From Creation’s Glory to Human Self-Esteem: A Review of ‘Sunday Sermon’

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
At church.
[00:18:35] This is 5th Sunday and you're here at 10 o'clock, so good for you.
[00:18:38] You remembered we have one service today.
[00:18:40] I love 5th Sundays.
[00:18:41] 5th Sundays are the day when the folks from the 930 service and the 1130 service are here in one place.
[00:18:48] You might see people that you haven't seen in quite a while, so make sure you run up and go, oh, hey, how you doing?
[00:18:53] or you might see people you've never seen before and that might be just because they go to another service so make sure you guys mingle and talk and shake hands and and be together because that's what community is all about so we love fifth sundays here we're gonna have a lot of fun today we're gonna baptize folks today we're gonna welcome people into our congregation today it is an absolutely beautiful day to be in the house of the lord amen all right i'm monica humple i'm the associate pastor of engagement and i welcome all of you
[00:19:22] to this time and place of worship those of you here in our sanctuary and hey those of you online we are so happy you're choosing to worship with us online today if you're newer to our congregation hey welcome and listen if you're new to the congregation and you showed up at 10 o'clock and you knew we were worshiping at 10 you get like five gold stars today because that is special that you did your homework and knew you were here but hey if you even if you're newer to our congregation we're just so happy you're choosing to worship with us and we welcome you to our family
[00:19:51] After worship today, if you are newer to our congregation, come join us out at our connection station.
[00:19:56] It's a little cart that's out in the patio.
[00:19:59] I'll be out there with some friends, and we're wearing our little welcome tags.
[00:20:02] We're not there to overwhelm you.
[00:20:04] We're just there to shake your hand, say good morning, welcome you, and give you a really cool bag of neat little gifts that you're going to want, I promise you.
[00:20:11] And you come and say hi, and we can answer any questions you have about our church.
[00:20:16] Now, speaking of questions, we're in the midst of our sermon series right now about curious
[00:20:21] Questions about the Bible and if you joined us for the past several weeks you've been hearing some really in my opinion tough questions and kudos to pastors Wes and Tony Ruth for tackling some
[00:20:32] Really, really tough questions.
[00:20:35] You guys gave us the questions and they are here to help us answer them.
[00:20:39] Not because they necessarily know everything.
[00:20:41] We're in this conversations together.
[00:20:43] You may not know this, but we have a podcast here at Williamson's Chapel called Curious Living.
[00:20:48] And Curious Living asks curious questions in every episode.
[00:20:53] And we take a moment to open our hearts and our minds to explore these questions and we explore them through the lens of our faith in Jesus Christ.
[00:21:01] What we're doing here in worship is not much different than that.
[00:21:04] And I close out every episode saying this, and this is a quote from Albert Einstein.
[00:21:08] Never lose your holy curiosity.
[00:21:11] Isn't that wonderful?
[00:21:12] Your holy curiosity.
[00:21:13] So I invite all of us today as we continue to worship together to open our hearts, open our minds, and really be curious about God's word.
[00:21:21] To really dig in and see what is God saying to me today.
[00:21:25] Let's worship together.

[00:21:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I'll praise when I'm sure and praise when I'm doubting I'll praise when I'm numbered and praise when surrounded
[00:22:08] Cause praise is the waters my enemies drown in As long as I'm breathing I've got a reason to praise the Lord, oh my soul Praise the Lord, oh my soul
[00:22:35] I'll praise when I feel it, praise when I don't I'll praise cause I know you're still in control My praise is a weapon, it's more than a sound My praise is a shout that brings Jericho down
[00:23:05] As long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to Praise the Lord of my soul Praise the Lord of my soul I won't be quiet, my God is alive How could I keep it in sight?

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Praise
[00:23:36] Praise the Lord!

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I'll praise cause you're sovereign Praise cause you reign Praise cause you rose and defeated the grave I'll praise cause you're faithful Praise cause you're true Praise cause there's nobody greater than you I'll praise cause you're sovereign Praise cause you reign Praise cause you rose and defeated the grave I'll praise cause you're faithful Praise cause you're true Praise cause there's nobody greater than you

[00:24:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Praise the Lord of my soul!
[00:24:37] Praise the Lord of my soul!
[00:24:48] I won't be quiet, my God is alive How could I keep it inside?
[00:24:56] I won't be quiet, my God is alive How could I keep it inside?
[00:25:06] Praise the Lord of my soul

[00:25:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord, oh praise the Lord Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord, oh praise the Lord

[00:26:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Please stand for the call to worship.
[00:26:24] We worship the God who inhabits our world and indwells our lives.
[00:26:30] We need not look up to find God.
[00:26:33] We need only to look around, within ourselves, beyond ourselves, and into the eyes of another.
[00:26:41] We need not listen for a distant thunder to find God.
[00:26:45] We need only listen to the music of life, the words of children, the questions of the curious, the rhythm of a heartbeat.
[00:26:57] We worship the God who inhabits our world and who indwells our lives.
[00:27:04] Please join as we sing on your hymnals, page 92, For the Beauty of the Earth.

[00:27:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:27:29] Amen.

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
For the glory of the skies, For the love raised from on high, Over and around the skies, Lord, a home to Thee we raise,

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit,
[00:28:51] Friends on earth, friends on earth, we've all changed to sons and daughters.
[00:29:17] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:29:23] Amen.

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Carry one dollar.
[00:30:07] All right.
[00:30:08] So we are so delighted today that we get to do one of our favorite things.
[00:30:13] We get to baptize both children, infants and adults today and to welcome new members into our congregation.
[00:30:21] It is always a joy to do that and we love to do that on fifth Sundays when we can all be here because when we do this we are all making covenant with these people
[00:30:32] To welcome them and to make them part of our church family.
[00:30:35] So I'm going to go ahead and invite the Johnson family, the Donahue family, the Allen family, and Kent to all come on up here.
[00:30:41] Kent, if you want to wait just a minute, you can.
[00:30:43] That's okay.
[00:30:44] So just the immediate families right now and we'll have the extended families come on.
[00:30:49] So if y'all want to come on up with just the babies right now and siblings if you would like.
[00:30:55] And then Devin and Jeff, come on up.
[00:31:02] Woo!
[00:31:04] See, look at all the babies, y'all.
[00:31:06] What's not to love?

[00:31:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Hi, sweetnesses.

