Life Groups Discussion Guide:

Unfinished Beauty

Message by Dan Davis 01.17.10

Discussion Guide by Andrew Goff

Select 4-5 of the following items for your group, and/or come up with some of your own.

 

CONNECT

 

1. Share with the group some stories or theories from other faiths and/or cultural traditions you’ve heard as to the origin of our planet and humanity. (You don’t have to agree with the accounts.)

2. Discuss your first impressions of the Garden of Eden. Are there any images that stick out in your mind that you remember from your thoughts as a child?

3. Do you think you know how old the earth is? If so, how old? Does it matter?

 

DISCUSS

 

4. Dan talked about two separate creation accounts occurring in Genesis, each with their own titles (Gen. 1:1 & Gen. 2:4). The first one emphasizing the nature of creation that God set into motion and the other emphasizing the human experience and function within that creation. What are your reactions to this?

5. Dan defined the word Shalom (peace, harmony, completeness, wholeness, welfare) then stated that Jesus claimed that in a renewed creation Shalom is returned (“ReShalom”). What do you think about a more holistic view of salvation that is not so exclusively focused on the individual and an afterlife but on tangible restoration for the whole of creation?

6. In Genesis 2, we see that God placed humanity in the Garden of Eden to tend [awbad] and watch over [shamar] it. 

Awbad: create, cultivate, work

Shamar: reserve, protect, treasure, guard

If we are called to watch over (shamar) over the earth, what implications might that have for how we should treat current environmental issues?

 

CHALLENGE

 

7. Journey Together: Throughout this series, many will have their belief systems or core beliefs challenged or shaped.  Your challenge is to share this process with others, especially your group.

8. Live Different:  Of the four directions of Shalom in relationship (God, others, self, creation), which needs the most attention in your life?

9. Provoke Change: In April, Catalyst will participate in the third Heart Humboldt, which will focus on improving the lives of at-risk children in our community. Has your group discussed how it might collectively contribute to the effort?

 

 

 Notes & Scriptures:

Intro- whole Biblical story in 5 words: Creation. Fall. Israel. Jesus. Church.

Story of the Master Artist & Apprentice.

God creates- two accounts.

I. Nature of creation:

Dasha/Produce – sprout/produce/grow   

Other words: fruitful & multiplying/teeming/swarming/flowing

Towb/Good- rich/full of potential/prosperous/excellent/welfare- capable of thriving

Dynamic vs Static

II. Nature of human experience:

The Activities of Eden-

Awbad- cultivate/create/work/labor/tend

Shamar- guard/have charge of/preserve/protect/reserve/celebrate/treasure –

·      same word used of how we treat Sabbath, Covenants with God, or Vows

The Relationships of Eden. [peace/harmony- w/ God, self, other, & creation]

·      Shalom- peace, harmony, completeness, wholeness, welfare

 

3 Messages of Recovery:

      Jesus- Renew all
      Peter- Restore all
      Paul- Reconcile all

Final scene: Jeru-salem             “Jeru- Foundation or Fortress”             “Salem/Shalom”

 

What does it mean to be saved?

Salvation = Re:Shalom

Matt 19:28- Jesus- Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Acts 3:21- Peter- Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

Colossians 1:19-20 Paul- For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

 

Revelations 21:1-5 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

Rev 22:1-2 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

 

Gen. 1:1 - When God began to create the heavens and the earth:

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good [towb]. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.

Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land sprout [dasha] with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 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. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.

Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.

 Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

So God created human beings in his own image.
      In the image of God he created them;
      male and female he created them.

 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and steward it. Supervise over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was exceedingly good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed.

On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

 

Gen. 2:4 - This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.

When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate [awbad] the soil. Instead, mist came up from the ground and watered all the land. Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. 

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.

The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend [awbad] and watch over [shamar] it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a partner who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no partner just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took a part of the man’s side and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the piece of his side, and he brought her to the man.

“At last!” the man exclaimed.

   “This one is essence of my essence,
      and body of my body!
   She is proclaimed ‘Woman,’
      because she was conducted from ‘Man.’”

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.