Into the Word with Bryce Ferguson

Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives step foot out of the Ark and onto dry ground.  Now is the time "to be fruitful and multiply on the earth." The three sons journey out to different lands on different paths, some holding true to God and some down unruly paths in opposition to their Creator.  Their legacy will be determined by their choice in faith.  What will they choose?  And too, what wil...

Since God is the Creator of all things and the Sustainer of all things, He could have ended it all prior to speaking with Noah in Genesis 6.  Or He could have started mankind completely over with bringing an end to all flesh.  But He didn't.  He carried His people of faith, generation by generation, from before the flood, through Noah's family during the flood, and then by generation and generatio...

The floodwaters have consumed the earth.  And now days go by.  Day after day, week after week, month after month.  And 8 people aboard the Lord's vessel for salvation, must wait.  This was the one method of deliverance and there was no other.  They had to be patient - in a dark ark, in a smelly ark, in a crowded ark.  Day after day.  Week after week.  Month after month.  And their faith was put to...

God does what He said He would do.  And after Noah obeyed Him in listening to God's instruction, in building the ark, in bringing the animals and the food and his family inside, and walking inside, God, Himself, closes the door - a confirmation of what God was about to do, a fulfillment of it all.  And the floodwaters burst forth, flooding over all mankind and every living things that breathed on...

In Genesis Chapter 6, the world catapulted from sin into utter lawlessness and violence.  God expresses His extreme sorrow over the state of mankind and, in justice, declares His intent to bring about the consequence warranted by outright opposition to God.  But, as is so often the case in punishment, God first rescues the faithful, to be with Him, to be safe, to be set apart from those destined f...

Jesus is the undisputed King of the world, who in this age of grace, reigns at the right hand of God the Father, and one day will return to reign on earth.  God always had a plan to be with His people and, though God was faithful in His covenants, the people fell short of faithfulness.  Sin has always been pervasive.  So, Jesus came on a rescue mission to earth, to die for the sins of mankind, of...

In the wake of the genealogy of faith of Chapter 5, the world takes a hard turn in opposition to God's authority and pursues everything else.  God stands and sees, the Judge of all the world, and watches as the world's culture has lost all sense of faith and morality.  And God expresses Himself so openly to us who read His Word today - that "the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth" (6...

From the family line of Adam, there is both the fallout from tragedy (4:8) and a split of trajectories (4:25-26).  God's plan and the family line of His people will be carried, not by the firstborn or second born, but by the third son, Seth.  And God is faithful in continuing the line of His people, from Adam to Noah.  Enoch is of particular example, because of his righteous walk with God, God did...

In mankind's narrative, the second generation (Cain) chose sin, not unlike his parents, Adam and Eve.  But, unlike Adam and Eve, God cautioned Cain after his misgiving, to choose good (God) and he would be accepted - but Cain does not.  He lets sin fester until his anger drives him to murder, him of who Cain was jealous.  Sin, when unchecked, when unrefuted, when unrepented, leads to obsession, an...

From Adam and Eve in Chapters 1-3, the next generation of humans is introduced at the start of Chapter 4, with the firstborn and the second born of Adam and Eve (Cain and Abel, respectively).  We read both Cain and Abel work and bring an offering to the Lord, but they are very different offerings.  One approaches God correctly (Abel) bringing a choice sacrifice, and one approaches God in a way to...

After God pronounces the curses to Eve and Adam, He now drives them from the garden of Eden.  The garden had abundant food, beauty, and joy, but the greatest gift in the garden before was God's presence.  Banished from the garden, the first two humans are now to cultivate food and live in hardship, in stress, and with pain.  Death would await their future, but the relationship with God was not ove...

For the direct justice of the law God established, with a broken commandment, is due the immediate punishment and God speaks it to them after the offense.  God brings respective curses upon the serpent, upon the woman, and upon the man.  God proves to mankind in this who He is and what His law means.  There is also a foreshadowing of what is to come, in the fulfillment of God's plan on Earth and f...

Satan tempts Eve and Adam to distrust God.  They entertain the serpent.  And in choosing what the serpent said to follow, they sinned and disobeyed God, which had a disastrous effect, primarily, on their relationship with God.  And in their punishment, God is just.  And in God's continuing love for them, God is faithful.

A serpent appears to Eve in the garden - to oppose God and to encourage her to oppose God.  The serpent somehow knows the command that God spoke to Adam, and then pushes Eve to doubt God's command.  

One to help Adam shoulder the load, and a companion, the first woman on Earth is created with the hand of God, with particular attention and formed by God's hand.  God also sets the standard here for marriage: one man and one woman.  The charge before them is great: to exemplify God on Earth and to exemplify God to each other.  The charge is the same for every one of us. Article: https://rabbiyesh...

If God commanded you to do something or not do something, would you listen to Him?  A command is not a request.  It is not a petition.  It has the weight of authority and it has consequences for disobedience.  As we look around at all God has bestowed to us, the abundant provision and gifts, we clearly see the powerful love of Almighty God.  Let this abundant love from God compel us to obey.  Jesu...

God chose to rest on the seventh day and set it apart as holy.  Because He did, so should we.  When we rest, it is different from sleep, though sleep also is good and important.  But resting in God, obeys God and shows trust in God, that we are building a legacy of His kingdom, and not a legacy built on us.

Different than the creation of the heavens and Earth.  Different than the creation of water, of light, of plants, of animals, God creates humanity and specifically makes now mankind in His image and likeness.  What does this mean?  This means, the all-knowing and all-reigning God of all dominion, grants to mankind certain aspects of how He thinks, how He acts, how He loves, and also limited capaci...

In the Beginning, when God created the heavens and the Earth, it was still a bit of a blank canvas, if you will.  Then, God created land, sky, and the waters - and filled them, for a very specific purpose - it was to His glory.  All that God was creating was to enable and sustain life on Earth for humanity, but it was step by step, intentional, planned, and specifically for Him, and for us.  God d...

God created all things and God was before all things.  We read "In the beginning," in the first verse of the Holy Bible, but God was already there, living, dwelling, eternally existing, and active.  Then, "In the beginning," the story of what humanity knows began.  God created the heavens and the earth.  And our concept of how the Earth began is known.  God did it.  And He was just getting started...