LESSON 1-1-1-1 (Date:_____________________)
MONTHLY THEME: THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN

ADULT LESSON-- (TEACHERS SHOULD USE THIS OUTLINE FOR THEIR STUDY)

A.We are wise to accept by faith the testimony of the inspired writers of the Bible concerning the creation.

1.If we are inclined to dilute the information about the creation so that it agrees with human knowledge of Geology, Anthropology, and Paleontology, this tends to express doubt in God's almighty power, and puts limitations on Him.

2.The passages of Scripture that speak of the creation are unequivocal, and emphasize the unlimited power of God.

a.He made it in six days. Exodus 20:11

b.He created it to be inhabited. Isaiah 45:18

c.It was an intelligent creation. Jeremiah 51:15

d.God's great power to create (Jeremiah 27:5), is activated by His Word. Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 11:3

(1)This same "Word-power" brought the flood of Noah, and will also destroy the earth. 2 Peter 3:5-7

(2)Though some passages speak of God creating by His "hands" (Psalms 19:1; Isaiah 48:13; Hebrews 1:10) or "fingers" (Psalm 8:3), these expressions are only anthropomorphic figures of speech, since God is a "Spirit." John 4:24

3.By the obvious evidence that the world was created by intelligent, organized, and harmonious divine power, we are left with no excuse for failing to believe in God. Romans 1:18-21

B.Christ shared in the creation of the world and of mankind.

1.He is described as the "Word" (by which God created), and made all things. John 1:1-3, 10; Colossians 1:16

2.But the "Word" that created and sustained the world also speaks to us. Hebrews 1:1-4

a.The "Word" came for our salvation. Hebrews 2:10-12

b.The "implanted word" saves us. James 1:18-25

c.We are God's "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

(End of Adult Lesson)

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE YOUNGER CLASSES--

1. Demonstrate the difference between the concepts of "Create" and "make" by using existing materials (clay, or Lego blocks, or paper) to make something, then show that God made materials from nothing.

2. Show that God "spoke" the world into existence. Emphasize the words, "And God said..." as He created our world.

3. Show that all created things show the evidence of an intelligent, orderly designer, and that God is the designer.

4. Teachers for the older young people should use the Adult Lesson, simplifying it for their level of understanding.

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LESSON 1-1-1-2
MONTHLY THEME: THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN

ADULT LESSON-- (TEACHERS SHOULD USE THIS OUTLINE FOR THEIR STUDY)

LESSON 1-1-1-2 (Date:_____________________)
MONTHLY THEME: THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN

I.INTRODUCTION--

A.The word "create" used in Genesis 1:1 is from the Hebrew word BARA, meaning to initiate something (that is, to bring something from nothing), and is used in the Bible only of God's unique creative power.

B.The word YATZAR used in connection with BARA in Genesis 2:3 is defined "to fashion," showing that God brought material into existence, then fashioned it according to His design.

C.On each of six days, God "formed" or "framed" what He had "created."

A.On the first day, God said, "let there be light," and he divided light (day), from darkness (night). Genesis 1:3-5

B.On the second day, God separated the water on earth from the water in the atmosphere, or sky. Genesis 1:6-8

C.On the third day, God formed the continents, settled the seas into one bed, and commanded that plant life (grass, herbs, trees) should appear, bearing fruit after its kind. Genesis 1:9-13

D.On the fourth day, God set the sun and moon and stars in the sky to give light to the earth. Genesis 1:14-19

E.On the fifth day, God created sea creatures and birds, and commanded them to multiply. Genesis 1:20-23

F.On the sixth day, God made wild and domestic animals, "creeping things" (which can include insects and reptiles), and man, who was given an eternal spirit, and authority over the other creatures. Genesis 1:24-31

G.God "hallowed" the seventh day, and "rested" from his work. Genesis 2:1-3

(End of Adult Lesson)

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE YOUNGER CLASSES--

1. Use handwork that develops the sequence of the things which were created in the six days God worked.

2. Emphasize the power of God and His ability to create living things, and to sustain the great natural world in which we live.

