Study Guide and Daily Devotion
Monday, January 23
As you begin your study guide readings, open with a word of prayer inviting
God to speak to you as your reflect on yesterday’s sermon. The last
two weeks Pastor Rob has suggested that the Bible was written to communicate
the meaning, purpose and will God has for humanity and it does not try to
explain the how, when and where questions asked by science. As you read Genesis
1:1-19, what does this passage teach us about God, God’s role in creation
and the creation itself? How does this account compare with modern science’s
understanding?
Tuesday, January 24
How vast is the universe? If the universe were the size of planet earth, our
solar system would be the size of a single bacterium. What do you think God
is doing in the rest of the universe? Do you think there could be life on
other planets? If there is intelligent life on other planets how would God’s
redeeming work be present there? What implications would this have to our
sacred story about Jesus Christ? We can feel very small in relation to the
vastness of space. Read Psalm 8. What does this say about the significance
of humanity? What should our response be to the vastness and majesty of space?
Wednesday, January 25
The theologian Teilard de Chardin pointed out, we should not measure significance
by size and duration, but by such criteria as complexity and consciousness.
The greatest complexity is present in middle range size, not at the atomic
dimensions or galactic dimensions. There are trillions of neurons in a human
brain; the number of connecting them is greater than the number of atoms in
the universe. A higher level of organization and a greater richness of experience
occur in a human being than in a thousand lifeless galaxies. What purpose
do you sense God has for humans? In what ways does science genuinely cause
humans to pause in our sense of pride?
Thursday, January 26
Science shows the interdependence of all things. We are part of an ongoing
community of being. The chemical elements in your hand or in your brain were
forged in the furnaces of stars. The cosmos is of one piece. It is multileveled;
each new, higher level was built on lower levels from the past. Humanity is
the most advanced form of life we know, but it is part of a wider process
of time and space. The scientific view may undercut claims that set humanity
completely apart from the rest of nature, but it by no means makes human life
insignificant. Read Psalm 104 and celebrate the wonder of the universe.
Friday, January 27
Invite a friend to join you for worship this weekend as we speak about evolution
and creation. Read Acts 17:16-34. What does Paul teach us about God? About
the universe? What does he mean when he quotes Epimenides saying, “In
Him we live and move and have our being”? Take time to thank God for
creating a universe in which you have life.
First
United Methodist Church 