Teaching through the book of Genesis

Hello everyone...I have about a month to study before I teach an overview of the book of Genesis to young, college age adults. To be honest, I am feeling quite inadequate to tackle such a massive and debated book. So, besides praying, listening to the Holy Spirit and simply studying the content of Genesis (which is how the brunt of my time will be spent), do you have any recommendations of insightful and legitimate books, audio/ video teachings, outlines, etc? Also, any other suggestions about teaching through Genesis would much appreciated! Thank you(I have been blessed by this forum so much already)!

Awesome...I was planning on doing this and you just made it one step easier! Thank you so much.

I recommend the book "The Genesis Record" by Henry M. Morris, it is a scientific and devotional commentary that is over six hundred pages long. It covers hydrology and six-day creationism very well. Morris was with Institute for Creation Research for awhile so he had a lot of study behind him. You can find it used for a good price and new it's about thirty dollars.

The book "Genesis, Devotional Exposition" by Donald Grey Barnhouse might be helpful. Do not know about its availably now - I used back in 1979. Should be able to find it somewhere - perhaps Amazon or eBay....

ginnyrose

KBC, if I could make a suggestion or two. I would point out as your main emphasis Christ in the book of Genesis. I would make sure I had the concept of type and shadow down well before I approached this study. You should be able to find Him all over Genesis. I would spend a considerable time in prayer asking the Lord to reveal what you should teach from lesson to lesson if you want it to have a heart in the Spirit vs. just another exercise of study. If you want the H.S leading you then you best not look for an outline. Prayer will be your greatest teacher (just as He has promised) I would also try to get them to understand God's immutability as people often tend to see God different in the OT vs the NT. Have the class set these two things as a priorities in their study. May God bless your efforts and glorify Himself in it.

ybiC

Genesis is so rich and so necessary to understand for a foundation to be built on truth, to be assigned the responsibility of teaching it is both a blessing and an undertaking.

Just verses 1: 26,27 reveal God's plan for man and establish the perimeters that all Biblical doctrine must be able to fit within.

God is a spirit with a soul and He created man to have a spirit with a soul thus man was created in the image of God. In verse 27 God gives us an example of what all truth in the Bible is based upon the foundation of two (or more) witnesses when He said twice in one verse that he had created man in His image.

However in verse 26 God said "let us make make man in our image AND after our likeness' ......... first off who is the "us"?

God is a sevenfold spirit who gives and takes council in Himself and from no other source......... Isaiah understood that and listed all seven spirits of God for us.

Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

Now that makes it easy to see what God meant when He said that man had become as "one of us". When Adam sinned it was because he took council within himself instead of remaining obedient to God who said to Adam "Thou shalt not eat of the tree of knowledge". That has been mans problem ever since then as man continues to prefer to take council from his own mind/soul rather than be obedient to God......... thus the spirit of council is the "one of us" that Adam became.

However God's Word will not return void and man will not be just in God's image but will be in both God's Image and His Likeness that is to say man with the spirit and soul of God....... and towards that end all doctrine must fall or it is not from God.

So while on one hand we set the format that all of the Bible is to point to we have only begun to scratch the surface of Genesis.

For sure you are going to have to draw very close to God and have ears that hear in order to teach Genesis as God would have you to teach it........ but it is a wonderful opportunity to please God and at the same time help His children

Blessings

Doug

KBC: True there is sometimes controversy surrounding Genesis, but that is to be expected from such a foundational book. Every major Biblical doctrine can be traced back to Genesis as its beginning. I agree that the Genesis record is a great resource. Answers in Genesis has some great resources concerning the creation aspect if you felt led to focus there for a while. I just finished teaching on Abraham and his covenant with God. If you think that message would be helpful, pm me and I will give you a link to the message.

It has been mentioned that a proper understanding of this book is foundational on how the rest of the Scriptures is understood...I agree.

Just want to point out one thing we were taught in Bible School and these points have stayed with me ever since...

Observe the process the serpent used to tempt Eve. Write them down and study them; keep them handy so you can refer to them when necessary. And then note how many times the enemy uses the same process to tempt people in the Scriptures as well as today, beginning with you. Also note the consequences this disobedience brought upon mankind.

Yup, the devil hasn't changed any since then but then neither has God, PTL!

Blessings,
ginnyrose