3. Help the older young people to memorize the things which were created in the six days. Use flash cards for this.

4. Show why the 7th day was set aside for man as a rest day.
LESSON 1-1-1-3 (Date:_______________________)
MONTHLY THEME: THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN

ADULT LESSON-- (TEACHERS SHOULD USE THIS OUTLINE FOR THEIR STUDY)

I. INTRODUCTION--

A.The theory of evolution is being taught as if it were proven fact, but many scientists are honest enough to admit that the theory is unproved.

1.G. A. Kerkut, an English Biochemist says, "...the General Theory of Evolution and the evidence that supports it is not sufficiently strong to allow us to consider it as anything more than a working hypothesis." (Implications of Evolution,Pergamon Press,London,1960,p. 157)

2.W. R. Thompson, Canadian Biologist, says that opinions on the theory of evolution are too diverse to reach a scientific conclusion about it...yet scientists try to squelch criticism, in order rally support for the unproven theory. (Centennial Edition of Darwin's Origen of the Species.)

B.People in all branches of the "Life Sciences" accept the theory as fact, and this also influences politics, sociology, medicine, and environmentalism.

C.Atheists justify genocide on the principles of Evolution.

D.The theory is even adopted by sophisticated and highly educated religious liberals, who have sought refuge in the concept of "Theistic Evolution," the idea that God created all things through gradual evolution.

A.Julian Huxley, Evolutionist, says, "Evolution is a one-way process, irreversible in time, producing apparent novelties and greater variety, and leading to higher degrees of organization, more differentiated, more complex, but at the same time more integrated."

1.This definition suggests constant improvement, but the Bible suggests that the world is becoming less complex. Psalm 102:25-26; Isaiah 51:6; Romans 8:20-22

2.Recent genetic research has indicated that every cell carries the complete genetic code inherited from our ancestors, but occasional mutations in living things are almost unanimously harmful or neutral, rarely good.

B.This "winding down" principle is seen in the application of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

1.The First Law of Thermodynamics rules that energy can be transformed in various ways, but cannot be created or destroyed.

2.The Second Law says that in all energy transformations there is a tendency for some of the energy to be transformed into non-reversible heat energy (resulting in a gradual reduction of working energy). EXAMPLE: Radioactive elements gradually change into less complex non-radioactive substances. Carbon 14 becomes Carbon 12.

3.These principles have become "laws" because they are constant and predictable.

LESSON 1-1-1-4 (Date:_____________________)
MONTHLY THEME: THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN

ADULT LESSON-- (TEACHERS SHOULD USE THIS OUTLINE FOR THEIR STUDY)

C.The academic discipline of Geology attempts to support evolutionists in the fields of Biology and Zoology.

1.The nearly uniform layers of rock formations in the earth, which Geologists have presumed were laid down by the extremely gradual processes seen today, provide a hypothetical system to date the fossils found in them.

a.The problem with this is that the layers are not always found in uniform sequence.

(1)Geologists explain this as the result of "local" catastrophes which changed the sequences.

(2)Some evidence defies such explanations, such as petrified trees extending up through several strata, each having taken millions of years to form.

(3)Evidence of geological catastrophes are abundant, including (a) mass burials of millions of large animals, (b) the upthrust of great mountain ranges by seemingly non-volcanic action, and (c) vast deposits of "fossil-fuel" (oil, gas, coal) suggest the capturing of living things, before decomposition, and the application of heat and pressure.

b.Scientific evolutionists reason in a circle. The Biologist judges the age of a fossil from the guess of the Geologist on the age of the rock formation in which it is found, and the Geologist dates the rocks from the Biologist's guess of the age of the fossil!

