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Sermon Date:	January 6, 2008 (Redeemer, Sanford)
Sermon Text:	Genesis 1:1-5
Church Calendar:	TKC Week 1
Delivered By:	Rev. Brian Roberts

"Finding the Meaning of Life"

There is a joke out there. Perhaps you’ve heard it. After discovering how to clone humans, two scientists challenged God: “We don’t need you anymore,” they said. “We can make life by ourselves now.”

“Okay,” God replied, “let’s have a man-making contest.” “All right,” said the scientists. “We’ll do it like you did in the beginning.” Then they reached down to grab a handful of dirt to begin to form a man. That’s when they heard God’s voice from heaven say, “Hold it—get your own dirt!”

You see, it all begins with God. As Christians, as people of the Bible – people of The Book, we believe that everything starts with God. Before there was dirt, there was only God. And God existed in the eternal ages, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God was totally self-sufficient. In the mysterious relationship of the Trinity, God lacked nothing. God needed nothing.

Yet, at some point God decided that He WANTED something. Somewhere in the vast, unlimited reaches of God’s mind, He decides that He wanted a new and unique relationship. He wanted to share His perfect, holy love with a creation that would receive His love, and express that love back to Him, as well as to others in His creation.

Somewhere in the vast, unlimited reaches of God’s mind, He decided that He wanted – you. And at that moment, the dream begins.

It is a dream that is filled with unbelievable beauty and indescribable love. It is a dream that shatters and becomes nightmarish with sin and rebellion. It is a dream that is filled with the light of hope as Christ, the Savior enters the dream. And because of Christ, it is a dream that ends with unbelievable beauty and indescribable love. This dream is mapped out in the Bible, and you and I – right now – are living this dream.

In 2008 – this whole year – we are going to take a journey from beginning to end. This journey is called “Thy Kingdom Come.” We will re-live God’s story, and be reminded of our part in the story. You see, your life is not a random blip in this giant universe. Your existence is not an arbitrary occurrence, for which you must now search and search for some kind of meaning for your life.

No, your life is a part of an amazing, continuous, and divine story, within which you play an important part. It is no small thing to believe that you are living in the time that God wants you to live – and in the place where He wants you to be – so that you can achieve the purposes for which He created you.

And your story starts with Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” You see, Christianity HAS to begin with creation.

If God did not create, then perhaps, there is no God in the first place. If there is no God, then there is no Author of love, or beauty, or goodness. If we are the products of a cosmic random occurrence, then love is merely an individual preference. It is whatever you want it to be. If you want it to be the gratification of your every desire, then that is what love is.

If there is no Creator, then there is no such thing as perfect love. It is simply a choice – no better or worse than choosing anything else – hatred or anger for that matter.

An author, named Philip Johnson, cites Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” After reading this, Johnson asks: “Is that true or false?”

Then he turns this Scripture inside out and creates a passage that could be used by the National Center for Science Education. It sounds like this: “In the beginning were the particles and the particles somehow became complex, living stuff. And the stuff imagined God.” Johnson again asks: “Is that true or false?” Johnson argues that today’s debates over science, creation and morality are, literally, clashes between people who believe there is scientific evidence that God created man and those who believe there is scientific evidence that man created God.

Johnson writes “If there is no Creator Who has a purpose for your life, then there is no such thing as sin. Sin would mean that you are in a wrong relationship to your Creator. “Well, you can’t be in a wrong relationship with the particles. They don’t care. So you don’t need a Savior to save you from the consequences of your wrong relationship with the particles…

“When you give away creation,” he correctly observes, “you have given away everything.”

Verse three of our text in Genesis says, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good…” The light was good because it came from God. And that means there IS such a thing as perfect goodness, and perfect holiness, and perfect rightness – because they are reflections of Who God is.

And if it is NOT from God, it is not good, or holy, or right. And that means there IS such a thing as moral and immoral, pure and impure, right and wrong, good and evil.

That’s why God sent a Savior into our world. He sent Jesus into our world because sin, hatred, and evil are real. These things are the opposite of God and His creation.

