Renewal

2019 Conference

Genesis 1-3: Defending the Foundations

October 26-27 2019

Take advantage of our super early bird discount.

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The Foundations of Christianity

The early chapters of Genesis present a preamble to our faith, revealing truths echoed throughout the Scriptures. The account of creation and fall consistently center upon the character and attributes of God. These chapters cannot be ignored, because their themes appear repeatedly from Genesis to Revelation.

Dr. Bill Barrick

Dr. Barrick is professor emeritus of Old Testament at the Master's Seminary in California. He has a undergraduate degree in science and spent 16 years serving as a Bible translator and missionary in Bangladesh. He has been involved in translating the Bible into 9 different languages and has consulted on several English translations.

He is also the Old Testament editor of the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary series and is the author of the forthcoming volume in this series on the book of Genesis. Each year he helps lead trips through the Grand Canyon where he teaches alongside geologists how the sedimental layers of the canyon corroborate the flood story of Genesis.

Watch Dr. Barrick's overview of Renewal 2019

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Location & Venue

Location

Devon Intermediate School,
400 Devon Street W,
New Plymouth

Parking

There is parking inside the School Grounds for those who arrive early, and plenty of parking around the school campus.

Weekend Schedule

Saturday

9am-10:30 – God’s Almighty Power
11am-12:30pm – God’s Supreme Wisdom
2pm-2:45pm – Special Session: Bible Translation
3pm-4:30pm – God’s Providential Care

Sunday

9am-10:15 – God’s Design for Human Beings
11am-12:30pm – God’s Grace and Mercy
2pm-3pm – Q&A with Dr. Barrick
3:30pm-5pm – God’s Future Act of Restoration

See full schedule below

Full Schedule

9am Saturday

God’s Almighty Power

God created the universe by merely speaking it into existence. The psalmist echoes the Genesis 1 creation account by saying, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host” (Psalm 33:6 ESV). Therefore, the Creator’s great might produces fear and awe in our inner being. The creation narrative in Genesis reveals a God who displays His power (Romans 1:20).

9am Saturday

11 am Saturday

God’s supreme wisdom

Scripture’s superb wisdom literature (for example, Job 28:23–27 and Proverbs 8:22–31) affirms that God exercised His unparalleled wisdom in and through His creative activities. Everything the Creator did at creation speaks of His purposeful design and attention to detail. In addition, when He revealed the creation narrative to Moses, God does not ignore the unbelief coloring the way fallen humans tend to read the biblical account.

11 am Saturday

2pm Saturday

Special Session: Bible Translation

God gave written revelation in order to provide all people with His message of salvation and instructions for living as believers. Without translating the Bible into other languages, every reader would need to gain proficiency in biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek at the same level each understands written materials in their own heart language. Needless to say, becoming proficient in those three Bible languages could severely limit the number of people who could read the Bible for themselves, which is why Bible translations are necessary. However, translators must overcome many challenges to give someone the gift of a Bible in their heart language. This applies even to our English translations.

2pm Saturday

3:30pm Saturday

God’s providential care

Genesis 2:4–25 focuses on God’s sovereign and gracious provision for every entity in His created universe. His providential care predates the plants, rain, and even His creation of humans to cultivate the ground. King David celebrates the same care in Psalm 65:9,

“You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.” (ESV)

3:30pm Saturday

9am Sunday

God’s design for human beings

The sixth day of creation set the stage for the centrality of human beings in God’s created universe. God made only humans “in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). He also designed humans for a special relationship between the two genders (man and woman) displayed by their special creation and their union in marriage. Jesus Himself, the Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16), quoted the Genesis account to emphasize the enduring nature of marriage according to God’s original design (Mark 10:6–9).

9am Sunday

11am Sunday

God’s grace and mercy

Adam’s disobedience to God’s command (Genesis 3:17) disrupted the goodness of God’s creation (Genesis 1:31). Such rebellion against God produced results affecting every aspect of creation as well as human beings’ relationship to their Creator. In this midst of the catastrophe, however, God gave abundant evidence of His grace and mercy. He reveals the earliest form of the gospel of salvation (Genesis 3:15) even while He pronounces judgment. Amazingly, the Creator had already begun to make arrangements for deliverance from sin even before Adam’s disobedience (see Ephesians 1:3–6 and 1 Peter 1:17–21).

11am Sunday

2pm Sunday

Q&A with Dr Barrick

Throughout the conference we’ll have a box available for you to submit questions for Dr. Barrick to answer. During this time, Dr Barrick will answer your questions.

2pm Sunday

3:30pm Sunday

God’s future act of restoration

Although Genesis 1–3 remains silent on the matter of a future restoration of the fallen creation, Genesis 6–9 points its readers in that direction. God righteously judges a sinful world, nearly annihilating the earth and all life on its surface. However, God loves to restore—He brings beauty out of ashes, joy out of grief, and praise out of a disheartened spirit (Isaiah 61:3). Both Paul (Romans 8:20–25) and John (Revelation 22:1–5) describe that future restoration promised by the Creator.

3:30pm Sunday

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