2.The catastrophic flood of Genesis 7 and 8 offers a logical, consistent, alternate explanation for the layers of rock found in the earth.

a.The flood, caused by prolonged rain ("forty days and nights"), and the eruption of ground water ("fountains of the great deep broken up"), covered the tops of "all the high mountains...under the whole heaven." Genesis 7:10-24 (The flood "prevailed" 150 days.)

b.Such a mass of water, with no continental tidal barriers, would have surged to an fro, sweeping great masses of different types of material away, settling them in lower areas in a regular order, simultaneously creating great pressures to solidify them. (This is the alternate proposed by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris, in their book, "The Genesis Flood (the Biblical record and its scientific implications).")

c.If such reasonable alternatives to the geological record can be formed, we do not have to accept "guesses" of Geologists as proof of evolution.

(End of Adult Lesson)

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE YOUNGER CLASSES--

1. The younger classes would not need to be taught about the theory of evolution.

2. A continuation of lessons about the creative power of God, and the variety of things He made should be taught here.

3. For the older classes, the previous lessons on the power of God to create by a "word" should help to show that God did not need to make and shape the world over a long, long period of time. Show that Evolution denies God's power.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LESSON 1-1-1-5 (Date:_____________________)
MONTHLY THEME: THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN

ADULT LESSON-- (TEACHERS SHOULD USE THIS OUTLINE FOR THEIR STUDY)

I.INTRODUCTION--When God said to his equals in deity, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26a), He intended that man should be His unique creation, a being with a "spirit" like His own.

A.He clothed this "hidden man of the heart" in a physical, vulnerable, animal-like body, but directed His teaching to that spiritual man.

B.Therefore, God expects man to rise above his "animal" instincts, and to cultivate his spiritual potential.

A.Because man is spiritually unique, God set him above the animals, and other creatures.

1.Man has dominion over them. Genesis 1:26, Psalm 8:3-9, Hebrews 2:7 (Compare Jeremiah 27:5-6, Daniel 2:37-38)

2.Man is to "replenish the earth and subdue it." Genesis 1:28

3.Animals shall dread man's dominance. Genesis 9:2-3

4. The man whose conduct shows that he forgets his spiritual nature, reverts to that of an animal. 2 Peter 2:9-12

B.Spiritual attributes that make man unique in creation.

1.He has reasoning and understanding, rather than inborn animal instincts. Job 32:8, 1 Corinthians 2:12-15

2.Man's spirit lives separately from his body. James 2:26

3.Man's spirit is eternal, not temporal. Ecclesiastes 12:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Corinthians 5:1-9

(NOTE: The statement made by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 [ASV] should not be interpreted to mean that we can doubt the upward movement of man's spirit, or that animals have a spirit like that of man.)

4.Man's spirit enables him to worship God. John 4:24

A.Man's recognition of his unique spiritual nature, and of his domination of other creatures, should elevate his self-appreciation above the humanistic teachings of atheism, and should help him to reject the appeal of the "animal rights" agenda that is so closely connected with it.

B.Because we are spiritual, and have all the advantages of such a created specialty, we must resist all temptations which appeal to the flesh, and walk in righteousness, to the delight of our Creator.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE YOUNGER CLASSES--

1. This lesson should impress the students with their special creation. Use sim-ple illustrations to show the superiority of human beings over the animal world.

2. Show how humans have dominated and utilized the animals for their own purposes, and that they can control or defeat other creatures of God by their intelligence.

3. The older young people should be taught that their spiritual nature is eternal, and that they should nourish their spirituality by obedience to the will of God. At the same time, they should subdue their "animal" instincts, in order to use their bodies for spiritual purposes.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LESSON 1-1-1-6 (Date:______________________)
MONTHLY THEME: THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN

ADULT LESSON-- (TEACHERS SHOULD USE THIS OUTLINE FOR THEIR STUDY)

A.The terms "body," "soul," and "spirit" need definition.

B.As special creations, we have special responsibilities.

A.God made our bodies from dust, so when we die our mortal bodies shall return to dust, again. Genesis 2:7, 3:19

1.Elements found in our bodies are common with dust. (Oxygen 65%, Carbon 18%, Hydrogen 10%, Nitrogen 3%, Calcium 1-1/2%, Phosphorous 1%; Sodium, Iron, Potassium, and trace elements 1-1/2%.)

