Sermonette: August 5, 2024

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Wow, here we are, in the month of August already. The kids' summer ball seasons are over. The stores have had back-to-school advertisements for some time now. The college and high school football camps are open for fall practice leading up to the opening of their seasons. But, closer to home, it is the harvest season. Before we know it, the combines will be in the fields and the new crops of barley and wheat will make their way to market or in bins on the farm. Let's not forget the various farmers markets opening up as well. While it is natural to think of this as the end of growing cycle, I think it is a great time for us to think about the very beginning. The beginning that we read in the beginning of our bibles, the book of Genesis. And at the very beginning of that book, Chapter 1. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." This tells us our existence, our beginning was not some cosmic accident or freakish happening.

In the first chapter of Genesis we read of the things that God created; not only the heavens and the earth but all living things as well. Animals, fish, birds, plants, trees, all things that grow and eventually, human beings. The crops I mentioned above? Yep, God created them first. Scientists at research universities across the nation have come up with a number of varieties of these crops, but they didn't create the plant to begin with. They have been able to improve productivity, shorten the time it takes the seed to mature to be ready for market or our tables, but they didn't create them. We can say the same with animals. For example, with experiments in breeding and crossbreeding, they have been able to come up with beef and pork breeds that produce a more lean meat. They have been able to find more efficient feeding methods that will get them to market quicker and with more weight, or produce more milk and so forth. But as with plants, they are only working with what was originally put on this earth by God.

And lastly, God created human life. God formed the body shape from dirt and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and this pile of dust from the earth became a living human being. In our current world, we have scientists and doctors striving to make improvements. It is true that our life span has increased. Surgical procedures have saved limbs that once would have required amputation. Diseases that once took millions of lives have been eradicated. Incredible advancements have been made to improve the daily lives for those with physical disabilities. We owe much to these pioneering men and women. Yet, once again, they did not create the original. There was a time, not so long ago, that scientists announced they were able to create babies in a laboratory. WRONG! What they accomplished in the lab was to set up conditions that were favorable for life to grow. They introduced a male reproductive cell to a female reproductive cell and after many trials, these cells united and started a life. But, we need to note that all they created were the conditions. In the miracle of birth, the uniting of a male and female cell is only part of it – the human part. Only God can actually make them unite and grow as a single growing cell.

So, as you pick and enjoy the vegetables from your gardens, harvest your grain and feed crops, or enjoy the beauty of the flowers you have nurtured all summer, remember: it was God, our creator, who has made all this possible. He is our creator.