In our first lesson, we turn to the first page and first few sentences of Genesis. We find a pre-creation state of wild and waste, unordered and uninhabited, formless and empty. But darkness and deep can be transformed into life-giving waters by the presence of God.

Genesis 1 tells a new story to the people of the Ancient Near East that stands in contrast to their own cosmologies. The Israelite God is not one who needs violence to establish the earth, He is powerful enough to simply speak and invite creation into being what it can be.

What does it mean to be made in the image of God and how should that influence the way we live and relate to one another and to God? Often in temples you would find an idol or image there to represent the god to the people, in Genesis 1 we find God placing humanity in His temple to represent Him in and to the world.