God's Good Creation -- A Message for September 7, 2025

 

Today is Welcome Back Sunday in church. Just as the school year is starting, we are in the beginning of a few things here at Trinity. Sunday school is resuming for young people. The time of our Adult Bible Study has moved to its 8:30 “regular time” slot. And, we resume using our Narrative Lectionary to guide our worship services.

A lectionary is a schedule of Scripture readings that we use in worship and also is used by Christian believers in their personal worship life. Lectionaries have been used by Christians since they were developed in the 4th century. We follow them in our worship life so we can hear many of the important stories from the Bible regularly in worship. We began using a lectionary called the Narrative Lectionary last year – it is a four year cycle of scripture readings that emphasises the stories of the Bible and the ways those stories and events are connected to each other. The Narrative Lectionary follows the school year calendar – each year, the fall readings come from the Old Testament, the Gospel readings are in the Advent and Christmas season, and the readings for the rest of the year focus on Jesus’ life and ministry. 

Every year, the first reading of the Fall focuses on Creation. So, this morning, we will turn to Genesis Chapter 1 and read the first of the creation stories in our Bible. 

Scripture Genesis 1:1–2:4a

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

2 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.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

4 God saw that the light was good, and he 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 vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 

7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 

8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 

10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11 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. 

12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. 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 vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 

15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 

16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 

17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 

18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from 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 water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 

21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 

22 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.” 

23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 

25 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.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 

So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 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. 

30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 

3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

Amen

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen

Let us pray…

Message God’s Good Creation

The first chapter of Genesis was not written to be a science textbook. It was not intended by its authors to be a history text either. The men and women scribes who wrote down the poetic words of the book of Genesis were putting on parchment words that were memorized and repeated and passed down from one generation to the next. They were not meant to be a factual recording of an event that exactly happened the way it was written, but were intended to express the faith of a people that believed God created the world and is present in the created world. 

Instead of being a history, or a natural science textbook, the Bible is primarily a testimony about God’s relationship with God’s people. The first chapter of Genesis is a summary of how God created the world and us. We believe in God’s creative action in the world….God created the heavens and the earth. There are several creation stories in the Bible – the one we read just now; the story that follows with Adam and Eve in the Garden: the first chapter of John that tells about the Word being in the beginning; and the creation story in Psalm 104, a story that praises God and says: “How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” So, we believe God has been present in creation – and God is still present in creation.

In Genesis 1, after each portion of the heavens and earth were created, God exclaimed that they were good. The light was good. The land and the seas were good. The vegetation was good. Day and night were good. The birds and the sea creatures were good. The creatures who lived on land were good. Verse thirty-one says: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” 

We, the people, sometimes struggle to see the Good in each other. We, the people, sometimes struggle to see the good in ourselves. But, this story of Creation reminds us that God sees us as inherently good. Yes, we make mistakes. Yes, we are not perfect. Yes, we even sometimes do the wrong things on purpose. But, at our core, we are good. God loves us, warts and all. And, when we interact with other people, it is important to remember they are also good. They are also loved by God, even in their imperfections. It is important for us to work to recognize the good in each other. Even when we are running out of patience, and are frustrated, and are angry, that the people around us are loved by God and are good, and we should love them as well.

The world of the twenty-first century is chaotic. The news is full of strange events and odd political decisions and fear-mongering. When we hear about what is happening in the wider world, it is overwhelming. 

But, in the creation story for Genesis 1, God is very logical. God has a plan. God is meticulous. This reminds us that God has a logical plan for us and lives have a God-ordained meaning. We may feel overwhelmed by the chaos and disorder we witness in the world, but the first story of creation reminds us that God has a plan, God has an order, God has a design for us and our lives that is entirely methodical and good. 

On the seventh day of creation, God rested. God took a break. God didn’t need to keep busy all of the time and keep working and keep doing. God stopped and rested and relaxed. This reminds us, in our increasingly busy and complex lives, that we also need to take breaks – to take a good look at the wonders God created – take time to appreciate God and appreciate all that God does for us – and breathe. God made us as beings who are capable of doing wondrous and amazing things, and God also created us as beings who need to pause and rest and appreciate the blessings we have received. 

God made us as stewards of God’s creation. Stewardship is responsibly planning and managing resources. We are stewards of the created world, and are called to care for each other, care for people who are struggling, care for the created world, and carefully manage the gifts God has passed down to us. 

The first story of Genesis, the creation story of Genesis 1, reminds us of several things. All that we have, all that we are, is created and given to us by our loving God. God made this world and declared it Good. God made us and declared us Good. We may not understand why our world seems so unpredictable, but our God has a plan for us and and order for doing things that is logical and good. God created us to care for God’s creation and each other, and as beings who need to pause and appreciate all that we have been blessed to inherit from God in our world and in our lives. 

