Look, Listen & Live 1: Beginning with GOD

Introduction

Greetings Friends. Come and learn about some of the first people who lived on earth. They can teach us much about the One True God. Look at the pictures in the Red book. Look at the next one when you hear this sound. (Signal)

Picture 1. Adam and the Animals

Genesis 1:1 - 2:14

In the beginning this earth did not exist. Only God existed. There is only one God. He is Spirit. (We cannot see Him.) God has all power. He knows all things and He is everywhere. God created everything on earth and in the sky. He made man from the dust of the earth. God gave the man a spirit so he could know God. (All his thoughts and his desires agreed with God.) God called the man Adam. Adam gave names to all the animals which God had made. (God made all the spirits and the angels in Heaven too.) Everything which God made was very good. (Signal)

Picture 2. A Wife for Adam

Genesis 2:15-25

God put Adam in a beautiful (fertile) garden and he cared for it. There were male and female creatures of every kind, but there was no suitable companion for the man. So God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. Then He took a rib out of Adam's side. God made a woman from Adam's rib, and He brought her to the man to be his companion. The man and the woman were naked but they were not ashamed. They could speak to God as friends. There was no sorrow, death or evil in that wonderful place. (Signal)

Picture 3. The Snake in the Garden

Genesis 3:1-8

God told Adam, "You are free to eat of every tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Satan was an angel in Heaven, but he turned against God. He became the enemy of God. Satan came to the woman in the form of a beautiful snake. He lied to the woman. He told her that she would not die. He persuaded her to eat from the tree. The woman gave some of the fruit to Adam and he ate it too. They had disobeyed God and they couldn't know God the same way any more. They became ashamed that they were naked, and they tried to hide from God. (Signal)

Picture 4. Adam and Eve Outside the Garden

Genesis 3:14-24

God put Adam and the woman out of the garden. He said to Adam, "Because you ate of the tree, the land will be cursed. You will have to work hard to make it produce food." God said to the woman, "I will increase your trouble in giving birth." And to the snake He said, "Because you have done this, you are cursed, you will crawl on your belly." The snake became man's enemy. Adam called the woman Eve (which means Life). Eve had children who are the ancestors of us all. We are still separated from God, and we all disobey God even as Adam did. But God promised that one day He would send a Man who would defeat Satan. That man is able to bring us back to God. The Man is the Lord Jesus Christ. (Signal)

Picture 5. Noah and the Great Boat

Genesis 6:1-22

The people who descended from Adam followed the ways of Satan. Only one man tried to please God. His name was Noah. God said to Noah, "I have decided to destroy all mankind because the earth is full of their evil deeds. Build a boat for yourself. I am going to send a flood on the earth to destroy every living thing. Go into the boat with your wife and your sons and their wives. Take into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, in order to keep them alive." Noah did everything that God commanded. (Signal)

Picture 6. The Great Flood

Genesis 7:1-24

Noah warned the people that God would destroy them but they would not turn from their evil ways. Noah and his family and two of every creatures went into the boat. God shut them in. Then the rain began to fall. It rained for forty days and forty nights. Springs of water came from under the ground, and the whole earth was covered with a great flood. Every person, animal and bird died except for Noah and all those in the boat. (Signal)

Picture 7. The Rainbow and God's Promise

Genesis 8:13-22

The rain stopped and after a year the ground dried out. Noah and his family and all the animals came out of the boat. Noah offered a sacrifice to God and God was pleased. God put a rainbow in the sky and He said, "I will never again destroy all living beings with a flood. Whenever the rainbow appears I will remember My promise to you." Friends, when you see a rainbow remember this too. God will judge the world again. Next time He will destroy the world with fire. However, those who believe and obey God need not fear. God has given us a way of escape and that Way is the Lord Jesus Christ. (Signal)

Picture 8. The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1-9

The sons of Noah had many children. God told them to go to live all over the earth, but the people did not want to separate. They decided to build a city with a tower that would reach the sky. God saw their disobedience and their pride, and He said, "These are all one people and they speak one language. Let us go down and mix up their languages." Look at the people in the picture! They cannot understand one another. They had to stop building the city and go to live in different places. It was man's disobedience which caused so many languages. Disobedience separates people from each other, and disobedience separates people from God. (Music and Signal)

