COG 19: Creation Week | Celebrating God

How does a family, congregation, or class celebrate God in light of Creation? Today AMBrewster lists multiple ways we and our communities can worship God by focusing on how He created the world.

The Year Long Celebration of God is a family resource from Truth.Love.Parent., a ministry dedicated to rooting families in God and maturing families for God so they can harvest blessings from God.

Discover the following episodes by clicking the titles or navigating to the episode in your app:
“Creation Week | Preparing for Your First Time” (episode 18)

Click here for Today’s Episode Notes and Transcript. 

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Episode Notes

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Discover more Creation Week resources here.

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Transcript

Introduction

We have a lot to discuss today in regard to how we can celebrate God as we focus on the Creation of the world.

But before we get into that, I want to let you know of a really great opportunity. For years now, I’ve been speaking in churches, camps, at teacher’s conventions, in homes . . . basically anywhere people congregate.

I also counsel in-person and virtually, and I do all of this because I love God and I love sharing His Truth with people.

If you would be interested in hosting a conference, scheduling a workshop, or asking me to preach, teach, counsel, or otherwise explain the biblical concepts of celebration, worship, praise, prayer, discipleship, or any other concept tied to the Celebration of God . . . I would be honored to meet in-person or virtually with you and your group.

You can send an email to [email protected], or you can go to CelebrationOfGod.com which is nested in TruthLoveParent.com and then utilize the Conference tab there.

My passion is to spread God’s Word as far and wide as we can get it, and I would be honored to serve you, your church, homeschooling group, camp, school, and family.

You can also call us at (828) 423-0894.

And don’t forget the free episode notes and transcripts at CelebrationOfGod.com.

Now, let’s talk about what it means to worship God in light of the Creation.

Topic

I’m going to share many, many things individuals and groups can do to celebrate Creation Week, but since there are an incalculable number of different individuals and groups that can be made up by those individuals, I’m going to leave you to choose how best to make these ideas work in your life and community.

If you minister in a nursing home, you likely won’t be able to lead your community in some of these suggestions, but there will be others that will fit perfectly.

Some may be counter-productive for a church, but others will be easily adaptable.

As I compiled this list, I had the following groups in mind: Families, Classes, Churches, and Small Groups.

If you think your group doesn’t fit into one of those categories, please let us know so we can keep your group in mind as we make suggestions.

The other really important part of today’s discussion is going to involve how you will invite others into your celebration. Can you celebrate God by yourself? Definitely. But The Celebration of God is for more than personal devotion, it’s for discipleship. 

But I’ll mention more about this later.

Now, all of today’s suggestions fall into two major categories: what you can discuss and what you can do. And the focus of both of these buckets is not merely to talk about something or do something, the goal is to adore, worship, praise, acknowledge, and otherwise honor God as important and preeminent in our lives. 

That’s how we’re supposed to live every day, but — let’s face it — it’s easier when we have a schedule and list of activities and topics that help us focus our minds on what’s important.

Learning to give Christ the preeminence in our holidays will teach us how to give Him the preeminence in our normal days.

Alright . . .

What you can discuss:

We’re talking about this before Creation Week because you’re going to have to do some Preparation in order to be ready to discuss the items on our list. Don’t try to wing it. Even if you do the most bare minimum, plan it and prepare it so you can do it to the best of your ability.

As I mentioned earlier, we want to celebrate God with others. So, think about with whom you can have these discussion. Depending on your group these discussions may take the form of conversation, teaching, preaching, or simple facilitation as you help others do the talking.

So, again, this can happen easily in a church, classroom, home, and anywhere else people congregate.

1. Discuss the Scripture passages you’re going to read.

I’m going to provide some guidance for the Bible verses you read on our next point, but you should be ready to engage others in conversation about what was read. Reading is good, understanding is fantastic, but being able to use what we know and understand is infinitely better. Understanding comes through discussion, and we’ll never put the information to good use if we don’t understand it.

2. Discuss how Creation is an extension of Mercy.

We deserve nothing. If God were fair, He would never have created us. Once He created us, if He were fair, He would have sent us to Hell. But He doesn’t do that without giving us opportunities to know Him and enter into a relationship with Him.

