Hi everyone. There’s someone I’d like you to meet who goes by the name of God.
Actually, this is what I feel should be on my business card. My job is to introduce people to God.
“God, this is Bill. Bill, this is God.” “Jane, this is God, God this is Jane.”
Our call to worship responsive reading which begins our worship service is kind of like our weekly introduction or re-introduction to God. One of the many psalmists get to do this each week for us.
Today, the psalmist from Psalm 19 introduces us to God. The first thing that this psalmist wants us to know about God is that God can be experienced through creation.
“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork,” the Psalmist tells us.
Do you want to know who God is? Just look around at the breathtaking beauty from sunrises to sunsets, to mountain peaks, to green valleys, to waterfalls, to vivid rainbows.
Our smart TV comes with screen saver photos which are displayed when the TV goes into sleep mode. They are photos of breath-taking scenes of creation.
I’ve always thought it would be funny if I would show these same images to someone and say, “Hey, what do your think of our recent vacation photos that I took?”
Yeah, I was taking a walk one day and thought this might be a nice picture…
Yeah, this one turned out OK when I stumbled upon this waterfall during a hike…
I don’t know if this was the best lighting, but this picture turned out OK…
I’ve seen more colorful plants than this, but I took this picture anyway…
I know that these are just a bunch of rocks, but not bad, I guess…
Now, our TV does offer us the choice to put up our photos instead of these stock photos, but there’s just no way that my vacation pictures can compete with their photos, although, although, I do love these two pictures that I have taken while on vacation. I just caught these moments at just the right time while walking on two different occasions in the same park.
Today’s psalmist is doing something similar to introduce us to God. This Psalmist is saying, “Just look around you because the heavens are telling the glory of God.”
Theologians call this approach to introducing people to God as “general revelation.” We can know God in a general way through a beautiful sunrise and sunset, through the Milky Way blazing a bright trail across the dark sky, through the sound of a babbling brook or a rushing waterfall, through falling autumn leaves, and in the sound of crashing ocean waves.
In the first five verses of Psalm 19, the Psalmist taps into two of our five senses – sight and sound. And then in verse 6, the psalmist taps into a third sense – touch. We are told how nothing escapes the sun’s heat which of course includes us who can feel its rays on our skin. We not only can see God’s handiwork, we can also feel it!
Every year when I was growing up, my dad loved to go deer hunting in the Central Pennsylvania mountains. He often brought home a deer, but later in his life, he decided to not shoot anymore because it was just as satisfying for him to to be out in the woods and the beauty and quiet of nature.
Penny and I love spending time on our deck because of the woods that surround our back yard. We love watching the leaves change with the seasons. During the warmer months, we enjoy listening to the many different birds sing a concert for us. It’s amazing how that time outside can take off the edge of a busy and stressful day.
We get to know God through the beauty of God’s creation.
But the Psalmist also wants us to know about another very important way that God’s presence is revealed to us. In addition to general revelation, God also is introduced to us through what theologians refer to as “special revelation.”
In verse 7, the psalmist shifts from “general revelation” to “special revelation.” Special revelation refers primarily to how God is revealed to us through the scriptures. The psalmist doesn’t use the word, “scripture” but does refer to other words like instruction, law, regulations, commands, and judgements which all are included in what we know as scripture, the Bible.
While those descriptive words might sound a little intimidating, the Psalmist goes on to offer these positive phrases in describing what scripture can do for us. In verse 7, the Psalmist speaks of scripture as “reviving one’s being” and then in verse 8 as “gladdening one’s heart” and “giving light to our eyes.”
Jesus who came on the scene centuries after this Psalm was written began his ministry by opening the scriptures to the Book of Isaiah that speak about God’s good news in freeing people from oppression and bringing sight to the blind.
The psalmist knows that while creation tells us of God and even identifies God’s glorious nature, scripture gives specificity to who God is. This in turn gives specificity to who we are in relation to God, particularly when it comes to how we are to live and conduct ourselves under God’s desire to make this world new again.
I know that there are many negative stereotypes that churches are overly judgmental and restrictive, but this Psalmist sees scripture very differently. Scripture is life-giving and life-transforming. This is why a third of our church’s ministries here at Athens First include opportunities to learn and study the scriptures together through classes and bible studies.
To be introduced to God is to be introduced to both God’s general revelation through the beauty of creation as well as through special revelation, the holy scriptures.
Both are vitally important if we want to be properly introduced to God. I’ve heard many people say that their sanctuary is a walk through the park or a hike through the woods. And that’s fine, but nature will only take you so far in knowing about God’s saving love for the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It’s not an either/or. It’s a both/and. The Psalmist celebrates both general revelation and special revelation.
Our scripture reading from Nehemiah tells of how the people of Israel gathered to hear the scriptures read aloud. They were being reintroduced to the God who had saved them and who invited them to renew their relationship with God.
I love how this scripture passage concludes. After they read the scriptures aloud for all the people to hear, Ezra and Nehemiah say, “and do not be grieved , for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” When we are introduced to God through special revelation, we experience joy and strength.
One of my favorite preachers was the late Fred Craddock. He was from the Disciples of Christ denomination. Not only was he an extremely gifted preacher, he also wrote a book about preaching which I used when I was in seminary. I also had the privilege to hear him preach during a seminar when he was here in Ohio.
In one of his sermons, Craddock tells the story of a young woman who approached him one day. She explained that during her first year at college, she felt like a failure. She wasn’t doing well in her classes, she couldn’t get many dates, and she didn’t have as much money as the other students did.
Then one Sunday afternoon, she decided to end it all by taking her own life. She went to the river near the campus, climbed on on the rail, and was looking into the dark water below.
But just before she jumped, she remembered the words of scripture that she had heard in church, “Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you.” I Peter 5:7.
It was at that point that she climbed down from the rail and decided to not take her own life. Those words reminded that young college woman that there was a God in heaven who cared for her. Consequently, her life had meaning and purpose.
So, when introducing someone to God, by all means, share your best vacation photos with them, those photos of beautiful sunsets, mountain peaks, and lush meadows. That’s what the Psalmist would do. “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork,” the psalmist says.
But also don’t forget to point them to the scriptures, God’s special revelation that offer hope, joy, forgiveness, new life, and the good news of God’s saving love for the world. This is the God I want everyone to know.
Being Introduced to God
God of creation, thank you for your presence with us this day. We confess that we often forget that we have been created to be in relationship with you. When we face problems and challenges in our daily lives, why is it that we neglect to allow you to guide and instruct us? Why is it that we do not turn to you, the One who cares about our every need? Why would we not seek out the One who is more than able to walk with us each day? In this time of worship, we are reminded of how blessed we are that you want to be in a relationship with us. Thank you, O God! Amen.
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