Have you ever noticed how powerful an opening line can be?
Think about some of the great opening lines in literature. Take for instance the opening words of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” These words set the tone for a great novel all about successful men who are longing for a wife (whether they know it or not) and women longing to be that wife.
Or how about the opening words of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.” The story that unfolds in this classic American novel is of a young man figuring out life, living it up, and grappling with the advice his father gave him.
If this is true of great literature (and it is), then what can we glean from the opening chapters even the opening words of the Bible. Genesis 1 begins with these famous words, “In the beginning, God…” Even if the opening words were to end there, there is something incredibly important in them that sets the tone for the rest of the Bible. These words introduce us to not only the author of this story but also the very center of the whole story. Every page of the Bible has its genesis, its beginning right here. Before there ever was, there was God. Before there was time, there was God. Here is the thing: God always was, always is, and always will be.
Beginning Sunday, November 14, we will begin our journey to Bethlehem and Christmas by going back to the very beginning (even before the beginning). We will go back to and explore the opening three chapters of the entire story of the Bible and of the world for that matter. These words will shape the way that we read the entire Bible and the way that we approach and celebrate Christmas. These words will shape us as a people of faith who believe in the God that we are introduced to in Genesis 1:1.
Opening lines are powerful for setting the tone for everything that is to come. Join us as we venture together into these opening lines Genesis 1-3.