But this is an important reminder that we don’t deserve any of the things He gave us in Creation. What did He gives us? Well, obviously we have life. But that life is not random and empty. He also gives us purpose.

Sill, He didn’t leave us to wander through philosophical wastelands in search of our purpose, He also gives us provision. That provision is both physical in that the creation has everything we need for physical life and survival, but He provides for us spiritually by giving us everything we need for life and godliness. 

In the creation He also gave us something else we don’t deserve. He gave us relationships — relationship with the creation, relationships with people, and relationships with God. Every relationship we enjoy was inaugurated at Creation.

On the 7th Day He also gave us rest. This is a concept about which we’ll talk more in the future.

And all of this and more provides us joy that we don’t deserve.

Now, mercy and grace are intrinsically tied so that it’s nearly impossible to distinguish them, but I think it’s important for us to focus on the fact that God didn’t give us the negative consequences that we deserve. Yes, that will automatically cause us to think of the fact that He not only kept the negative consequences from us, but He also offers us the exact opposite of what we deserve, but we need to combat our entitlement and deluded feelings of self-worth by focusing on God’s mercy.

3. Discuss how Creation points us to the Gospel.

The Season of Mercy is the Season of Desperation. Nearly every major and minor holiday can easily show us our need of a Savior.

Even the Creation Week points to this reality. We need God to make us. We need God to sustain us. We need God to empower us. Humans were created for the sole purpose of having a relationship with God. 

And all of this exemplifies that we need God. We can’t do it on our own. 

Whether the people in our group are already Christians or not, the celebration of God during Creation Week should remind us all of how much we need God each and every day.

Another part of our Celebration should be a little Anticipation.

4. Discuss how learning about the Creation can help us Anticipate the New Creation.

Not only can Creation Week excite us about the future celebrations of Advent and The Consummation, but — personally — we should get excited about when God re-creates this world.

We could take a long time to discuss this point, but — for now — it’s just one more amazing way we can celebrate God during Creation Week.

5. Discuss the main themes in Creation.

This is a fantastic time to talk about God’s power and creativity. I can’t watch a nature show or even step into my backyard without being amazed by the diversity and beauty and creativity of the world.

God is to be worshipped for that!

But we can also talk about the Creation Mandate. The Creation Mandate was outlined in Genesis 1:28-30, “God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ 29 Then God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food;’ and it was so.”

There is so much that can be discussed and so much practical application we can implement into our celebration.

Another amazing theme of Creation is God’s purpose for us. We talk about this earlier, but it will behoove us to remember — and to help our communities remember — what God’s plan for us is.

Also, since Labor Day will be celebrated on Monday of Creation Week, it’s a good idea to discuss the theme of work. If you Google “What does the Bible say about Work,” you will find amazing lists of verses that can be easily read and applied to your class, family, church, or small group.

And lastly — at least for this year . . .

6. Discuss apologetics.

I mentioned in a previous episode that Protestants may not always celebrate the Creation with pomp and circumstance, but they are generally very good at providing the evidences that show us that the Creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 is exactly how it happened.

There are many resources out there, and I’ll share a few in the next point, but it would be in every Christian’s best interest to be able to explain to those with questions how we can know that God’s Word is true.

We need to be prepared as I Peter 3:15 calls us to be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

This is called apologetics, and it’s a very worthy topic of conversation.

So, whether you preach about the Creation on Sunday, teach your class, talk with your kids, or discuss with friends, we won’t be able to celebrate God well if we’re not taking every opportunity to point the focus back to Him.

Otherwise it’s like a birthday where everyone talks among themselves and completely ignores the birthday girl. How terrible would that be!

Well, I submit that when we live our lives (whether they be holidays or normal days), and we neglect God, it is a travesty most serious.

So, let’s discuss God during Creation Week, but let’s also do things to remind us about God.

Our second category of celebration is: What you can do.

As with the last point, if you get any great ideas from this list, please Prepare to do them well. It won’t be perfect, but at least put a little thought into pulling of the celebration to the best of your ability . . . whatever that may be.

