Connecting to God Through the Work of His Hands

Connecting to God Through the Work of His Hands

Total Creation

• Understanding the Cosmos• Living in our Surroundings• Pursuing the Purpose• Connecting to God Through Creation

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1

• What is the Cosmos?a. The cosmos is the universe we can see

from our point of view on Earth. It contains the stars, moons, planets, galaxies and forces by which the universe ultimately adheres.

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1

• What is the Cosmos?a. The cosmos is the universe we can see

from our point of view on Earth. It contains the stars, moons, planets, galaxies and forces by which the universe ultimately adheres.

Understanding the Cosmos

Seeing the Mind of God in the Cosmos

The Goldilocks Zone

-Our planet is in the perfect position in relation to the sun so that it is not too cold (Mars) and not too hot (Venus)

Universe Fine Tuning

-Gravity, Polarity, Earth Axis, Electromagnetic force, Nuclear forces, Sun’s abundance of visible light, are all tuned perfectly for life on Earth to survive

“Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Job 40:4-7

“The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture,” writes physicist Freeman Dyson, “The more evidence I find that the universe in some sense knew we were coming. Virtually no major scientist today claims that the fine tuning was purely a result of chance factors at work in a single universe.” Anthony Flew There is a God

“Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Job 40:4-7

“The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture,” writes physicist Freeman Dyson, “The more evidence I find that the universe in some sense knew we were coming. Virtually no major scientist today claims that the fine tuning was purely a result of chance factors at work in a single universe.” Anthony Flew There is a God

Lucky?

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds,and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8:3-9

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds,and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8:3-9

Living in Our Surroundings

The Value of Creation

But what is common to them all is something we cannot neglect. It is the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false, to the kind of thing the universe and the kind of things we are. Those who know the objective value can hold that to call children delightful or old men venerable is not simply to record a psychological fact about our own parental or filial emotions at the moment, but to recognize a quality which demands a certain response from us whether we make it or not. C.S. Lewis Abolition of Man

Genesis 1:26 -God ordains man to rule the EarthJonah 1:15-17 - God calms the sea and sends a fish to swallow JonahJoshua 10:12-14 - God causes the sun to stand stillExodus 14:21-22 - God saves Israel through the Red SeaDaniel 6:22 - God shuts the mouths of lionsExodus 8-10 - God uses locusts, hail, frogs, darkness etc. to enact judgmentNumbers 22:28 - God causes a donkey to speak to BalaamMatthew 21:18-22 - Jesus withers the fig treeLuke 8:22-25 - Jesus calms the stormMathew 17:27 - Jesus gets a coin from a fish

Genesis 1:26 -God ordains man to rule the EarthJonah 1:15-17 - God calms the sea and sends a fish to swallow JonahJoshua 10:12-14 - God causes the sun to stand stillExodus 14:21-22 - God saves Israel through the Red SeaDaniel 6:22 - God shuts the mouths of lionsExodus 8-10 - God uses locusts, hail, frogs, darkness etc. to enact judgmentNumbers 22:28 - God causes a donkey to speak to BalaamMatthew 21:18-22 - Jesus withers the fig treeLuke 8:22-25 - Jesus calms the stormMathew 17:27 - Jesus gets a coin from a fish

Seeing God’s Sovereignty in our Surroundings

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:14-17

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:14-17

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Pursuing the Purpose

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:19-23

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:19-23

Pursuing the Purpose

Pursuing the Purpose

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Matthew 25-34

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17

Pursuing the Purpose

Connecting to God Through Creation

1. Know Your Worth

To dismiss all of life as ultimately random is to also dismiss the mind with which I make such judgments. The only position from which I can make valid judgments is from a semitranscendent vantage point. But this vantage point is only given to me by a moral, personal First Cause – God. Ravi Zacharias Has Christianity Failed You?

Connecting to God Through Creation

2. Know your Worship

a. Cerebral

b. Experiential

c. Musical

d. Artistic

3. Know your Purpose

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15

3. Know your Purpose

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15

Connecting to God Through Creation

O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross;never again will they cover the earth. He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.

O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross;never again will they cover the earth. He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.

PSALM 104:1-12

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys. The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys. The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens. Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Psalm 104:13-24

Psalm 104:25-35

There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified;when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works— he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.