The bible is full of landscapes and scenery, each as important to the story as the characters. What can these landscapes tell us about our lives and what we need to do to seek God in the place we are?

1. Lifescape

2. A World of Landscapes
• Filled with scenes
• Different places
• Different times
• God created earth with variety
• God created it so we can understand us

4. Landscapes of the Bible
• The Bible is full of landscapes
• The stories place characters in places
• These places have special meaning to us

6. Landscapes of Your Life
• Your life has ups and downs
• Your life has periods of drought
• Your life has times of abundance
• Your life sometimes has perfect direction
• Your life may be confusing and lost

7. What Is Your Lifescape?

9. e Garden
• First landscape in the Bible
• What does the garden represent?
• Closeness and walking with God
• All of our needs supplied
• No shame or sin

10. e Garden
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in
Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of
the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good
for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:8-9

11. e Garden
A river watering the garden owed from Eden;
from there it was separated into four headwaters.
e name of the rst is the Pishon; it winds through
the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.
e name of the second river is the Gihon;
it winds through the entire land of Cush.
e name of the third river is the Tigris;
it runs along the east side of Asshur.
And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Genesis 2:10-14

12. e Garden
e LORD God took the man
and put him in the Garden of Eden
to work it and take care of it.
Genesis 2:15

13. Is is
Your Lifescape?

15. e Mountain
• It is a place of sacrifice
• It is where we meet with God
• It is where we gain perspective
• It takes effort to get there
• It is not somewhere you can stay
• It provides perspective and direction

16. e Mountain
e LORD said to Moses,
“I am going to come to you in a dense cloud,
so that the people will hear me speaking with you
and will always put their trust in you.”
en Moses told the LORD what the people had said
Exodus 19:9

17. e Mountain
On the morning of the third day there was thunder and
lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very
loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. en
Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God,
and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Exodus 19:16-17

18. e Mountain
Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD
descended on it in re. e smoke billowed up from it like
smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently,
and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.
en Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
Exodus 19:18-19

19. e Mountain
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed
him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
“All this I will give you,” he said,
“if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is wri en:
Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
Ma hew 4:8-10

20. Is is Your Lifescape?

22. e Desert
• The place of separation from God
• The place of wandering and confusion
• The place of trial and temptation
• The place of preparation
• The place of learning the hard way

23. e Desert
Some wandered in desert wastelands,
nding no way to a city where they could se le.
ey were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
en they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
Psalm 107:4-6

24. e Desert
en Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted
by the devil. A er fasting forty days and forty nights, he was
hungry. e tempter came to him and said,
“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is wri en: Man does not live on bread
alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Ma hew 4:1-4

25. Is is
Your Lifescape?

27. e Promised Land
• The place of rest and abundance
• The place of becoming a people
• The place of fighting for the promise
• The place where God desires us to be
• The place where fruit and grain is grown
• The place of increase and wealth

28. e Promised Land
Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go
well with you and that you may increase greatly in a
land owing with milk and honey, just as the LORD,
the God of your fathers, promised you.
Deuteronomy 6:3

29. e Promised Land
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would
later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even
though he did not know where he was going.
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a
stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac
and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and builder is God
Hebrews 11:8-10

30. Is is Your Lifescape?

32. e City
• The place of settlement
• The place of refuge and belonging
• The place of fame and fortune
• The place of prominence
• The place where we are glorified

33. e City
en the devil took him to the holy city and had him
stand on the highest point of the temple.
“If you are the Son of God,” he said,
“throw yourself down. For it is wri en:
He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will li you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him, “It is also wri en:
Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Ma hew 4:5-7

34. e City
You are the light of the world.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden
Ma hew 5:14

35. e City
Instead, they were longing for a be er country –
a heavenly one. erefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:16

36. Is is Your Lifescape?

38. e Valley of Death
• The place of desolation
• The place of absolute despair
• The place where you feel dead
• The place of no hope
• The place of no life

39. e Valley of Death
e hand of the LORD was upon me,
and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD
and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
He led me back and forth among them,
and I saw a great many bones on the oor of the valley,
bones that were very dry.
He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
Ezekiel 37:1-3

40. e Valley of Death
e LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me
Psalm 23:1-3

41. Is is Your Lifescape?

43. Knowing Your Place
• There are many lifescapes or places in life
• If you know the place you are, you can:
• know how to get out of that place
• know how to stay in that place
• know how to live your life
• know what verses to read

44. Knowing Your Place
• To get back to Eden, we have to realize that
we can’t do things on our own
• To stopout of the desert, we haveGod
get
to grumbling and believe in
• To stay onand spend timewe must sanctify
the mountain,
ourselves with God
• To stay in the city, we must avoid getting
prideful and not be ashamed of God

45. Knowing Your Place
Mountaintops are for the view and for the inspiration,
but fruit is grown in the valleys
Billy Graham

46. Knowing Your Place
ere is an eternal landscape, a geography of the soul;
we search for its outlines all our lives.
Josephine Hart

47. Knowing Your Place
Life is like a landscape.
You live in the midst of it but can describe it
only from the vantage point of distance
Charles Lindbergh

48. What Is Your
Lifescape?

49. What Is Your
Lifescape?