Introduction: These days we have designer clothes, designer
homes and designer cars. Some make a big point of having
the name of the designer emblazoned on their clothes. Are
man and the creation “designer label” or an accident? Is the
name of our Master Designer emblazoned on His work? Let’s
dig in and explore that concept together!

  1. DESIGN OR ACCIDENT


    1. Imagine that you have just bought a new car.
      Would you grill the salesman “Are you sure this
      came off the production line and was not the
      result of an explosion or other accident in the
      parts room?”


      1. I have purchased some new cars that came with
        defects, but I have never purchased a car
        where I thought the whole thing came together
        by chance!


      2. How complex are you compared to your car?


      3. What kind of logic would conclude that you
        came together by chance, but your car did not?


    2. What does the Bible claim for us: design or
      chance? (Read Genesis 1:26)


      1. What do you think it means to be created in
        the image and likeness of God?


        1. Didn’t Moses just describe God as a
          spirit ( Genesis 1:2)? How are you like a
          spirit?


        2. What do you think God intended to reveal
          to us when He said we are in His image
          and His likeness? Why repeat two words
          that seem so similar? (Barnes’ commentary
          on this text says that “image” refers to
          outward appearance, even if the material
          is different. “Likeness” refers to a
          resemblance of any qualify – here a
          spiritual conformity to God.)


          1. What do you think about Barnes’
            suggestion?


        3. Do you ever say that you want to become
          “more like Jesus?” What do you mean by
          that?


        4. Read Colossians 3:9-10 and Ephesians
          4:22-24. What does it mean to be like
          God in these texts? (Colossians tells us
          that the “image” of the Creator refers to
          knowledge. Ephesians says that being like
          God is a matter of a righteous and holy
          attitude.)


        5. Do these texts suggest God had a design
          for our physical and mental being?


        6. If you believed that you were created by
          accident, what impact would that have
          your belief that God has a spiritual plan
          for your life?


          1. Could the two be reconciled? God
            created your mind and your body came
            together by accident?


    3. Do you prefer designer label clothing over generic
      clothing? Do you prefer name-brand products over
      generic products?


      1. Why is that?


      2. When people have the opportunity to claim that
        the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was their
        designer, why would they prefer to claim they
        were accidents of nature?


    4. Could you imagine a hill of sand evolving? Could
      you imagine a working light bulb evolving?


      1. Why do you say “yes” to one and “no” to the
        other? (Our lesson (Tuesday) has a wonderful
        point it derives from a Harvard Divinity
        School article written by John T. Baldwin. It
        says, “[t]he human body is composed of
        infinitely much more complex and
        interdependent systems such as the blood-clotting system, immune system,[and]
        circulatory system. This indicates the
        biological impossibility of forming these
        systems by countless, small, slow accumulative
        steps …. Nonfunctioning intermediate steps
        would have no selective value, and so would
        not be preserved by natural selection.” You
        could slowly accumulate a pile of sand. But
        for a light bulb to work, it would all have to
        work at once.)


  2. THE LABEL IN THE SKY


    1. Read Psalms 19:1-6. What does the Psalmist claim
      about God’s designer label and the skies? (He says
      they proclaim the “work of His hands.” His label
      is written in the skies.)


      1. How does the sky do that?


      2. What is the speech (v.2) that they pour forth?


      3. How do they (v.2) display knowledge?


      4. Do you have to know English to be able to read
        God’s designer label in the sky? (Verse 3
        tells us that God’s label is written in a
        universal language.)


      5. Verse 5 compares the sun to a bridegroom or a
        champion. What about the sun is like a
        bridegroom or a champion? (A bridegroom is
        generally young, strong and at the peak of his
        life. He has plans and ambitions. He works
        hard to accomplish those plans. Likewise, the
        sun charges out of the dark in the East and
        runs its powerful path to the West.)


        1. Can you imagine an irregular, unguided or
          unreliable sun? (“Sorry, no light today,
          the sun was tired and forgot to rise.”
          “Global warming picked up new converts
          today after the moon ran into the earth
          causing the earth to enter an erratic
          orbit bringing Florida much closer to the
          sun. Temperatures approached 400 degrees
          in the shade.” This is all laughable
          because we are used to absolute order and
          precision in the orbit of the earth
          around the sun.)


    2. Read Psalms 19:7-9. Why do you think these verses
      follow those describing how the heavens declare
      God’s glory? Does this make any logical sense to
      you?(The Psalmist is telling us that if God could
      order the heavens, He certainly knows how to
      direct our lives. Whenever I am tempted to
      believe that God is not real I always go back to
      the creation to shore up my belief in a Master
      Designer.)


  3. THE LABEL UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL


    1. Read 1 Corinthians 12:18. What do you think about
      the way God made our bodies?


      1. Can you think of a way to improve the design?


      2. When you buy a car there are all of these
        aftermarket accessories you can buy to improve
        your purchase.


        1. Do we have any of those for healthy
          bodies? (Running shoes?)


        2. If man cannot think of any substantial
          improvement for the human body, how could
          you reasonably conclude the body came
          together by accident as opposed to
          design?


    2. Read Psalms 139:13-16. Did God create a system by
      which we are made? Or does David suggest that
      God’s hand was still personally “on the throttle”
      in your creation? (David not only states God is
      the Creator, but David reveals that God has the
      same personal touch that He used for Adam and
      Eve!)


      1. How does that make you feel? Very Special?


      2. What does that say about interrupting God’s
        creation? (It would seem a lot like stomping
        on the flowers as God created them during
        Creation week. It is not something I would do
        in light of who He is and who I am.)


    3. Friend, if you enjoy the status of wearing
      designer label clothing, consider how much better
      you would feel knowing that the Creator of the
      Universe, the Master Designer, not only created
      mankind, He took a personal interest in creating
      you! Are you as anxious to reveal your
      relationship with you Maker as you are to reveal
      the label on your clothing?


  4. NEXT WEEK: GOD’S POWER IN NATURE