Genesis 1:1-2:3: The God Who Was There Pt. 1 (Theology Proper)

Prayer of Adoration

O Lord our God, We come before You in awe, for You are the Maker of heaven and earth. By Your Word, You spoke the universe into being—stars, seas, skies, and every living thing obeyed Your voice. There is none like You—eternal, uncreated, sovereign over time and space.

We praise You, not only for the grandeur of Your creation but for the majesty of Your character. You are wise in all Your ways, powerful in all Your works, and good in all Your intentions. You hold galaxies in Your hand, yet You know each of us by name. You are the God who was there in the beginning, and You are the God who is here now—worthy of our worship, our trust, and our delight.

Receive our praise, O King of Glory. You are great and greatly to be praised. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

Father in heaven, You are the sovereign God who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and yet You draw near to the lowly and hear the cries of Your people. So we come to You now as Your church, lifting up the needs of the world, the suffering of our neighbors, and the ministry You’ve entrusted to us.

Lord, we grieve the violence that struck Damascus this week. We pray for all affected by the bombing—families mourning loved ones, the injured, the displaced, and the traumatized. Have mercy, O God. May the church in Syria be a beacon of hope and healing amid destruction. Strengthen our brothers and sisters there. May they know that their suffering is not in vain, and that Christ is with them, even in the valley of the shadow of death.

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18

We lift up the congregation in Michigan where a man attempted to attack a pastor and his family with a firearm this past week. We praise You that no one was physically harmed. We pray for emotional healing and spiritual peace to cover that church body. May they not be overcome by fear but walk in the boldness of Christ.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1

Lord, we pray for those suffering under this brutal heatwave sweeping across the U.S. and parts of the world. For the vulnerable—children, the elderly, those without shelter—we ask for protection. For cities and communities, grant wisdom and compassion in how they respond. May the church be a source of relief, opening doors to those in need, providing shade, water, and the hope of Christ.

“As a shade from the heat, You subdue the noise of the strangers.” – Isaiah 25:5

We also thank You, Lord, for the opportunity this church has today to grow in wisdom and faithfulness through our abuse prevention training. Give us humility and clarity as we seek to be a people who protect the vulnerable and uphold righteousness. Let this be part of how we reflect Your holy love to one another and to the watching world.

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” – Ephesians 5:11

And now, Father, we ask that as we come to Your Word in the sermon to follow, You would soften our hearts and open our ears. Let Your Word do its work in us—convicting, comforting, and transforming. Strengthen Your servant who preaches. May Christ be lifted high in our midst.

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” – John 17:17

We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Sermon

Bible Reading

Genesis 1:1–2:3 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And 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 an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens 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 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. 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 expanse of the heavens 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 expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And 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 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on 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 swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And 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 according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And 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 heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on 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 heavens 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 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, 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 the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Intro

Before there was time, there was God. No galaxies, no gravity, no ground beneath your feet—just God, eternal and infinite.

Genesis 1:1 ESV

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

With those ten words, the story of the Bible begins. And those words, poetic and beautiful, are the cornerstone of all the rest of reality. They anchor everything that follows. Before there was anything—before light, before life, before time or space—God was there.

Genesis 1:1 doesn’t try to prove God’s existence. It just declares it.

It doesn’t argue for His relevance—it assumes His rule.

And that changes everything about all of life.

Because if God was there at the beginning, then everything that exists—everything we are, everything we believe, everything we hope for—must be understood in relation to Him.

This morning, we begin a new sermon series in Genesis 1-11 because here in the beginning we find the foundation of everything.

We so often treat these chapters as simple children’s stories, but these are so much more than interesting stories about the the beginning of the world.

They are theologically rich, they are historically real, and they are spiritually essential.

They show us who God is.

They show us who we are.

They show us what went wrong.

And they show us where hope can be found.

In other words, Genesis 1–11 is the beginning of the greatest story ever told—the true story of the world. The story of God, creation, fall, promise, judgment, and redemption.

And if you don’t understand the beginning, you won’t understand the rest of the story.

Because this story doesn’t stay in the garden.

It moves forward—to Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Jesus, and to us.

The Bible is not a collection of disconnected sayings and moral short stories for how we can be better people.

It is one massive, epic, unfolding story.

