Sermonette- This is God's creation

Summer is here. For the most part, the crops are in the ground, and a lot is already poking up through the dirt. We have fields of green instead of the various shades of brown, black and gray that we were getting so tired of seeing. Some of the row crops still need to be seeded, but each day we get closer and closer to being done. And we're hoping we will see a little rain soon. The kids are home from school. Backyards, baseball fields, and swimming pools have taken over for the classrooms and gym. A song recorded quite a few years ago by Nat King Cole, “Hazy, Lazy Crazy Days of Summer” comes to mind. Some of the older kids will find part- or full-time work, and there are a plethora of jobs available in town. Some kids will be off visiting relatives, going to music camps or various sports camps that have become so popular around the state these days. Family vacations for many are already planned and only awaiting for the day of departure. For those who stay close to home, there are a number of lakes and rivers nearby with fish waiting to be caught.

Summer is a bit different for the farmers. I worked for a farmer during the four summers of my high school days so I know that first hand. Of course, this was in the days before tractors and combines with air-conditioned cabs, computers and GPS systems. Summertime meant haying season, the cutting, raking and eventually building haystacks. It also meant watching the crops develop, praying for rain, which it was hoped wouldn't come in a storm with high winds and hail. That part is the same now as then. But, we aren't the only ones going through the change of seasons. Look at God's creation. Trees now have leaves, lawns are being mowed and flowers are blooming in yards all over. The sweet smell of lilacs in bloom is so pleasant.

As we observe all this happening, it is hard to believe some folks think all this happened by an accident of nature. Some believe there was this cosmic big bang, and since then mankind has developed from a primordial slime into the human beings we are today. Darwin's theory of evolution is believed by many to be the only logical way humans could have developed into what we are today. Dear friends, as we enjoy the warmer temperatures of the season, see the new growth the spring season brings us, let us remember what we read in Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

We are told that God created the heavens and the earth. He created the animals, the fish and the fowl. Everything was created by him. This time of year gets me thinking of “Beautiful Savior,” a hymn many of us learned as children. The second verse leads off with “Fair are the meadows, Fair are the woodlands, Robed in flowers of blooming spring. “

No, this couldn't have been an accident. In addition to the beginning of Genesis, we have many other references, but ones I particularly enjoy come from the 104th Psalm. From various verses we read “You have set the earth on its foundations; You cause the grass to grow for cattle and plants for people to use; O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all, the earth is full of your creatures.” So, I ask you dear friends to remember, this is God's creation and no matter what our summer holds for us, let us take time to admire his handy work, treat it with the respect it deserves and thank him in prayer for his wonderful work. Blessings to you all.