Genesis: Be Fruitful and Multiply
Follow along here with our Genesis series. All catechism questions can be found on the New City Catechism app or website.
Genesis 1:1–2:3
Read Genesis 1:1–2:3 • Listen to the sermon (9/11/22) • Watch a video to dive deeper.
Sermon Outline
#1 Who is God?
God is the Creator
God is the Free and Generous Creator
God is the Free and Generous Creator Who Loves Beauty, Light, and Life
#2 Who are We?
We are Creatures
We are Dignified Creatures
We are Dignified Creatures Made for Beauty, Light, and Life
Catechism
Question: What is our only hope in life and death?
Answer: That we are not our own, but belong to God.
Genesis 1:26–28
Read Genesis 1:26–28 • Listen to the sermon (9/18/22)
Sermon Outline
God has determined to fill the earth with his glory and goodness through humans, so the Word became flesh to fulfill the purposes of God.
#1 God’s Design
The Image of God is What you Are
The Image of God is What You Do
#2 God’s Command
Be Fruitful, Multiply, and Fill
Subdue, Have Dominion
#3 God’s Blessing
God Will Do It
God Must Do It
#4 God’s Word
The Word became Flesh
Catechism
Question: What is God?
Answer: God is the creator of everyone and everything.
Genesis 2:4–25
Read Genesis 2:4–25 • Listen to the sermon (9/25/22) • Watch a video to dive deeper.
Sermon Outline
The Garden shows sin for what it really is, by helping us see and receive the generosity of God.
#1 The First Garden (Genesis 2:4–25)
God Provides for Their Life
God Provides for Their Joy
#2 The Second Garden (John 19:41–20:18)
Jesus Provides for Your Life
Jesus Provides for Your Joy
#3 The Forever Garden (Revelation 22:1–5)
God Will Be Your Life and Joy
Catechism
Question: How many persons are there in God?
Answer: There are three persons in one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 3:1–13
Read Genesis 3:1–13 • Listen to the sermon (10/2/2022) • Watch a video to dive deeper.
Sermon Outline
Deception about God’s word and God’s goodness leads to death. But the Truth of Jesus Christ leads to Life.
#1 Temptation Starts with Deception
Deception about God’s Word
Deception about God’s Goodness
#2 Sin Ends in Death
Deadly Separation from Each Other
Deadly Separation from God
#3 The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Adam Failed to Protect his Bride
We Need a Second Adam
Catechism
Question: How and why did God create us?
Answer: God created us male and female in his own image to glorify him.
Genesis 3:14–19
Read Genesis 3:14–19 • Listen to the sermon (10/9/22) • Watch a video to dive deeper.
Sermon Outline
Jesus is the Woman’s Offspring who crushes the enemy, frees the slaves, brings joy through sorrow, and defeats death from the inside out.
#1 Hope for Mercy in Judgment
Judgment for the Serpent
Mercy for the Serpent’s Seed
#2 Hope for Joy through Sorrow
Healing through Pain
#3 Hope for Life from Death
Your Labor in the Lord is Not in Vain
The Dust Will Give up Its Dead
Catechism
Question: What else did God create?
Answer: God created all things and all his creation was very good.
Genesis 3:20–24
Read Genesis 3:20–24 • Listen to the sermon (10/16/22)
Sermon Outline
We can have the pleasure and presence of God now, in the midst of our exile, only through the blood of Jesus.
#1 Exile Explains Us
Separation from God and Life
Unfulfilled Longing
#2 The Temple Explains the Garden
The Exile Teaches us the Justice of God
The Tabernacle and Temple Teach us the Mercy of God
#3 The Blood Rescues Us
The Life is in the Blood
The Blood of Jesus
Catechism
Question: How can we glorify God?
Answer: By loving him and obeying his commands and law.
Genesis 4
Read Genesis 4 • Listen to the sermon (10/23/22)
Sermon Outline
Sin is wild and dangerous, but the grace of God is warm and available to all who ask and trust him to do what he said he would do.
#1 Sin is an Avalanche
The Subtlety of Sin
The Volatility of Sin
#2 Grace is a Sunrise
The Warmth of God’s Compassion
Calling upon the Name of the Lord
Conclusion
The blood of Abel cries for justice. The blood of Christ speaks, too (Hebrews 12:14). It also cries for justice — because it is just for God to forgive and cleanse those who call upon the name of the Lord (1 John 1:9). It would be unjust for God to withhold forgiveness for those who look to the blood of Jesus, shed on their behalf.
Catechism
Question: What does the law of God require?
Answer: That we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Genesis 6:1–8
Read Genesis 5:1–6:8 • Listen to the sermon (10/6/22)
Sermon Outline
Human sin is complicated; we are both responsible for our own personal evils, and we need to be saved from our spiritual oppression and slavery to sin. Because of the justice of God, all of our sins will be paid for. Because of the mercy of God, we can be saved from our sins and from God’s just wrath by becoming connected to Jesus by faith.
Introduction: How We Approach the Bible
We let God set the priorities in the Bible.
We trust the Bible.
We are not afraid of the Bible.
