Foundation
God creates mankind in His image.
National Garden of the Founders · Station 1
Creation & God’s Moral Order
True liberty begins with the God of the Bible.
Faith · Morality · Law · Education · Liberty
Key Principles
Human dignity, divine authority, moral responsibility, stewardship.
Main Scriptures
Genesis 1:26–28; John 1:1–3
Page Theme
Faith — Morality — Law — Education — Liberty
Big Idea
True Liberty Begins with the God of the Bible
God made the world. God made man and woman in His image. God gave mankind life, work, family, responsibility, and moral order. His commands are not chains. His commands are the road to life.
A covenant is God’s promise-filled relationship with His people. In simple words, the covenant lesson is this: God is the Lord. His people are called to trust Him, walk with Him, obey Him, and receive His blessing.
We do not obey God to earn salvation. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ. Then God teaches us to walk in good works, obey His Word, and live under His blessing.
Sin always promises freedom, but it brings bondage. God’s Word brings light, order, blessing, and true liberty.
Scripture for Station 1
Genesis 1:26–28, KJV
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it…”
What This Scripture Teaches
Genesis 1 teaches that every person has value because every person is made in the image of God. Human worth does not come from money, power, race, age, health, education, or usefulness. Human worth comes from God.
God made mankind male and female. He blessed them. He gave them work to do. He told them to be fruitful, fill the earth, subdue it, and rule over His creation under His authority.
This means man is not an accident. The family is not an accident. Work is not a curse. Responsibility is not a burden to escape. These are gifts from God.
God gave mankind dominion, but not selfish dominion. We are stewards. A steward cares for what belongs to another. The earth belongs to the Lord, and mankind is called to rule under Him with wisdom, care, and obedience.
Plain lesson: God made us. God owns us. God gives us dignity. God gives us responsibility. Freedom begins when we live under His good authority.
John 1:1–3, KJV — Christ Made All Things
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
What This Scripture Teaches
John 1 tells us that Jesus Christ is the eternal Word. He was not created. He was with God in the beginning, and He is God.
All things were made by Him. That means creation is not separate from Christ. The world belongs to Him. Human life belongs to Him. Truth belongs to Him. Law, morality, family, work, and liberty must all be understood under His rule.
Jesus is not only Savior. He is also Creator and Lord. The One who made us is the One who knows how we should live. His Word is not a religious add-on. His Word is the foundation for life.
Plain lesson: Christ made all things. Christ owns all things. Christ rules all things. True liberty is found under His lordship.
Psalm 119:45, KJV — God’s Law and Liberty
“And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.”
What This Scripture Teaches
The Bible connects liberty with God’s commandments. That may surprise some people. Many think freedom means no rules. But Scripture says the man who seeks God’s precepts walks at liberty.
God’s commands are like a good road, a strong fence, and a bright lamp. They keep us from danger. They show us where to walk. They protect life, family, worship, truth, and justice.
Plain lesson: God’s law does not destroy liberty. God’s law teaches us how to live free.
John 8:31–32, KJV — The Truth Shall Make You Free
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
What This Scripture Teaches
Jesus says true disciples continue in His Word. They do not merely hear it once. They remain in it. They learn it, believe it, love it, and obey it.
Then Jesus says the truth shall make you free. This freedom is deeper than politics. It is freedom from sin, lies, guilt, fear, and spiritual darkness. A person may live in a free country and still be a slave to sin. But when Christ sets a person free, that person is free indeed.
Plain lesson: Truth is not whatever we make up. Truth is found in Christ and His Word. The truth of Christ makes people truly free.
Ephesians 2:8–10, KJV — Saved for Good Works
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works…”
What This Scripture Teaches
This keeps the whole lesson clear. We do not earn salvation by obeying God’s law. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
But grace does not leave us in sin. God saves His people and then teaches them to walk in good works. Obedience is not the root of salvation. Obedience is the fruit of salvation.
Plain lesson: We are not saved by good works. We are saved for good works.
Faith
Faith Starts with God as Creator
We do not begin with man, government, courts, schools, or public opinion. We begin with the Lord. He made all things through His Word, and John tells us that the Word is Christ.
Because God made us, He has the right to lead us. Faith says, “Lord, You made me. You know what is good. Teach me Your way.”
Our forefathers also spoke of rights as gifts from the Creator.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal… endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” Declaration of Independence, 1776
That statement rests on a great truth: rights do not come from rulers. They come from God. Government should protect what God has given.
Plain lesson: Faith begins by confessing that God is Creator, Christ is Lord, and man must live under His Word.
Morality
Morality Comes from God’s Own Character
Morality is not whatever the crowd wants today. Morality comes from God’s own character.
Since every person is made in God’s image, every life has worth. The unborn, the elderly, the poor, the disabled, the stranger, the neighbor, and even the enemy must be treated as image-bearers of God.
Genesis 1 gives us the foundation for human dignity. John 1 gives us the foundation for Christ’s authority over all things. Psalm 119 shows that moral order leads to liberty, not bondage.
George Washington
George Washington warned that religion and morality are necessary for public life.
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
John Adams
John Adams also warned that liberty cannot survive among a people who reject moral restraint.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams, 1798
Plain lesson: A free people must be a self-governed people. If we will not be ruled by God from the heart, outward law will never be enough.
Law
Law Is Older than Human Government
God gave Adam a command in the Garden before there were kings, courts, or congresses. That means law is older than human government.
Good human law should agree with God’s moral law. It should protect life, punish evil, defend property, honor truth, protect marriage and family, and encourage what is good.
God’s law is not a cage. It is a guardrail. It tells us where danger is. It protects the weak from the strong. It teaches sinners that they are accountable to God.
