Beginnings

Welcome to Chapel

#80 - All Things Bright and Beautiful

2) # 82 - His Eye is on the Sparrow

Can you think of something that you began?

I remember when I began to ride a bike....

What are things you remember beginning?

We all began a new day this morning. So what does it mean to begin something?

Genesis 1:1–28 NRSV

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 he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 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. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 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. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 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. 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. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 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, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 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.” 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. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 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. 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. Then God said, “Let us make humankind 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.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 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.”

The Bible begins with God Creating! God was Beginining something grand and marvelous.

The Hebrew word for Create is Bara. In the OT it is only used to describe God’s creative power. This is a word refers to Divine Activity. I reminds us that we are made in God’s image rather than being made a mini-god. We create but not like God.

God created us and our world out of nothing. Out of the formless void he created.

We are co-creators with God. But we create from what he gives us.

He gave to Adam and Eve:

the sky, land, and water

animals in the air and of the sea

he gave them time by creating night and day.

As we think about being co-creators what are the resources God has given to us today? And what do you think he wants us to create?

I was thinking about this way of beginning with God.

1) Gratefulness: For what he has given.

2) Vision: In a way, we are at a place of new beginning together. I am new in your community. I am getting to know each of you and you are getting to know me.

I have a responsibility to help guide the creation of our spiritual lives, but we are co-creators of the kind of community we want to build and experience.

3) Look back and review. God looked back and called all of his creation Good! With what kind of glasses do we look back?

a) Rose colored? Everything is great, its fine, everything is fine!

b) Glass half empty? judgemental, regrets, critical

c) Truth and Grace: reality grounded in the love of God, which covers a multitude of sins.

God’s creation is always Good. In Genesis 1 he says that his creation is good 7 different times.

While God only creates Good, sometimes, we create relationships or cultures that aren’t so good.

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

James 3:8–10 “but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.”

James talks about the power that our words have on other people.

I feel this heaviness when I have arguments with the people I love the most. My husband and kids!

Sometimes, I don’t create with my words but tear down what God has called good. I can tear down others but this power also includes tearing down myself with how I judge myself. Judging myself looks like hanging on to my failures and regretting my faults instead of sitting in the grace of God.

I once met with a Spiritual Director, this is someone who listens to the stories of your life and helps me see how God is at work in my life. When I would end my stories discouraged, or being hard on myself, he would simply say:

“Cheryl, you can always begin again”

You Can Always Begin Again

To begin again means that we look back on our past with grace and understanding.

It means to learn from our mistakes and failings.

It means to forgive the wrongs done against us.

And it means to envision a new way forward.

What kind of spiritual community would you like to build together? Think about it.

Gratefulness: Look back on your time with Chaplain Karen and name what you are grateful for in her ministry with you.

What do you want to see continue? What do wish was different?

Maybe this will take some review from you. what is Good and what needs repair or new life?

I would love to hear from each of you as visit in the coming weeks.

Let us invite God to be in this new beginning.

Hymn: #127: God Will Take Care of You

Prayer: Creator God, we are here today, together, in this your community at (Holly Creek/Clermont Park). We ask for your blessing as we begin again, creating another new relationship. Would you be near us as we get to know one another? Please be close as we dream of new creativity in our community. Help us to find words that bring goodness to our lives together, and forgive us when we damage the good people you have brought to us. Help us to look back on our lives with truth and grace and give us your eyes to see one another.

Doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise him all creatures here below Prais him above ye heavenly hosts Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.