Last week, Christ the King and Living Hope held a Vacation Bible School. Lots of our participants were from Here We Grow (Living Hope’s preschool/daycare ministry), and we had some people from the wider community as well. Our theme was All God’s Creatures (a theme Christin wrote a few years ago for our congregation in Greene.
On Sunday, June 30, we had a wonderful joint worship service at Living Hope with both congregations, followed by a family fun day with a bounce house, some petting zoo animals, lunch, sundaes, and more. It was a great morning! The worship service was shaped around the four daily themes from VBS: God Creates Me, God Protects Me, God is with Me, and God Knows Me. I did a brief reflection/sermon on each theme.
Check out the livestream of the service:
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God Creates Me – Genesis 1:24-31 (Creation)
Grace to you and peace from God our Creator and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen
As we hear the stories this morning from Vacation Bible School, I’m going to share a brief reflection with you on each one—and I promise to be brief and not do four entire sermons. We all want to get to the ice cream and bounce house.
When we planned Bible School—and when I say “we planned” you should all know that I mean mostly Christin planned—when Christin picked these four stories for VBS, we were looking for stories in the Bible about animals.
But what I want to think about this morning are the same two questions we always ask when we read Bible stories. First, what does this story tell us about God? And second, what does this story tell us about ourselves?
Our first story is creation, this great story right in the very first chapter of the entire Bible about God creating the world. God makes all the animals, the birds, the fish, the dinosaurs, the cattle, the bugs, all the living creatures of every kind. And then finally, God makes human beings.
I won’t spend much time on this story because for some of us, we just talked a couple weeks ago about the creation story and Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, but what does this story tell us about God?
Well, it tells us God is the creator. God loves beauty, variety. If you look at some of the animals, it’s pretty clear God has a sense of humor. God is creative in every sense of the word. Everything we have, everything we see, everything we are is something God made.
And of course, that’s why God is the king of the jungle and the king of me. The Creator sets the rules for creation.
Question Two: What does this story say about us?
Well, the last thing God creates before resting on the seventh day is human beings. People. You and me. And we are made in the image of God. We are made to reflect the likeness of our Creator.
As you might hear in a couple days, we as human beings are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.
Each person you meet, whether you like them or not, whether you agree with them or not, they matter because they are made in the image of God. That has some implications for how we live, how we treat others, right?
God looks at the creation, God looks at the plants and the animals, and God looks at humanity, and God declares that it is very good.
You are made in the image of God, and you matter. You have value. God made you and God rejoices over you.
We sing a song of praise. Join in, or just listen and let it be a prayer.
God Protects Me – Psalm 46 (Noah’s Ark)
Our second theme this morning is “God Protects Me.” As we just heard, God is our shelter and strength. We don’t need to be afraid, because God is working for good. One example is the story of Noah. Noah’s story takes up all of Genesis 6, 7, 8, and 9, so rather than read it all (again, bounce house), I’ll read you the version in the Spark Story Bible.
[Reading from Spark Children’s Story Bible, pages 20-25]
Sin is what happens when we forget about God, when we try to go our own way instead of following our Creator’s instructions.
I invite you to join me in a time of confession, as we take a moment to reflect on our sins, on the ways we disobey God’s commands and fall short of living the way God calls us to live.
CONFESSION & FORGIVENESS
In the beginning, God created the world and called it good. But before long, people forgot about their Creator and turned away from how God told them to live.
Like the people in Noah’s time, we too forget about God and ignore our Creator’s instructions. Together, let us confess our sin…
God, forgive us when we forget about you. We are sorry for the times we disobey the commands you have given us. We are sorry for the times we hurt others, harm your creation, or neglect the needs of the neighbors around us. In your mercy, forgive our sins, wash us clean, and set us free to live as your people, in Jesus’ name. Amen
People of God, hear this good news: Just as God saved Noah and his family, God saves us too. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. May the beauty of the rainbow remind you of God’s grace and love for you and all of creation.
Amen. Thanks be to God!
God Is With Me – John 1:1-5, 14 (Christmas: The Word Became Flesh)
Before I talk about this reading, I need to clarify something: The Bible does not directly mention any animals in the Christmas story. I know we have this great display up here, but the Bible itself does not mention Mary riding a donkey, or the magi riding camels. This picture is not accurate!
The baby Jesus is laid in a manger—an animal feeding trough—but we don’t know if there were still cows or horses or whatever there in the room.
The closest we get is the shepherds watching their flocks, but Luke doesn’t tell us if they brought their sheep with them when they came to see the newborn Jesus or if they left them in the pasture, which probably would have made more sense.
During communion, we’re going to sing “The Friendly Beasts” song, and it’s a lovely song, but it’s a metaphor.
I just feel pastorally obligated to let you know there’s a lot of creative license being used any time we talk about Christmas animals.
But that’s ok, because the animals are definitely not the point of the Christmas story. The point is what we just heard from John’s Gospel. The Word who was with God in the beginning, who is God, who created all things, has become flesh and lived among us. Jesus Christ is God with us.
The idea of there existing a god who created the world is pretty standard across cultures and religions throughout history. We all want to know where the world came from, so believing in a Creator makes sense.
But the idea of a God who is with you is unique. Christians believe the eternal, almighty God has stepped down from the cosmos and into our world.
Not as a superhero, not like Hercules with superhuman strength, or a great lightning-casting warrior like Thor, not as a wealthy king, but as a baby. A tiny, frail, human child.
God chooses to become vulnerable, God chose to become one of us. Jesus chose to lay down his life so that we could have eternal life with God.
What does that say about God? It says God is a God of love.
The unique claim of Christianity is that Jesus Christ is truly God in the flesh, God with us. God has come in person to restore us to right relationship with our Creator, because God does not just create us, God does not just protect us, God loves us. God loves you. God is with you.
Of course, Jesus the incarnate Word is no longer walking around in flesh and blood form.
But in holy communion, he promises to be present. And so as we gather as God’s people, as we gather as Christ’s body in the world, filled with the Holy Spirit, we trust in his promise and we come to receive Jesus in this sacrament.
God Knows Me – John 10:14-18 (Jesus the Good Shepherd)
What does the story say about us, and what does it say about God? This story is pretty clear. Jesus says he is the good shepherd, the one who takes care of the sheep. And if he is the shepherd, then we are the sheep.
Not the most flattering comparison, right? Sheep are not a great example of the qualities we admire. They’re not very bright, they’re not great-looking, they’re not especially fast, and they can’t protect themselves, which is why they need a shepherd.
This is my favorite example of a sheep needing a shepherd. I used this video once before in a sermon, so I apologize if it looks familiar. But I love this video.
We do that, right? We turn away from God, get ourselves into trouble, God rescues us, and then we do it again! We jump right back in the pit! Remember the story of Noah; just about everyone turned away from God.
But what’s amazing about our Good Shepherd is that Jesus doesn’t give up on us. And Jesus knows our self-destructive tendencies. Jesus knows we’re not that bright; we’re not that faithful.
He says, “I know my sheep.” Jesus knows all our thoughts, our fears, our flaws. Jesus knows the things you hope no one else knows about you. And knowing all that, Jesus loves you anyway.
Jesus knows everything about you, and he sees you as worth laying down his life for. You are one of the good shepherd’s sheep, and the good shepherd will never abandon you.
Jesus talks about the shepherd seeking out the one sheep that wanders away. Maybe you’ve experienced that to be true. When you stray, no matter how far away you go, the good shepherd will come looking for you to pull you out of the pit and lead you back home. Thanks be to God. Amen.