LEARN BY TOPIC

Creation

Read creation, human responsibility, praise and hope of restoration.

1. 1. Read and discover - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Genesis 1:1-31

   ¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

   ² The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

   ³ God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

   ⁴ God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.

   ⁵ God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.

   ⁶ God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”

   ⁷ God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

   ⁸ God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

   ⁹ God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so.

   ¹⁰ God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good.

   ¹¹ God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so.

   ¹² The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

   ¹³ There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

   ¹⁴ God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years;

   ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so.

   ¹⁶ God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.

   ¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth,

   ¹⁸ and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

   ¹⁹ There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

   ²⁰ God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”

   ²¹ God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.

   ²² God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

   ²³ There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

   ²⁴ God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so.

   ²⁵ God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.

   ²⁶ God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

   ²⁷ God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.

   ²⁸ God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

   ²⁹ God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.

   ³⁰ To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.

   ³¹ God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

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   Understanding the passage

   The account orders days, creatures and blessings and affirms creation’s goodness; humanity receives dignity and responsibility.

   Reflect

   • What responsibilities toward people and creation do you find in this account?

   Put it into practice

   Care for a specific part of your surroundings this week.

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2. 2. Cultivating and keeping - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Genesis 2:15

   ¹⁵ The LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

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   Understanding the passage

   Humanity receives a place to cultivate and care for; working the ground is an entrusted task, not a right to exhaust it.

   Reflect

   • What does it mean both to cultivate the land and to care for it?

   Put it into practice

   Reduce waste and care for a resource used daily.

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3. 3. Creation that declares - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Psalms 19:1-6

   ¹ For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.

   ² Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge.

   ³ There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

   ⁴ Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,

   ⁵ which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course.

   ⁶ His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends. There is nothing hidden from its heat.

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   Understanding the passage

   The psalm contemplates skies and days as witnesses to God’s glory; poetic language teaches attentive wonder.

   Reflect

   • How do the skies and passing days express God’s greatness in this psalm?

   Put it into practice

   Observe something natural and describe what prompts gratitude.

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4. 4. Christ and all creation - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Colossians 1:15-20

   ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

   ¹⁶ For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.

   ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

   ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.

   ¹⁹ For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him,

   ²⁰ and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.

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   Understanding the passage

   The hymn joins creation and reconciliation in Christ; its breadth resists reducing faith to private concerns.

   Reflect

   • What relationship does this hymn describe between Christ and all creation?

   Put it into practice

   Connect a community responsibility with care for the created world.

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5. 5. The hope of new creation - Read lesson

   World English Bible

   Revelation 21:1-5

   ¹ I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

   ² I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

   ³ I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people; and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

   ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away.”

   ⁵ He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”

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   Understanding the passage

   The vision culminates in God’s presence and the end of tears; it offers hope to suffering communities, not permission to despise the present.

   Reflect

   • What hope does this vision offer to people who are suffering?

   Put it into practice

   Offer an act of care consistent with this hope.