Look, Listen & Live 1: Beginning with GOD

Introduction

Good day. Come and learn about some of the first people who lived on the earth. God’s dealings with them teach us much about Him. Look at the pictures in the red book as you listen to this. It has teachings from God’s book, the Bible. Turn to the next picture when you hear this music (MUSIC).

Picture 1 God Created Adam and the Animals

Genesis 1:1 - 2:14

There is only one God. He is Spirit. He knows all things and He is everywhere. In the beginning only God existed; besides God there was no other living creature. The earth as we know it today, did not exist. God created everything. First He created the light. Then God made the sky, the clouds and the earth. He separated the sea from the dry land and plants started to grow. Then God made the sun, the moon and the stars. He made all the living creatures on earth and in the sea. He made man from the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life. He was the first man who ever lived. God gave man the greatest honour: He created him after his own image. God made man to know Him so that his spirit could be one with the Spirit of God. All of the man’s thoughts and desires agreed with those of God and he walked with God. God named the man Adam. (MUSIC)

Picture 2 A Wife for Adam

Genesis 1:27-28, 2:15-25

God put Adam in a beautiful garden called Eden and told him to care for it. There were trees of every kind, including the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. God allowed Adam to find names for all the animals and the birds. There were males and females of all creatures. But there was no suitable companion for Adam. So God decided to create a woman as a companion for Adam. God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took a rib from Adam’s side. From this rib God made the woman. God brought her to the man. The man and woman were naked, but they were not ashamed. God blessed them and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals on the earth.” He also gave them every seed-bearing plant and all the fruit trees for food. (MUSIC)

Picture 3 The Snake in the Garden

Genesis 2:16-17, 3; Isaiah 14:12

In the Garden, God commanded the man, Adam, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” But Satan tricked Adam’s wife. Who was Satan? He had once been an angel of God, but he rebelled against God who created him. He wanted to become greater than God. So God cast him out of heaven and Satan became God’s enemy. Here in the garden he came to the woman in the form of a snake. He tricked her and said that she would not die if she ate of the forbidden fruit but that she would become like God, knowing good and evil. The woman ate and gave some of the fruit to Adam. As soon as they had eaten they saw that they were naked and they were ashamed. They realised that they had dishonoured and disobeyed God and that their relationship with God was not the same anymore. They made coverings of leaves for themselves and tried to hide from God. (MUSIC)

Picture 4 Adam and Eve Outside the Garden

Genesis 3:14-24

God came to Adam and his wife to speak with them about what they have done. When they told Him how the serpent deceived them, God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed, you will crawl on your belly.” He also told Adam and his wife what the consequences of their sin would be. He said to the woman: “I will increase your labour in giving birth.” And to Adam He said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate of the tree, the land will be cursed. You will have to work hard to make it produce food.” God made clothes of animal skin for Adam and Even in place of their coverings of leaves. Then He cast them out of the garden. Adam named the woman Eve, which means ‘living’. She had children by him. All people descended from Adam and Eve. They all inherited a sinful nature from them. Everyone sins and dishonours God, and because of that they have no relationship with God. But God promised Adam and Eve that one day their descendent would come and defeat Satan. That man would be able to bring us back to God, restore our relationship with Him and give us new life. (MUSIC)

Picture 5 Noah and the Ark

Genesis 6:1 - 7:5

The children of Adam and Eve and the following generations became
very many. But they were full of wickedness and did what was wrong before God. God felt great sorrow and was sorry that He had made man. There was only one man God was pleased with. His name was Noah. One day God spoke to Noah and said, “I am going to destroy all mankind, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. So make yourself a big ship. I am going to send a flood on the earth to destroy every living creature. But I will make an agreement with you. Go into the ship, you and your wife, your sons and their wives. Take into the ship with you male and female of every kind of animal and bird, in order to keep them alive. And you must take every kind of food for you and the animals to eat and store it away.” God told Noah exactly how to build the ark. Noah did everything God commanded. He also preached to the people about how to live in a right relationship with God.
(MUSIC)

Picture 6 The Great Flood

Genesis 7:6-23

When the ark was finished, Noah, his family and all the animals went into the ark. God closed the door and shut them in. Seven days later the rain began to fall. It rained for forty days and nights. Springs of water came from under the ground and the whole earth was covered with a great flood. All the people and animals outside the ark died. (MUSIC)

