The Christian Handbook - Creation

We are continuing our series the Christian Handbook, in which we are discussing the

fundamentals of the Christian faith. We are trying to get a better grip on

what we believe, why we believe it, and how to apply it.

And today I'm going to be teaching about another essential doctrine of the Christian faith,

which is creation. Super excited to get into this one. Let's pray

first, Lord Jesus, I pray that you would teach us something new from

your word, that when we leave tonight, that we would have a better

grip of the biblical account of how you created the universe out of nothing,

how you brought everything to be, and help us to worship you in light

of that truth, as created and loved beings made in your image in your

name. Amen. And the kids said amen. All right. So to

begin, I think it would be best to examine a document that tells the

truth of creation from the Creator himself, the Bible. So let's get into

it. This is going to take a few minutes because it's one whole chapter.

But you can do it. I know you can. All right.

Let's sorrow Genesis one. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the

earth. Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface

of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, let there be light. And there was light. God

saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And

there was evening, and there was morning the first day, and God said,

let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.

So God made the vault and separated the waters under the vault from the water

above it. And it was so. God called the vault sky. And

there was an evening, and there was morning the second day, and God

said, let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place,

and let the dry ground appear. And it was so. God called the

dry ground land, and the gathered waters he called seas. And God saw

that it was good. Then God said, let the land produce vegetation,

seed bearing plants in trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it,

according to their various kinds. And it was so. The land produced

vegetation plants bearing seed according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed

in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

And there was evening, and there was morning the third day. And God

said, let there be lights in the vaults of the sky to separate the

day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times

and day and years. And let them be lights in the vault of the

sky to give light on the earth. And it was so. God made

two great lights, the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light

to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in

the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the

day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw

that it was good, and there was evening, and there was morning the

fourth day, and God said, let the water team with living creatures,

and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky. So

God created the great creatures of the sea, and every living thing with which

the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds,

and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was

good. God blessed them and said, be fruitful and increase in number,

and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the

earth. There was evening, and there was morning the fifth day, and

God said, let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds, the

livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals,

each according to its kind. And it was so. God made the wild

animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all

the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw

that it was good. Then God said, let us make mankind in our

image, in our likeness. Real quick, let us this is a testament

to God's triunity. Let us make mankind and our likeness, so that they

may rule over the fish in the sea, and of the birds and the

sky, over the livestock, and all the wild animals, and over all

the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own

image, in the image of God. He created them male and female.

He created them. God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful,

increase in number, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule over the

fish in the sea, over the birds in the sky, and over every

living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, I give you

every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth, and every tree

that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

And to call the beasts of the earth, and all the birds in the

sky, and all the creatures that move along the ground, everything that has

the breath of life in it. I give every green plant for food.

And it was so God saw all that he had made, and it was

very good. And there was evening and there was morning the sixth day.

I like the think I'm pretty good to reading aloud, even though homeschooled.

But right, duncan he's not here? Right casey, Yeah, homeschool.

So regarding these verses, there are many mini theories concerning the actual time of

creation in an attempt to create harmony or to harmonize the Biblical account and the

different scientific theories, the physical evidences and many claims that exist. These time

theories are actual are actually beneficial to discuss and consider. So we're gonna look

at four of them today. We're going to start with what is it,

Yes, the gap theory. All right, we're gonna get a little bit

deep here. This is, but stick with me. This is very interesting.

So this theory would fall under a category of theories called old Earth,

in which some suggest a span of many billions of years are hidden between verse

one and two of Genesis. Can you have that? So ray here this

space, there's many billions of years there. That's the claim. Okay,

it doesn't say that. I'd like to point that out. Does not say

that, But that's the claim. That's the gap theory. That's where the

gap theory lives. According to supporters of the gap theory, God created a

fully functional Earth in verse one. In the beginning, God created the heavens

and the earth. Stop gap theory comes into play. That ancient Earth featured

a full spectrum of animals in plant life, including fish and mammals, and

various species of now extinct dinosaurs and other creatures that we now know of only

from fossil records. So supporters of the gap theory would suggest that verse two,

instead of saying now the earth was formless and empty, it should read

like this instead, now the earth became formless and empty. You remember last

week when Pastor Duncan was talking about exegesis versus isogesis. When studying scripture.

Exegesis is when we read the scripture and we learn from it. Isis Jesus.

When we have our own belief or idea or something we want it to

say, input it into the scripture. This is what this is doing.

Now, the earth became formless and empty. That's how supporters of the gap

theory would like to read Genesis because making this change to one word, one

could speculate that, as a result of Satan's fall or some other prehistoric calamity,

laid waste to the earth. But that presupposes that Satan's fall or some

other evil occurred in the gap between verse one and two, and according to

that view, God created all the life forms that we now see and thus

remade the earth into a paradise in six days of recreation. So the theological

problem there is, when you read the end of Genesis one in verse thirty

one, what does God say? God saw all that he made, and

it was very good. After God completed all his creation, he declared it

very good, which would not be a fitting description if evil had already entered

the universe, evil leading to death, death of the creatures that supposedly existed.