And you and I have been given the unimaginable honor of being a part of that story because of the work of Christ.

That’s what makes these passages so important. This isn’t about dusty history or theological trivia—this is about how we live, how we think, how we hope, and how we worship. And it all starts here.

Contrasting the False Stories

Now it’s worth remembering that Genesis 1 was not written in a vacuum. The ancient world had many creation stories from the pagan nations— the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Canaanites all had myths of how the world was created.

And each of their stories had some things in common:

the gods were petty,

creation was violent,

and humanity was disposable.

The Babylonian Enuma Elish said the world was born from a murdered goddess and that humans were created from the blood of a traitor god just to do the work the gods didn’t want to do.

But Genesis 1 is completely different.

There is one God, no warring factions.

He doesn’t create out of violence, but with peace.

There is no chaos here, only order.

And the Creator has no needs that humans can fulfill. He only has a great love that is spilling over as creation.

He needs no tools to create — He simply speaks and light appears.

He blesses and life sprouts up.

He delights in His creation and calls it good.

Now, fast forward to today, and we’ve simply swapped one set of false stories for another. The modern world may not believe in ancient gods, but it still believes in myths.

We’re told the world is an accident. That we are here by chance. That there is no Creator, no design, no purpose—just time, matter, and blind forces.

Or even worse—we’re told we are the creators. That life is all about discovering your truth, creating your identity, and building your own meaning. In this myth, there is no sovereign God, there’s only you.

But Genesis 1 graciously and powerfully confronts all of that. It declares: There is a God. He was there at the beginning. And you are not Him.

But that is very good news—because the God who was there is glorious, good, and gracious. And He made all things—including you—for His glory and your good.

So today, we begin with God, not with us. Because that’s where the Bible begins. That’s where truth begins. That’s where life begins.

And as we walk through these first 11 chapters of Genesis, we will see the character of God, the depth of our need, and the beauty of His plan—a plan that leads ultimately to Christ, who is the new and better Adam, the ark of salvation, the Word through whom all things were made, and the one who came to mend and redeem the story we broke.

So let’s begin at the beginning—with The God Who Was There.

The sermon outline is fairly simple. There are only two points and point 1 is the same as the title of this sermon.

I. The God Who Was There

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

In the first chapter of the Bible we learn a lot about God.

God is Eternal

Before time ticked its first second, before a single atom spun, before there was space to be filled or light to shine, God was. The Bible doesn’t start with a defense of God—it starts with God. His existence is assumed, His authority is absolute, and His power is unquestioned.

This is the eternal, sovereign God—uncreated, unrivaled, and unthreatened. He is the Uncaused Cause, the One who simply is. As He said to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM.”

He is not a being among beings. He is the source of all being—the One by whom all things exist and for whom all things exist.

God is Sovereign

Genesis 1:1 is not a gentle introduction. It is a thunderclap. It declares that everything that exists is here because God willed it. He is not reacting to a universe already in motion. He is the author, not the audience. The universe is not self-starting or self-sustaining. It had a beginning, and that beginning began with God Himself.

As Psalm 115:3 says, “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.” There is no one above Him, no one beside Him, no one who can stop Him or challenge Him. He speaks, and light answers. He commands, and stars take their place. Creation is not a negotiation—it is the execution of divine will.

God is Personal

This infinite being with infinite power is not impersonal. The God who was there is not a cold force or a distant architect. He is personal—relational, speaking, seeing, evaluating, blessing. From the very beginning, He is involved.

More than that—He is triune. He is 3 persons in one being. There has never been a time when God has been an impersonal force.

1. The Father

Genesis 1:1 shows us God creating the heavens and the earth. This is the work of the Father, the initiator of all things, whose eternal purpose unfolds in time.

2. The Spirit

Genesis 1:2 tells us that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” This is no passive presence. The word for “hovering” suggests a bird nurturing its young, full of creative intention and care. The Spirit is the life-giving breath of God, preparing creation for order and beauty.

3. The Son

In verse 3, we read: “And God said...” Creation comes not by accident or by hands, but by the Word. And who is that Word?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through Him.” (John 1:1–3)

This is Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, the agent of creation. He speaks, and it is. Colossians 1:16 says, “All things were created through Him and for Him.”

