the understanding of morality? L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com 

Evidence: Practicing Moral Accountability Eccl. 12:14

Biblical standards are applicable to everyone, without fear or favor, in all of life's situations...
For those who believe in Jesus Christ and live according to His principles through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, life does not end here. Instead, there is a meaningful ultimate hope that carries them into the future of this life and beyond to eternity. Beatrice Akinyi, Nairobi, Kenya, Collegiate Quarterly, Tuesday JANUARY 29, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com
 

Wednesday – Character of Our Creator

Matthew 5:44-48

44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Luke 10:29-37

29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leavinghim half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went tohim and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Philippians 2:1-8

1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

What a contrast is seen between the principles of God’s kingdom and the principles of Satan’s rulership. God calls the strong to care for the weak, while Satan’s principles call for elimination of the weak by the strong. God created a world of peaceful relationships, but Satan has distorted it so thoroughly that many regard survival of the fittest as the normal standard of conduct. If the vicious process of natural selection (in which the strong overpower the weak) were the means by which we came into existence, why should we do differently? L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com 

How-to: Depending on Christ John 14:6
...From the very beginning, He has been persistent in His love for us, even after Adam and Eve sinned. Because of His love for us, God came to earth as Christ to bridge the gap sin had created. Therefore, in addition to being our Creator, Christ is also our Redeemer; and through faith in Him, we are reconciled to God....
Have faith in God...Communicate with God. We can communicate with Him through prayer, Bible study, meditation on His Word, and service to others. Being in nature and studying its ways also helps us to communicate with our Creator. Singing songs to Him or playing inspiring music can also motivate us to communicate with Him. Make a personal decision to change... Persevere in prayer. Goretty Atieno, Homa Bay County, Kenya, Collegiate Quarterly, Wednesday JANUARY 30, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Thursday – Morality and Accountability

Acts 17:16-31

16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?”

Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.

19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Revelation 20:11-13

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

Matthew 25:31-40

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feedYou, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of
these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

According to Paul, the God who made the world and everything in it has fixed a day on which He will judge the world. To be endowed with morality implies accountability, and each of us will be held responsible for our actions and our words...
The difference between the two groups in Jesus’ parable is how each person treated those who were in need. The Creator is interested in how His creatures treat each other, especially those who are needy...
Think through the reality and certainty of judgment. Why, then, is the gospel and the promise of salvation in Christ so crucial in order for us to have assurance in that judgment? L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day at www.ssnet.org. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com 

Opinion: Lessons From My Mother Phil. 2:5-8

If we live for each other, we can make a big difference in our communities, especially in difficult times. The love and help we extend to fellow humans in need go a long way in teaching them about the love their Creator has for them. Indeed, such love and service to others are pillars of God's character. They are what sent Him to earth as Christ to save everyone, not just a select few, from sin. Hellen Atieno, Rongo Township, Kenya, Collegiate Quarterly, Thursday JANUARY 31, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Friday – Further Study

Recognizing Adam as the first human also refutes the possibility that any fossils were ancestral to Adam or other humans. From where, then, did these fossils come? Several other possibilities exist.
First, the humanlike fossils might be forms of humans with normal intelligence but with growth patterns unlike any present-day human. A second possibility is that the fossils may have been degenerate, due to their own lifestyle or environmental stress or other factors. A third possibility is that they may be the results of Satan’s direct attempts to corrupt Creation in ways we do not understand. Another possibility is that they were not humans but were similar in morphology. Different people may prefer different explanations but, because we do not have direct evidence to settle the matter, it is best to avoid being dogmatic in our speculations. Fossils do not come with labels attached that say, “Made in China 500 million years ago” or the like.
Our understanding of earth history, which varies greatly among scientists, provides a frame of reference within which we interpret fossils, but we do not have proof of our interpretations. They are, in the end, only that: interpretations, nothing more. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day at www.ssnet.org. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com 

Exploration: Going My Way?

