February 14, 2012: Knights of Columbus Bible Study Lesson Two - From Sabbath to Flood
Lesson Two: From Sabbath to Flood – 14 Feb 2012
Prayer: Psalm 136
Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:26-2:3; Gen. 9:8-17
Lesson Objective: To learn in general detail the six major covenants in the Bible
Lesson Outline: How to read Genesis
1. We have to read Genesis on its own terms – which are religious, not scientific or historical in the modern, secular, rationalistic sense of the terms. Genesis wasn’t written to be God’s assigned textbook for science class or anthropology.
Scripture gives us religious history, religious truth, and it conveys that truth and history to us through symbols and figures and different literary styles.
2. Love story of God and Humanity – The point of the first three chapters of Genesis is to show us that creation was a deliberate, purposeful act of love by God. The world didn’t just happen. God wanted the world – not because God was lonely, not because there was anything God lacked or needed. God created the world because God is love (1 Jn. 4:16). And love is creative, self-giving and life-giving. God made the world as a pure gift of God’s love. The world is made to be a temple where God will dwell with the descendants of the man and women, the crown jewel, of God’s creation.
3. The world is made to be the site where God will live in communion with the people God created. That’s what the seventh day, the Sabbath, means (Gen. 2:1-3).
4. The Seventh day marks the completion of God’s work on His dwelling, and this is the day He makes a convent with the people he created. As we said in our last lesson, covenant is the way that God makes His people a family. On the Seventh day, God made Adam and Eve part of His family
Outline for this lesson:
1. Creating a Covenant of Love
a. The Love story of God and Humanity
b. The Wedding in the Garden
c. The Child-Like Image of Man and Woman
2. A New Creation, A New Covenant
a. Falling towards the Flood
b. Beginning with the Rain
c. The story of two names