#1 Human Sin is Complicated
Rebellion in the Human Realm (Gen 3)
Rebellion in the Spiritual Realm (Gen 6)
#2 God’s Favor Comes by Faith
Noah Leaned on God by Faith
Jesus is the Better Noah
#3 God’s Mercy in Unsearchable
Jesus Embodies the Justice and the Mercy of God
Catechism
Question: What is the law of God stated in the Ten Commandments?
Answer: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.
Genesis 6:9–8:19
Read Genesis 6:9–8:19 • Listen to the sermon (10/30/22)
Sermon Outline
Because God is love and full of justice, he must judge our sin. But he has provided us a means of salvation as a gift, at his own cost, that is so much better than we think.
#1 The Ark is Bigger than You Think
Room for sinners
Room for Gentiles
#2 The Ark is Safer than You Think
Judgment won’t seep in
The Lord shut the door
#3 The Price of Admission is Higher than You Think
It cost Jesus everything
It costs you nothing (all you have to do is die)
Catechism
Question: What does God require in the first, second, and third commandments?
Answer: First, that we know God as the only true God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence.
Genesis 8:20–9:7
Read Genesis 8:20–9:7 • Listen to the sermon (11/13/22)
Sermon Outline
In a world of death, what can bring new life?
#1 An Aroma Pleasing to God
#2 A God Who Re-Creates
#3 A God of Life
We can receive new life, because God’s heart is for us and the world!
Catechism
Question: What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?
Answer: Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in worship of God. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother.
Genesis 9:8–28
Read Genesis 9:8–28 • Listen to the sermon (10/20/22)
Sermon Outline
When we receive the promises of God by faith in Jesus and are baptized, we are a new creation in Christ. For every soul baptized into the family of God, the earth is that much more full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord!
#1 God Designed This World to be Flooded
“For the earth will be FILLED with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
Creation exists for the glory of God
A Covenant is a “stunning blend of law and love.”
#2 God Gave the Covenant to Make Room for the Flood
For God to flood the earth with his glory, he will have to NOT flood the earth with his judgment.
This is a covenant of preservation
#3 God Gave This Covenant to Point to Another
It points to the covenant of salvation
The “never agains” of the New Covenant
Genesis 11:1–9
Read Genesis 11:1–9
Sermon Outline
Jesus is the only way into the blessing of God, and any cultural, ethical, or entrepreneurial “building” project done without him is vanity. Jesus is the cornerstone, the foundation stone, of God’s building project. Any promise of the good life built on any other foundation is an empty promise.
#1 God Bless this Mess
God will not make us feel okay about our sin
God will pour out his blessing on all who believe
#2 Aren’t We Impressive?
Human effort cannot earn God’s favor
Conclusion
Genesis 11 shows us two terrible pitfalls:
Trying to get God to make us feel okay about our sin,
And trying to get the good life by making a name for ourselves.
As we follow Jesus in love and obedience, we become, together, the place where heaven meets earth.
Genesis 11:27–32
Read Genesis 11:27–32
Sermon Outline
God has promised to bless us with his everything through our nothing. The empty hands of faith are the only hands able to receive the promises of the kingdom of Heaven.
#1 God’s Everything, by His Grace
The blessing of God
The salvation of the world
God’s blessing, presence, and salvation come to us as "gift" not as "wage"
#2 Our Nothing, for His Glory
We bring only rebellion
We bring our inability
Conclusion
Jesus still delights to bring into his family the people least likely to follow him, and the people least capable of following him
Genesis 12:10–20
Read Genesis 12:10–20
Sermon Outline
What does misunderstanding God’s promise look like?
#1 Finding Safety in Yourself
#2 Living Inconsistently
#3 Receiving Salvation Despite Yourself
Genesis 13
Read Genesis 13 • Listen to the sermon (2/12/23)
Sermon Outline
If we are going to be followers of Jesus, then we’re going to be called to do some things that feel really risky. The whole of the Christian life is repentance — and that can be scary and vulnerable. And the way of Jesus is the way of self-emptying generosity and humility. When we give of ourselves for the interest of others, we feel at risk — who’s going to look out for us? We need to know whether or not following Jesus is safe.
#1 Abram’s Journey back to God
Obeying where he first faltered
Returning to the altars he first built
#2 Lot’s Self-Interest
Lot chose the garden without God
Abram chose God without the garden
#3 God’s Astounding Faithfulness
Jesus is the true and better Abram, who emptied himself and looked to the interest of others
Abram’s journey down to, and up from, Egypt is like death and resurrection, and shows us that repentance requires the resurrection power of Jesus
Genesis 14
Read Genesis 14 • Listen to the sermon (2/19/23)
Sermon Outline
Genesis 14 shows us two models of Jesus’ ministry: Abram’s rescue mission points to Jesus’ earthly ministry, from incarnation to crucifixion. And Melchizedek’s priestly blessing and meal shows us the risen Jesus’ current, ongoing priestly work, as he blessed God on our behalf and mediates God’s blessing to us.