God had created Adam and Eve perfect, for they were created in God's image. God also had perfect standards for humans to follow so that they would continue to be like Him. Since Adam and Eve's fall in the Garden of Eden, all humans became imperfect. However, God's standards and requirements continue to be the same—to be like Him. In our own power, we cannot attain this state, but Jesus' life and death allowed our sins to be forgiven and to be replaced by Jesus' goodness. We can choose to accept this special provision. Jesus does not ask us to first do good so that we can be called His followers. The positive changes in our lives are evidence of our connection with Jesus. Prema Gaikwad, Silang, Philippines, Collegiate Quarterly, Thursday JANUARY 31, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

1rst Trimester 2013   THE ORIGINS

Lesson & References Index* (For the context Check www.biblia.com www.biblegateway.com) with notes added from the different versions of the lesson by our site www.sse6.blogspot.com- Lesson 4 – January 19 to January 25

*From http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/13a/helps/lesshp04.html

 http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/13a/#Helps

Creation, a Biblical Theme

(All Bible texts are in the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated)

Sabbath Afternoon

Memory text: Revelation 14:6-7

6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.

Read Genesis 1:1-2:3

2 Corinthians 4:6

6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:4

4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;

Genesis 2:2

2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Sunday – Creation in Genesis 2

Genesis 2:4

4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

Read Genesis 1-2:3

Matthew 19:4-6

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Genesis 1:27

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 2:24

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

We are not here by chance, we are not here by fluke; we are beings made in the image of God—and the Genesis Creation account, as revealed in chapters 1 and 2, is God’s special revelation to us of our origins. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

But what remains of utmost importance is that in this story we meet a great and powerful God who will continue to show those whom He has created His power in their individual lives. Sonjae Williams, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.Collegiate Quarterly, Sunday JANUARY 20, www.cqbiblestudy.org

Monday – Creation in the Psalms

Read Psalm 8 and Genesis 1

Read Psalm 104

Psalm 104:2

Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

Psalm 104:5-7

5 You who laid the foundations of the earth,
So that it should not be moved forever,
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters stood above the mountains.

7 At Your rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.

Psalm 104:7-9

7 At Your rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
8 They went up over the mountains;
They went down into the valleys,
To the place which You founded for them.
9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,
That they may not return to cover the earth.

Psalm 104:14

14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth food from the earth,

Psalm 104:19

19 He appointed the moon for seasons;
The sun knows its going down.

Psalm 104:25

25 This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.

Psalm 24:1-2

1 The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.

Psalm 33:6

6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

Psalm 74:16-17

16 The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 You have set all the borders of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.

Psalm 89:11

11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.

Poetic imagery is vividly presented throughout the verses, and its message clearly includes the power, wisdom, and goodness of God and the dependence of all the Creation on the Creator. Nothing in the psalm hints that the Genesis account was not to be taken literally. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com


We should understand that our self-worth should be maintained at a high level just because we know that God took the time to create us and a wonderful world for us to live in! For example, God says in Genesis 1: “ ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’ ” (verses 29, 30, NKJV). Let us take note each day of God's care for us. Let us appreciate His provision and pray for understanding. Alesia Etinoff, Columbia, Maryland, U.S.A.,Collegiate Quarterly, Monday JANUARY 21, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

 “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you” ’ ” (NKJV). Understanding and appreciating Creation strengthens our relationship with God. The pinnacle of our relationship with Him and the key to accepting salvation is that He loves us so much that He created a world in which we could flourish before we were even created. And when we were created, He made us in His image. Idem, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

In Job 38, God confronts Job about his self-pity. He clearly states that He made the earth and therefore knows what He is doing. God asks Job, “ ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?’ ” (verse 4, NKJV). Idem, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Job 38 really teaches us how marvelous creation is and how all-powerful God is. He is bigger than the world, bigger than sin, bigger than ignorance, bigger than mainstream opinion on the fallacies of the Bible, bigger than pain, bigger than catastrophe, bigger than any political party, and surely bigger than Satan. Idem, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Tuesday – Creation in the Book of Job

Job 38:1-21

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3 Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
9 When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
10 When I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
11 When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves must stop!’
12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
15 From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?
21 Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?

