Introduction to God

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Intended Message

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out 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 some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring. 29 Therefore since we are Gods offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stonean image made by mans design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:24-31) God first revealed himself through the creation. Therefore, many of his key features are self-evident when we look at what was created. These include his glory, his creativity, his love, his governing providence and traits of a parental figure. The entire family of man descended from one couple and we are all Gods offspring. While Scriptures apply the masculine tense to God, both man and woman were created in his image as equals. Our world reflects the work of a designer far more than just reflecting the self-will of any particular species to survive. Believers have the privilege to choose from various models of origins in order to explain the connection of science with sacred literature. Every Christian will personally determine which model upholds the sacredness of Scripture while satisfying his or her personal faith and reason. THE LORD holds all things together in creation and weaves his own story in human history as a trail that leads us to Him. This story reveals the fact that we will each stand before God and give an account of the life we were given. Our greatest reasons for confidence for on that day will be his atoning sacrifice for our sins and because in this world we are like him.

Introduction to God INTRODUCTION: This study is limited to broad yet compelling features of God. The objective here is to see the relational aspects of God behind creation and human affairs. 1. Gods Creativity (Genesis 1:1, 20-21, 26-27)

a. The heavens and the earth (vs. 1) reveal Gods creativity as well as the creatures of the sea (vs. 21). The massive star formations vs. the minuscule but beautiful seahorse. b. We were made in his image, both men and women (vs. 26-27). 2. Gods Glory (Psalms 19:1-6)

a. Creation speaks, broadcasting a story (vs. 1-2) that cannot be ignored (vs. 3). b. What does it tell? Read the Illustration from Octavius on God as a Glorious Parent. c. Creation reports of Gods majestic features (vs. 5-6). 3. Gods Engineering (Job 39:13-18)

a. Consider the Ostrich, lays eggs in the open ground (vs. 14). b. Lacks ability or wisdom to protecting young yet the species survives (vs. 15-17). c. It even thrives among competition and is not threatened by environment (vs. 18). 4. Gods Vastness (Psalm 8:3-5)

a. Something happens when one considers how huge Gods handiwork is (vs. 3). b. Read the illustration, From Us to the Universe. c. It is humbling that God cares for us like this even though we are small (vs. 4-5). 5. Gods Omnipotence (Psalm 68:34-35)

a. Omnipotence = universal power and authority. Gods purposes prevail. b. One example: Ancient Israel was a very small nation hemmed in by three larger nations (Assyria, Babylon, Egypt). (vs. 34) c. The Scriptures contain a great delivery story for the underdog nation. The other nations tried to destroy and had sometimes collaborated against ancient Israel. 6. Gods Providence (Acts 17:24-31)

a. God is able to arrange events in providence (foresight, management and care). b. Human decisions seem autonomous when they may actually be guided, allowed or pre-conceived by God (vs. 24-26). c. His purpose is to have us reach back for him (vs. 27-31). 7. Gods Omnipresence a. b. c. d. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

Omnipresence = always present everywhere. The word of God, intrinsic in nature, penetrates us (vs. 12). Like a scalpel. The all-seeing eyes of God reveal everything, both good and bad (vs. 13). We will give an account to this great God (vs. 13).

8. God is Love

(1 John 4:7-10, 16-17)

a. God models love through in providing the ultimate gift (vs. 7-10). b. We gain confidence as we resemble him in this most important trait (vs. 16-17). 9. Additional Features God is light (1 John 1:5-7), kind and stern (Romans 11:22), a consuming fire and jealous (Deuteronomy 4:24), merciful (Deuteronomy 4:31), a righteous judge (Psalm 7:11), and he is just (2 Thessalonians 1:6). CONCLUSIONS: Please state your own conclusions about these amazing traits. What do you think and feel about God? Do you want to do something about his efforts to be known to you?

Illustration: Octavius on God as a Glorious Parent Now, if entering a house you found everything well arranged and adorned, you would surely believe that a master governed the house. You would also recognize that the master was greater than all the things in the house. Therefore, when you look upon the house of the universe --- the heavens and the earth, its laws, and its order -- believe that there is a Lord and Parent of the universe far more glorious than the stars themselves and the other parts of the universe. (Octavius, second century, Rome) Illustration: From Us to the Universe - If metropolitan Chicago was leveled and each of Earths six billion inhabitants was given two square yards in this city there would be room to spare. We are but a tiny part of our planet. i - Approximately one million Earths would fit within the mass of our sun. The sun is just one of a 100 billion stars in our small-to-average-sized galaxy. - The next closest galaxy (Andromeda) would take 2,200,000 years for our light to reach. - Besides asking how many grains of sand in the universe, we can ask, "How many universes in a grain of sand?" In 2002, the famous Hubble Space Telescope took a million-second core sample of "empty" space--equivalent to looking through a grain of sand at the end of your outstretched arm--and saw 10,000 galaxies. Extrapolated to the rest of the sky, this number implies 250 billion galaxies. The previous estimate was 10 billion galaxies. Scientists wonder if there is even an edge to the universe or if it is expanding without limit. - One translation of Isaiah 66:1-2 reads, "I live in heaven; it is my throne; I made the earth. It's a footstool before My throne. I am bigger than you are even capable of thinking. I am God."
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If you want to check for yourself note that one square mile = 3,097,600 sq. yards, enough for more than 1.5 million people. The city of Chicago is 228.5 sq. miles. Metropolitan Chicago is 5065 sq. miles.