[00:31:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Hi, guys.
[00:31:16] Y'all can come on this side if you want to, if you want to go either way.
[00:31:22] Absolutely.
[00:31:23] Okay, so I'm actually going to come down because I can see you better while I'm doing this.
[00:31:28] You stay right there.
[00:31:29] Okay.
[00:31:34] All right, y'all.
[00:31:37] Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the sacrament of baptism, we are initiated into Christ's holy church.
[00:31:45] We are incorporated into God's mighty act of salvation and given new birth through water in the Spirit.
[00:31:51] And all of this is God's gift offered to us without price.
[00:31:56] Through the reaffirmation of our faith, we renew the covenant declared at our baptism, acknowledge what God is doing for us, and reaffirm our commitment to Christ's body, the Church.
[00:32:08] Today we present Ella James Johnson, daughter of Laura and Dustin, Jamie Ann Donahue, daughter of Connor and Nicole, and Devin Allen for baptism, and Jeff Allen to reaffirm his faith and join our church, and Kent Davis in just a minute will join us, and he'll be joining our congregation as well.
[00:32:28] So I ask you all, all of you, on behalf of the whole church, do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
[00:32:39] If you do, the response is we do.
[00:32:41] Do you accept the freedom and the power that God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
[00:32:51] If you do, the response is I do.
[00:32:54] Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?
[00:33:07] If you do, the response is, I do.
[00:33:11] This is just for you parents here that are baptizing today.
[00:33:13] Will you nurture Jamie Ann and Ella James in Christ's Holy Church, that by your teaching and example, they may be guided to accept God's grace for themselves, to accept, to profess their faith openly, and to lead a Christian life?
[00:33:29] If you will, the response is, I will.
[00:33:33] And I will ask all of you, according to the grace given you, will you remain faithful members of Christ's holy church and serve as Christ's representatives in this world?
[00:33:40] If you will, the response is, I will.
[00:33:43] For all of you all.
[00:33:45] Sorry.
[00:33:46] All right, Wes.

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Do you as Christ's body, the church, reaffirm both your rejection of sin and your commitment to Christ?
[00:33:54] If so, the answer is, we do.
[00:33:56] We do.
[00:33:57] Will you nurture one another in the Christian faith and life and include these persons now before you in your care?

[00:34:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
With God's help, we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ.
[00:34:10] We will surround them with a community of love and forgiveness that they may grow in their trust of God and be found faithful in their service to others.
[00:34:22] We will pray for them that they may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life.

[00:34:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Let us join together in professing the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
[00:34:35] Do you believe in God the Father?

[00:34:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

[00:34:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

[00:34:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.

[00:34:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

[00:34:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I believe in the Holy Spirit.

[00:34:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
The Lord be with you.
[00:34:58] And with your spirit.
[00:34:59] Let us pray.
[00:35:00] Eternal Father, when nothing existed but chaos, you swept across the dark waters and brought forth light.
[00:35:06] In the days of Noah, you saved those on the ark through water.
[00:35:10] After the flood, you set in the clouds a rainbow.
[00:35:13] When you saw your people as slaves in Egypt, you led them to freedom through the sea.
[00:35:17] Their children you brought through the Jordan to the land which you promised.
[00:35:21] Sing to the Lord all the earth, tell of God's mercy each day.
[00:35:26] In the fullness of time you sent Jesus, nurtured in the water of a womb.
[00:35:31] He was baptized by John and anointed by your Spirit.
[00:35:35] He called his disciples to share in the baptism of his death and resurrection and to make disciples of all nations.

[00:35:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Declare Christ's works to the nations, his glory among all the people.

[00:35:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Pour out your Holy Spirit.
[00:35:50] To bless this gift of water and those who receive it, to wash away their sin and clothe them in righteousness throughout their lives, that, dying and being raised with Christ, they may share in His final victory.

[00:36:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
All praise to You, Eternal Father, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, who with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever.
[00:36:15] Amen.
[00:36:22] All right.
[00:36:23] Hey, sweet girl.
[00:36:25] This is Ella James.
[00:36:26] Oh, my goodness.
[00:36:27] Look at that.
[00:36:28] What a beautiful baby you are.

[00:36:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Say hello.

[00:36:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Look at that.
[00:36:31] So cute.

[00:36:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Oh, you're smiling.

[00:36:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Yeah, I saw that smile.
[00:36:37] All right, Miss Jamie Ann.
[00:36:40] Jamie Ann.
[00:36:41] Ella.
[00:36:41] Ella James.
[00:36:42] I baptize you in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit.
[00:36:51] The Holy Spirit work within you that being born through water and the Spirit you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
[00:36:59] Amen.
[00:37:00] Oh my goodness.
[00:37:01] Okay, you get the next one.

[00:37:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Jamie Ann.

[00:37:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Jamie Ann.
[00:37:06] Was she going to let you hold her?
[00:37:08] Oh my goodness.
[00:37:11] Can I hold you?
[00:37:12] Hey.
[00:37:13] Say hello.
[00:37:14] Hello, Jamie Ann.
[00:37:16] Hello.
[00:37:17] She's very curious about you.
[00:37:19] He's very funny looking.
[00:37:21] Jamie Ann.

[00:37:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
All right, Jamie Ann.

[00:37:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:37:33] The Spirit work within you that you may be a faithful disciple who walks in the way that leads to life.
[00:37:39] You take that handout.

[00:37:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Okay, let's see.
[00:37:42] Let's see if they'll let us.
[00:37:43] Can we walk out that way?
[00:37:46] We'll go out here.
[00:37:46] Oh, my goodness.
[00:37:48] We got to go meet some people.
[00:37:50] All right, guys.
[00:37:51] I'm going to go this way.
[00:37:52] Look at that, baby.
[00:37:54] Say, hey, there's your real family.

[00:37:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
There's your family family.

[00:37:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Say, hello.
[00:37:59] Oh, look.

[00:37:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Okay, this is the Amen Corner, okay?

[00:38:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
That's what I call them.

[00:38:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
That's the Amen Corner.
[00:38:03] Can y'all say hello?

[00:38:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Now listen, y'all gotta volunteer at BBS.

[00:38:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Yeah, you gonna do it?
[00:38:12] And Sunday school?

[00:38:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Oh my goodness.
[00:38:16] And you'll pray for this sweet baby?
[00:38:18] Can you do it?
[00:38:19] Y'all willing?
[00:38:20] Oh look, say hey back there.

[00:38:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
There's Mr. Homer.
[00:38:25] Say hello to Mr. Homer.