So, let us remember, God made the world and declared it Good. Let us work to bring good into the world as we care for God’s creation and each other. Amen. 

 

Walking Prayer -- A Message for August 31, 2025

  School started this week in Skippack and we are transiting from Summer-mode into “regular-mode.” :) Even though I haven’t been in school for a long time, it seems like we are a little different in the summer – a little more relaxed, a little more patient. Once the school year resumes, activities and groups who take a summer break also resume. My calendar is suddenly filled with Ministerium meetings, and training sessions, and preparations for Advent and Lent.

We are resuming using the Narrative Lectionary readings this Fall and today is the last day of our summer focus on Faith Practices. Over the past weeks, we have explored different faith practices we can use to put our faith in to action – ways to involve our heads, our hearts and our hands in our faith. We have heard about sharing testimonies of our faith, healing prayer, praying the Psalms, fasting, tithing, silent meditation, and caring for creation.

Today, we are going to focus on Walking Prayers….Let us turn to the book of the Prophet Micah and read just a little reminder about our calling to live deliberate lives full of faith:  

Scripture Micah 6: 6-8

With what shall I come before the Lord

    and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

    with calves a year old?

7 

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,

    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

    And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

    and to walk humbly[a] with your God.

Amen. 

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray….

Message Walking with God

When Jesus lived on earth, there was one mode of transportation for common people…..Walking. Roman officials and wealthy people drove chariots, or rode on wagons, or were carried on litters. Everyone else walked. Jesus was recorded as riding on a donkey once – the only time was when he entered Jerusalem for his final Holy Week. The rest of the time, Jesus walked….the disciples walked….most people walked every where they went

Our lives here in the suburbs are different. If you live in Skippack, you possibly live close enough that you can walk to stores or restaurants.  But, most of us need to ride in cars or school buses, or drive cars, to get to our schools, and workplaces, and doctors appointments, and grocery stores, and church. Most of our getting from here to there occurs in motorized vehicles, vehicles that our ancestors even a few generations back did not have access to. 

As Americans have had more and more access to private cars, the way we live has changed. We live much more spread out. Many Americans live in places inaccessible unless we have cars.

    The first congregation I served was in Berks County. After living most of my life until that point in Missouri, I was impressed with how many historical UCC churches there were right around where I lived. There were UCC churches along all the main roads, roughly placed about 4 miles apart from each other.  I remember asking why there were so many churches….one of my members explained that when the churches were founded 200 years ago, or so, they were placed in a way that most people would only need to walk two miles to get to church. The churches were positioned to be convenient to their members who walked to church even when they lived out in the country. 

We notice things when we walk places that we don’t usually see when we are driving or riding in cars. When we zip from place to place in our cars, we are often in a hurry.  When we are walking, we are forced to slow down. We may notice that Elinor’s house has a new roof or Daniel’s roses are particularly splendid right now. We see when houses are for sale or when someone needs to mow their lawn or when an older neighbor may need help repainting their shutters. We notice things that we miss when we are encased in metal and plastic and glass and are traveling at a high rate of speed. 

Prayer walking is a technique to incorporate walking with prayer. People have probably prayed as they walked for as long as people have existed. But, the technique of “prayer walking” is an intentional approach to prayer. The faithful person is invited to plan their walk in advance. Before they start their walk, they pray and ask God to reveal needs and situations in the place they are praying. And, then as the person begins their walk, they pray as they go. This is praying with your eyes open – you look at the sidewalk, you look at the buildings that surround you, you look at the natural world as you walk and pray. We invite God’s Holy Spirit to guide our walking and guide our prayers. As we pass by places where people live, we pray for those people. As we pass by places where people work, we pray for those people. As we pass by places where children gather or go to school, we pray for those children. Prayer walking is an opportunity to pray, to observe, to walk, and to listen to the Holy Spirit. 

Sometimes, church congregations get really excited about prayer walking.  They may invite their members to sign up to pray for a particular block, or neighborhood, or community. People sometimes commit to doing a prayer walk every week and praying for their community. We know that just as the weather outside is always changing, the lives of our neighbors are also always changing. 

We believe prayer makes a difference in our lives as individuals. And, we also believe praying for others makes a difference in the lives of the people we pray for. Even when we don’t know everything that is happening behind closed doors in our communities, we know there are people behind those doors who are struggling – struggling with abuse, struggling with loneliness, struggling with depression, struggling with addiction, struggling with relationships. If we take the opportunity to slowly walk, and pray, for the people behind those doors, we believe God will make a difference in their lives, a positive change for the better.

