First Students Alex Stewart

Two of the main questions the Bible has been asking us is "what is the good life?" and "how do we find it?" In the wisdom literature, we see three books show us three different stories, but all pointing us back to the idea that the good life is found in wisdom... and wisdom is solely found in the fear of the Lord... Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job

The story of Scripture so far is that God’s people have been pursuing a way of life for themselves that God didn’t intend for them… after the cycle of sin in Judges, they keep falling into idolatry… and they know something is wrong… but where do is the fix? In 1 Samuel 8:5, we see that they think its through a king... they cry "we want a king like the other nations! Make us great again!" … and because of idolatry, lust, greed, and pride, they lose the presence of God... but God intends for a better king to come... the question is, are we there yet?

The story of Ruth shows us that even in a corrupt culture, God deeply cares about his people and works to redeem them by his grace.

As Genesis continues, sin expands. It can seem like creation is getting out of hand, and God is absent. However, Genesis reveals that God does not leave his people... God graciously continues to draw his people back to himself, but the question begins to arise, "how will we live with our God?" ... Even as the story of the Exodus come and as his people leave Egypt, the people of God are left asking, “how can we know this God? How can we live with him?” and God answers in Exodus 19...

After Genesis 3, it seems like the story of the Bible gets dark. Sin runs deeper and deeper... to the point of God being grieved of making mankind. From murder to pride, the heart of man is inherently sinful, but God doesn't abandon mankind. Instead, the reader can see from Genesis 4-17, God begins to call a people to graciously save and establish a covenant of peace that will restore his people to himself... but how?

There's something seriously wrong with our world and us... Things aren't as they were created to be... but what's wrong with it? In Genesis 3, Moses helps us understand where things all went wrong... Deception led to disobedience against the good God and sin corrupted all of creation including people... but Moses shows us that God does not leave us hopeless...