by Pastor Patrick Cho
The Grace Life Family Ministry has only met twice so far since the summer ended, but it has been a great couple of weeks! I know that change is rarely easy to adapt to, but I was encouraged to see so many people come out on Thursday evenings. The Bible study not only provides a chance for our married couples and parents to open God’s Word together, but it also is a wonderful time of warm fellowship. It also helps tremendously that Kids’ Club meets at the same time, thus freeing up parents to worship undistracted.
Not only has the time changed for our meetings from Sunday mornings to Thursday evenings, but the format has changed as well. Last year, the study depended heavily on homework and small group discussions, but this year we are moving to more of a large group structure. This way everyone is able to walk through a particular passage of Scripture together and all who come can equally benefit from the discussion times and feedback.
We are currently walking through a study of the mind entitled, “What Do You Think?” The purpose of the study is to examine the effect that sin has on the mind and how God has allowed us as believers in Christ to think biblically. Last week, we looked specifically at Genesis 1, the creation account. In particular, we wanted to study what the Scriptures reveal about God because that would give us a solid foundation to think from.
God is the one who created everything that is, and He did so without any mistakes or slip ups. It was all very good. This helps us in how we think because it reminds us that God is the one who ultimately determines what is good from bad. He is the standard of goodness. That is not something we can accurately determine on our own. Oftentimes people come in judgment of God because He does not meet their standards of good, but the Scriptures don’t allow us that role reversal. God is good and has created what is good.
Besides revelation of God’s goodness, the creation account also helps establish the Creator/creature distinction. God is the almighty Creator who revealed His power, wisdom, and authority through what has been made (cf. Rom. 1:20). The more we meditate on the creation account, the more it should remind us that God is amazing in glory, and we completely fall short of His glory. Having this frame of mind is essential if we are going to learn how to think biblically.
It has been a rewarding study so far, but we’ve only just begun. I pray that everyone will continue to come out and that the study will really benefit us all!