2.If we concentrate on the physical nature of our lives, we will follow a futile existence. Ecclesiastes 3:19-20

3.We are to use our bodies to glorify God. Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

B.The common definition for the word SOUL could be "breath of life," as in Genesis 2:7, but others are implied.

1.It can refer simply to persons. Exodus 1:5

2.It can refer to a collective emotion. Numbers 21:4

3.It refers to the physical life. 1 Kings 17:21-22

4.It can hate and love. Leviticus 26:15; Deuteronomy 6:5

5.It can refer to the mind of God, 1 Samuel 2:35, Jeremiah 15:1, or of man, 2 Kings 9:15. ("Mind" is translated from the Hebrew NEPESH, elsewhere translated "soul.")

6.In the New Testament, "body, soul, and spirit" are distinguished (1 Thessalonians 5:23), yet there are ways in which the terms SOUL and SPIRIT are merged (see chart).

* But see SOUL AND BODY (Matt. 10:28), and compare SPIRIT AND BODY (1 Corin- thians 7:34).
** Compare James 1:8, 4:8--"DOUBLE-MINDED" (From DIPSUCHOS, "Two-souled")
*** "ONE SPIRIT" and "ONE SOUL" in the same verse.

III. APPLICATION-- The Lord offers a hope beyond the flesh.

A.The spirit of man returns to God. Ecclesiastes 12:7

B.Life after death is in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:22

C.Christ's resurrection offers this hope. Romans 8:10-11; Ephesians 2:1-9; Colossians 2:12-13: and 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.)

1. Let younger students use modeling clay to make an image of a person, and tell how God made man from the dust, so that he became a living being.
2.This lesson again emphasizes that unique spiritual nature of man, and how he will live forever, spiritually.

3. The teacher of the older young people should adapt as much of the Adult Lesson to this age as possible for their level of comprehension.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LESSON 1-1-1-7 (Date:_____________________)
MONTHLY THEME: THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN

ADULT LESSON-- (TEACHERS SHOULD USE THIS OUTLINE FOR THEIR STUDY)

I.INTRODUCTION-- In our divinely ordered universe, the numbers of men and women are relatively equal. Each gender has a distinct role in the plan of God, and yet are equal ("joint-heirs") in the hope of life eternal (1 Peter 3:7).
II.LESSON-- Respect for these separate God-given roles must be based on respect for the authority of the Scriptures.

A.God states His reasons for providing man with a help-meet. Genesis 2:18-24

1.The title "Woman" means that she if "of the man."

2.But man comes from the woman, also, in the natural order. 1 Corinthians 11:8-12

3.The order of "headship" is designated by God. 1 Corinthians 11:2-7

a.The so-called "Covering Question," deriving its emphasis from this passage, has been generally settled in local churches as a question of personal conscience (though some still try to make it a test of fellowship).

b.This amicable conclusion seems to be approved by the way Paul speaks of the issue in 1 Corinthians 11:13-16

B.Woman's submission to man is reinforced also by the curse placed on her, since she was the "initiator" of sin. Genesis 3:1-6

1.The curse is stated in Genesis 3:16.

2.The consequences are stated in 1 Corinthians 14:33b-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-15.

A.Women, however, have a role in teaching that is consistent with these divine restrictions.

1.In so far as her demeanor toward the man is correct, she may teach him. Acts 18:24-26

2.As the woman gains maturity, she finds a role in teaching other women. Titus 2:1-5

B.In marriage, there must be an application of the roles for the different gen-ders. Eph. 5:22-33, Colossians 3:18-19, 1 Peter 3:1-7

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE YOUNGER CLASSES--

1. Show the younger students how God has created both male and female, and that He has a role for each gender to play in His plans for us.

2.Show, as simply as possible, why God has chosen to make man first, then woman, and that man, "being first formed," is to be head over the woman, and that men are to be the leaders in the church.

3. Adapt as much of the adult lesson as possible to the older young people, but show that both men and women are subject to God, and have the opportunity to serve Him in their respective places.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

END OF MONTH 1 OF QUARTER 1........