Genesis 1 (CEB)
1 When God began to create the heavens and the earth— 2 the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind swept over the waters— 3 God said, “Let there be light.” And so light appeared. 4 God saw how good the light was. God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God named the light Day and the darkness Night.
Creation begins by illuminating that which cannot be seen.
Here are some questions for reflection:
1. If a glow-in-the-dark ball can’t glow without a charge-up first, have you been intentional about “sitting in the light” so that the light of God can charge you? What might this look like in your own life?
2. In his message, Pastor Trey said “even when it looks like darkness is coming… remember that the light ain’t goin nowhere but back where it started in the beginning.” What does that mean to you as you consider the start of this new year? What does this mean to you as you consider the balance between faith-filled hope, and the clear-eyed vision of your current reality?
3. Have you found yourself struggling to trust God? Does the rhythm between darkness and light, night and day, help you trust God more? Does it make it more difficult?
4. How can the orientation of God purposely calling evening THEN morning a day reframe our thinking about the disorienting chaos in our daily lives?
5. Are there specific actions or events in our lives have reminded us of the “rhythm of wholeness”?
6. Have you seen parallels between the creation story outlined here and your own story of formation?
7. When we close our eyes and block out light, it’s not safe to move. Can you think of a time you’ve had your eyes closed, only to realize you needed them open? What helped you realize you needed them open?
8. The day/night cycle varies throughout the year. It does this every year without fail. What might this demonstrate for us about God’s love during the ebb and flow of our lives?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. As humans, we can grow weary when we see all the pain, suffering, and injustice in the world. Take a moment a write out a few statements of truth you can speak into those places where the light looks dim. (Pastor Trey did a few of these at the end of the video like “In the reign of God, it’s always life that conquers death.” Be as general or specific as you wish.
In the reign of God____________________________________________________________.
In the reign of God____________________________________________________________.
2. If light is the beginning, then why is darkness at the beginning?
3. How do we balance living in a world of darkness when we are called children of light?
4. Light reveals things, often as they are instead of as we assume they are. God began creating by focusing on the light as it revealed his new creation. Think of those hallmark moments in your faith journey, what was the source of light that revealed the truth to you?
5. We are called not to cover our light with a basket (Matthew 5:15) so we may help others, can you think of a way you have (or are currently) being a source of God’s light for another in need of revelation?
6. When we close our eyes or when we turn off the lights, we know the light is right there simply waiting for us. How might this knowledge of the light’s presence help you to remain hopeful during dark times? How can we ramp up this hope to reduce the time we spend in darkness?