SUMMARY
Have you ever opened the Bible…maybe more specifically the Old Testament and thought to yourself, “What in the world is going on here?” This week Pastor Cory introduced our new 5 week series, titled, “Journey Through the Old Testament” that will lead up to Christmas. This series addresses a Meta-Narrative of 5 stories, 5 geographic locations, and 5 specific times in His-story—that everything else you read in the Bible is framed around. Part 1 “The Garden” starts in the very beginning, in the book of Genesis and is the first of the 5 major stories we will be looking at. From the beginning and throughout history up until now, we see God asserting His authority over chaos to create LIFE that will FLOURISH. He takes chaos and brings order. In the Creation story, we see that Days 1-3 were about PREPARATION and SEPARATION; Days 4-6 were about COMPLETION and FILLING. And God rested on the seventh day…

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.) Have you ever struggled when reading the Old Testament? How?
2.) Where in your life do you need God to bring order out of chaos?
3.) Every loving relationship is based on free will. How have your choices impacted your life and your relationships?
4.) How would God have you use your resources, influences, and abilities to advance His kingdom? Who in your life needs to see Jesus in and through you?

MOVING FORWARD
As we go through this series and follow the Prayer Guide that has been provided, ask God to show you the following: Where in my life do I need some Preparation and Separation? As we yield to the Holy Spirit’s direction, then God is able to Complete and Fill us. As you go through your week remember that we are the physical representations of the original Architect to a lost and hurting world. And as we target our Commitment Weekend (Dec. 2 & 3) we’re also asking everyone to Pray, Give and Invite. Pray and Give…ask the Lord how He wants you to partner with us financially as we continue our For EveryONE campaign, and Invite…invite your family and friends to Cape Christian where they can experience the life-changing power of Jesus!

WORD!
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters…So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:1-2, 26