God didn’t create because He needed anything. He wasn’t lonely. He wasn’t bored. From eternity past, God has existed in perfect fellowship—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—full of joy and glory and love. Creation was an act of overflow, not of need.

4. The Triune Majesty of God

We see glimpses of this in Genesis 1:26, where God says, “Let us make man in our image.” Not a royal “we,” not a conversation with angels, but the plurality of persons in the Godhead—Father, Son, and Spirit in eternal communion.

This God is not distant. He is near. Not only does He act with sovereign authority, but He acts with personal intentionality. He sees. He speaks. He blesses. He relates. The same God who hung the stars also numbers the hairs on your head. The One who thunders from heaven also walks in the garden in the cool of the day.

Summary

So the God who was there is not just powerful—He is personal. Not just eternal—but relational. Not just one—but three in one. He is the sovereign architect and the loving Father, the almighty Creator and the personal Redeemer.

You don’t get to define Him. He defines Himself—and everything else.

“From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever.” (Romans 11:36)

Before there was time, before there was space, before there was anything—God was there. Eternal. Sovereign. Good. But what did He do?

He spoke. And when God speaks, things happen. Worlds are born. Light explodes. Life begins. His voice is not empty sound; it is powerful, purposeful, and unstoppable. Let’s look now at how this eternal, sovereign God creates—not with hands, but with His Word.

So before there was anything, God was—eternal, sovereign, personal, triune. He is the unshakable foundation of all reality.

But this God who simply is does not remain hidden. He reveals Himself. Not by necessity, but by grace. Not because He lacked anything, but because He delighted to create a world that would reflect His glory and display His wisdom.

He doesn't whisper into a void—He speaks with power. And His Word does not return void.

Creation is not just an act of power; it is an act of self-revelation. God is making Himself known. As Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God.”

Which brings us to the second truth in Genesis 1:

Our God is the God Who Speaks

II. The God Who Speaks

Text: Genesis 1:3–31

In the beginning, God not only existed—He spoke.

Ten times in Genesis 1 the phrase “And God said…” is repeated.

And it’s there for a reason. It’s not simply thrown in there to meet a publisher’s word count. Every single word is in the Scriptures for a reason.

And if you want to be a good reader of the Bible and actually understand it, then when you see repetition that should make you start paying attention, because that means something important is being communicated and you are supposed to remember it.

So what are we supposed to remember here?

The God of the Bible is not one of the pagan Gods who sits silently as a carving in a temple.

He speaks.

And when He speaks—things happen. He said, “Let there be light,” and light pierced the darkness. He said, “Let the waters swarm,” and oceans filled with life. He said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation,” and the world turned green.

He speaks, and creation listens.

The Creator of everything doesn’t need to brainstorm or experiment.

He doesn’t need to consult anyone or to take raw materials in order to shape them into something better. No—He creates by His Word.

The Psalmist declares this truth in Psalm 33:6 when he says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”

This is divine power—not noisy, chaotic, or accidental power.

It is purposeful and precise.

God speaks with power and purpose. Every day in Genesis 1 is moving somewhere. It’s not random.

The first three days form the structure of creation—light and dark, sky and sea, land and vegetation.

The next three days fill that structure—sun and moon, birds and fish, animals and people.

It’s a carefully ordered world—a world being prepared for image-bearers to dwell in and rule under God’s authority.

In other words, God is building a stage for His story to unfold.

This isn’t just about origins. This is about the purposes of God.

This is about the God who shapes reality by His Word. This is about the kind of world He’s creating—and the kind of God He is.

God's Word Still Creates

That same powerful, purposeful Word didn’t stop in Genesis 1. God is still speaking. And His Word still creates.

James tells us in his letter (1:18) “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth…”

It is through the Word of God that the world was created. It is through the same Word that today God creates new life for those who were dead in their sin.

His Word still pierces the darkness. His Word still forms what is formless. His Word still brings light, order, and life where there was once only emptiness.

A. God creates His people through His Word

Romans 1:16–17 says the gospel is the power of God for salvation. Paul doesn’t say the gospel contains power or points to power. He says the gospel itself is God’s power to create something new—new hearts, new people, a new humanity.

2 Corinthians 4:6 echoes the language of Genesis 1 directly:

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

This is a new creation. The same God who said, “Let there be light,” now speaks through the gospel and says, “Let there be life.” And there is.

