PROLOGUE: Beginnings

STORY FROM... Genesis 13 Job 38 Jude 6 Ezekiel 28 Isaiah 14 2 Peter 2 Psalm 8 Revelation 12 The first story is a prologue to the other stories that establishes some key ideas about the nature of good and evil. I wonder what sort of tale weve fallen into? These intriguing word from JR Tolkiens epic book The Lord of the Rings, give us a clue that we live in narrative, we live in story. Existence has a story shape to it.,we have a beginning and an end, we have a plot, there is an evil villian, we have characters. The Bible Scriptures are given to us in the form of one overarching larger story. An Epic! Its a story of beauty and a beast, of intimacy and romance, of adventure, a story of danger and paradise lost and betrayal, of comedy and tragedy. Indeed an Epic. SET UP THE FIRST STORY In the beginning ...oronce upon a time...was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ( John 1:13) In the prologue story I am telling you now reaches back to things prior to the Genesis In the begining This is Johns gospel's In the begining. Once upon eternity if you will. This is a peep into the mystey of God's own life, before anything else existed there was in the anceint past a a ring of fellowship a sacred intimacy, something Christians call Trinity. This story is about a being called God, who has always existed. In the very beginning there was God (Elohim). God was in the beginning and He existed before anything else existed. God is Spirit. God was Trinity in the beginning. God created thousands of spirit beings to worship Him and be His servants. They encircle His throne saying continually, Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God Almighty, who was, and who is and who is to come. One of the spirit beings was more beautiful than the others. His name was Lucifer. God put Lucifer in charge of the spirit beings.There was a Life that existed before our own, an Epic already under way. This story, from the Bible, describes God as the creator of all things, including the earth and everything living. God is also described as the only one who always does what is good and right and perfectthe Bible uses the word holy to describe God. Life is not all about you. Youre precious, important, and valuable; you have a crucial role to play . . . but this story is about something bigger than you. Someone has gone before you and has invited you up into something larger than yourself. 2. That Someone who has gone before us is good, hes relational, his invitation is into a heroic fellowship, into Life. Do you know what God created first? (Optional Part) In the Bible, Elohim (God) asked a man named Job, Where were you when I laid the earths foundation?

Who decided its size and dimensions? Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? TELL THE STORY (Dont just read itknow it and bring it to life!) The story begins like this... When God set the foundations of the earth, the angels were already there watchingthey were his first creation. When the angels saw Gods power and creativity, they sang together and shouted for joy,giving glory to God! The most beautiful of all the angels was named Lucifer, which means bright morning star. When Lucifer saw the other angels praising God, he became jealous and said in his heart, I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above Gods stars... and I will be like God. Then Lucifer went and convinced a third of the angels to worship him. Although Lucifer had seen Gods power in creation, he continued to lead the fallen angels, also known as demons, in a rebellion against God. All rebellion against God and his ways is called sin. But God knew what Lucifer was thinking and doing. Because of Gods perfect goodness, evil is never allowed to remain in his presence. Elohim is more powerful than these spirit beings. God is the Greatest Spirit of all. God cast them out of His presence in heaven and like a flash of lighting they fell down to the earth. God said a time would come in the future when He would cast them into a lake of burning fire. Then Lucifer did become his own rulerthe ruler of this world. He is now called Satan which means adversary. And those angels who follow and serve him became the evil spirits, demons. And from that time on, Satan and all his followers have been at war with God. This is the story that we call Beginnings. (Optional Part) Six characteristics of God. 1. GOD IS HOLY He is perfect, the only one who always does what is good,he does not have any sin. (**use hand signal for straight line horizontally**) 2. GOD IS ALL POWERFUL He can do anything He wants to do. (**hold hands and arms up like showing muscles**) 3. GOD IS ALL KNOWING He is the source of all knowledge. He knows how to make everything. (**place forefingers at temple of head**) 4. GOD IS THE SOURCE OF GRACE (MERCY) He is the source of everything that is good, love, mercy, pity, Goodness, kindness, caring. (**place hands crossed over chest for love symbol**) 5. GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES Whatever He has promised He will do, even if a long time passes. (**raise right hand up like making a pledge**)