Creation and the glory of God

[npetreley]

Is creating getting less attention than it deserves in the church? I rarely hear a sermon on it. It seems like a very important issue, though, given this verse from Revelation:

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Notice the "for" (or "because").

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power --- WHY? --- for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

[doulous]

If you believe the Lord is not getting as much attention for creation then give Him glory for it. Revelation is an apocolyptic book. The passage you are referencing deals with Christ's position. In a general sense everything gives glory to God. Whether by intent or not, God receives glory.

 

[Joseph M. Smith]

Teaching and preaching on creation could very well include a focus on eco-justice .. how we as American consumers are violating God's creation. It could also focus on the value of life and how we cheapen that value in a world that fosters crime, glorifies war, abuses children, etc.

I think I feel a sermon series coming on!!

 

[npetreley]

I guess I see this a little differently. I notice it says this:

and for thy pleasure they are and were created

To me, this is a very humbling statement. It takes the focus away from the created and puts the focus on the creator. Everything exists for His pleasure. That's the message I would try to communicate when preaching about creation.

 

[Helen]

We just got back this afternoon from two weeks of getting Barry's house ready to sell in Australia (it sold in a week) and then two weeks of lecturing on the east coast of Australia and then at Capernwray Bible School in New Zealand (standing room only at our public presentation).

YES, creation is important. One German student of electrical engineering who was taking time off from university studies for a year of Bible at Capernwray stated quite succinctly what we heard in a variety of ways from a variety of people: "I knew evolution wasn't true. I knew that creation the way I was hearing it wasn't true. I had started to doubt if the Bible was true. When I heard you and it all came together these days, I have got my faith back. Thank you."

He was in the middle of the 'wrestling' years -- from about 15 to 25, when parents' coattails/apron strings are being cut and a young person is starting to think and walk on his/her own. These are the years when universities seem to take particular delight in attempting to destroy and denigrate faith, particularly the Christian faith.

To know that God can be trusted to tell us the truth in a straightforward way, Genesis to Revelation is incredibly important to them -- to all of us.