GENESIS SPEAKS TODAY

What if we all understood that every one of us can be an agent of redemption in this world? What if we all understood that from "the beginning," God has been about the business of loving and redeeming the Creation? Returning to those absolutely important and instructive opening chapters of Genesis (chapters 1-12), we reconnect with this worldview-forming part of Scripture, and we find that God invites us to be part of the story of redemption.

The opening chapters of Genesis have been rightly called "the preface" of the Bible. Here, in these chapters, we find the foundations of our Biblical faith. In these chapters we are reminded that we created with purpose. We remember that we live in a broken world, and we see again why the world is broken. We learn about the unique message of God and God's care for the world that came to the first hearers of these narratives, narratives that need to be heard again today. In the midst of the brokenness of the world, God determines to undertake a project of redemption...a project that begins in Abraham and continue right through our lives today-if we will accept the assignment.

In a post-modern world looking desperately for grounding, for a place to find solid footing, this book, Genesis Speaks Today, provides a thoroughly comforting and comprehensive review of the opening scenes of reality. In these pages and the pages of Scripture, readers find a God who loves the Creation and who works in and through us to bring the message of redemption, renewal, hope, and possibility that our world desperately seeks and craves.

Scripture, personal stories, anecdotes from history, and more appear throughout to help the reader connect with the ideas and themes of Genesis, to show that these ancient narratives bring clarity and direction for contemporary living. And, at the end of each chapter, a section entitled "What Does This Mean for Us Today" leads the reader to think more deeply and personally about the themes of the chapter and how to apply them to their lives. These sections can be used in group settings for further discussion.