Also, think about who you may invite to do these things with you. Some of these suggestions would be fun for other believers in your community, but they could also be wonderful ways to reach out to the unbelievers on your street, in your job, at your school, and part of your life.

1. Read or listen to the Genesis account of creation. 

You can either read the whole account every day or simply read the applicable passage on the appropriate days. 

We’ll have resources at CelebrationOfGod.com on the Holiday page that will not only provide readings for each day, but also link a Bible reading to which you can listen.

Of course, you can also read any and all other creation passages in Scripture. All the ones we used for preparing our hearts and any others you may find can be read as a celebration of God’s awesomeness.

Please don’t forget that the Bible is an absolutely integral and preeminent part of The Celebration of God.

Reading it, memorizing it, studying it, meditating on it, and discussing it is one of the best things we can do.

And the second point is just as important.

2. Pray

This can include private, personal prayer, but it should also include corporate prayer. 

Take time to praise God for the Creation and everything it accomplished. Praise Him for giving us purpose and rest and relationships. Thank Him for creating us to need Him. Adore the infinite attributes that He exercised in Creation — His power, love, creativity, mercy, grace, justice, holiness, and so many more.

Pray for those who need to know God better. Pray that the general revelation of this world and cosmos would open their eyes to the reality of God.

God talks to us through the Word, and we talk back to Him in prayer.

Those two elements should definitely be part of our celebration.

3. Interact with your Celebration Wall.

Read the verses you’ve posted, pray the praises, quiz each other in your memorization, add to and/or subtract from the Wall as you work through the week of Creation.

You may even choose to decorate the Celebration Wall near the beginning of the week — not because you didn’t prepare well, but because it’s fun! 

4. Sing and listen to music that features creation. 

Though worship is not just singing, singing is one wonderful way to worship. 

Now, I’m not going to provide a list of songs, but I will tell you they are out there and illustrate with one example. Sight & Sound is an amazing theatrical experience for believers.

I had the privilege of interviewing Katie Miller and Brandon Talley on my other podcast, Truth.Love.Parent. We talked about the history of the theater as well as how the theater arts can be valuable in our parenting. Brandon gave some interesting insight because he had the privilege of portraying Jesus in their production of JESUS!. 

Well, Sight & Sound did a performance called “In the Beginning” which my wife found on Apple Music. You can imagine that album is full of Creation-themed songs.

And now that Sight & Sound is streaming their productions, you can probably even watch the performance. 

And that ties in with our next point.

5. Watch Creation themed videos.

Answers in Genesis — which is the mother organization for The Creation Museum and The Ark Encounter — has produced a ton of fantastic content about Creation.

If you go to TheCelebrationOfGod.com you will find a video called “The Created Cosmos” which was their premier astronomy presentation for a number of years. That video does an amazing job of showing the awesome scope of God’s creative power.

I plan to add links to other Creation-themed videos at CelebrationOfGod.com as well. So, check it out. By the way, a video like The Created Cosmos would be perfect to watch on Wednesday because that’s the day the stars and other planets were created.

This would also be a good point to mention Sight & Sound’s “In the Beginning” as well as any number of videos on the internet about Creation and apologetics.

And while we’re mentioning the Creation Museum . . .

6. If you’re blessed to be near or can schedule a trip, Visit a Creation-themed attraction.

Truth.Love.Parent. is working on a list of Christian-themed attractions across the US, and though that list isn’t complete yet, I’ve seen it and know that there are a number of Creation Museums and events and exhibits all over the United States. 

Of course there may not be one near you, so let me tell you that The Creation Museum in Kentucky is an absolute must-visit. It’s so informational and inspirational. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate God during Creation Week than to plant visit to the Creation Museum.

Of course, if you can’t get to a Creation-themed exhibit . . .

7. Enjoy the actual Creation!

The list is endless for fantastic ways you and your disciplees can enjoy God’s world. Have a church picnic, go play, take prayer walks, visit a zoo or botanical garden, swim in the ocean, go to a gem mine, go boating or biking . . . just get outside.

