September 12 Sermon: The Creation — Genesis 1:1-2:3a
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness God called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.
And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the second day.
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters God called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in the fruit according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. God also made the stars.
God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the fourth day.
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.
And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created human beings in God’s own image, in the image of God they were created; male and female God created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work God had been doing; so on the seventh day God rested from all this work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on the seventh day God rested from all the work of creating that God had done.
What aspect of creation is God’s greatest gift to you?
What does it mean for you to be created in the image of God?
Davinci's Sistine Chapel
What do we learn about God when we look at other people?
I find it impossible to pick only one aspect of creation as God’s greatest gift to me.
The tranquil peace and serenity I feel looking at the mighty ocean versus a new born baby’s cry versus all the animals versus the sun by the day and the moon and stars by night leave me with the inability to pick one.
As I remember the story of creation it was one that filled me with awe as a very small child in Sunday School as the creation story was told on a felt board by Miss Della. She would let us take turns putting the different days of creation in place. Whether I got to put the moon or sun or a creature I was engaged with the creation story as my faith walk itself was being created.
Thanks for allowing me to remember this wonderful time in my life.
While I agree with Margaret that there are so many aspects to creation that it is hard to pick just one, I get chills down my spine each time I hear the phrase “Let there be light!” It always comes with an exclamation point and sometimes a cymbal crash. This has to be God’s greatest gift to me each and every day – not only because it is a building block (from light comes heat, photosynthesis and food, and energy) but also because watching the sunrise AGAIN means that God has faith in humanity on the planet Earth for at least one more day. Thank you, Lord.
My beliefs about God are the most reinforced, the most strengthened, when I look up at a clear night sky. When you do the calculations: a billion galaxies, each containing a billion stars, creation becomes a reality for me. i think it was Thoreau who said, if you want a dose of wonder, go out and look at the stars.