[00:38:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Oh, look.
[00:38:27] Look, there's John again.
[00:38:28] I got to go this way.
[00:38:29] I'm just backing up.
[00:38:30] I'm just walking backwards.
[00:38:32] Hey, guys.
[00:38:33] Oh, my goodness.
[00:38:34] Look what God did, y'all.
[00:38:38] Every day, God is still choosing life.
[00:38:40] Amen?
[00:38:42] And so are we.
[00:38:42] There's the choir.
[00:38:43] Hey, choir.
[00:38:44] Y'all missed it.
[00:38:44] Hold on.
[00:38:44] Yeah, we got to go see the choir.
[00:38:45] Ready?
[00:38:46] On the count of three, we're going to lift them up.
[00:38:47] Ready?
[00:38:48] One, two, three.
[00:38:49] Say, hey, choir.
[00:38:50] Hey, choir.
[00:38:52] Hey, sweet girl.
[00:38:54] All right, I'll let you go back to your mommy.
[00:38:57] But I don't want to give you kisses.
[00:39:01] I don't want another one, but man.

[00:39:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Yeah, uh-uh, uh-uh.

[00:39:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Sweetness.
[00:39:08] All right, Devin, come on up.
[00:39:16] So...
[00:39:18] Devin started coming to Bible study with Wes.

[00:39:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
She started attending my Revelation Bible study.
[00:39:27] She jumped in the deep end there, sister.
[00:39:30] She jumped in the deep end immediately.
[00:39:32] But I had a wonderful conversation with Devin about what it means to be a follower of Jesus and what it means to be part of a church community.
[00:39:41] and also with her husband, Jeff, who's joining today as well.
[00:39:47] And just great conversations about kind of where do you start when you have a Bible and you want to know where to begin?
[00:39:56] Where do you start?
[00:39:58] So we had some good conversation about that and just about what it means to be part of a wonderful church family.
[00:40:06] And so we're so excited that you're part of our family, both of you.
[00:40:09] And we're so glad that you're here.
[00:40:11] And again, getting to do our favorite thing today, which is baptize folks.
[00:40:16] So just so blessed to be a part of that.
[00:40:18] So we're going to ask you to go ahead and kneel here.
[00:40:25] Devon, I baptize you in the name of the Father.
[00:40:29] and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:40:35] Amen.
[00:40:35] Devon, the Holy Spirit work within you that being born through water and the Spirit, you may be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
[00:40:42] Amen.

[00:40:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Amen.
[00:40:45] Amen.
[00:40:46] Jeff, I'm gonna invite you to touch the waters, remember your baptism and be thankful.
[00:40:50] Here you go.
[00:40:53] If you'd like to touch the waters, remember your baptism and be thankful.
[00:40:57] And Kent, come on up.
[00:41:00] Just touch your forehead there.
[00:41:04] And friends, this is Kent Davis, who is also joining our church family today.
[00:41:11] So I'm going to come back down here again.
[00:41:12] All right, y'all.
[00:41:17] This is to the three of you all.
[00:41:20] As members of Christ's universal church, by virtue of your baptism,
[00:41:24] Will you be faithful within the United Methodist Church and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries?
[00:41:29] If you will, the response is, I will.
[00:41:33] As a member of this congregation, will you faithfully participate in the ministries of this church by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?
[00:41:42] If you will, the response is, I will.
[00:41:45] Amen.
[00:41:45] Welcome.

[00:41:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Amen.

[00:41:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Look how easy that was.

[00:41:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Thank you so much for having me.

[00:41:56] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Absolutely.

[00:41:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Members of the household of God, I commend all of these folks to your love and care.
[00:42:01] When you teach Sunday school, when you join Bible studies, when you help out at youth retreats, when you give, when you worship, when you show up, you are fulfilling and living into all these promises that we made.
[00:42:16] And every time we baptize, it's an opportunity for you to remember your own baptism.
[00:42:20] Can you remember?
[00:42:22] Some of you, you were babies and you don't remember the actual event, but maybe you remember when you first joined the church.
[00:42:27] And some of you were older and you do remember your baptism.
[00:42:31] So I'm gonna invite you all right now to remember your own baptism with thanksgiving in your heart that God claimed you and called you his very own, that God blessed you with this incredible gift.
[00:42:42] And I'm gonna suggest to you that your whole life, friends, your whole life is your thank you.
[00:42:48] for what God has given you in Jesus Christ.
[00:42:51] Amen?

[00:42:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Amen.

[00:42:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Members of the household of God, I commend all of these folks to your loving care.
[00:42:57] Do all in your power to increase their faith, to confirm that which they hope in, and to walk alongside them as God does the work of perfecting them in love.
[00:43:09] We give thanks for all that God has already given you, and we welcome you in Christian love.
[00:43:16] As members together with you in the Body of Christ and in this congregation of the United Methodist Church, we renew our covenant faithfully to participate in the ministries of the Church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness, that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
[00:43:39] The God of all grace who has called us to eternal glory establish you and strengthen you that you may live in grace and in peace.
[00:43:48] Amen.
[00:43:49] Amen and amen.
[00:43:51] You can clap.

[00:43:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
That's a good thing.

[00:44:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Thank you so much.
[00:44:03] Appreciate you.
[00:44:06] Absolutely.

[00:44:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
As folks find their way back to their seats, I just want to let you know in case you were curious, we do have something really awesome called a wiggle room.
[00:44:17] We get it.
[00:44:20] If you go out of these doors and you ask one of the ushers, they will help you find it if you need it.
[00:44:27] But we absolutely, absolutely love having kiddos in worship.
[00:44:32] So, that being said, I have a very special announcement for everybody.
[00:44:37] Those of you who go to Williamson's Chapel, you're going to know what I mean when I say fall book.
[00:44:42] Those of you who are new to our congregation may not know what that is.
[00:44:44] This is our new fall book.
[00:44:47] This has literally everything going on in the life of Williamson's Chapel between now and the end of 2025.
[00:44:54] It has Christmas stuff in it.
[00:44:57] It has stuff going on for Bible studies, children's ministry, youth ministry.
[00:45:01] It has everything in here and you will get a copy of this as you leave worship today.
[00:45:07] so make sure you get one of these as you leave this is really cool if you just take a look through you see everything Williamson's Chapel is involved in missions ministries opportunities for you to go closer to Jesus opportunities for your children to grow closer to Jesus opportunities for youth to go grow closer to Jesus and to be involved in mission opportunities for you to be involved in mission opportunities for you to get care that you need grief share divorce care this
[00:45:37] is what our church is called to do.
[00:45:40] You'll see it all right here.
[00:45:42] You know, we are so grateful that God has blessed us as a church to be able to provide all of these opportunities for each and every one of us to do all of these things.
[00:45:54] And we are grateful to you for your generosity in helping our church be able to do these things.
[00:45:59] Without your generosity, much of this doesn't take place.
[00:46:03] But we know that we are all called to be part of the body that is grateful, just so grateful
[00:46:10] to be able to do this and to fulfill our mission to change lives and change the world through Jesus Christ so in the spirit of that generosity in the spirit of giving I invite all of us to consider giving in the name of Christ you can do that in a multitude of ways today you can scan this code if you would like to do that and give online or we're going to have baskets passed around in just a moment you're welcome to put your offering in the basket
[00:46:33] but again we thank you we thank you for your generosity and we are so excited to see you participating in all of these amazing things help me out Mariana I need to get that behind it