Picture 9. Job Worships God

Job 1:1-12

The man in this picture is Job. He worshipped and sacrificed only to the One True God. He did not follow Satan's ways. Job had many children and servants, and large herds of animals. God had caused Job to become very rich. One day God told Satan that He was pleased with Job. But Satan said that Job only worshipped God in order to be rich. He said to God, "If You take away everything that Job has, he will curse You." God knew that Satan lied. He knew that Job would worship Him even if he were poor. So God let Satan take everything from Job to prove that Job was a good man. (Signal)

Picture 10. Job in Mourning

Job 1:13-22

One day Job's servants brought him terrible news. Job's enemies had stolen his oxen and donkeys and killed his servants. Lightning had killed all his sheep and their shepherds. Bandits had stolen all of his camels. Another servant brought the worst news of all, saying, "Your children were feasting when a storm blew the house down and killed them all." Job shaved his head and fell to the ground. He said, "The Lord gave, and now He has taken away. May His Name be praised!" In all these troubles Job did not curse God. (Signal)

Picture 11. Job Suffers

Job 2:1 - 41:34

Satan said to God, "If you hurt Job's body he will curse You!" So God allowed Satan to test Job again. Satan brought a terrible skin disease on Job. Job's wife said to him, "Why don't you curse God and die?" But Job refused and said to her, "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble too?" Three friends came and talked with Job for many days. They said that God was punishing Job for some evil he had done. Then God Himself appeared to them. God showed them that they did not understand. God is unlimited in power. He knows all things. He knows what is best for us, and He alone can choose a difficult or an easy life for us. (Signal)

Picture 12. Job is Restored

Job 42:1-17

When Job saw the greatness of God he was ashamed that he had doubted God or had talked of his own goodness. Job prayed for his friends because they did not understand the ways of God. Then God made Job wealthy and healthy again. His friends came to feast with him and to bring him gifts. God gave him seven sons and three beautiful daughters. He lived to see many of his descendants, and he died a very old man. Friends, God knows why you may suffer in this life. Remember, God loves us and only wants the best for us. He wants us to trust Him so that we may have victory over Satan through the Lord Jesus Christ. (Music)

Introduction to Part B

Let me tell you about a man called Abraham. He obeyed God, and through him many people have been blessed. Look at the next picture when you hear this sound. (Signal)

Picture 13. Abraham Leaves His Home

Genesis 12:1 - 13:4

One day God spoke to Abraham saying, "Leave your country and your father's house, and go to a land which I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. Through you God will bless all people on earth." Abraham believed God's promise and did as He said. He took his wife and his servants and all he owned. He travelled for many days until he reached the land of Canaan. There God said to him, "This is the land I am going to give to your descendants." (Signal)

Picture 14. Abraham and Lot

Genesis 13:5-18

Abraham had a nephew called Lot. He went with Abraham to Canaan. Abraham and Lot both had large herds of animals. The herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot quarrelled because there was not enough pasture for them all. So Abraham said to Lot, "Let us not quarrel; let us separate. Choose any part of the land you want." Lot wanted the best land for himself and his herds so he chose the fertile river valley. He went to live near a city called Sodom. Then God spoke to Abraham again, saying, "All the land you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever." (Signal)

Picture 15. Abraham Meets the King of Peace

Genesis 14:1-24

The people of Sodom were very wicked. Four kings warred with Sodom and defeated it. The victors took Lot and his family captive, but Abraham and his men went and rescued them from the enemy. As they returned from the battle they met a great King. His name was Melchizedek. He was king of Salem, which means 'peace'. Melchizedek brought bread and wine to Abraham, and said, "You are greatly favoured by God Most High. He delivered your enemies into your hand." Abraham gave gifts to the King of Peace. The king of Sodom wanted to give gifts to Abraham, but he refused. He would not accept gifts from such a wicked king. However, Lot was foolish. He went to live in Sodom again. (Signal)

Picture 16. Abraham Counts the Stars

Genesis 15:1-21

God called Abraham His friend. He said that Abraham's descendants would always be His people. But Abraham was sad because he had no children. Then God took Abraham outside and said, "Look up and count the stars - if you can; you will have as many descendants as that." Abraham believed the promise of God and God was pleased with him. God told Abraham again that one day his descendants would own all the land of Canaan. (Signal)

