Four Psalms of Thanksgiving
Psalm 104 – God’s Mark is Everywhere
November 9, 2008
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Reading of Psalm 104, using designated readers in the congregation (use video loop of creation scenes):
• Verses 1-4
• Verses 5-13
• Verses 14-18
• Verses 19-26
• Verses 27-30
• Verses 31-35
I personally thank God for his creativity. Through his creativity God has left his mark everywhere, on the world and everything in it and upon us and everything we are.
When I see God’s mark upon this world are feel it upon my heart, I am grateful because I know that this world is bigger than my problems and my soul can soar farther than I sometimes believe.
One morning this last week I was having a pity party and I only invited myself. I was shamefully grumbling and complaining and growing bitter; all of that at only 5:30 in the morning.
When I stepped outside to see Sandi off to work I turned around to see a beautiful red and orange and yellow sunrise. God had created a moment in which I could cool down, see his glory and realize my sinfulness and respond to it.
God’s creativity is very huge…and very personal.
One of God’s names is Creator.
Genesis 1, the very first chapter in the Bible, starts God’s story by showing us he is Creator.
And we need a Creator God.
We need him to always be creating those moments of beauty for us.
We need him to imagine for us the places we need to go to, the people we need to meet, the lessons we need to learn, and the life we are called to lead.
And so we need to remember he is that kind of God; to behold his creativity and realize the difference it makes in us.
• sparking our creativity
• lifting us out of the ordinary
• helping us believe more entirely.
Psalm 104 helps us to do that.
Commentary:
• Psalm 104 is a glorious psalm in praise of God’s marvelous Creation and of His sustaining of that Creation.
• This psalm is a poetic summary of God’s creation of the world as found in the first chapter of Genesis. What God created each day is mentioned by the psalmist as a reason to praise God. God’s act of creation deserves the praise of all people.
• This psalm portrays the Lord’s power, wisdom, and goodness to all Creation.
• The psalmist praised God who gloriously reigns over Creation and renews it by His Spirit.
• This psalm tells of his sovereignty over all creation. God has supreme, unlimited power over the entire universe. He creates; he preserves; he governs. As we understand God’s power, we realize that he is sufficient to handle our lives.
There is no doubt that God is creative. He has made the mountains and the seas and everything on them, in them and around them. He is the one who has set the cycles of life into motion and made the sun to rule by day and the moon to rule by night. He knows the name of every star and how many warts are on every frog. And he uniquely created each and every one of us.
We are told, and we believe for the most part, that we are made in the image of God, according to Genesis 1.
So it needs to be understood that we have been given by God the wonderful gift of creativity.
Jeremey Wright, Mosaic Artist: “I make this art for myself and for my community because I’m like my Father in heaven. I am a little creator, and if I don’t make something I will wither and die.” (Outreach Magazine, July/August 2008, p.91)
But too many of you are saying, “Pastor, I think I must have been hiding behind the door the day God handed out creativity.” Not true.
It’s there! It just needs to be recognized and drawn out. It needs to be practiced and enlarged.
You are creative. That’s God’s mark upon you and you should be thankful for it.
We are called to be like Jesus and Jesus was creative:
• “Consider the lilies…” find God’s mercy and grace and care in creation
• Through the parables he teaches us to imagine – “the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed”; “with faith you can tell this mountain to move and it will”; “in my Father’s house are many rooms…”
• He taught is to look at things from a different angle to find the answers we’re looking for, to “toss our nets on the other side of the boat”
• And he bestowed his creativity upon us: “and you will do greater things than this…” – we have tools to help us be creative that Jesus could only dream of, and we have the ability to be more creative than we even imagine.
What is Creativity?
Marlene LeFever: “Creativity is the ability to see things in a new way.” (Discipleship Journal Issue 48, Nov./Dec. 1988)
Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV)
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Illus.: Thomas A. Edison, the great inventor, was talking one day with the governor of North Carolina, and the governor complimented him on his inventive genius. “I am not a great inventor,” said Edison. “But you have over a thousand patents to your credit, haven’t you?” asked the governor. “Yes, but about the only invention I can really claim as absolutely original is the phonograph,” was the reply. “Why, I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean,” said the governor. “Well,” explained Edison, “I guess I’m an awfully good sponge. I absorb ideas from every source I can, and put them to practical use. Then I improve them until they become of some value. The ideas which I use are mostly the ideas of other people who don’t develop them themselves.”
There are two statements that we need to keep in the front of our minds so that our lives will become more creative because a creative life is a life that’s going to make a difference!
• “What if…” – curiosity; whimsy; playfulness; imagination
Illus.: I’ve read that Michelangelo, the great sculptor and painter, was pushing a heavy rock up a small incline to his work area so that he could do some sculpting. A neighbor watched him for over an hour as he worked to get this rock in place. Finally he asked, "Michelangelo, why do you labor so hard over that ugly, heavy piece of rock?" Michelangelo said, "Because there is an angel inside that wants to come out."
• “Let’s try…” – practicality; boldness; willingness to learn
I’m going to tell you some things you can do to start being more creative, and they’re not that hard.
First you have to stop:
• Stop and smell the roses.
• Stop and consider the “small things” – bugs in the grass, sand on the beach, the freckles on your hand
• Stop and think about the cycles of life – birth and death, night and day, the four seasons
• Stop telling yourself you can’t and believe that you are capable of great things…even though we all have to start out small
Second, recapture:
• Recapture the “wow factor” – the wonder and amazement of God’s creation that is all around, including people; learn to see his mark on everything – it’s there!
• Recapture your innate sense of curiosity; when, and why, did we lost that; learn to ask “What if…”
• Recapture the awesomeness of life – breathe in/breathe out; touch, feel, taste; learn to look for and listen for God’s voice and see God’s presence
Third, you need to go:
• Go watch a sunset with someone you love
• Go to a museum or an art gallery, and don’t skip the modern art section
• Go to a concert
• Go take a hike, even if it’s just around your neighborhood, and if you have to, go for a drive
• Go and appreciate all the creativity that’s all around you, even in your neighborhood (but don’t limit yourself!)
• Go and be still before the Lord; allow him to speak to your creative spirit and to rejuvenate your imagination
We need to break out of our boxes and learn to see things in a different.
Remember:
Marlene LeFever: “Creativity is the ability to see things in a new way.”
Illus.: Optical Illusions – PowerPoint Slides
Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning God created…”
I think he may have, in his God-like, Creator way, looked upon the earth that was “formless and empty” and said, “What if…” and “Let’s try…” That’s creativity. And we’re made in his image.
Michelangelo’s prayer: "Lord, make me see your glory in every place."
Sue Monk Kid: “God summons us to seek our best creative selves. He calls us to become artists of life, seers of truth, creators of new possibilities, and innovative problem solvers. Perhaps by looking at Jesus’ life and seeing His creative spirit at work, we can begin to awaken to the creative possibilities of our own.” (Discipleship Journal Issue 48, Nov./Dec. 1988)
The creative people of this church have started three new ministries this year – Grief Share, Family Fun Night, and Family Care. Other creativity has found new ways to do established ministries like outreach, youth discipleship, and small groups and it’s all making a difference in our church and in the world we’re involved in, little by little and bit and bit and piece by piece.
Imagine that…and more!