God is building His new covenant people the same way He built the cosmos: by His Word.

B. God shapes and matures us through His Word

God not only creates by His Word—He sustains and sanctifies by His Word (Hebrews 1:3; John 17:17). He does this through what the church has historically called the ordinary means of grace:

Singing the Word in excellent songs that proclaim God’s Word (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:18–19).

Hearing the Word through the public reading of Scripture (1 Timothy 4:13; Nehemiah 8:8).

Praying the Word through significant prayers in our worship (Acts 2:42; 1 John 5:14; Matthew 6:9–13).

Seeing the Word in the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Romans 6:3–4; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

Preaching the Word through sermons that proclaim the Word of God (2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:3; Acts 20:27).

Why We Preach Expositionally

This is why we should die on the hill of what is called expository preaching—preaching that “exposes” the meaning of each verse of the Bible, as it was intended by the Spirit of God. Where the Word of God, rightly understood, is the main point of every sermon.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” —2 Timothy 3:16

And then just a couple verses later: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” —2 Timothy 4:1-2

“I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” —Acts 20:27

Because we don’t gather to hear my thoughts or your ideas. This is not David’s church, and this is not your church. This is not Pleasant Hill’s church, and this is not America’s church. This is God’s church that gathers on Pleasant Hill.

We don’t open the Bible on Sundays to find a launchpad for opinions, entertainment, or motivational speeches. We open the Bible—and we stay there.

Why? Because God still speaks and creates through His Word (Romans 10:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). When we faithfully explain and apply the Scriptures—verse by verse, truth by truth—God is at His work of creation.

He forms His people. He rebukes and comforts (Jeremiah 1:10). He tears down and builds up (2 Corinthians 10:4–5). He brings life to the dead and strength to the weary (Ezekiel 37:4–6; Isaiah 55:10–11).

Because God’s Word is not dead ink on a page—

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…” —Hebrews 4:12

And when God speaks—He never wastes a word (Isaiah 55:11).

This is why expository preaching matters.

And if at the end of my time here at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church—whether short or long—if I die tomorrow or retire in 40 years— If the only thing I leave you with is a distaste for man-centered preaching, full of opinions and motivational slogans, And instead, you are left with a ravenous hunger for God-centered, Bible-saturated preaching, Then I will consider my ministry an unimaginable success.

Because it’s not about a man’s wisdom or eloquence (1 Corinthians 2:1–5). It’s not about stories or motivational advice.

“My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power…” —1 Corinthians 2:4

We open the Bible and explain it because God still speaks—and when He speaks, marvelous things are created.

Preaching is not entertainment. It’s not a TED Talk. It is—when faithful to the text—an act of divine speech.

God still says, “Let there be light.” And He still brings light into dark hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6). He still says, “Let there be life,” and He brings those who are dead in sin to life in His Son (Ephesians 2:1–5).

C. The Living Word and the Written Word

This God who speaks is not distant. The Word that created all things is the same Word who stepped into creation. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). The same voice that thundered, “Let there be light,” later whispered in a manger in Bethlehem. God does not merely reveal Himself through propositions and power—He reveals Himself through a Person. In Jesus Christ, the Living Word, we see God’s glory up close. He enters our world, speaks our language, bears our griefs, and conquers our sin. The Word not only formed the world, He walked in it. He is not only Creator—He is Emmanuel, God with us.

Genesis 1 shows us the pattern:

“And God said… and it was so” (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, etc.). God creates by His Word. His speech is not suggestion—it is sovereign power. When He speaks, reality responds.

John 1 reveals the depth of that truth:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1–3).

Jesus is the Living Word—the very voice of God in flesh.

“He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). “In Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). The same Word that formed the galaxies now forms a people.

And how does He do it? By His Word still.

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16). “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

This is, again, why expository preaching matters. We’re not just explaining a text—we’re unleashing a Lion, roaring with power (cf. Amos 3:8).

Imagine a lion locked up in a cage and you feel the need to defend it. So you grab your sword and shield and stand ready to fight off all who would come to try to silence it.

That seems like a very noble thing to do, but why don’t you just open the cage?

Let the lion loose and stand back and watch as it does the work of defending itself. Who will dare stand against it?

So it is with the Word of God—it will clear its own path and silence every foe, if you just let it loose!