These things separate us from God. And these things turn God’s dream of a perfect loving relationship with us into a nightmare.

Advances in modern technology have allowed scientists to come closer than ever to understanding the physical origins of life. Scientists have more knowledge about HOW life works than ever before. Some scientists believe that they are getting close to creating life.

Maybe they are. Maybe they aren’t. I don’t know. But I am certain of this: They are as far away as ever from DEFINING life.

What kind of life is there apart from meaning? Human beings collapse when there is no meaning. Look at Brittany Spears. She was back in the news again on Friday, having some sad emotional meltdown. This poor woman’s life was defined by her childhood pop-star status. She placed all her meaning in life in this childhood role that she no longer has. And now, she is rudderless. Her life is disintegrating because she has no idea how to find any true meaning in her life.

My friends, the statement “In the beginning God created…” defines your life. It means that you are not alone. It means that you are not living a random life. It means that there is loving God, Who is part of your life, and Who has a design for your life.

THIS gives us meaning. This gives us value, and genuine hope for happiness. Living as we were created to live is how we find happiness. Otherwise, life is merely the SEARCH for brief happy moments. I pray for Brittany Spears. Her brief happy moment is over. And now, she is lost, unable to find any real happiness.

But in Christ, and His suffering and death on the cross for our sins, our relationship with God is restored. And therefore, our meaning and hope for happiness is restored.

God created us for amazing lives. He created us to experience fulfillment, contentment, and joy in our lives. He created us to thrive in our lives, not just survive.

So often, that is only how we live our lives, though – just surviving. Life is tough, don’t get me wrong. There is plenty of sin and evil, struggle and hunger, injustice and uncertainty to go around.

And that is why it is so easy to miss the beauty that God creates in our lives. We forget how to see it.

We forget that the beauty of life is not working or doing what we can to make a buck, so we can eat, and be comfortable, and hopefully have some fun on the weekend. We forget that the true beauty of life is found in loving others, and loving God. That’s how we thrive and not just survive.

Only when we get closer to God do we remember this and begin to see it again.

A while back, the director of the Disney movie Cars, John Lasseter, was being interviewed. The reporter commented on the amazing photorealism of the film. “The cars glisten. It looks like we’re seeing photography. With everything you can do with computer-generated animation, are there still limitations?” the reporter asked.

“Absolutely,” Lasseter replied. “The more organic something is in the way it looks or the way it moves, the harder it is to create it with a computer.” He mentioned that every frame of the movie required an average of 17 hours to create.

Two weeks later a review of a photography exhibit at Brooklyn Botanic Garden appeared in the Wall Street Journal. The reporter wrote this: “One [picture] in magenta red has curling squares of what looked like skin or material; another has furry brown hairs sprouting on green and orange stripes; and on a third, lip-like shapes float on a gray-white background.” What was the subject of these abstract photos? They were magnified close-ups of tree bark.

Here’s my point: The closer you get to something man has made, the more you see the imperfections. The closer you get to something God has made, the more you see its perfection.

God’s Word draws us closer to Him. It magnifies God for us and we see more and more the perfection of God’s love, and the perfection of His will for our lives.

Too often, we focus on our own self-made desires and goals for our lives. But, if we look closely, and are honest with ourselves, we will see the imperfection, and the uncertainty, and the unhappiness that is there.

Christ calls us today, to live in the Light of His love. He calls us to draw closer to Him. He calls us to live in the truth and beauty of Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

"In the beginning God created…" YOU. You are part of God's story. It began "In the beginning…" It culminated with Christ at the cross and empty tomb. And it continues with you, today.

In this coming year, with "Thy Kingdom Come," you have the opportunity to learn more of God's story, which is your story.

Through faith, learning and trusting God's Word, you will see God more closely than you ever have before. The closer you get, the closer you will see the perfection of His love, and the perfection of His will for your life.

I pray that you will uncover the perfect joy and peace that God is growing in your life, and that will discover new meaning for your existence in this place and time.

"Thy Kingdom Come." Open God's Word, and let it fill your hearts.

Amen.

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