[00:47:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small.
[00:47:25] All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.
[00:47:35] Each little bird that sings He made their glowing colors He made their tiny wings
[00:47:53] All things bright and beautiful All creatures great and small All things white and wonderful
[00:48:21] The sun setteth the morning that brightens up the sky.
[00:48:49] The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun.
[00:48:52] The right fruits in the garden He made them every one
[00:49:09] All things wise and wonderful the Lord God made them all.
[00:49:28] He gave us eyes to see them When we stand we might tell How great is God Almighty Who has made all things well
[00:49:51] All things bright and beautiful All creatures great and small All things wise and wonderful

[00:50:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I'm gonna invite all the children to come on up and join Wes and I up here at the chancel.
[00:50:45] Come on, kiddie poos.

[00:50:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Come on!
[00:50:55] You want to come?
[00:50:57] Julian!
[00:50:58] Julian!
[00:50:58] Come here!
[00:51:00] You want to come?
[00:51:01] You want to come?

[00:51:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
You just want to hold it?
[00:51:05] Come here.
[00:51:08] There you go.

[00:51:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Hey guys!

[00:51:13] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Come on.

[00:51:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
It's good to see everybody.

[00:51:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Oh!
[00:51:19] Hi friends!
[00:51:21] Hello!
[00:51:22] I have to tell you, I have a favorite animal.
[00:51:29] Platypuses.
[00:51:31] Platypuses?
[00:51:31] Look how many I have.
[00:51:32] Look at my shirt.
[00:51:35] I just really like platypuses, okay?
[00:51:38] These are all my platypuses.
[00:51:40] This one's mine.
[00:51:40] And Julian has one of mine.
[00:51:42] And that one up there is one of mine.
[00:51:44] I really love platypuses.
[00:51:46] Pastor Wes thinks I'm weird.
[00:51:48] I'm wearing the shirt, too.
[00:51:49] You are wearing the shirt, too.
[00:51:50] What's your favorite animal?

[00:51:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
I don't know.
[00:51:55] You've kind of brought me around to the duckbill platypus.

[00:51:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
What's your favorite animal?
[00:51:59] What's somebody else's favorite animal?
[00:52:00] What's your favorite animal?
[00:52:03] Cheetahs and horses.
[00:52:04] What about you?
[00:52:07] Snow leopards.
[00:52:08] What about you?
[00:52:11] Dogs, cats, and chickens.
[00:52:13] Oh, mom and dad, we need all three.
[00:52:15] What's your favorite, Gemma?
[00:52:20] Chickens and platypuses.
[00:52:23] and Giraffes for sure.
[00:52:24] What's your favorite?
[00:52:27] I like cats and dogs.
[00:52:28] Cats and dogs.
[00:52:28] What about you, sweet girl?
[00:52:32] Cheetahs.

[00:52:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Cheetahs?

[00:52:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
What about you?

[00:52:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I like bobcats and cats.

[00:52:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Bobcats, woof!
[00:52:37] Those are some great animals.
[00:52:39] I love, last year we got to go see, Daniel, what's your favorite animal?

[00:52:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Elephants.
[00:52:45] The elephants.

[00:52:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
When Daniel was little, we would pray a prayer and he would say, Dear God,
[00:52:52] Thank you for the elephants.
[00:52:56] Dear God, we're so sorry for all the things we do that hurt the elephants.
[00:53:01] Dear God, please help the elephants.
[00:53:04] Daniel loved elephants.
[00:53:06] So all of those creatures, who made all those creatures?
[00:53:09] God did.
[00:53:10] Now do all of those creatures have four, do all the creatures have four legs?
[00:53:16] No!
[00:53:17] Some of them just have two.
[00:53:18] Kangaroos hop on them, right?
[00:53:20] And do all of those animals have duck bills?
[00:53:24] No.
[00:53:25] Do some of those animals fly?

[00:53:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Some of them fly.

[00:53:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
But do others swim?
[00:53:33] Yeah?
[00:53:34] Are all the animals the same color?
[00:53:38] Do they all make the same noises?
[00:53:40] Do they all live in the same places?
[00:53:43] What does that teach us maybe?
[00:53:45] What do you think that might teach us?
[00:53:49] That's the Jesus answer.
[00:53:50] High five.
[00:53:52] What you got?
[00:53:57] We're all different?
[00:53:58] What else might it teach us?
[00:54:01] Does God like all the difference in the world?
[00:54:04] So does God like that some of us have long hair and some of us have short hair and some of us have, I have green eyes but Wes has brown eyes and Mariana's hair is red but mine isn't and this isn't even the color it's supposed to be.
[00:54:24] God makes all the creatures and all of us and God loves how different we are.
[00:54:31] God loves that we can do things that make people smile and laugh.
[00:54:36] God loves that we are all different.
[00:54:39] And so I want you to think about what's one thing about you that you think makes you special and different?
[00:54:46] What's one thing about you that makes you special and different?
[00:54:49] Pastor West, what's one thing about you that makes you special and different?

[00:54:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Oh, on the spot.
[00:54:53] Put me on the spot here.
[00:54:54] I'm really good at trivia.

[00:54:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Pastor Wes is really good at trivia.

[00:55:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
I know a lot of things that don't really matter.

[00:55:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I'm really good.
[00:55:04] I'm really good at baking things.
[00:55:06] What's something you're really good at?
[00:55:08] What are you really good at?
[00:55:14] I'm really good at running away from my brother when I'm feeling sad.
[00:55:16] Yeah, you can run away from your brother.

[00:55:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You're faster.

