We Create Everyday

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Genesis 1:1-3

"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."

 

 

1

All right! Again, let us begin with what we always do. I mean a recap of what we learned last Sunday. Can I have one volunteer who can help all of us remember what we learned last Sunday?

 

2

Yes! Last Sunday we learned about love. When it comes to love, we normally think of some sacrificial act like what mom does for us. So, we tend to equate love with giving up almost everything for a person we think we love. Well, the love chapter in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, however, gave us a different view on love. Apostle Paul says that sacrifice is love. However, sacrifice is not always love. A mom’s too much sacrifice for her son or daughter, we call it, spoiling. The point Paul makes is that love can be expressed in many many different ways. Sometimes we can feel our parents’ love for us through their patience. Sometimes we can feel their love through their courageous decisions for us. Sometimes we can experience their love in their strict and harsh discipline for us. Likewise, love can be expressed in many many different ways.

 

4

That being said, now I would like to turn to what we are supposed to learn for Today. You know what? I have one aim to accomplish with you from today. That is, I would like to teach you the Bible from cover to cover. You can ask why we have to learn the Bible. My answer is that it is the Bible that most influences the mind of humankind in history. Although the number of Christians keeps decreasing, the way the Bible explains about human life and the world still remains amazingly influential. So, I strongly believe that studying the Bible carefully is beneficial for us – religiously as well as educationally. It goes without saying that studying the Bible should begin with Genesis, the Bible’s first book. How many of you brought your own bible today? I want to emphasize once more that when you come to church for worship, please bring your bible. Now, why do not you guys try to find Genesis 1? It is the first book of the Bible. If you have the Bible, please use it for reading. If you do not, please look at the screen.

 

5

Genesis 1 tells us how God created the universe. One thing I would like to ask you is “Do you think that God created the universe out of nothing?” If you do not know an answer, please read the first two verses of Genesis 1. Anyone?

 

6

Interestingly, before creation, there were three things. The first thing was darkness. The second thing was the surface of the deep like waters. The third thing was the spirit of God hovering over the surface of the deep. I really wanted to know what the surface of the deep looked like. However, I did not get any clue about it. Anyhow, I brought two video clips about God’s creation. Genesis Creation of the World – NLFC and God’s Story: Creation

 

7

Now I would like to ask you one more question. Your answer would help me close this Bible time quickly. With what, did God create the universe? Yes, right. God created the universe with words. Do you know, no, do you believe that God also created you, each of you? Then, you would better believe that we all have God’s creative power – language. As God created the universe with words, we can also create our lives with what we say to others and ourselves. I can give you one simple example. Once I met a boy who did not know the power of his words. He was really good at saying bad words. When he was upset, he reflexively said F-words to himself. When he was angry, he verbally abused his friends who, he thought, were weaker than he was. When he realized that his bad words did not work well with someone, he avoided the person. After a while, what I discovered in him was that he actually created his life and himself with his words. Because of his bad words to others, he had difficulty making good relationship with others. Because of his bad words to himself, he had difficulty loving himself. He hated himself as much as he hated others. If your daily life does not go well with you and with others, please think first of what you say to yourselves and others daily. Why? What you say to yourself and what you say to others are what creates you and your life. When you say good things to yourself and to others, interestingly enough, good things happen to you. God created the universe with words. Likewise, we are creating ourselves and our lives with what we say to ourselves and others. From this moment, I hope you try not to use bad words to yourself; instead, try hard to use good words. Can you do that?

 

 

Prayer

God, thank you for teaching us today that as you created the universe with words, we also create ourselves and our daily lives with what we say to ourselves and to others. If we are too used to saying bad things, God, please help us overcome that weakness. From today, from this moment on, as you felt good to your creation, we also want to feel good to what we create everyday. We pray in your name, Jesus Christ. Amen.