Picture 7 The Rainbow and God’s Promise

Genesis 7:24 - 9:17

Noah and his family and all the animals were in the ark for a year. When at last the rain stopped and the water had dried up from the earth, they all came out of the ark. Then Noah built an altar to God, as you see here. He killed some animals and sacrificed them to God by burning them on the altar. God was pleased with it. He promised never again to destroy all living creatures by a flood and He put a sign of His promise in the sky, a rainbow. It is there even today to remind us of His faithfulness. (MUSIC)

Picture 8 The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1-9

God told Noah and his three sons to have many children and to spread out all over the earth. But their descendants would not listen. They decided to stay in one place and build a city with a tower that reaches high into the sky. They wanted glory for themelves instead of giving it to God. God saw the city and the tower. He also saw their disobedience and pride. So God said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so that they will not understand each other.” And He did so. In this picture the people cannot understand one another anymore. So they stopped building the city and they went to live in different places. (MUSIC)

Picture 9 Job Worships God

Job 1:1-12

There was a man called Job. He worshipped the one true God. He was pure and blameless and refused to do evil. Job had seven sons and three daughters and he made offerings on behalf of his children. He asked God’s forgiveness for them, if they had offended God in any way. God was pleased with Job. He blessed him and caused him to prosper. Job had large herds of animals and many servants. One day God told Satan that He was pleased with Job. But Satan started to accuse Job before God. He said that Job only worshipped God so that he would be rich. Satan said to God, “If you take away everything that Job has, then he will curse you.” God knew that Satan was a liar and he knew that Job was a good man who only wanted to please Him. So God allowed Satan to take everything away from Job to test him. (MUSIC)

Picture 10 Job in Mourning

Job 1:13-22

This picture shows a day of great sorrow for Job. His servants brought him terrible news. The first servant came running to tell Job that enemies had killed his other servants and had stolen all his oxen and donkeys. Before he had finished speaking another servant came. He said lightning had struck the sheep and shepherds. All were killed. A third servant came to tell Job that bandits had attacked them and had stolen all his camels. Another servant brought the worst news of all, “Your children were feasting together when a storm blew the house down and killed them all.” After hearing this, Job shaved his head and fell to the ground in grief. He said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Although all these bad things had happened, Job did not dishonour God by blaming Him, instead he worshipped Him. (MUSIC)

Picture 11 Job Suffers

Job 2:1 - 41:34

Satan saw that Job still honoured God, so he said to God, “If you hurt Job’s body, he will curse you.” God allowed Satan to test Job again. Satan brought a terrible skin disease on Job. Job went outside and scraped his sores with a piece from a broken pot. His wife said to him, “Curse God and die!” But Job answered, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Four of Job’s friends came and talked to him for many days. They tried to find out the reason for all Job’s suffering. They said that he must have done something wrong and that God was punishing him. Job did not agree with them. Job questioned God’s ways, but he never turned against God and did not lose his faith in God. Then God Himself appeared to them. God showed them that they did not understand why it all happened. God has unlimited power. He knows all things. He knows what is best for us, and He alone knows why He sometimes allows difficulties in our lives. (MUSIC)

Picture 12 Job Is Restored

Job 42:1-17

In this picture Job is well and rich again. I will tell you how this happened. When Job met God, he realised God’s greatness and felt truly sorry for questioning God’s ways. Then God spoke with Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends who accused him, “I’m angry with you and your friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” God also told them to go to Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for themselves and that his servant Job would pray for them. God said that He would forgive them. Job did pray for his friends and God accepted his prayer. After this God made Job well and rich again. Job’s friends and relatives came to feast with him and to bring him gifts. God gave him seven sons and three beautiful daughters. Job lived to see many of his descendants and he died a very old man. (MUSIC)

Introduction 2

Let me tell you about a man called Abram. He was a man who had great faith in God and through him many people have been blessed. Be ready to turn to the next picture when you hear this music. (MUSIC)

Picture 13 Abram Leaves Home

Genesis 12:1 - 13:4

In this picture you see Abram, his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and their servants. They are going on a long journey because God had spoken to Abram saying, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Abram believed God’s promise and did as God told him to. He and his companions took all their possessions and travelled for many days until they reached the land Canaan. There God appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” Abram had travelled through the land, but when he came to the Negev area in the south of Canaan, a famine came over the land, and there was no food for them to eat. Abram and his people had to go to another country called Egypt, to find food. But later he returned to Canaan, because he still believed God’s promise to him. (MUSIC)

