UNDERSTANDING THE CREATION

The Fifth Day

Birds and Fish Created

Today let’s attempt to understand:• The Why - the birds and

fish

• The types of birds and fish

• Their amazing purposeful design

• Their instincts and life’s activities

Genesis 1:20-23• And God said, “Let the water teem with living

creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the fifth day.

THE WHY ?

• Ultimately – why did God create the birds and the fish –

on Day 5 ?

Summary Slide

• Some answers to the “Why ?”

Some answers to the “Why ?”• To add to the Big Picture of the Earth The second part of the Filling Phase• Birds and fish clean up the Earth Vultures and Catfish• Birds and fish are part of the Food Chain Birds eat fish; people eat birds and fish• They add beauty and interest to life Purple Martins on Lake Murray• General sports activity for humans Fishing and bird hunting

BIRDS

• What is your favorite bird? Backyard, Zoo ?

• How many families, species of birds?

• Somebody give me a bird family name.

• God made species all different – “kinds”.

• Thoughts, questions?

The Wonder of Bird Construction

• A constant fresh air supply

• Eyesight sharper than a humans

• Perception of ultraviolet light helps

• Light weight because of air sacs inside its skeletal structure

More Amazing !

• Pelican stores food in its large pouch, and has built-in shock absorbers installed.

• Woodpecker also has built in shock absorbers – in its head.

Bird Instincts & Migration

• What do you associate with the word “instinct”?• Who can illustrate the concept of “instinct” in an animal?

Webster’s Definition of “Instinct”

• A natural or inherent aptitude or capacity

• A largely inheritable and unalterable tendency by an organism to make a complex and specific response to environmental stimuli without involving reason

• Behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level

The Bar-Tailed Godwit Flies 7,000 Miles on One Tank

• Flight from Alaska to New Zealand in 8 days, nonstop

• Eats nothing along the way

• Before Godwits migrate, their digestive organs shrink, to reduce its weight

• Half the body consists of fat for energy storage

The Awesome Bald Eagle

• Isaiah 40:31

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.”

Your Thoughts !• What creatures other than humans show emotions?

• Let’s talk about that for a minute. Comments?

• Have you seen anything that showed animals (cats, dogs, birds, your pets) having emotions?

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW ..and He watches me ..

• Here a female sparrow mate is injured and the condition is soon fatal. She was hit by a car as she swooped low across the road

• A photographer shot these scenes in France

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW ..and He watches me ..

And many people think animals don’t have brains or feelings?

You have witnessed Love and Sorrow felt by God’s creatures.

Live simply, love generously, care deeply and speak kindly.

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW ..and He watches me ..

The Bible says God knows when a sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29). How much more He cares for us.

Grace is God reaching down; Faith is man reaching up.

Matthew 10:29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet notone of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of the Father.”

A little summary here --• Questions –

• In what way are birds more amazing and especially designed than we humans?

• Why were birds created?

• Why was the creation of birds a good thing?

“Fill the Water in the Seas” with Fish and Marine Mammals

Just a Few in the Lakes, Streams, and the Sea

Fish:

• Bass• Catfish• Flounder• Mackerel• Perch• Sunfish• Trout

Marine Mammals:

Dolphins, Manatees,

Otters, Porpoises,

Seals, Walrus, Whales

God Made Them Different

• Fish

• 1. Oxygen from gills• 2. Cold Blooded• 3. Lay eggs in water

• Marine Mammals

• 1. Breath air to lungs• 2. Warm Blooded• 3. A live birth in water

Fish Need Oxygen for Life

• Fish use “gills”, something like lungs

• Threadlike filaments• Network of capillaries• Blood flowing through capillaries obtains oxygen

• Blood in capillaries then expels carbon dioxide

The Complicated Central Nervous System of the Fish

Forebrain

• Olfactory Lobe• Telencephalon

Midbrain

• Optic Lobe• Cerebellum

Hindbrain

• Melencephalon• Myelencephalon

Have You Wondered How Fish Swim?

• S-shaped contractions move fish forward

• Fins act as airplane flaps• Body streamlined

• Air bladders for buoyancy

• Question: How is a modern submarine designed like a fish for efficient travel?

• Why?

Fish Digestion

• Food intake through the mouth

• Esophagus to break down food

• Digestion enzymes in stomach

• Nutrients are absorbed

• Intestines complete the process

The Fish’s Built-In Defense Against Disease

• Skin and scales keep out harmful stuff• A layer of mucus hinders micro-organism growth• Inflammatory response system increases blood flow to deliver white blood cells where needed

• “Our Intelligent/Intentional Designer thought about EVERYTHING when He devised His Creation”

A Year in the Life of a Female Humpback Whale

Summer in Alaska:

Hunting and feeding on herring and krill

Winter in Hawaii:

Mating season

Mother whales give birth, feed calf milk, and teach calf skills

The Instincts of Salmon• Salmon eggs hatch in streams in Alaska

• Migrate to South Pacific’s food rich waters

• At adulthood they instinctively migrate north to birthplace in Alaska again

• At birthplace location, males battle for right to fertilize the female

• Female digs a nest and lays her eggs

• (Female salmon soon dies from exhaustion) and (the cycle starts again)

God Has A Sense of Humor?

• The “Piglet Squid” – the size of an avocado

• Two eyes, a large nose, a smiling mouth, gargantuan eyebrows, and fat like a piglet

• Cute to see but probably not edible

Why Does Ice Float?

• To make insulation so water below doesn’t freeze

• So fish don’t freeze• Winter transportation across frozen lakes

• To allow harvesting ice in winter for “ice boxes” to preserve food

• Question: Why is it that liquid water is heavier than solid water - which has frozen into “ice”?

A Final Summary Here --

Question _

• In what way are fish and sea creatures more amazing and especially designed than we humans?

• Why were fish and sea creatures created?

• Why was their creation a “good” thing?

• Examples?

•“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done.

The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell them, they would be too many to declare.”

Psalm 40:5