Read an Excerpt
NIV True Images: The Bible for Teen Girls
Zondervan
Copyright © 2003 Zondervan Corporation
All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-310-93662-6
Chapter One
at a glance
author: Moses.
date: During the 1400s B.C., while the Israelites were traveling in the desert.
setting: The events take place in Mesopotamia. Canaan and Egypt, parts of the region known today as the Middle East. verse to remember: I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse (i2 2-3). theme to consider: From the beginning, God has desired a relationship with his creation-you!
genesis
unchanging truth
How do you, feel about changes in your life? Maybe you're the adventurous type who gets excited about facing new challenges and meeting new people. Or do you like life to remain the same?
Certainly some changes, such as serious illness or a death in the family, are extremely traumatic and life-altering. But most of the changes In your life evolve over time and are so subtle you hardly notice what's happening.
The book of Genesis is overflowing with changes and relationships, God created a perfect world. Then sin entered and everything changed, A flood wiped out all life except those on the ark-more change. Broken family relationships led to murder and slavery. Mended relationships brought forgiveness and reconciliation. But through it all, God never changed, and he never will. God's faithfulness, his love and his forgiveness for his children am a constant throughout this book. At the very heart Genesis is God's Unwavering desire for a loving relationship with his people; as seen in the promise given to Abraham. Ultimately, "all peoples on earth" would have an opportunity for an intimate relationship with God-through the corning of Jesus, our Savior.
Changes are :sure to. Come into your to life. Are you Ready to face them with joy and confidence? You can, because God's love for you never changes!
3 life lessons
(1) God loves his people. You can trust him to keep all his promises (9:12-16).
(2) You'll face many temptations to disobey God and "do what everyone else is doing." Pray that God will help you resist these temptations (39:6-10).
(3) It's difficult to see God's plan when bad things happen to you. But be assured that God know what's going on and is in control (50:19-20).
Genesis 1:1
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of Gad was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light." and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was goad, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
6 And God said. "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day.
9 And God said. "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was goad.
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And Gad saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.
14 And Gad said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And Gad saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant an the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours far food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
truth or dare
Look around at all the variety on earth. That took some serious creativity. In fact, God created creativity itself! And he used it to make his good creation-you.
1:25
Genesis 2:9
2
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so an the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the Loran God made the earth and the heavens-5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth 6 and there was no man to work the ground. 6 but streams' came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-7 the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
truth or dare
Feeling a bit frazzled? Taking a break isn't just a good idea; it's a command from God. Even the Creator of the universe took a day off from his work for a little R&R.
2:3
(Continues...)
Excerpted from NIV True Images: The Bible for Teen Girls Copyright © 2003 by Zondervan Corporation. Excerpted by permission.
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