BIBLE: Hebrews 4:13
(You’ll need to prepare with photos easily available online. If you don’t have an aerial photo of your church, any photo will work. Adapt the Hubble Telescope photo as needed.)
Presented on May 5, 2002 at Bethany Presbyterian Church, Sacramento CA
Who can show me what this is a photo of. That’s right – a photo of our church. Now look at this photo – what is it? It looks like earth, but it is… the Moon. Here is one – who knows what this is? Yes, Saturn. And this photo is from a telescope in outer space and it’s called “The Cold Nebula” and it’s 2500 light years away. Now, very quickly, a light year is not a measure of time but a measure of distance – it is how far light will travel in one year. Light is the fastest moving concept we know of and this is 2500 light years away.
I want to read to you from Hebrews 4: It reads “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Nothing is invisible to God. Two thousand five hundred light years away – do you think God knows what is going on here? Do you think God had a hand in creating this?
Here is Saturn. Do you think God created Saturn and knows what’s going on? And here is the Moon. We’ve been to the Moon. Well, not us but people have been to the moon. Do you think God cares about what happens way up there? I think so too.
What about our block. The people who live around here and sell us donuts and tires and (insert the details of your own neighborhood) – do you think God cares about them?
What about right here? Do you think God cares about the people in this room right now?
God is so awesome that he cares all the way out here – 2500 light years away and is also right here with us right now.
That’s good. And that’s not so good. We know God is with us and God is in our hearts and we are never, ever alone. And that is good. But it’s also not good. Because we know that God is with us and God is in our hearts and we are never, ever along. And we would never want to do anything that would embarrass us in God’s eyes.
So as Children of God, we want to go forth as good children and live the life God wants us to live. And I know each of us can do that because each one of us is A Child of God.
PRAYER: Thank you God for your amazing and awesome powers. We know that when are millions of miles away, you are also right here with us now. And for that great gift and blessing, we say “thank you” and “amen.”