Of course, it’s here that I need to make a very clear warning. This is where The Celebration of God can quickly become a Celebration of Self. 

Do you remember our first point of the day . . . there are things we need to discuss during Celebration Week if God is going to be glorified in it. 

We must make sure we talk of God while we’re doing whatever we’re doing. 

The zoo is great unless we forget God. Swimming is awesome when we take the time to acknowledge Him, but it becomes hedonistic and self-centered when we do it just because we want to.

A hike through the mountains can be rapture if we don’t neglect the God Who made them.

The point I’m making right now is going to apply to everything else we have on the list. If we don’t want to become better disciples of self, we’re going to have to be intentional about making God preeminent in our Creation Week festivities.

And if that somehow seems like a bummer to you, please reevaluate what we’re doing here. I’m saying we need to have fun as a family, we just need to do it in a way that pleases the Lord. Why would a professing Christian want to ignore and avoid God?

I’m going to argue that a truly redeemed child of God won’t want to ignore God. But we’re all immature, and The Celebration of God is about helping us know Him and love Him and serve Him better while we help others do the same.

So, keep this in mind. Whatever your activity or event may be, just be sure that everyone is pointed back to God in the process.

8. Be creative.

We were fashioned in the image of God, and just like God’s creative, we’re creative. Therefore, it makes all the sense in the world for Christians to enjoy Creation Week by doing a little creating of their own.

This can obviously take many forms. You can do crafts, bake, create a work of art, write poetry, play music, compose music, crotchet, practice your topiary . . . whatever you want. 

Just make sure you’re worshipping God as you do it

9. Plan an activity every day that lines up with what was created on that day. 

For those of you who love coming up with crafts and games, you could plan an activity every day that gives children an opportunity to learn about Creation and have fun at the same time.

On Sunday you could play flashlight tag or do an experiment with a light bulb or make a paper lantern.

You could go swimming or have a water-balloon fight on Monday because that’s the day God created water. 

You could plant something on Tuesday because that was the day God created vegetation.

Visit a planetarium on Wednesday.

On Thursday you could go to an aquarium, and on Friday you could visit a zoo or make play-dough animals. Even better, you could make cookies in the shape of animals!

And then on Saturday you can plan to rest. 

Now, the biblical idea of rest and sabbath and the like is a huge topic that I’m not going to try to squeeze in here.

The goal would be to take Saturday and not do any productive work. Don’t mow the lawn, don’t catch up on homework or projects for your boss. Take time to just be and enjoy the people around you. Take extra time to spend with God. Recharge. Refocus. And prepare for the next week when you’ll have plenty of opportunities to work.

10. For those of you who like the fine arts, you’d could Put on a play or do a reading or conduct a performance highlighting the Creation. 

At CelebrationOfGod.com we’ll include some examples of famous poems that are all about God creating the world.

And 11. You could find a way to get involved in your community.

Apologetics organizations are always in need of volunteers and what better way to celebrate Creation Week and the mercy God showed us than by being merciful to others by getting involved in a service opportunity.

Whether it’s serving people in your family and church or reaching out to your community, you can take any number of the ideas we’ve discussed today and serve those around you.

Your church could bake creation-themed cookies and deliver them to those who need to be cheered up. You could send a care package to college students encouraging them with the truths we learn about God from Creation.

There are soooooo many possibilities.

The key is whatever you do — whether it’s from this list of 11 ideas or you come up with your own — focus on God’s role in it. Take time to listen to Him, talk to Him, and talk about Him. 

God forbid Creation Week come and go and we spend each day feeding our own lusts and worshipping our own puny idols.

Conclusion

I hope you’re that much more excited about Creation Week. I hope you have a bunch of ideas for more ways you can prepare.

I hope you’re Anticipating how fun it will be to celebrate God. Make sure you visit CelebrationOfGod.com for more ideas and resources for making your Celebration Week all that it can be.

And please share this episode on your favorite social media outlets, and join us next time as we discuss how you can use Creation Week to disciple your children, friends, church, students, and anyone else God brings into your life.