CCC Gainesville | Blog
Genesis 1 portrays the beginning of everything in this created universe.
On the face of it, this chapter, and the lines of thought it develops, establish that God is different from the universe that he creates, and therefore pantheism is ruled out; that the original creation was entirely good, and therefore dualism is ruled out; that human beings, male and female together, are alone declared to be made in the image of God, and therefore forms of reductionism that claim we are part of the animal kingdom and no more must be ruled out; that God is a talking God, and therefore all notions of an impersonal God must be ruled out; that this God has sovereignly made all things, including all people, and therefore conceptions of merely tribal deities must be ruled out.
Some of these and other matters are put positively by later writers of Scripture who, reflecting on the doctrine of creation, offer a host of invaluable conclusions. The sheer glory of the created order bears telling witness to the glory of its Maker (Ps. 19). The universe came into being by the will of God, and for this, God is incessantly worshipped (Rev. 4:11). That God has made everything speaks of his transcendence, i.e., he is above this created order, above time and space, and therefore cannot be domesticated by anything in it (Acts 17:24-25). That he made all things and continues to rule over all, means that both racism and tribalism are to be rejected (Acts 17:26). Further, if we ourselves have been made in his image, it is preposterous to think that God can properly be pictured by some image that we can concoct (Acts 17:29). These notions and more are teased out by later Scriptures.
One of the most important entailments of the doctrine of creation is this: it grounds all human responsibility. The theme repeatedly recurs in the Bible, sometimes explicitly, sometimes by implication. To take but one example, John’s gospel opens by declaring that everything that was created came into being by the agency of God’s “Word,” the Word that became flesh in Jesus Christ (John 1:2-3, 14). But this observation sets the stage for a devastating indictment: when this Word came into the world, and even though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him (John 1:10). God made us to “image” himself; he made us for his own glory. For us to imagine ourselves autonomous is, far from being a measure of our maturity, the supreme mark of our rebellion, the flag of our suppression of the truth (Rom. 1).
–Don Carson, For the Love Of God
This academic year CCC is reading through a Bible Overview Reading Plan.
This week we begin an exercise that will take our church on an overview of the Bible. We’ve adapted another reading plan to suit our calendar and hope that you’ll take the time to read six chapters of Scripture each week. In order to keep this in front of you we will be doing at least two things:
1.) Blogging a couple of times per week. These posts will hopefully help you as you seek to hear God’s word, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them.
2.) Language and themes from the prior week’s readings will make it into the liturgy for the following Sunday.
Bible Reading 2013-2014
This is mostly chronological, with some thematic here and there, designed to give an overview of the story of redemption that the Scriptures tell. Read 1 chapter a day 6 days of the week; or couple of chapters at a time.
September 15-21 Genesis 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
September 22-28 Genesis 15, 19, 22, 27, 28, 37
Sept 29-Oct 5 Genesis 41, 45, Job 1, 2, 38, 42
October 6-12 Exodus 3, 11, 14, 20, 32; Leviticus 26
October 13-19 Numbers 11 & 14; Deuteronomy 8 & 28; Joshua 2 & 6
October 20-26 Joshua 7 & 24; Judges 6, 7, 16; Ruth 1
October 27-Nov 2 1 Samuel 3 & 16; Psalm 23; 1 Samuel 17; Psalm 19; 1 Samuel 20
November 3-9 Psalm 27; 2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 17; Psalm 103; 2 Samuel 11 & 12
November 10-16 Psalm 51 & 139; 1 Kings 3 & 8; Psalm 84; Proverbs 4
November 17-23 Prov. 10; Song of Solomon 2; Ecclesiastes 3; 1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 5; Joel 2
November 24-30 Jonah 3 & 4; Amos 4; Hosea 1, 3, 11; 2 Kings 17
December 1-7 Isaiah 6 & 25; 2 Chronicles 32; Nahum 1; Zephaniah 3; 2 Kings 22
December 8-14 Jeremiah 2, 15, 31, 31; Habakkuk 1; Lamentations 3
December 15-28 off
December 29-Jan 4 Obadiah; Ezekiel 1, 2, 3, 4, 37; Daniel 1 & 3
January 5-11 Daniel 5 & 6; Ezra 3; Haggai 1; Zechariah 1; Nehemiah 2
January 12-18 Nehemiah 8; Esther 4; Malachi 2; Luke 1 & 2; Mark 1
January 19-25 Mark 3, 4, 5; Matthew 5, 6, 13
January 26-Feb 1 Mark 6; Luke 16, 12, 18, 15; John 6
Feb 2-8 Mark 7, 8, 9; Matthew 18; John 10; Mark 11
Feb 9-15 John 14, 15, 16, 17; Matthew 26, 27
Feb 16-22 Isaiah 53; Matthew 28; John 20; Luke 24; Acts 1 & 2
Feb 23-March 1 Acts 5 & 9; Galatians 3; Acts 16; Philippians 2; Acts 17
March 2-8 1 Thessalonians 3,4; 2 Thessalonians 2; 1 Corinthians 13 & 15; 2 Cor 4
March 9-15 2 Corinthians 12; Romans 3, 7, 8, 12; Acts 26
March 16-22 Acts 27 & 28; Ephesians 2 & 3; Colossians 1; Philemon
March 23-29 Titus 2; 1 Timothy 1; 2 Timothy 2; Hebrews 2, 11, 12
March 30-April 5 James 1; 1 Peter 1; 2 Peter 1; Jude; 1 John 3; 2nd & 3rd John
April 6-12 Revelation 1, 12, 21
Norman Wirzba, author of Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating, will be speaking at the University of Florida this week as a guest of the Christian Study Center. Wirzba’s book is the focus of one of Christ Community’s current adult education classes – Eating as Prayer. Details:
“Theological Reflection on Justice and the Land”
Norman Wirzba, Professor of Theology and Ecology, Duke Divinity School
This week – Thursday, September 19
UF – Little Hall, Room 101 @ 5:15 pm
This event is free and open to the public and is part of the series co-sponsored by the the Christian Study Center of Gainesvillle and the UF Department of Religion entitled, “Seeing Justice, Seeking Justice.” In preparation for his visit, please enjoy an interview with Dr. Wirzba regarding food and faith, courtesy of Mars Hill Audio.
For more, see http://christianstudycenter.org/
If you call Christ Community your church, then we want you to come to Vision Night on Friday. We’re relentless about inviting people and asking everyone to come out for this event, because it has become part of our DNA as a church. Each year, we pause to reflect on where God has been at work in the church, and we look forward as our leaders share their vision for the coming year.
Do you wonder what we’re about?
Where our time, energy and resources will be focused in the coming year?
We’re working hard to make this Vision Night the best one yet. Please join the ~135 adults who plan to attend! Come participate, learn, and let us know how we can do it better next year.
Vision Night
- Friday, September 13th at 7:30PM
- Christ Community Church
- Free childcare available. Please RSVP!
