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Group Discussion
Questions for facilitating dynamic discussion
In The Beginning
September 15,2024
Week 2: Do I Matter?
Jeff Griffin
Genesis 1:26-31
In this study we were reminded of humanity’s inestimable value due to the fact that we were made “in the image of God.” This declaration of the immense value of all people has significant implications for our self-esteem and our treatment of others.
Jeff’s sermon introduction focused on the artistic excellence of Frank Lloyd Wright. Do you appreciate the works of a particular artist? If so, tell the group about who it is and why.
1. Reread Genesis 1:3-5 (NIV) God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
The references to the “days” of creation have led many to conclude that everything was created in six 24-hour periods. Do you have a conviction on the age of the earth and the length of creation days? If so, why do you have that conviction?
2. Why have many church splits and relational rifts been caused by arguments about the age of the earth?
3. How can we engage in debate about matters of belief without causing relational damage?
4. Reread Genesis 1:26 (NIV) Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image.”
The Latin for “the image of God” is “Imago Dei.” In what ways are we made in God’s image?
5. Reread Genesis 1:27 (NIV) So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
How can masculinity and femininity both reflect God’s nature?
6. How does the biblical view of the value of humanity influence the morality of matters such as: Murder, Suicide, Euthanasia, Eugenics, Abortion, Slavery?
7. C.S. Lewis once wrote: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit.”
What do you think of this quote?
8. Reread Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) We are God’s masterpiece.
How can this concept affect our self-image?
Ask the Lord to help you live with a perpetual awareness of the value of others and of yourself.