Stories for the Journey

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CHAPTER THREE
Stories for the Journey Creating and the Founding
of a People
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Gods Creation
First Creation Story - Creation takes place in
six days before God rests on the seventh - God
uses water for the creation -Humanity is created
at the same time as male and female -Both man and
woman are in the image of God
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Gods Creation
Second Creation Story - God uses land for
creation - Portrays God as more of a craftsman
God makes man out of mud and breathes life
into him -Adam and Eve are named - Story of
temptation
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Gods Creation
Truths of Creation - God began everything that
exists outside of Himself He alone is the
creator - God created everything through the
external Word, his Son, Jesus - Creation is the
common work of the Holy Trinity God the
Father made all things by the son and the
Spirit
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Gods Creation
- We have been created by God with both a body
and soul - We are made in the image and likeness
of God -The soul is the innermost, spiritual
aspect of man
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Gods Creation
- The body is intended to be the temple of the
Holy Spirit - In the person and mission of Jesus
Christ, God has been fully revealed -The first
covenant was made with Noah
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Vocabulary
-Myths -Ancestor -Evolution -Covenant
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Justice Fall of Man
Gifts of Original Justice - There would be no
suffering or death -Man would be at
peace with himself - There would be harmony
between man and woman - There would be peace
between Adam and Eve, the first couple, and
all of creation
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Justice Fall of Man
Original Sin -All human history is marred by an
original, voluntary sin committed by our first
parents -The basic root of sin is mans rejection
of God and opposition to His will -The original
sin was an abuse of mans freedom
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Justice Fall of Man
- The harmony of original justice was destroyed
Human nature was weakened and inclined to
sin Tensions between men and women
arose Rest of creation become hostile to
mankind - Even after the sin of Adam and Eve,
God immediately offered His mercy
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Renewal of Life
The Noah Covenant - After the sin of Adam and
Eve, God offered the hope of salvation by
promising redemption - The covenant that God
made with Noah was the next stage of his
revelation
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Renewal of Life
The Noah Covenant - Teachings of Hebrew
version Humanity is to be destroyed
because they are evil and constantly doing
violence to each other Noah is saved
because he is a righteous man Noah takes
only animals on the ark A second
creation story, Noah becomes the new Adam
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Renewal of Life
The Tower of Babel - How the sin of pride
increases to where an entire city tries to make
itself God - Shows in an imaginative way how the
many different languages in the world came to be
- Unification of humanity under one language
would have been good only for the rulers -
Dividing into different peoples and languages was
not punishment, but freedom
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Renewal of Life
- Gods will is to create a people in his image
- Gods will is peace, not violence
- Gods will is trust and truthfulness, not the
lies and deceptions of human beings in their
society
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Renewal of Life
- Gods will is joyful diversity, not forced
unification
- Gods will is care for creation, not destruction
- God is not impressed with how great our
material accomplishments are, but how much we
care for each other
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Ancestors of Faith
Genesis reads like a series of short
stories -Dominant people in the book of Genesis
Abraham, Joseph, Jacob, and Isaac -Women play a
significant role -Stories were told and re-told
over a long period of time -Idea that there were
originally two different collections of early
stories
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Abraham Father of Faith
- Known as the father of faith - First
patriarch of the Jewish faith - God called him
to go with his family to a land that I will
show you -Blessings have been promised to him
by God, but threats come through human
weakness and doubt
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Abraham Father of Faith
Signs of Abrahams covenant with God
- His name changed from Abram to Abraham - Sign
of circumcision Physical sign of the
covenant between God and Abraham
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ABRAHAMS TRAVELS
http//xenohistorian.faithweb.com/worldhis/map06.g
if
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Blessing of Jacob
- Jacob travels to the family of Laban and
falls in love with Rachel - He worked seven
years for Laban only to be tricked into
marrying Rachels older sister -Tricks Laban
in order to become wealthy once he finishes
serving his time to marry Rachel
Considers it justice for Labans foul play
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Blessing of Jacob
- Jacob returned home, fearful that his brother
would not forgive him - Their reunion is a
striking example of reconciliation and
peacemaking in the Bible
- Jacob had stolen the blessing intended for his
bother. He acknowledged this by sending gifts
and blessing Esau - These stories represent the
hope that Israel can live in peace with their
neighbors
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Joseph in Egypt
- The story of Joseph is an extended, single
story rather than a series of short stories -
He was the preferred son of Jacob - His
brothers became resentful and sold him into
slavery and lead Jacob to believe he was dead
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Joseph in Egypt
- Joseph became a trusted advisor to Pharaoh -
His story sets the stage for the main event of
the Old Testament Formation of the people of
Israel by their Exodus experience and
their efforts to make a life for themselves
in Canaan