1. IN THE BEGINNING... GOD

2. Psalm 19:1–2 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. In the beginning...God

3. Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. In the beginning...God

4. Evidence for God god exists God is Powerful God is Good God is love

5. In the beginning...God ① Something exists – Law of cause and effect – The universe is a big something John Macquarrie “Science proceeds on the assumption that whatever events occur in the world can be accounted for in terms of other events.”

6. In the beginning...God ① Something exists Quentin Smith (atheist philosopher) “The most reasonable belief is that we came from nothing, by nothing, and for nothing.” Stephen Hawking "Spontaneous creation is the reason why the universe exists...It is not necessary to invoke God.”

7. In the beginning...God ② The universe is complex Michael Turner, astrophysicist “The precision is as if one could throw a dart across the entire universe and hit a bull’s-eye one millimeter in diameter on the other side.”

8. In the beginning...God ② The universe is complex Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time “It would be very difficult to explain why the universe would have begun in just this way except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us.”

9. In the beginning...God ② The universe is complex Sir Fred Hoyle, astronomer "If a tornado went through a junkyard, creating a functional 747... that would be child’s play by comparison!" "The fact that life exists anywhere in the universe, can only be explained by the pre-existence of some gigantic intelligence which, if you wish, you may call God."

10. In the beginning...God ③ Man is a marvel ­Without God, there are no absolutes ­There is no moral accountability outside of humanity ­Morality works against evolution

11. In the beginning...God ③ Man is a marvel Romans 2:14–15 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law… they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them....

12. In the beginning...God ③ Man is a marvel Immanuel Kant “Two things fill me with constantly increasing admiration and awe, the longer and more earnestly I reflect on them: the starry heavens without and the Moral Law within.”

13. In the beginning...God ④ There is love George Marsden “The ultimate reason that God creates, said [Jonathan] Edwards, is not to remedy some lack in God, but to extend that perfect internal communication of the triune God’s goodness and love.... God’s joy and happiness and delight in divine perfections is expressed externally by communicating that happiness and delight to created beings....

14. In the beginning...God ④ There is love The universe is an explosion of God’s glory. Perfect goodness, beauty, and love radiate from God and draw creatures to ever increasingly share in the Godhead’s joy and delight.... The ultimate end of creation, then, is union in love between God and loving creatures.”

15. Why I Believe God Exists 1.The universe exists 2.The universe is complex 3.Man is a marvel 4.The witness of history 5.The uniqueness of grace A powerful, wise, good God The God of the Bible

16. How to Grow in Faith this semester 1.Read Genesis with us Grace Bible Church @briangfisher 2.Get Connected www.grace-bible.org

17. IN THE BEGINNING... GOD