The point is that through the marvels of creation—which we today understand so much better now than Job ever could—we should learn to trust in God’s incredible love and power. We, today, living after the Cross, have a view of the Creator also as our crucified Redeemer, something that Job never had, at least not as clearly as we do. How much more, then, should we trust in the Lord’s goodness toward us, knowing what He did for us? L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Ellen White states, “Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day, that as he should look upon the heavens and the earth, he might reflect upon God's great work of creation; and that as he should behold the evidences of God's wisdom and goodness, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for the Maker.”1 in Talia Wright, Temple Hills, Maryland, U.S.A., Collegiate Quarterly, Tuesday JANUARY 22, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com
 

Wednesday – Creation in the Prophets

Isaiah 45:18

18 For thus says the LORD,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Isaiah 44:24

24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
And He who formed you from the womb:
“I am the LORD, who makes all things,
Who stretches out the heavens all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;

Isaiah 45:12

12 I have made the earth,
And created man on it.
I—My hands—stretched out the heavens,
And all their host I have commanded.

Jeremiah 51:15-16

15 He has made the earth by His power;
He has established the world by His wisdom,
And stretched out the heaven by His understanding.
16 When He utters His voice—
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightnings for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

Amos 4:13

13 For behold,
He who forms mountains,
And creates the wind,
Who declares to man what his thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
Who treads the high places of the earth—
The LORD God of hosts is His name.

Jonah 1:9

9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Zechariah 12:1

1 The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:

First, water is present in abundance...Another unique feature of earth is the composition of the atmosphere, about 21 percent oxygen and 78 percent nitrogen. Other planets have atmospheres dominated either by carbon dioxide or by helium, but only earth has an atmosphere suitable for life. The range of temperatures on earth is suitable for terrestrial life, unlike any of the other planets in our solar system. This is due to a combination of factors, including our distance from the sun, the composition of our atmosphere, the mass of earth, and the speed of its rotation, which determines the length of days and nights. All these features, and more, make earth the only known planet suitable for sustaining life. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Genesis 2:7, 22 teach us that God literally formed humans with His own hands. In verse 7, the Hebrew suggests an “act of molding and fashioning into a form corresponding in design and appearance to the divine plan.”2 In verse 22, a word is used that is synonymous with the verb “to build.”3 Rather than simply speak us into existence, the Creator took time to kneel down and shape us Himself. So naturally, just like a parent, He deeply values every offspring of each generation. In fact, He pays so much attention to us that He even knows the number of hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30).
Genesis 1:27 teaches us that we are made in God's image. This is the ultimate honor He could have bestowed upon us! We are able to love, reason, choose, and feel emotion. God wouldn't invest these abilities and characteristics in beings He doesn't care about! Matthew Johnson, Bowie, Maryland, U.S.A. Collegiate Quarterly, Wednesday JANUARY 23, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com. 2 & 3 The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 2nd ed., p. 268.
 

Thursday – Creation in the New Testament

Acts 17:22-31

22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Matthew 19:4-6

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Mark 2:27

27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

Luke 3:38

38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

John 1:1-3

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

2 Corinthians 4:6

6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ

Hebrews 4:4

4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;

James 3:9

9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

2 Peter 3:5

5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

Jude 1:11

11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Jude 1:14

14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,

What’s fascinating is that each one of these New Testament authors either directly or indirectly made reference to the Genesis Creation account, more evidence proving just how universally accepted the Genesis account of origins was to all the Bible writers. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Revelation 4:11

11 “You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”

Revelation 10:5-6

5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,

Exodus 20:11

11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

John 1:1-3

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Creation was not an accident but occurred by the will of God. The second passage contains a clear allusion to Exodus 20:11. Once again, as in John 1:1-3, John shows his familiarity with, and confidence in, the Creation story. How foolish for us to do anything less. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Opinion Forgetting the Grand . . . Remembering the Grand . . .

