Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We will celebrate Rally Day at St. John next Sunday August 24). The major emphasis of this annual event is Christian Education. We highlight the ministry of our Destination Discipleship Sunday School program. We share the topics and teachers of our Adult Bible Study Communities. We will have special guests, Sven and Dean who connect with folks young and old alike. It’s a great day capped off with an inside picnic for all in attendance.
This year we will also begin our series, THE STORY, a thirty-one (31) session overview of the entire Bible in chronological order. We will start with Genesis (The Beginning of Life as We Know It), and work our way through Revelation and the End of the World and the Life of the World to Come. It promises to be quite an experience. I’m excited about what lies ahead for all of us through THE STORY.
It strikes me that in these verses we learn that God spoke about making man in his image, but actually formed man out of the dust of the ground. “Let us make man in our image…” God says. Not only is this an intentional act, but God also announces his intent. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that in creating man God knew the cost that would be exacted in order for man to fulfill his full destiny. Perhaps he drew a deep breath in realizing the sadness and pain that sin would bring as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve, and the horrific price that the Son of God would pay to redeem us. Perhaps it is also to alert us to the care and extra attention God put into this act, announcing his intent, forming out of the dust, breathing into his nostrils the breath of life, creating man in his image, now a living being.
These words are poetically beautiful. But they are much more than that. They ground us in our identity: we are creatures of the Creator. They let us know that we are not a happy accident. They tell us that God put his thumbprint on us – much like a child would do to a picture he would give to his mom. The begin a story of which we are a part worth celebrating. They set us into a relationship with others whereby we live that adventure together, and call us to share the journey with those along the way.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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