Let the lion out. Preach the Word. Trust the Word. Because God’s Word will do the work.

When the Word is rightly preached, Christ speaks, the Spirit moves, and God’s creative power goes to work—convicting, converting, and conforming people into the image of Christ.

“The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty” (Ps. 29:4).

He speaks, and dead hearts are raised. He speaks, and light pierces the darkness. He speaks, and the church is built up into Christ.

So when we gather and open the Bible, we aren’t performing a religious duty. We are stepping into the presence of our creating, speaking, reigning God. He still says, “Let there be light.” And by His grace, there still is.

Applications

So here’s what that means for us:

Read the Word with expectation. It’s not a textbook. It’s not an old story. It’s the powerful voice of the eternal God still speaking today.

Sit under the Word with submission. Let it shape you, correct you, comfort you, confront you. He speaks for your good.

Proclaim the Word with boldness. Parents, pastors, teachers—this is the only thing with lasting power to change a heart. Don't substitute it with gimmicks. Don’t water it down.

Closing Charge for the Point

God spoke the world into being with power and purpose. And He still speaks—through the Word made flesh and the Word written down. So come hungry. Come humble. Because the God who was there—the God who speaks—is still speaking today.

Conclusion

So what do we see in Genesis 1:1? Before there was anything—there was God. Eternal. Sovereign. Good. Speaking.

The universe didn’t begin with a bang of randomness. It began with a Word—God’s Word. And that same Word—the eternal Son—stepped into our world, bringing light into darkness, life into death, and making a way for you and me to know this glorious God personally.

So the question before us isn’t just “Do you believe in creation?” The deeper question is: Do you believe the Creator? Do you trust the One who spoke all things into being and who now speaks through His Son to you today?

This is the God who was there. And next week, we’ll see the world He made—the stage He built, the order He designed, and the purpose He gave it all.

But for now, hear the Word of the Lord: The God who was there... still is. And He invites you to worship Him—not just as Creator of the world, but as Redeemer of your soul.

This is the God who was there before you were ever born. Before you sinned, He was already planning your salvation. Before you doubted, He had already spoken. He is not silent. He is not small. He is not far. He is the God who speaks—and when He speaks, there is life. Worship Him.

The God who is eternal, personal, sovereign, and good is not silent. He speaks through His Word. And through that Word, He still creates—bringing new life to hearts dead in sin.

God’s Word made the world. And God’s Word remakes the world through Christ.

So the call today is simple but eternal: Will you listen to the voice of God? Not just hear it—but receive it, believe it, and be remade by it?

Because the God who was there is still there and He is still speaking.

And when the Lion roars, everything changes.

Let’s Pray

Almighty God, You are the Creator of all things—eternal, holy, and sovereign. You spoke the world into being, and it was good. You made us in Your image, to reflect Your glory and live in joyful obedience to You.

But Lord, we confess: we have not honored You as our Creator. We have ignored Your Word, doubted Your goodness, and lived as though we are the center of all things. We have sinned in thought, word, and deed—by what we have done and by what we have left undone. Forgive us, Father.

Cleanse us by the blood of Jesus, the Living Word through whom You made the world and by whom You redeem it. Renew in us a right spirit. Teach us again to marvel at Your majesty, to rest in Your sovereignty, and to live for Your glory.

As we go now, help us to remember that You are the God who was there—and You are still here, with us, ruling over all. May we live this week with confidence in Your power, humility before Your greatness, and joy in Your presence.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, Amen.

Repentance

Take a moment in quiet reflection, confessing and repenting before God, thanking Him for His creative Word, and if are in Christ, thanking Him how you have been recreated by that same Word. Hear the Lord’s invitation to sinners:

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

This is the promise of the God who spoke the world into being— He also speaks pardon to all who come to Him in repentance and faith. In Christ, your sins are forgiven. Your soul is made new. Rejoice in the mercy of your Maker and Redeemer.

So now, all creatures—redeemed and renewed— lift up your voice and sing to the glory of your God and King.

Thanks be to God!

Benediction

As you go, remember: You were made by God and for God. The One who spoke light into darkness holds all things together— and He is not far off.

Go now in the peace of the God who was, and is, and is to come. Trust His Word, rest in His goodness, and live for His glory.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit—Amen.