Worship at 10:30 a.m.

What Is God’s Relation to Heaven and Earth??

Genesis 1:1-31

Faith Family,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I continue to give thanks to our gracious God for putting you all in our lives. Your faithfulness and your enthusiasm fill my heart with joy and help complete my hope in Christ. Every day I look forward to serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ alongside each of you and growing in our discipleship journey together. I pray as God has continued blessings us, may we continue to be a blessing to others.

We continue with the Catechism teaching that has put in our Weekly Newsletter. We are on question #5. This week’s question is “What is God’s relation to heaven and earth?” The Answer according to the Catechism is, “God is Creator, Sovereign, and Preserver of all things.” The Book of Genesis is the story of how God created the universe, including humanity, how He reigned over them, and how He preserved His creation. In this segment of the Shepherd Scroll, I would like to define those three characteristics of God’s relations to His creation.

First: God is Creator. This is a simple one. We, who follow Christ, believe that God is the Maker of heaven and earth. With just a spoken word, God began creating the Cosmos, and, of course, Earth, where we currently reside. But the question is did God only create one planet with sustainable life? If so, why? If not, imagine the possibilities of life on other planets, in other solar systems. Are we the only life that God created? Who knows. I can say that I believe we are the only planet in our solar system that can sustain life.

In God’s created ability, He fashioned the land, the sea, the sky, the trees, the plants, the animals, to be able to sustain life in a very strategic planet that is just the right distance from the Sun and tilted at the exact angle that will allow life to not only grow but to prosper. Of course, He created humans in His image, the debate of what that means is for another time.

Second: God is Sovereign. Since God is the Creator of all things, then, of course, that can only mean that God is Sovereign over all things. What does sovereign mean? Sovereignty fundamentally means the possession of ultimate authority and power. With this definition, God is the ultimate authority and power. When taking this definition Theologically, we can can say that God is all-powerful, all-knowing Creator who governs the universe according to divine purposes. This doesn’t mean that God keeps His “thumb” on His creation. Nor does it mean that we are puppets doing what God wants us to do. Know, this simply means that we who follow Christ must recognize, and surrender to God’s control of our lives. This means we must surrender our “free will” to embrace God’s perfect will.

Third: God is Preserver. What does this mean? We can think of preserver as sustainer. God is Sustainer. He is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things. This means that God sees to the basic needs of His creation. The trees have sunlight, water and soil. Animals have housing, food and water. Humans have what they need to live life in a basic way. He protects His creation. He nourishes His creation. He provides the means in which humanity can live in community with one another. All life is important to God, therefore, God has provided the boundaries and structures for humanity to live with one another respecting that importance of life.  We have what we need to live fruitful lives in community.

I am blessed to serve a God who created me, who sustains me, and who provides a structure of authority so I can live my life with purpose and wholeness. May we embrace the truth that God is Creator of All Things. God is Sovereign over all things. And God sustains/preserves all things. May we exalt God above all things.

Have a blessed Week!

Pastor Frank