And, it doesn’t hurt us to also get some exercise, and fresh air, and possibly meet a neighbor or two as we walk. 

So, I pray that we will incorporate more walking, and praying, into our lives, and consider taking a prayer walk. 

Amen. 

Caring for Creation -- A Message for August 24, 2025

This summer, we have been hearing about a variety of faith practices in our worship services. We have heard about prayer, silence, testifying to our faith, sharing our resources, healing, and sabbath taking. Each faith practice is a strategy we can use to both deepen our faith and express our faith in tangible ways. Our work as Christians is life-long – we are challenged and called to deepen our faith in God and to live out our faith in a variety of ways throughout our lives.

This morning we are going to focus on caring for God’s creation as a faith practice. Christians believe God created the earth and all who dwell within it. Some of us hold tight to the creation stories in the Book of Genesis…others of us believe in “intelligent design” – that everything was created and inspired by God, but may have developed over a longer period than the 6 days of creation.

Either way, Christians believe we have a special role to play in caring for God’s creation and the natural world. Listen to some scriptures that reflect this:

First, let’s turn to Genesis chapter 1:

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 

25 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.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 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. 

30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

And, now to read a snippet from Genesis 2:

Scripture Genesis 2: 15

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God Amen.

Let us pray….

Message Caring for Creation

Caring for creation is a spiritual practice. God made the created world to be diverse, and beautiful, and awe-inspiring. Animals and insects, birds and trees, flowers and bushes… .everything was created to fill our senses with wonderful sights, smells, tastes and songs. Yet, we can always do more to care for God’s created world and we can also do more to engage with the created world.

It has been very hot over the past few months, so many of us have adjusted our time outdoors to the cooler times of the day. But, each season of the year, and each time of the day provides opportunities for us to take in the beauty of the earth and the glories of the skies. 

In our scriptures, we are told that God created us, the human beings, with the responsibility to care for the earth and all the creatures who dwell here. When we pick up trash on the side of a trail, or pull weeds in the garden, or feed the birds, we are taking a small part in our spiritual work to care for creation.

When we engage in caring for the natural world, we are working to become more and more like Jesus – becoming more humble, more patient, more joyful, more aware. 

When we spend time doing work in the natural world, we become more and more aware of how interdependent everything is and how dependent we are on each other and creation. We need to drink clean water. We need to eat a variety of healthy foods. We eat animals for food who drink the water and eat grains and grasses. If the air is polluted or the soil is contaminated, we all lose out. Therefore, we must do our part to not waste resources and reduce our dependence on things that can damage the natural world. 

This summer, I started small with my vegetable gardening. I planted only 4 tomato plants and two pepper plants. Every morning, the baby and I take the dog for a walk and check on the progress of our little garden. It is almost magical to watch little plants grow bigger and stronger each day. All of a sudden a plant that was three inches tall when it was planted is a three-feet tall gangly vine falling out of it’s raised beds. And, with tomato and pepper plants, we see little blossoms that all of sudden sprout little fruits that grow and ripen as they are watered by the rain and showered with the sunlight. 

Human beings take a long time to physically grow and change – when we plant little gardens, we see the entire lifespan of a plant play out quickly. Yet, plants don’t always grow alone – When we grow food-bearing plants, we need to place them in fertile soil, add the right combination for fertilizer and water, and make sure they are exposed to enough sunlight. On hotter days, they need more water. On rainy days, they need no water. We nudge them along in their growth, just as God nudges us along in our growth.

We are deeply connected to God’s creation. We are entirely dependent on God’s creation. So, when we witness stark landscapes that are devoid of plants or trees, we feel adrift. We need the natural world to be visible – to see trees and plants, to hear birds chirping and dogs barking, to feel the rain on our faces and the wind blowing against us. 

As caregivers for God’s creation, we are called to tend to the earth….to pick up litter…to participate in stream clean-ups..to grow plants for pollinators and butterflies… to feed birds in the winter….to reduce our dependence on chemicals that are harmful for the environment…to take time outdoors and revel in the glories of God’s created world. 

God calls upon us to care for God’s creation. Let us not forget that we are part of that creation. It is our work to tend to the earth and repair the broken places. It is our calling to work to preserve and heal the earth. Amen. 

Silence -- A Message for August 17, 2025

  This Summer, our worship services have been focused on practices of faith. Each week, we have heard about a tangible activity we can do and potentially incorporation into our lives as a regular faith practice. Our faith is more than an intellectual activity – a “head” activity…..practiciing our faith also involves our hearts and our hands. So we are invited to change our hearts to be more loving towards God and other people and to take on actions with our hands and our feet to live out our faith.