[00:55:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
That's right.
[00:55:19] What's something you're really good at?
[00:55:22] God made you in all the things that are special about you and just like the platypus which is my favorite
[00:55:46] God thinks all of us are his favorite.
[00:55:49] God loves all the neat and different things about you.
[00:55:52] Now, in your book, in your worship bag today, there are all sorts of good facts about the platypus, so I want you to learn some good facts.
[00:56:01] And, hold on, this is real important.
[00:56:03] You should have gotten a piece of paper, adults too.
[00:56:06] And I'm going to invite you, during worship while I'm preaching, if you get bored because the preacher's preaching and you're used to being in Sunday school, I want you to draw the craziest creature you can imagine.
[00:56:19] You can make whatever creature you want.
[00:56:21] If you were gonna make a new creature, what would you make and what would it look like?
[00:56:25] Would it maybe have a beaver tail and webbed feet and a duck's bill?
[00:56:30] Maybe it would have long legs like a giraffe, but like a trunk like an elephant.
[00:56:36] Who knows?
[00:56:37] So I want you to just dream up something imaginative during preaching.
[00:56:41] Can y'all do that for me?
[00:56:43] Okay, let's pray.
[00:56:44] Everybody hands together.
[00:56:46] Repeat after me.
[00:56:47] Dear God.
[00:56:49] Thank you for making me.
[00:56:54] Help me to see all the beautiful things about me.
[00:57:02] And help me to see all the beautiful things about others.
[00:57:14] Alright guys, can I have my platypuses back?
[00:57:16] Because I've got to use them for an example.
[00:57:18] You want to take it?
[00:57:19] Okay guys, thank you.
[00:57:20] Y'all can go back to your moms and dads, okay?
[00:57:24] I will tell your mom where I found them.
[00:57:26] But a couple of them were handmade.
[00:57:28] I want that one.
[00:57:30] You want that one?
[00:57:31] Okay.
[00:57:34] I know that one is me.
[00:57:35] That one was it and this one's me?

[00:57:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Mm-hmm.
[00:57:40] Where's my sermon?
[00:57:43] I will now read from scripture Genesis 1 20 to 31 and God said let the waters bring forth
[00:57:52] Swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.
[00:57:58] So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves of every kind with which the waters swam and every winged bird of every kind and God saw that it was good.
[00:58:14] God blessed them saying be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas
[00:58:20] and let birds multiply on the earth and there was evening and there was morning the fifth day and God said let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind cattle and creeping things and wild things of the earth of every kind and it was so God made the wild animals of earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind
[00:58:50] And God saw that it was good.
[00:58:52] Then God said, Let us make humans in my own image, according to my likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
[00:59:15] God created humans in his image.
[00:59:18] In the image of God, he created them.
[00:59:21] Male and female, he created them.
[00:59:25] God blessed them and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea
[00:59:34] And over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth, God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of the earth, and every tree with its seed and its fruit, and you shall have them for food.
[00:59:53] And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air, to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life,
[01:00:04] I have given every green plant for food and it was so God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good and there was evening and there was morning the sixth day the word of God for the people of God thanks be to God let's pray gracious God

