What is wrong with the world?

In 1905 The Daily News, a popular paper out of London, was running a series of articles where they asked eminent writers and thinkers of the day what was wrong with the world. 

Each week they would print the responses. 

When G.K. Chesterton was asked, he responded as follows: 

“Dear Sirs, 

[What’s wrong with the world?] 

I am.”

That is good. 

But that is not the end of the story. Five years later, he wrote a fabulous book entitled: What is Wrong with the World. 

Reading it, you would think it was written last year, not in 1910. He laments that there is a greater disparity than ever between the rich and the poor. Our families are falling apart, our schools are in utter chaos, and our basic freedoms are under assault. And It affects every one of us. 

He says, “Not only are we all in the same boat, but we are all seasick.”

But he concludes: while we agree about the evil, we no longer agree about the good. The main thing that is wrong with the world is that we do not ask what is right. 

That is good. 

This Sunday, we will do both. We will look back at Genesis 1-3 and e will see: 

What is wrong with the world? We are. 

What is right with the world? He is. 

Genesis 1-3 / Outline

1. The House He Builds 

2. The Job He Gives 

• 1. To Guard 
• 2. To Work 

3. The Mess We Make 

• God’s Dwelling (the Garden) 
• Our Dwelling (Eden) 
• The Land 

Application Questions: 

How would you answer the question: What is wrong with the world? 

In Genesis 1, God first forms, and then he fills. He provides order and then life. Which do you need more of? 

Have you ever thought about the world as a three-tier world? 

What is wrong with the world- our spaces/domains are distorted and broken. How can you bring healing to each domain? 

What is wrong with the world- our work is distorted. What is the greatest challenge you feel at work right now? 

Read Genesis 3:24. How does Jesus deal with the problem of being exiled from the garden?