In the Beginning

In the Beginning
Genesis 1:1-2:4
Props: A Bible, Several slides or photos of nature scenes (optional)

Good morning, girls and boys!  Just a week ago, we started a brand, new year--the year 2012.  I thought we'd begin this new year by reading from the very beginning of the Bible.  The Bible begins by telling us about the beginning of life on this planet--about the Creation of the world.  The Book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1 reads (Read 1:1-5a from your Bible):

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.  Then God said, "Let there be light;" and there was light.  And 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.

The first thing God created was light.  Without light, there can be no life as we know it.  Plants need light to grow, animals need plants to eat.  So God begins Creation with light.

The Bible goes on to describe all the other wonderful things God created to make the world--the sky, the seas and dry land, plants, the sun, the moon and the stars, the animals in the sea, birds in the sky, and land animals, from cows to bugs and every kind of animal in-between.  Finally, God created human beings--men and women.  The Bible says, "And God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good."

There is a lot of important stuff happening in this first chapter of the Bible, isn't there?  We start off with nothing and end up with an entire, beautiful, marvelous universe...[a universe filled with wonders such as these--Show several photos of nature scenes, if desired].

Creation is amazing, isn't it.  Awesome.  Miraculous, even.  But in a way, the creation of this wonderful world should not be surprising because it did start with something--or Someone.  The book of Genesis begins with possibly the most important words in the Bible--"In the beginning...God..."  Creation, and all life, begin with God.  God is the One who created.  God is the Creator.

God was here in the beginning.  God has always been, and always will be.  That is part of what makes God, God!  Let's give God our thanks together.

Creator God, We thank and praise you for all the wonders of nature.  Thank-you for creating such a beautiful world--for the mountains and oceans, the sun and the moon, the tall trees and tiny flowers, for fish and birds and cows and cats, and people.  We thank-you for placing us here in your marvelous world, and for always being here, both now and forever.  Amen.

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