The Mayflower Compact, 1620
The Pilgrims understood that liberty needed order. After the Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod, and before they began their settlement, they made a compact before God and one another.
“Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith…”
They also said they did:
“Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politick…”
And they promised to make “just and equal Laws” for the “general Good of the Colony.”
They were not trying to build freedom without order. They were building civil order under God.
Plain lesson: Law is not the enemy of liberty. Lawless living is the enemy of liberty. God’s law protects life, peace, justice, and freedom.
Education
Teach Children God’s Truth
God commands parents and communities to teach children His truth.
Education is not just reading, writing, and numbers. Education teaches a child what life means, who made them, what is right, and how to live with wisdom.
Deuteronomy 6:6–7, KJV
“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…”
This means God’s Word is not only for church time. It belongs in the home. It belongs in daily conversation. It belongs in the training of children.
Psalm 78:4, KJV
“We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD…”
Children need to know what God has done. They need to hear His works, His law, His gospel, and His promises.
The founders of early American civil life also connected education with religion and morality.
“Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” Northwest Ordinance, 1787
Benjamin Rush made the same point plainly.
“The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in Religion.” Benjamin Rush
Plain lesson: Children need more than information. They need truth. A nation that forgets God will soon forget what freedom is for.
Liberty
Free to Live the Way God Made Us to Live
True liberty is not doing whatever we want. True liberty is being free to live the way God made us to live.
Jesus frees people from sin, guilt, fear, lies, and slavery to selfish desires. Then He teaches us to walk in His Word.
Romans 6:17–18, KJV
“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine…
Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
This is true liberty. The sinner is not free when he follows every desire. He is free when Christ breaks the power of sin and teaches him to love righteousness.
John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, connected liberty with true religion.
“He is the best friend to American liberty, who is most sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion.” John Witherspoon, 1776
Samuel Adams also connected liberty with knowledge and virtue.
“No people will tamely surrender their Liberties… when Knowledge is diffus’d and Virtue is preserv’d.” Samuel Adams
Plain lesson: Liberty grows where truth is loved, virtue is practiced, and God is honored.
Supporting Stories
Freedom, Covenant, and Order
Supporting Story 1 — Freedom with a Fence
In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve a beautiful world. He gave them life, food, marriage, work, and fellowship with Him. He also gave one clear command.
That command was not cruel. It was a loving boundary.
The serpent made disobedience sound like gain. He said their eyes would be opened and they would be as gods, knowing good and evil. But sin brought shame, hiding, blame, pain, and death.
That is still how sin works. It says, “Break God’s rule and you will be free.” But the bill always comes due.
Jesus Christ, the Word who made all things, came to restore what sin broke. In Adam, mankind fell. In Christ, sinners are forgiven, made new, and taught to walk with God again.
Story lesson: God’s boundaries protect blessing. Sin breaks liberty. Christ restores liberty.
Supporting Story 2 — The Pilgrims and Covenant Order
After the Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod, and before they began their settlement, they knew they needed more than personal wishes. If every man did what was right in his own eyes, the colony would fall apart.
So they made a compact before God and one another. They covenanted together into a civil body. They promised to make just and equal laws for the general good. They also promised due submission and obedience.
They were not perfect people. No people are. But they understood a simple truth: liberty needs covenant, law, virtue, and willing obedience under God.
They did not see freedom as every person doing whatever he wanted. They saw freedom as ordered life before God, where people made promises, kept those promises, and lived responsibly together.
Story lesson: Free people must be people of promise, order, and responsibility.
Supporting Story 3 — The Father and the Good Shepherd
In the opening chapters of Genesis, we meet a God who is not distant from the people He made. He created Adam and Eve in His image so they could know Him, love Him, and live in fellowship with Him.
After they sinned, Adam and Eve hid from God. Yet the Lord came into the garden and called out to Adam. Sin had broken their fellowship, but God did not abandon them. From that moment forward, Scripture begins to reveal God’s plan to call a people back to Himself.
Throughout the Old Testament, God formed a covenant people and taught them to trust His Word. Then, in the New Testament, “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Jesus Christ came so that all who receive Him by faith could become the children of God.
God desires more than a nation that simply speaks His name. He desires a people who know Him as their loving Father, trust His goodness, and gladly follow His ways.
Jesus also called Himself the Good Shepherd. A hireling runs away when danger comes because the sheep do not truly belong to him. But the Good Shepherd loves His sheep and lays down His life for them. His sheep know His voice, and they follow Him.
Like a loving father, God gives commands to guide and protect His children. Like a faithful shepherd, He leads His people to green pastures and beside still waters. His laws are not cruel chains. They are wise boundaries given by One who loves us.
This is the kind of generation we want to raise—not people who serve only when it is easy or profitable, but faithful men and women who love the Master, know His voice, follow His Word, and care for others as Christ has cared for them.
Story Lesson
God’s plan is to redeem a covenant people who willingly live under His loving rule. As His children learn to love their Father and follow the Good Shepherd, obedience becomes joyful, lives are transformed, and true liberty grows.
Closing Takeaway
True Liberty Is Life under God
God made us in His image. Christ made all things. God’s law shows us the good road. His covenant blessings are found on the path of faith and obedience.
True liberty is not life without God. True liberty is life under God, through Christ, by His Word, for His glory.
Station 1 Memory Line
Because God is Creator, His Word is the foundation for faith, morality, law, education, and liberty.
Read the Complete Station 1 Guide
The complete illustrated guide contains the full Station 1 text, Scripture references, five-part teaching thread, supporting stories, closing takeaway, and reference notes.
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