#1 The Rescue Mission (Fear No Unworthiness)
Abram’s rescue of unworthy Lot
Jesus’ rescue of unworthy you
#2 The Priest (Fear No Temptation)
Melchizedek shows us Jesus
Jesus lives and intercedes for us
Catechism
Question: Is there any way to escape punishment and be brought back into God’s favor?
Answer: Yes, God reconciles us to himself by a Redeemer.
Question: Who is the Redeemer?
Answer: The only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Genesis 16
Read Genesis 16 • Listen to the sermon
The phrase “You’re mine” can sound menacing (in a villainous kind of way), or it can sound warm and intimate. In Genesis 16, we see Abraham and Sarah treat Hagar like a piece of property that they own; we also see, in contrast, how God tells us “You’re mine” in a dignity-bestowing, warm, and personal way.
Through the good news of Jesus, seen through this passage, we have the opportunity to be freed from all the menacing “You’re mines” of this world and to receive the warm embrace of the Creator of the Universe, who redeems us and calls us by name.
Sermon Outline
#1 The Egyptian Servant
She was stripped of her dignity
She was unnamed
She was unseen
#2 The God Who Sees
We are dignified
We are named
We are seen
Genesis 17
Read Genesis 17 • Listen to the sermon
The Kingdom of God can be understood as God’s people, in God’s place, under God’s rule, with God’s blessing. In the beginning of Genesis, we see Adam and Eve (people) in Eden (place) with some simple rules and with God’s blessing. But it didn’t go well when they rejected his rule. Now in Genesis 17, we’ll see God constituting a new people in a new place, with a new sign of his rule over us and a profound blessing.
Sermon Outline
#1 Who are God’s people?
#2 Where is God’s place?
#3 What are God’s rules?
#4 What is God’s blessing?
Genesis 22
Read Genesis 22 • Listen to the sermon
This difficult story points us to the Father who did not hold back his own Son from us. For Jesus, there was no ram caught in the thicket; the Son had to die for us to live. But the Son also had to rise again! Therein is our Easter hope: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Sermon Outline
#1 The Son Must Die
God’s hold-nothing-back love for us
#2 The Son Must Live
Abraham’s rational faith
God’s utter faithfulness
Genesis 23
Read Genesis 23 • Listen to the sermon
If we have been born again by the Holy Spirit, trusting Jesus for our forgiveness and our future, then we have a new homeland. We are now strangers and sojourners here and citizens of heaven. Through this ancient story of burial-plot negotiations we can see how Abraham had that kind of faith, and put it into action.
Sermon Outline
#1 Know Your Homeland
#2 Bank On It
Genesis 24, “Hopeful Evangelists”
Read Genesis 24 • Listen to the sermon
This is an evangelism story: a servant is sent to a faraway land to seek a bride for the son of promise. Through Genesis 24 we’ll see how Christ has sought us out, and how we can obey the Great Commission with confidence as we’re armed with promises, prayer, and the riches of Christ.
Sermon Outline
#1 The Servant is Armed with Promises
God is with you
#2 The Servant is Armed with Prayer
God hears your prayers
#3 The Servant is Armed with Riches
God has made you rich in Christ
Genesis 25:19–34, “The Father’s Love”
Read Genesis 25:10–34 • Listen to the sermon
This chapter tells us a story of two brothers who both long for their father’s love — and one of whom is eager to receive the inheritance that would naturally go to the other. We find in Jacob an echo of our own desires: we want the Father’s love, and we often think we need to somehow earn or take the inheritance of salvation for ourselves. But in this text we find another echo, one that points us to a true and better older brother, who willingly sets aside his birthright so that we might receive the blessing.
Sermon Outline
#1 The Older Shall Serve the Younger
“Primogeniture” (the right of the firstborn)
Turning primogeniture inside out
The better older brother
#2 Resting Secure in the Father’s Love
The Father himself loves you
An example of trying to earn the father’s love (Jacob)
An example of resting in the Father’s love (Isaac)
Conclusion
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Genesis 27:1–38, “The Father’s Blessing”
Read Genesis 27:1–38 • Listen to the sermon
Jacob got the blessing of the father by putting on the clothes of his older brother. Jesus fulfills that pattern with us more profoundly, as we put on his righteousness to receive the Father’s blessing.
Sermon Outline
#1 What is the blessing?
Blessing in the Bible (“A word with authority, which powerfully accomplishes its purpose for the good of the person being blessed.”)
Jacob’s blessing
Our blessing in Christ
#2 How do we get it?
Put on Christ (Galatians 3:27)
Through faith
#2 How can we keep it?
No take-backs
Jesus’ credit, Jesus’ name
Genesis 28:10–22, “The Father’s Presence”
Read Genesis 28:10–22 • Listen to the sermon
Heaven isn’t just the place we go when we die; heaven comes to us. That’s what Jacob was learning in this chapter, but he missed two crucial things that we can see more clearly now, in light of Christ: that heaven comes down only as an unmerited gift, and only through the person of Jesus Christ.
Sermon Outline
#1 The Undeserved Grace of God
#2 The Abiding Presence of God
Jesus is the ladder
Jesus is the temple
Jesus is the sacrifice