[01:00:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.
[01:00:40] Amen.
[01:00:40] Okay, so last week, I let the fact that I'm a nerd show just a little bit when I was teaching you about the xylem and the phloem.
[01:00:49] And this week, I guess I'm just really all in because all of these really are mine.
[01:00:55] All of these.
[01:00:56] and this guy too.
[01:00:58] This one you can get at the World Wildlife Federation.
[01:01:00] You could sponsor a platypus.
[01:01:01] Someone gave me one for Christmas one year.
[01:01:03] So this is all of my platypuses and I even have a shirt.
[01:01:10] And my family doubled down.
[01:01:13] Y'all gotta stand up.
[01:01:15] Except for Mariana who has one but didn't wear it because it didn't match her outfit.
[01:01:23] I'm going to give her a pass, but for sure Daniel is my favorite today because he wore that shirt proud.
[01:01:29] Wore it proud.
[01:01:34] Now we all have something about us that people go, wow, you really kind of are obsessed with platypus.
[01:01:38] That's kind of weird.
[01:01:40] I'm going to tell you why I love the duckbill platypus, but first I'm going to remind you of the ground rules about this series that we're doing about holy questions, curious questions.
[01:01:49] We are asking all sorts of questions during this series, and we're reminding ourselves that we're going to engage our questions with humility, understanding we don't know everything.
[01:01:58] We're going to stay grounded in the Scripture, and we're going to wrestle with trust.
[01:02:02] And we're going to have to wrestle with that today, because today the curious question was, why did God make mosquitoes and yellow jackets?
[01:02:10] And if you haven't ever asked that question, you haven't really lived in the South.
[01:02:14] So, I've got to tell you why I love platypuses.
[01:02:19] I think platypuses are like evidence that God doesn't waste anything.
[01:02:25] I think it's like, you know, when you ever made Ikea furniture and you get to the end and there's all that extra stuff, right?
[01:02:33] I think God got done with creation and there was some extra stuff and he was like, you know what, let's just put it together and shablamo the duckbill platypus.
[01:02:41] It is my favorite animal.
[01:02:43] They have it.
[01:02:44] Let's, if you go to the next slide.
[01:02:47] Platypuses have, oh yeah, even Ike, this is our cat, even Ike loves the platypus.
[01:02:52] I'm not, this is not a joke.
[01:02:54] My friend that gave him to us gave him a little stuffed duck-billed platypus.
[01:02:58] It's his favorite toy.
[01:02:59] He carries it around everywhere.
[01:03:02] And he, the new one I got this week, he was playing with it.
[01:03:06] So I guess it's now his too.
[01:03:07] So anyway, we all love the platypus at my house.
[01:03:09] Okay, so this crazy animal, it has a duck bill.
[01:03:13] and a beaver-like tail.
[01:03:15] It has webbed feet.
[01:03:16] This is not a joke.
[01:03:18] The first British scientist who saw one, they're native to Australia.
[01:03:23] So the first British scientist to see one in 1898 thought it was a hoax.
[01:03:30] He thought, he literally lifted up the tail looking for stitches where somebody had sewn together a duck and a beaver.
[01:03:37] That's not, like, that is not me making that up.
[01:03:40] That's true.
[01:03:42] and they're just a few funny things about they're freshwater animals they live in rivers and lakes and ponds there are something called a monotreme and what that means is that they're a mammal means they're warm-blooded and they feed their babies with milk but they lay eggs like a reptile there are only four other species like that in the whole world
[01:04:02] Okay?
[01:04:04] The adult male platypus has a poisonous spur on its back leg, and it's equipped with enough venom that it could be lethal to a human.
[01:04:13] But no human's ever been killed because, you know, they're so cute.
[01:04:15] Like, well, they're just so sweet.
[01:04:20] They can neither see nor hear underwater.
[01:04:24] They are equipped with echo reception, electro reception.
[01:04:28] So it's like sharks.
[01:04:31] So they send out electrical pulses and that's how they find out where their prey is and where objects are.
[01:04:35] That's electro reception.
[01:04:38] And when you put them under UV light, they look like this.
[01:04:42] They biofluoresce.
[01:04:44] I mean, are you kidding me?
[01:04:45] Their fur is waterproof.
[01:04:49] Their mother's milk comes out of her fur, which is so weird.
[01:04:53] They are a carnivore or a meat-eater, but they have no teeth.
[01:04:57] They just smash their food up with their jaws.
[01:04:59] In cartoons, they are known to be spies and are the arch enemy of Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
[01:05:06] So if you've ever watched any Phineas and Ferb, you know about the platypus.
[01:05:10] And my favorite of all, friends, they're babies.
[01:05:13] Look at their babies.
[01:05:14] They're called puggles.
[01:05:16] I mean, seriously?
[01:05:18] Somebody besides me was making this stuff up.
[01:05:21] They're called puggles, and when there are a bunch of them together, it's called a puddle.
[01:05:26] I mean, what's not to love?
[01:05:29] Okay, so why are we talking about this today?
[01:05:32] Because here's the curious question.
[01:05:34] Why did God make?
[01:05:36] We could ask that about a lot of things, right?
[01:05:39] Why did God make a crazy animal like this?
[01:05:41] Why did God make giraffes with this crazy long neck and they can't bend their knees?
[01:05:45] That's weird, right?
[01:05:47] Why did God make mosquitoes?
[01:05:50] I was outside on my porch this morning, minding my own business, praying.
[01:05:54] And a mosquito decided that it needed to visit me, right?
[01:05:58] Mosquitoes.
[01:05:59] Why did God make that?
[01:06:01] Why did God make yellow jackets?
[01:06:03] I mean, let's just be real.
[01:06:05] Yellow jackets, they'll just sting you for spite.
[01:06:09] Right?
[01:06:10] First day at our new house, I discovered the yellow jacket nests in our yard and got hammered by three or four yellow jackets.
[01:06:18] They are just mean, hateful little things.
[01:06:22] I was talking about this sermon to Steve Hostler, one of our church members, and he said that he thinks all these creatures are what he would call over-engineered.
[01:06:31] That's a good way to put it, over-engineered.
[01:06:33] Like, God could have probably dialed them back just a little bit.
[01:06:37] Like, you know, he could have just turned down the volume a little bit on some of these creatures.
[01:06:41] Did it really need to do all of those things?
[01:06:45] So here's the thing.
[01:06:47] I went looking about the purpose specifically of those two creatures.
[01:06:52] which we would all gladly pay somebody to get rid of in our yard.
[01:06:56] True story?
[01:06:56] My guess is you have paid somebody to get rid of those things in your yard.
[01:07:01] Okay?
[01:07:03] Here's what I found out.
[01:07:04] Mosquitoes are an important food source for birds and other animals and they also serve to pollinate some plants.
[01:07:12] There's actually an orchid, I can't remember where exactly it is, but there is a type of orchid that the only creature that pollinates it is a mosquito.
[01:07:21] They maintain the balance with their bites.
[01:07:24] They maintain the balance of other insect populations.
[01:07:28] And here's something really important.
[01:07:30] Do you know what their dominant predator is?
[01:07:33] Hummingbirds.
[01:07:35] So without the hummingbird, without mosquitoes, we don't really get hummingbirds.
[01:07:42] And so I feel like that's kind of a good trade-off.
[01:07:44] What do y'all think?
[01:07:45] I mean, it's pretty good trade-off.
[01:07:47] Now, yellow jackets.
[01:07:48] Yellow jackets prey on caterpillars, flies, and grub worms.
[01:07:53] And they protect gardens by reducing pests that would destroy them.
[01:07:58] So your trade-off for the yellow jacket is fresh tomato sandwiches and corn on the cob.
[01:08:04] Does that feel like a pretty good trade-off to you?
[01:08:09] To be fair, you don't really eat a tomato sandwich.
[01:08:11] You eat a banana and pepper sandwich with a little, oh, sorry, a mayonnaise and pepper sandwich with just a little bit of tomato on it.
[01:08:20] That's so weird.
[01:08:21] Anyway.
[01:08:22] Okay, so here's the thing.
[01:08:24] What's the question behind the question?
[01:08:26] Because with all our curious questions, one of the things we're going to find out is that there's always a question behind the question.
[01:08:32] So the question behind our question, why did God make mosquitoes and yellow jackets, is really this.
[01:08:38] Does everything really have utility?
[01:08:41] Is everything really useful?
[01:08:43] Is everything that God made really have a purpose?
[01:08:49] The thing for me about this is that our curiosity is always going to point us to something that we're really looking for.
[01:08:55] A question that we really need to ask.
[01:08:58] So here's what Genesis is clear about.
[01:09:00] Genesis is completely clear that God created it all.
[01:09:05] All of it.
[01:09:06] Swarms and flying birds and sea creatures and everything that moves, every animal of every kind in the land and the sea and the sky.
[01:09:14] All of it.
[01:09:14] God made all of it.
[01:09:17] Even the dugbill platypus and mosquitoes and yellow jackets too.
[01:09:22] God made all of it.
[01:09:23] And what did God say at the end of making it?
[01:09:25] Did he go, meh, could have done a little better?
[01:09:29] No, God looked at all of it and God said, it's good.
[01:09:34] And what's more friends, when the flood came, God had an opportunity to like thin that out a little bit, right?
[01:09:42] And mosquitoes and yellow jackets made the cut.
[01:09:46] God doubled down on all of those creations.
[01:09:51] Psalm 19 verses 1 and 2 says this, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork.
[01:10:00] Day unto day it utters speech, night unto night reveals knowledge.
[01:10:04] There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
[01:10:09] In other words, what the Psalmist is telling us is that everything that we can see in the heavens, yes, so the stars and the moon and the sun and the vastness of the Milky Way and the constellations, all of that points us to God.