Picture 17. The Baby Ishmael

Genesis 16:1-16

Many years passed but Abraham and his wife, Sarah, still had no children. Then one day Sarah said to Abraham, "Sleep with my maidservant. Perhaps I can have a family through her." So Sarah's servant, Hagar, became pregnant by Abraham. Then Sarah became jealous of Hagar and treated her cruelly. God sent his angel to comfort Hagar. He told her that she would have a son called Ishmael. Ishmael would have many children and become a great nation. (Ishmael became the father of the Arabs.) But God told Abraham, "Your wife, Sarah, will bear you a son and through him I will keep my promises to you." (Signal)

Picture 18. Sarah Laughs

Genesis 18:1-15

One day, when Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 90 years old, three messengers of God came to them. Sarah prepared food and Abraham gave it to them outside their tent. Then one of the messengers spoke God's words, saying, "Nine months from now, Sarah will have a son." Sarah was inside the tent and she heard him. She could not believe it, so she laughed to herself. Then God said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Just as God had promised, Sarah gave birth to a son in her old age. They called him Isaac, which means "Laughter". (Signal)

Picture 19. Abraham Prays for Sodom

Genesis 18:16 - 19:29

God decided to destroy Sodom because the people were so wicked. He told Abraham what He was going to do. Abraham remembered Lot and said, "Will you destroy the innocent with the wicked?" ("Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?") Abraham pleaded with God to save Sodom, so God told him, "If I find ten righteous people in the city, I will not destroy it." The messengers of God went down to Sodom, but the only righteous person there was Lot. The messengers warned Lot to escape from the city. Then God sent fire from Heaven. Sodom was completely destroyed. Only Lot and his two daughters were saved. (Signal)

Picture 20. Abraham's Sacrifice

Genesis 21:1 - 22:19

Abraham's son Isaac, grew to be a young man. Then God tested Abraham. God said to him, "Take your only son Isaac, and offer him as a sacrifice to Me." Abraham trusted God so much that he obeyed Him. He knew that God could even raise Isaac to life again. Just as Abraham was about to kill Isaac, God spoke to him, "Abraham, don't harm the boy. Now I know that you put me first. You have not kept back your only son from Me." Then Abraham saw a sheep caught in a bush. Instead of his son he killed the sheep as a sacrifice to Him. (Signal)

Picture 21. Old Abraham and His Servant

Genesis 24:1 - 25:26

When Abraham was very old, he called his servant and said, "Go back to my country and find a wife for my son, Isaac." Abraham did not want Isaac to leave the land of Canaan or to take a wife from the evil Canaanite women. So the servant (made a promise and) obeyed Abraham, and God led the servant straight to Abraham's relatives. There he found a beautiful wife for Isaac. Her name was Rebekah. Isaac and Rebekah had a son called Jacob (or Israel). He became the father of the great nation of Israel. The people of Israel still live in the land which was Canaan. From Israel came One who brings blessing to the whole world. (Music & Signal)

Picture 22. Jesus is Born

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

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, and He showed Abraham that He always keeps His promises. In this picture you can see the baby called Jesus. (At just the right time) He was born in the land of Israel. His mother was a virgin called Mary, (she descended from Abraham and Isaac) but His Father was the One True God. Jesus is the One who brings blessing to the whole world, He is the One who came to defeat Satan and bring us back to God. (Signal)

Picture 23. The Death of Jesus

Galatians 3:13-14

Jesus grew to be a man. He taught people the ways of God. He did many miracles to show that He came from God. But evil men would not believe Him. They killed Jesus by nailing Him to a wooden cross. A soldier pierced His side with a spear. He was really dead. Friends, God told Adam that he would die if he ate the fruit of the tree. We have all disobeyed God, and we deserve everlasting death too. But Jesus died to take our punishment. Remember how God provided a sheep for Abraham to kill instead of Isaac? God also gave His only Son to die instead of us. Remember how God said to Adam that He would send someone to defeat Satan? Satan was defeated when Jesus died for us. Now Satan's power to cause us everlasting death is finished. (Signal)

Picture 24. Jesus is Alive!

John 20:19-29

The dead body of Jesus was put in a grave, but on the third day He came alive again! He appeared to His friends. But one of them called Thomas was not there. Later they said to Thomas, "We have seen the Lord!" but he would not believe them. Then Jesus appeared to them all again. He showed Thomas the nail marks in His hands and the spear wound in His side. Jesus said to Thomas, "Stop doubting and believe. How happy are those who believe without seeing Me." Friends, let us not be like Thomas who doubted God. Let us be like Abraham who believed God's promises. It is by having faith in Jesus that we can know God and receive everlasting life with Him. (Music)