QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

“The faith of the church must be tried by God’s word, and not God’s word by the church….”

~Jane Grey (1537-1554), English noblewoman and contested Queen of England

Question 7: What are the decrees of God? Answer: The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, by which, for his own glory, he has foreordained everything that ever happens.

Question 8: How does God carry out his decrees? Answer: God carries out his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

~Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 7 & 8

“By investigating God’s majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.”

~Francis Collins, Director of Human Genome Research Institute

“...the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same…. Science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment…. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

~Robert Jastrow (1925-2008), first chairman of NASA’s Lunar Exploration Committee, professor at Dartmouth College (1981-1992), and director of Mount Wilson Observatory

“...how surprising it is that the laws of nature and the initial conditions of the universe should allow for the existence of beings who could observe it. Life as we know it would be impossible if any one of several physical quantities had slightly different values.”

~Steven Weinberg (1933-2021), theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate

“God creates, not that there may be witnesses to render Him His due glory, but beings who shall rejoice in it as He rejoices in it Himself and who, participating in His being, participate at the same time in His beatitude. It is not therefore for Himself, but for us, that God seeks His glory; it is not to gain it, for He possesses it already, nor to increase it, for already it is perfect, but to communicate it to us.”

~Étienne Gilson (1884-1978), French philosopher and historian

“The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.”

~G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), writer and critic

SERMON PASSAGE

Psalm 33 (ESV)

1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!

Praise befits the upright.

2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

3 Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4 For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

he puts the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

9 For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

13 The Lord looks down from heaven;

he sees all the children of man;

14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

15 he who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds.

16 The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord

is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love,

19 that he may deliver their soul from death

and keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart is glad in him,

because we trust in his holy name.

22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.