"What's the Beginning Got to Do With the End?"
Sermon Series: "They Just Don't Get It"
Genesis 1 (NASB)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.3 Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light.4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.6 Then God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.9 Then God said, Let the waters below the heavens 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 waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.11 Then God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them; and it was so.12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.14 Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate 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 expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth; and it was so.16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.20 Then God said, Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth 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 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.24 Then God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so.25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.26 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.28 God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.29 Then God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food; and it was so.31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Romans 1 (NASB)
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His names sake,6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the others faith, both yours and mine.13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Genesis 1 (NASB)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.3 Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light.4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.6 Then God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.7 God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.9 Then God said, Let the waters below the heavens 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 waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.11 Then God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them; and it was so.12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.14 Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate 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 expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth; and it was so.16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.20 Then God said, Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth 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 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.24 Then God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so.25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.26 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.28 God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.29 Then God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food; and it was so.31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Romans 1 (NASB)
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His names sake,6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the others faith, both yours and mine.13 I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.