[01:10:22] But you know what else points us to God?
[01:10:24] All the stuff down here too.
[01:10:26] And all the time, creation, all of creation, is bearing witness to God.
[01:10:34] Bearing witness to something about God that the world needs to know and hear.
[01:10:38] All of creation, all the time.
[01:10:41] And later in Romans, we find out that all of creation, all of it, is groaning for the end of all things, for the redemption of this world that God made, and that includes them too.
[01:10:53] God created it all, and all of creation is telling us something about God, so what do we learn about God from creation?
[01:11:00] We learn from creation that God is a very ordered God.
[01:11:05] There's a lot of order in creation.
[01:11:07] There's a lot of consistency across creation.
[01:11:11] We learn that God loves things that are beautiful.
[01:11:15] I mean, how beautiful a dahlia blooming?
[01:11:19] How beautiful a newborn baby?
[01:11:24] How beautiful a sunset?
[01:11:28] God made everything beautiful.
[01:11:31] God is also very complex and yet pretty simple in his consistency.
[01:11:38] God is intentional.
[01:11:40] Creation is intentional.
[01:11:43] Creation is awe-inspiring.
[01:11:44] He's intended us to create in us a sense of awe and wonder.
[01:11:49] God is artistic and imaginative and playful.
[01:11:53] I mean, if God isn't playful, why in the world did he make a platypus?
[01:11:57] If God did not intend for us to laugh and delight, why did God do that?
[01:12:02] God is unsearchable and engaging.
[01:12:04] God sees beauty in change, right?
[01:12:06] We're getting ready to go into fall.
[01:12:07] Thank you, Jesus, for the fall.
[01:12:10] And we're going to see the leaves change and we're going to remember that God finds beauty in change and transformation.
[01:12:16] That God is always recreating and renewing this beautiful earth.
[01:12:22] Creatures like the platypus and mosquitoes and yellow jackets, they invite us to see God working through things that seem useless to us.
[01:12:31] that seem pointless to us.
[01:12:33] They invite us to find wonder in what we don't understand and appreciate the little oddities, the simple glimpses of intentionality placed among the ordinary that invites us to imagine what God can do.
[01:12:50] Let me give you another example of intentionality.
[01:12:52] If you've ever seen one, there is this animal called a Japanese hornet.
[01:12:56] Japanese hornets are huge.
[01:12:59] and a Japanese hornet can decimate a hive of European honeybees, a whole hive in one hour.
[01:13:10] It can kill 40 European honeybees in one minute and 10,000 European honeybees in one hour.
[01:13:20] They are disastrous little creatures.
[01:13:24] The European honeybee has no defense against the Japanese hornet.
[01:13:29] But here's what I found out.
[01:13:32] That same thing is not true of the Japanese honeybee.
[01:13:36] Japanese honeybees can kill Japanese hornets.
[01:13:40] And let me tell you how.
[01:13:42] There are these little bitty bees.
[01:13:43] So what happens is that a Japanese hornet, the hive, will send out a scout to go find a honeybee hive.
[01:13:49] So they will go into the Japanese honeybee hive, the scout hornet will, and immediately all those Japanese honeybees will recognize what it is and they immediately surround it.
[01:14:01] And they start vibrating their wings.
[01:14:03] I'm not making this up.
[01:14:04] They start vibrating their wings.
[01:14:06] And that vibration creates heat.
[01:14:10] Now here's what's really interesting.
[01:14:12] The temperature at which a Japanese hornet will die is 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
[01:14:22] The temperature at which a honeybee will die is 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
[01:14:26] So the Japanese honeybees start vibrating knowing they can get hot enough to kill the hornet without killing themselves.
[01:14:34] So they vibrate until the hornet, until they get to 115 degrees, they kill the hornet and then they disperse.
[01:14:41] There's only seven degrees difference.
[01:14:43] If they vibrated just a little bit longer, it would kill them too, but it doesn't.
[01:14:48] Isn't that the craziest thing you've ever heard?
[01:14:50] You can go look it up.
[01:14:51] Go look it up later.
[01:14:52] There is video of this.
[01:14:54] It is the crazy, Wes and I were sitting on the couch one day watching like Nat Geo or something and they said that and we both sat up and went, you're making that up.
[01:15:02] What?
[01:15:03] That is totally true.
[01:15:04] It will kill, the Japanese honeybee can kill the Japanese hornet.
[01:15:08] It's so friends, intentional and ordered.
[01:15:11] It's so caring for life of the smallest creatures and it points to a God who is so intentional and precise in his creation.
[01:15:21] So why am I telling you that?
[01:15:24] Because also in that story, that creation story that Catherine just read, not only did we learn that God created yellow jackets and honeybees and hornets and platypuses, God created us.
[01:15:42] God created you and me in God's own image.
[01:15:47] Later in scripture we are called a little lower than the angels, that we are crowned with beauty.
[01:15:54] Our creation, me and you, is no less intentional and ordered and creative and curious than all the other creatures that God made.
[01:16:07] When I was in elementary school, this was a poster on the wall.
[01:16:11] Anybody remember this poster?
[01:16:13] I know I'm somebody because God don't make no junk.
[01:16:17] Did anybody else have that?
[01:16:18] I had that.
[01:16:20] Am I the only one?
[01:16:21] I hope I'm not the only one.
[01:16:22] I remember looking at that.
[01:16:23] I was like, that kid looked so sad to me, right?
[01:16:26] I know I'm somebody because God don't make no junk.
[01:16:28] It's terrible grammar.
[01:16:29] I'm not sure why it was in any school because it's really bad grammar.
[01:16:32] However, it's a really beautiful message.
[01:16:36] When I was a kid, it never dawned on me to think I was junk because I had loving parents who were always telling me how wonderful I was.
[01:16:44] But you know what that poster being in my school taught me?
[01:16:48] Somebody thought they were junk.
[01:16:52] Somebody thought they were junk.
[01:16:54] I've been thinking this week about what happened in Minneapolis.
[01:17:02] And I want to suggest to you that the person that did that crime didn't know that they weren't junk.
[01:17:08] And they didn't know that everybody else wasn't either.
[01:17:12] When we don't tell one another how blessed and beautiful our creation is,
[01:17:19] We do great damage to people, friends.
[01:17:24] Looking back, I think about how many kids were told they were junk at home and really needed that message.
[01:17:29] I think about how many kids need it now and how you and I are telling other people that they are created in God's image and they matter.
[01:17:36] That their beautiful diversity is just part and parcel of a creative God.
[01:17:43] That God loves that beautiful, interesting diversity of all people of all kinds living to the glory of God.
[01:17:52] And I wonder if maybe telling people that message that God created you too, and God loves all your quirks and your diversity, I wonder if that might be better than the loneliness and self-loathing and the fear that humanity can create in people.
[01:18:11] God made and has a purpose for all of us and God wastes nothing about our creation.
[01:18:18] God uses all of it, both good and bad, to draw us closer to his love and to help us love and care for one another more faithfully.
[01:18:28] You in your life, I in my life, have had some hard things happen, yes?
[01:18:34] And here's another, like, I don't know that we're going to get to, well, it's sort of part of the next series, but the next question y'all are going to ask.
[01:18:42] But one of the questions people ask is, does everything happen for a reason?
[01:18:47] No!
[01:18:49] Everything doesn't happen for a reason.
[01:18:50] However, if the question is, can God use everything for a purpose?
[01:18:57] The answer to that is yes.
[01:18:59] God uses everything and every person for purpose.
[01:19:03] God takes even the worst that happens to us and God creates beauty out of ashes.
[01:19:08] That's who our God is.
[01:19:10] Our God is a God who can take a bunch of messed up leftover parts.
[01:19:13] Maybe you feel like that.
[01:19:15] God is a God who can take all the broken pieces and mold it back into something beautiful.
[01:19:20] That's who our God is.
[01:19:22] And creation teaches us that that is what God wants.
[01:19:26] God wants to reveal to us in his beautiful creative energy all that beauty that God can continue to make so mosquitoes and yellow jackets and Japanese honeybees and hornets and the platypus and you and me too God loves beautiful odd interesting diverse things God loves the quirks and God loves the question marks and God loves to provoke us so that we will press in and look for beauty even in the hard stuff look for beauty even in the weird creature
[01:19:56] Encouraging our curiosity and our wonder, reminding us that we are not junk, that our circumstances never ever define our worth to God, and that God embraces all the things that so often we think that the world would make fun of us for, that the world would laugh at us about or throw out.
[01:20:15] Friends, you serve a God who wastes nothing.
[01:20:20] He wastes nothing.
[01:20:22] He treasures all.
[01:20:25] And He redeems all of creation.
[01:20:28] And that includes, friends, you and me too.
[01:20:33] Welcoming those parts of creation that we either don't understand in their form or in their function is an act of faith.
[01:20:41] It is an act of faith that God can use anything, even us, and that there is beauty and purpose in everything, even the parts that we don't understand.
[01:20:52] And so, friends, we embrace our questions and we embrace our differences and we embrace the quirks and the oddities.
[01:20:58] We embrace the platypus.
[01:21:03] And we expect that God will reveal beauty in all of it.
[01:21:09] Friends, you are somebody.
[01:21:12] because our God wastes nothing and He makes no junk and that includes you.
[01:21:19] In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
[01:21:22] Amen.
[01:21:25] All right, so you had a piece of paper on the way in.