Picture 14 Abram and Lot

Genesis 13:5-18

Abram and Lot lived together in Canaan. They had so many animals that there was not enough grazing land for them in this one place. So the herdsmen of Abram and those of Lot quarrelled. Then Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Choose any part of the land that you want.” Lot wanted the best for himself, so he chose the fertile valley of the Jordan River, where there were also cities to live in. Lot went to live in this valley near a city called Sodom. The people of Sodom were very wicked. They displeased God. Abram stayed in the land of Canaan and there God spoke to him again. God said, “All the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.” (MUSIC)

Picture 15 Abram Meets the King of Peace

Genesis 14:1-24

While Lot lived in the valley, war broke out. Lot and his family were taken away captive with all the people of Sodom. So Abram and his armed men went to set Lot free. They defeated the enemy and saved all the captives and their possessions. As they returned from the battle, they met a king, as you can see in this picture. The king’s name was Melchizedek. He was king of a city called Salem, which means ‘peace’, and he was a priest of the Most High God and worshipped Him. He brought bread and wine to Abram and said, “May you be blessed by God Most High. He delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram bowed down before Melchizedek and brought him gifts. The king of Sodom also wanted to give Abram gifts for saving his people, but Abram would receive nothing from this evil king.
(MUSIC)

Picture 16 Abram and the Stars

Genesis 15:1-21, 17:1-19

After Abram had rescued Lot and all the people of Sodom, Lot returned to that wicked city. Then God spoke to Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield and I will reward you greatly.” But Abram was sad because God had not given him a son as an heir. For this reason, God took Abram outside and said, “Look up and try to count the stars. You will have as many descendants as that.” Abram believed the promise of God, even though he had no children yet. And God accepted his faith, and that faith made him right with God. (MUSIC)

Picture 17 the Baby Ishmael

Genesis 16 - 17

Look! Abram has a baby son. This is how it came to be: Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, still waiting to receive what God had promised, for Sarai, his wife, was still without a child. Sarai had a servant named Hagar. Sarai wanted Hagar to have a child by Abram and then Sarai would take the child to be her own. That was the custom in those days. So Hagar became pregnant by Abram. Sarai became jealous of her. She treated her badly, so Hagar ran away. But the angel of God met Hagar and he comforted her. He told her, “You will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.” Ishmael means ‘God hears’. “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers.” Ishmael was born and later became the father of the Arab people. Thirteen years after Ishmael’s birth, God came to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. This is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” Because of the new name that God had given him, Abraham knew that God would give him many descendants. God also said to Abraham, “The whole land of Canaan, I will give to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; Sarah will be her name. I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. Kings of countries will come from her!” (MUSIC)

Picture 18 Three Visitors

Genesis 18:1-15

One day three men came to Abraham’s tent. One of the three men was the Lord God Himself. Abraham bowed down before them, then he called Sarah to prepare food, and he served them himself. Then the men asked Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?” Abraham answered, “There, in the tent.” The Lord said to Abraham, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard Him and she laughed to herself because she was past her years of childbearing. Then God spoke to Abraham and said, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” (MUSIC)

Picture 19 Abraham Prays for Sodom

Genesis 18:16 - 19:29

When the three visitors got up to leave, Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. They looked down toward Sodom and God told Abraham that He was going to visit Sodom. He was planning to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because the people there were wicked. They were doing what was wrong before God. They had abandoned God’s plan for a holy relationship between a man and a woman. And they were full of violence. Abraham remembered Lot and said to the Lord God, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham began to plead with God. Finally, God said that He would not destroy Sodom if there were only ten upright people. When the Lord had finished speaking to Abraham, He left and Abraham returned home. But there were not even ten servants of God in Sodom. When the two messengers of God came to Sodom, they saw the wickedness of the people. But God had mercy on Lot. The messengers commanded Lot and his family to flee out of Sodom and told them not to look back. Then God sent fire from heaven and Sodom and Gomorrah with all the wicked people who lived there were destroyed. Lot and his family fled just in time, but on their way his wife looked back and immediately turned into a pillar of salt. Abraham had pleaded with God to save all the righteous people. Only Lot and his two daughters lived, because God remembered Abraham and how he had prayed for Lot. (MUSIC)

