Very Good Creation

Good Morning and Welcome to Worship! Worship is often the first place that new people come into contact with this growing community of faith. And so, if you are joining us for the first time, I say to you what is said every Sunday: You are welcome here. Here is a place where all are welcome. For such is the love of God for God’s Very Good Creation.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise God, all creatures here below; praise God above, ye Heav'nly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kindom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kindom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Agapanthus Lily of the Nile – Noemi’s Favorite

Flowers from Noemi’s Garden

Siblings in Christ, Together we are the resurrected body of Jesus alive in the world today. Together, we are God’s Very Good Creation and we are entrusted with the care and wellbeing over creation. Let us pray for the church, the world, and all for whom we are called to be stewards, saying —

God of all Creation, we give you thanks for your world and for entrusting us with it’s care. Make us wise and careful in our use of your gifts here on earth.

We pray that the love which passes ceaselessly through the energy of the trinity may empower us as part of the divine presence may renew and deepen our relationships as we grow into the Body of Christ.

God of all Creation, we give you thanks for your world and for entrusting us with it’s care. Make us wise and careful in our use of your gifts here on earth.

For the leaders of the church: in all of the various expressions of faith: for childrenandyouth; for theelderlywhose wisecounselisneededinallages;and forthebridgingthroughtheSpirit thatbringsus closertoeachotherandtoyou.

God of all Creation, we give you thanks for your world and for entrusting us with it’s care. Make us wise and careful in our use of your gifts here on earth.

For Earth and all creatures and plants: for healthy water and air and soil; for policies and laws that regard our home in God as a precious gift.

God of all Creation, we give you thanks for your world and for entrusting us with it’s care. Make us wise and careful in our use of your gifts here on earth.

For our families, our households, and our communities, that our life together in Trinity — may show the world the importance of each person and each part of creation.

God of all Creation, we give you thanks for your world and for entrusting us with it’s care. Make us wise and careful in our use of your gifts here on earth.

For the sick and those who suffer in any way; for those who struggle to pay rent or mortgage; for those who have no home; for those in our communities who are neglected and abused; for people who long for family and are instead alone; for children who do not have a good guide to raise them up.

God of all Creation, we give you thanks for your world and for entrusting us with it’s care. Make us wise and careful in our use of your gifts here on earth.

For all those needs still unnamed but placed before you now, either silently or aloud … [A time of silence is kept]

God of all Creation, we give you thanks for your world and for entrusting us with it’s care. Make us wise and careful in our use of your gifts here on earth. Amen.

Sing into our ears, O Spirit, the word of life. Tell us who we are and to whom we belong so that we may live with gratitude for all that you have created us for. Amen.

Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a — Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath ¹ When God began to create the heavens and the earth, ² the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. ⁶ And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. ⁸ God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. ⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. ¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. ²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” ²¹ So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. ²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. ²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” ²⁷ So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” ²⁹ God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their multitude. ² On the sixth day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. ⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. Matthew 28:16-20 — The Commissioning of the Disciples ¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We are told in Matthew’s Gospel that the disciples doubted. For many of us, doubt was something that we were not supposed to have in the church. How does the reading from Matthew give you permission to doubt? Where have you doubted but tried to ignore your doubt and just be “a good Christian?” How does this idea that we are God’s Very Good Creation who doubt sit with you? As a part of the Trinity, where is God calling you to engage with the world and be the love of God as a part of the resurrected body of Christ?

Jesus sends his followers into the world — disciples become apostles — that they, as the resurrected body of Christ may bless the world in the energy of the Trinity. With God’s love, in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, let us make our offerings to God.

For all that you have given us, we thank you, gracious God. For day and night, evening and morning, for land and sea, for fish and birds, plants and animals, for humankind, and for your Son, who came among us with the gift of life abundant. As your Holy Spirit abides with us may we be empowered to share your love that all people may have joy and peace. Amen.

The Eternal Creator calls us. The risen Jesus sends us. The dynamic Spirit empowers us. Go into all the world, transforming the world into God’s beloved and very good creation. Amen.