[01:21:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
First of all, if you tuned in at 10 a.m., you get a gold star today.
[01:21:32] Thanks for remembering we had one service today.
[01:21:34] And as you can see, we have a lot of fun on Fifth Sundays.
[01:21:37] The question for today always makes me laugh because I think I can actually tolerate mosquitoes and yellow jackets.
[01:21:44] If it were me, I'd be like, spiders?
[01:21:48] Like, what's up?
[01:21:49] What's up with that?
[01:21:51] Pretty much anything that has more than four legs or no legs.
[01:21:55] Let's throw snakes in that mix.
[01:21:57] And I get it.
[01:21:58] We have a beautiful ecosystem.
[01:22:00] God made the world the way God made the world for a reason, and I totally get all that.
[01:22:05] Oh, you put more than four legs on something and I'm running out of the room.
[01:22:09] That's all there is to it.
[01:22:11] Don't even get me going on palmetto bugs.
[01:22:13] That's a whole lot.
[01:22:14] Anyway, so great conversation today.
[01:22:17] I'm so glad you were here to have that conversation with us.
[01:22:20] And remember, guys, we're asking curious questions and it's hopefully prompting us to dig into God's Word to really deepen what we understand about our wonderful Creator.
[01:22:32] Why did he create these creepy crawlies?
[01:22:36] There is a reason, I'm sure.
[01:22:37] God made the world the way God made the world, and it is perfect, it is beautiful the way God made it.
[01:22:42] So, I'm glad he joined us today.
[01:22:45] So, you know, Labor Day weekend, after Labor Day weekend,
[01:22:50] We start preschool here at Williamson's Chapel.
[01:22:54] A few weeks ago, we prayed for the students and the teachers and the admins going back to all the schools in our local area.
[01:23:02] But for a lot of preschools, they get started off just after Labor Day, which would also include our wonderful preschool.
[01:23:11] So I want to close us out with prayer and we're going to pray for all of those little sweet souls that are coming into our preschool this week.
[01:23:19] We're going to pray for all the mamas and daddies who are sending their little sweet babies to our preschool.
[01:23:24] We actually have a cute thing called a boohoo breakfast because sometimes it's hard to leave your little baby here.
[01:23:29] So we're going to pray for them too, and we're going to also pray for our wonderful teachers.
[01:23:33] And we have a great new director at our preschool, Carrie Jones, a very special prayer for her as well.
[01:23:39] We know she's going to do a fabulous job.
[01:23:41] She already is.
[01:23:42] So I invite you to join me as we pray together.
[01:23:47] Lord yet again we are lifting some sweet little kiddos to you kiddos who are coming to our preschool this week and hate any preschool in our local area but here at Williamson's Chapel Lord we just pray they get to know you every day we're talking about what a wonderful loving God that you are and we pray that
[01:24:06] These sweet little kids take that home with them.
[01:24:08] Lord, for mamas and daddies dropping off this week, and maybe if they're a little anxious or a little nervous, maybe it's their first one going to preschool, Lord, a very special blessing for them.
[01:24:17] Lord, for all of the sweet teachers, especially those wonderful teachers.
[01:24:22] We have quite a number who've been here for years and years and years.
[01:24:25] What a gift they are, Lord.
[01:24:26] We're so grateful for them.
[01:24:28] And Lord, for our new director, Carrie Jones, we lift her to you as well.
[01:24:31] She's working so, so hard, and she is truly a blessing to the preschool and to all of us here at Williamson's Chapel.
[01:24:39] Lord, surround all of these sweet families with your love and your grace.
[01:24:43] We ask in your holy name.
[01:24:45] Amen.
[01:24:46] All right, if you have a holiday for Labor Day, we hope you have a great, relaxing day.
[01:24:53] And if you don't get the day off, I'm sorry.
[01:24:54] I am.
[01:24:56] either way I really hope that you can join us next Sunday here we're back at our regular schedule 9 30 and 11 o'clock in the morning we stream both services right here so I hope to see you there take care