Last week, we focused on our prayer life….sometimes, when we find it difficult to talk to God, it may be useful to pray our way through the book of Psalms in the Bible…our most ancient prayer book. This morning we are also going to focus on prayer, but from a different angle ... .today we are are going to consider incorporating SILENCE into our prayer life and working to listen to God.

Let us turn now to the prayer book of the Bible, the Books of the Psalms and read Psalm 46:

Scripture Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields[d] with fire.

10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray….

Message Silence

A few years ago, when everything “paused” for Covid, it was eerily quiet outside. My family lived in the parsonage, so I was used to hearing traffic noise from Skippack Pike all day and night….but the traffic noise stopped. I was accustomed to hearing the kids playing basketball and the sound of bouncing balls all day long, but suddenly there were no dribbling sounds, no kids shouting, and the basketball court and playground were roped off with yellow hazard tape. I was used to people stopping in the church office and telling me about their news, hearing the school bus screech to a halt in front of my house, and contending with bands playing at the Cabana Bar, and Brothers Kershner, and the Stray Dog Tavern every Friday and Saturday night, and suddenly there was no music and no busses and no visitors. It was strangely quiet.

We are not used to “quiet”. We fill our lives with the noise of tvs and music and the radio. I listen to podcasts when I am doing housework. Every toy that the baby plays with seems to play annoyingly loud music. The teenager in our home listens to music on her headphones while dividing her attention between video games, watching tv, or playing tictok reels on her laptop. Even when I sit in my office working on tasks on my computer, the noise of the air conditioner fills my ears. Quiet and family life seems to be mutually exclusive. 

Yet, our faith encourages us to make time for silence…to incorporate quiet time in our lives. 

The sixth chapter of the book of Mark describes a very busy time in Jesus’ life. First he traveled to Nazareth and was expelled from his hometown, then he sent his Disciples out into the world to share the Good News with people who needed to hear about it, and then he learned that his beloved cousin John the Baptist had been killed. After he heard the sad news, Jesus’ disciples then came back to where Jesus was to report to him about their mission of preaching and teaching. After they shared, Jesus told them to take a break. He said:  “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Even in the 1st century, people’s lives were so busy that they needed to take breaks, go to a quiet place, and rest. And, when Jesus implored his friends to come away with him to a restful, quiet place, he was also going there himself. He needed to grieve his cousin’s death and to have a restful, restorative break himself.

Despite the activities we participate in and the business that fill our lives, we need God. We need to make sure we set aside time to rest, to reflect quietly, to listen to the Holy Spirit, and to experience the presence of the Lord. Our bodies need a break…our brains need a break….and our souls need a break. We may need to make an effort to schedule ourselves for a quiet time – perhaps wake up 10 minutes earlier so we can have a phone-free, music-free, conversation-free moment of silence – if we work away from home, perhaps we need to have a silent lunch break away from our desk and away from our office-mates – if we commute to work, perhaps we need to keep the radio and the audiobooks turned off for that commuting time – if our knees can stand it, perhaps we can set aside a block of time to walk around the block or walk on a trail in a park. We need breaks from technology and other people and the endless tasks on our lists.

In the Old Testament, we learn about the ancient prophets and their work preaching and calling people to change their hearts to focus on God. The prophets often called out powerful people and told them to change their ways – their speaking truth to power put the prophets at risk to be killed by the formidable people they called out. Their calling to be truth-tellers constantly put them at risk. Elijah was the prophet who challenged King Ahab and Queen Jezebel to change their ways – Jezebel was so wicked her name is still infamous. Once, when Elijah ran away from Ahab and Jezebel, he hid in the wilderness for 40 days and then climbed Mount Horeb. Elijah wanted to feel closer to God and supposed climbing high up a mountain would help him reach the heavens. Once he was on top of the mountain, Elijah waited for God. God’s messengers told him God would “pass by him” on the mountain.

As Elijah waited, the scripture says: “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”

God was in the gentle whisper. God talked to Elijah in a whisper. Sometimes, it needs to be very quiet so we can hear God. God doesn’t always appear in the midst of glory and splendor. Sometimes, God speaks to us in a quiet and calm whisper.

Why is it important to have set-aside quiet and silent times? Silence and solitude are essential for spiritual growth.  We need to be able to block off the noises and distractions and take quiet time to draw closer to God, listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding our lives, and prepare our heads, hearts, and hands for the work God calls us to do. Jesus found strength in quiet time and alone time. We can find renewal and purpose when we take a break from regular activities and busy-ness and focus on listening to God. When we create room for quiet-times, we create space for God to speak, heal and transform us. 

When we make time for quiet – a time apart from the noise and busy-ness and tasks of our regular lives – we are more open to hear the voice of God guiding us and leading us.

Amen.