Picture 20 Abraham’s Sacrifice

Genesis 21:1 - 22:19

When Sarah was 90 years old she gave birth to a son, just as God had promised Abraham. Abraham was already 100 years old. They called the boy Isaac, which means ‘he laughs’. When Isaac was a young boy, God tested Abraham's faith. He said to Abraham, “Take your only son Isaac, whom you love, and offer him as a sacrifice to me.” Abraham trusted God so much that he prepared everything for sacrificing Isaac. He placed the wood on Isaac and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac said, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Abraham built the altar, put the wood on it, then bound his son and laid him on the altar. Just as Abraham raised the knife to kill Isaac, God’s angel spoke to him and said to Abraham, “Do not lay a hand on the boy Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Then Abraham saw a ram caught in a bush. He offered the ram as a sacrifice to God instead of his son. So God said to him, “Because you did not keep back your son, your only son, from me, I swear to you by my own name: I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed, because you obeyed me.” (MUSIC)

Picture 21 Abraham and His Servant

Genesis 24:1 - 25:11

When Abraham was very old, he called his servant and said, “Promise me that you will go back to my country and to my own relatives, and get a wife for my son, Isaac.” Abraham did not want Isaac to leave the land God had promised, or take a wife from the women of Canaan. The servant obeyed Abraham and travelled to the city of Nahor. There he asked God to guide him to find the right woman for Isaac. A beautiful young woman named Rebekah came out of the city to draw water from a well. She was willing to draw water for Abraham’s servant and his ten camels. The servant knew that God had guided him to this woman and that she was the woman he was looking for. He found out that she was the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother. The servant bowed down to the ground before God to worship Him, because He had answered his prayer and led him to his master’s relatives. So Rebekah became Isaac’s wife. Abraham died when he was 175 years old. All his life he trusted God to keep His promises, so God accepted and blessed him. God still blesses all those who trust in Him like Abraham. (MUSIC)

Picture 22 Jesus Is Born

Matthew 1:18-25; Galatians 4:4-5

The Word of God is true. God never lies. God told Adam that He would send his chosen one to defeat Satan. He warned Noah that He would destroy those who are evil. God showed Job that he wants what is best for us. He showed Abraham that He always keeps his promises. In this picture you can see the baby called Jesus. He was born at the right time in the land Palestine, later named Israel. His mother’s name was Mary. She was a descendant of Abraham and Isaac. Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Jesus had no human father. God is his Father. Jesus is the one who brings blessings to the whole world. He took on the lowly position of being a human in order to restore our honour. He came to fulfil God’s promise that Satan would be defeated and we would be free from Satan’s bondage. Jesus came to bring us back to God. (MUSIC)

Picture 23 the Death of Jesus

Galatians 3:13-14

When Jesus grew to be a man, He taught people the ways of God. Jesus did many miracles to show that He was from God. But many of the religious leaders of that time did not believe Him. They killed Jesus by nailing Him to a wooden cross. A soldier pierced his side with a spear to make sure that He was really dead. God told Adam that he would die if he ate from the tree. We have all disobeyed God and dishonoured Him, and we also deserve everlasting death. You will remember that God provided a ram for Abraham to be killed as a sacrifice instead of Isaac. In the same way God, out of his great love for us, instead of condemning all people to eternal death, sent Jesus, to die as a sacrifice for the sin and shame of all people. God wants us all to be His children. Yes, our sin and shame have separated us from God. Jesus is the way back to God. Through Him God restores our honour and reconciles us with Himself. (MUSIC)

Picture 24 Jesus Is Alive

John 20:19-29

Jesus’ followers laid his dead body in a grave. He was in the grave for three days. Then God raised Him from the dead! Death could not hold Jesus, the son of God. Jesus appeared to his disciples. They were all amazed. One disciple, called Thomas, was not with the others when Jesus came to them. Later Thomas said to them, “If I don’t see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” One week later Jesus appeared to them again. Look at the picture. Jesus showed Thomas the nail marks in his hands and He told Thomas to place his hands in his side. Then He said to Thomas, “Stop doubting and believe.” And Thomas believed. Jesus also said, “Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed.” Let us not be like Thomas who doubted God. Remember, God said to Adam that He would send someone to defeat Satan and destroy his power over us. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He overcame Satan. Satan has no power over people who believe and trust in Jesus and obey Him. This is exactly what God promised Abraham too. God promised him that all the nations on earth would be blessed through him. This blessing is: that all our sins are forgiven and all our shame is taken away. We receive new life in Jesus. Our honour and our relationship with God are restored. And when we die physically we will live with God eternally. This blessing came to be through Jesus. We can receive this blessing if we believe in Him. And through all this God receives the highest honour.