Job 38-42

Our minds are incapable of understanding how truly amazing Creation was. Often we fail to realize that the same God still exists today with the same power and wisdom that He had during those days. Like Job, our problems may cause us to doubt. Although struggles may take over our lives, we must never forget the God who created us. The Bible is clear about Creation. When in doubt, read Genesis 1 and 2 to renew your faith in a God who cares about what He has made—you!
REACT
1. How does the story of Creation assure you of God's potential to resolve issues in your life?
2. Why is it often easy to forget about our Creator God in times of trouble? What can we do in order to prevent this from happening? Edrei J. Rodriguez, Bronx, New York, U.S.A. Collegiate Quarterly, Thursday JANUARY 24, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com.

Friday – Further Study

Exploration Two Important Answers

Acceptance of the biblical account of Creation provides us with a sense of self-worth. It answers two important questions: (1) where do I come from? and (2) where am I going? When God created the world, He made provision for our physical needs and for our emotional and spiritual needs by creating the Sabbath as a symbol of His love for us. The Sabbath allows us time to reflect upon and to respond to God's goodness in praise and worship. It is a weekly reminder that God is in control of the past, the present, and the future and that He has a plan for His creation. Audrey Andersson, Lindesberg, Sweden

 

Ellen G. White, Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pp89-90

The word of God is given as a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. Those who cast his word behind them, and seek by their own blind philosophy to trace out the wonderful mysteries of Jehovah, will stumble in darkness. A guide has been given to mortals whereby they may trace Jehovah and his works as far as will be for their good. Inspiration, in giving us the history of the flood, has explained wonderful mysteries that geology, independent of inspiration, never could. 1SP 89.1

It has been the special work of Satan to lead fallen man to rebel against God’s government, and he has succeeded too well in his efforts. He has tried to obscure the law of God, which in itself is very plain. He has manifested a special hate against the fourth precept of the decalogue, because it defines the living God, the maker of the heavens and the earth. The plainest precepts of Jehovah are turned from, to receive infidel fables. 1SP 89.2

Man will be left without excuse. God has given sufficient evidence upon which to base faith, if he wishes to believe. In thelast days, the earth will be almost destitute of true faith. Upon the merest pretense, the word of God will be considered unreliable, while human reasoning will be received, though it be in opposition to plain Scripture facts. Men will endeavor to explain from natural causes the work of creation, which God has never revealed. But human science cannot search out the secrets of the God of Heaven, and explain the stupendous works of creation, which were a miracle of almighty power, any sooner than it can show how God came into existence

“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.” Men, professing to be ministers of God, raise their voices against the investigation of prophecy, and tell the people that the prophecies, especially of Daniel and John, are obscure, and that we cannot understand them. But some of the very men who oppose the investigation of prophecy because it is obscure, eagerly receive the suppositions of geologists, which dispute the Mosaic record. But if God’s revealed will is so difficult to be understood, certainly men should not rest their faith upon mere suppositions in regard to that which he has not revealed. God’s ways are not as our ways, neither are his thoughts as our thoughts. Human science can never account for his wondrous works. God so ordered that men, beasts, and trees, many times larger than those now upon the earth, and other things, should be buried in the earth at the time of the flood, and there be preserved to evidence to man that the inhabitants of the old world perished by a flood. God designed that the discovery of these things in the earth should establish the faith of men in inspired history. But men, with their vain reasoning, make a wrong use of these things which God designed should lead them to exalt him. They fall into the same error as did the people before the flood—those things which God gave them as a benefit, they turned into a curse, by making a wrong use of them.

Luke 16:29-31

29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

Mark 2:27-28

27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.28 Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 19:4-6

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”