Greater New Life Family Worship Center Thursday Night Teaching Facilitator: Pastor Kenneth Bond, M.Div., MBA

May 7th, 2020: SESSION #6

2020 Church Theme: “Still Here” Thematic Text: 1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

T.N.T TEACHING SERIES: ‘THE MIGHTY ACTS OF GOD’

Note from Pastor K. Bond:

This teaching is going to stretch you. Don’t be afraid to be stretched! Some of you may even think that you can’t do it—can’t possibly soak-in this information. God gave it to me to teach, and if you’re willing, He’s going to help you to learn. HAVE NO FEAR! 2 Timothy 1:7.

1 I. Base Text: Psalm 150:1-6 (A PSALM OF PRAISE)

KJV:

150 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

AMP:

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty heavens. 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness. 3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. 4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute. 5 Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with loud cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

2 II. REVIEW OF DAY ‘1’ OF THE CREATION NARRATIVE

Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Key Term: Exegesis

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

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

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

REMEMBER: ‘E.S.T.L’

3 III. ‘MIGHTY ACT 1’: ‘GOD CREATED HEAVEN AND EARTH’ (DAY ‘2’ OF THE CREATION NARRATIVE)

Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:6-8

Genesis 1:6-8 (KJV) 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Genesis 1:6-8 (CSB) 6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water

8 above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky.”[a] Evening came and then morning: the second day.

4 IV. ‘MIGHTY ACT 1’: ‘GOD CREATED HEAVEN AND EARTH’ (DAY ‘3’ OF THE CREATION NARRATIVE)

Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:9-13

Key Term: Verse Mapping Genesis 1:9-13 (KJV) 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:9-13 (CSB) 9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the water he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so. 12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 Evening came and then morning: the third day.

5 V. ‘MIGHTY ACT 1’: ‘GOD CREATED HEAVEN AND EARTH’ (DAY ‘4’ OF THE CREATION NARRATIVE)

Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:14-19 Key Term: Redaction Criticism Genesis 1:14-19 (KJV) 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

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

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

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

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

New Living Translation Factoid The goal of the New Living Translation (NLT) is a translation of Genesis 1:14-19 (NLT) the Bible into a clear, readable form of modern English.

14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.

6 VI. ‘MIGHTY ACT 1’: ‘GOD CREATED HEAVEN AND EARTH’ (DAY ‘5’ OF THE CREATION NARRATIVE)

Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:20-23 (KJV)

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

NASB Factoid The goal of the NASB is to be as literal "word-for-word" as possible. Most Bible scholars hold the NASB to be the most literal of all the modern English Bible translations.

Genesis 1:20-23 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

20 Then God said, “Let the waters [a]teem with swarms of living creatures, and let

21 birds fly above the earth [b]in the open [c]expanse of the heavens.” God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and 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.

7 THE FIFTH DAY Lesson Plan Contributed by Asst. Pastor (Elder) Joseph Rollins

Genesis 1:20-23 (AMP) 20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm and abundantly produce living creatures, and let birds soar above the earth [a]in the open expanse of the heavens.” 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Hmm……Were there any sounds on the earth prior to the fifth day of creation? If there were sounds, what were they?

EXEGESIS TIME:

Genesis 1:20 living creatures. According to the MacArthur Bible Commentary These creatures, including the extraordinarily large ones, included all sorts of fish, and mammals, even dinosaurs.1

WAIT…..WHAT?…..DINOSAURS? REALLY? DINOSAURS?

LET’S MAKE A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF DINOSAURS

1 MacArthur, John. (2005). MacArthur Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson Publishing. p. 10. 8 Job 40:15-24 (KJV) 15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. 16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. 17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. 18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. 19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. 20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. 21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. 22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. 23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. 24 He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

Job 40:15 ‘behemoth’: According to the MacArthur Bible Commentary: “This is a generic term used commonly in the OT for large cattle or land animals, the description in this passage suggests an extraordinary creature. Some believe God is describing His most impressive creation among the land animals, the dinosaur species, which fit all the characteristics.”2 BLESSED Genesis 1:22 ‘blessed’. According to the MacArthur Bible Commentary: “This is the first occurrence of the word bless in Scripture. God’s admonition to “be fruitful and multiply” was the substance of the blessing.”3 ‘Blessed’ here is drawn from the Hebrew word ‘Barak’, according to the Blue Letter Bible. This word appears over 300 more times, after this instance, in the OT!

God blessed all the creatures with the ability to reproduce. God is not only the creator of life; He is the one who enables life to reproduce itself.

Let us pause for a moment and reflect on the origin of creation. Some say that all of this is a product of evolution. The world IS NOT a product of blind chance and probability; the bottom line is:

2 MacArthur, p. 592. 3 Ibid. p. 10. 9 GOD CREATED IT!!!

CONCLUSION:

In his book the Celebration of Discipline, Richard J. Foster says that contemplative prayer is meditation upon the creation. So, give your attention to the created order. Look at the trees, really look at them. Take a flower and allow its beauty and symmetry to sink deep into your mind and heart. Listen to the birds-they are the messengers of God. Watch the little creatures that creep upon the earth. These are humble acts, to be sure, but sometimes God reaches us profoundly in these simple ways if we will quiet ourselves to listen.4

4 Foster, Richard J. (2018). Celebration of Discipline. Harper Collins. p. 31 10