In verse one Additionally, if the fossil record is to be explained by

the space between verse one and two, that means death, disease, suffering,

calamity were very common many ages before Adam fell. Yet Scripture tells us

in First Corinthians fifteen, for since death came through a man, the resurrection

of the dead comes also through a man. Speaking of Jesus here, since

death came through a man, So unless the Bible is lying, we can

see that the gap theory cannot hold true. Death occurred after the fall of

Adam. Death entered the world after the fall of Adam Adam, not before

it. The gap theory also contradicts Exodus twenty, verse eleven. Four in

six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea,

and all that is in them. But he rested on the seventh day.

Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Four in

six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea,

and all that is in them. The next theory is called the day age

theory. This is another Old Earth theory. The day age theory rests on

how the word day is defined in the account of creation. Supporters of this

theory believe the days of creation were actually ages, and make much, perhaps

too much, of the fact that the sun was not actually created and so

the fourth day, and on that basis they argue that the days could not

have been solar twenty four hour days. The word day, they point out,

is used elsewhere in scripture to speak of long period of time or long

ages, like second Peter, verse eight in Chapter three. But do not

forget this one thing, dear friends with the Lord, a day is like

a thousand years, and the thousand years are like a day. The error

here is that nothing in the passage of Genesis itself suggests that the days were

longer than actual twenty four hour days. The days are defined in Genesis one

five even before God created the sun in the moon. God called the light

day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening and there

was morning the first day. The very same expression there was evening and there

was mourning is used for each six days of creation, underscoring the fact that

the days were the same and that they had clearly defined boundaries. The third

theory another older theory. You see a theme here, the framework theory or

hypothesis holds the view that the days of creation were simply symbolic expressions that have

nothing to do with actual time. It attempts to make sense of and support

providence guided evolution. Advocates of this view accept the modern scientific theory that the

formation of the earth required several billions several billions of years. They claim the

Biblical account is nothing more than a metaphorical framework that should overlaid, or,

I would argue, override our understanding of creation. If one holds to this

view, the language and details of Genesis one are unimportant, they say.

The only true, the only truth this passage aims to teach us is that

the hand of divine providence guided the evolutionary process. The Genesis creation account is

then reduced to a simple literary device or metaphor that is not to be accepted

at face value. But the error here is with the framework theory. It

employs a destructive method of interpretation. If the plain meaning of Genesis one may

be written off and the language treated as nothing more than a literary device,

the danger presents itself with the question of why not do the same anywhere else?

Scripture presents a problem for us, Where does metaphor end in history begin

Is it with the flood? Is it with the Tower of Babel? Is

it with the resurrection? And why there? Why not regard all biblical miracles

as literary devices? Why couldn't the resurrection itself be dismissed as such? I

have a quote here from EJ. Young. He writes, if the framework

hypothesis were applied to the narratives of the Virgin Birth, or the Resurrection,

or Romans five twelve, which will read through later, it could as effectively

serve to minimize the importance of the content of those passages as it now does

the content of the first chapter of Genesis. The framework theory is a direct

result of making modern scientific theory a guideline by which to interpret scripture. The

presupposition behind the framework theory is the notion that science speaks with more authority about

origins and the age of the earth than scripture does. The last theory is

six day creation. This is a theory based around what the Bible says.

I don't have much more to add beyond what we read earlier, that entire

chapter, in a little bit of chapter two in Genesis, so I instead

just wrote an email in like a snarky format as some office workers were probably

used to scene. So that's that's my summary there the sixth Day Creation like

that. So the closest part of my sermon, I'll say this, it's

no surprise that the creation account has always been in the crosshairs of the enemy.

Since the Garden of Eden, God's word has suffered and withstood attacks,

all driven by one scandalous purpose to cast doubt on God and the integrity of

his word. So what should we believe where you stand on how the earth

was made, how long it took, whether the gap theory, the framework

theory, sixth day creation. These are doctrines that are open handed, and

that as long as they do not change what Scripture says, or they do

not change your belief in faith in God's word, I'm not going to tell

you what to believe. Otherwise, I will tell you that what you believe

needs to be grounded in scripture. Things like Jesus's birth, virgin birth,

his death, and across his resurrection three days later. Those are closed handed.

You cannot stray from those. So what should we believe If you ever

have a question about what the Bible tells you to believe read more the Bible.

So we're gonna go to Hebrews eleven, verse three. By faith,

we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is

seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith, we understand

that the universe was formed in God's command. While scientific considerations, physical evidence,

history, and mini theories are beneficial fund to discuss and consider, this

doctrine must be grounded in scripture to substitute something other than the authority and inerrancy

of Biblical truth, as the foundation of this doctrine undermines the Biblical perspective that

it is a matter of faith. Okay, coffee break, All right,

let's look at some major affirmations of this doctrine. First one, God created

everything out of nothing. No sentence is filled, No sentence is filled with

so much meaning than the opening verse of the Bible. Let's look at it

again, Genesis one one. In the beginning, God created the heavens and

the earth. This verse tells us several things at once. I'm only gonna

look at two today. I'm gonna try to take less time than duncan last

week. So he's on in here, so I can make that joke.

God is the supreme being, is the first thing we're gonna look at out

of this. Before there was a universe, there was God. He exists

independent of matter and sequence of time. God transcends space and time. He

is not limited by spatial considerations. He is everywhere in his fullness continually,

nor is he locked into the present in any way. The second is that

He created x excuse me ex nihilo. It's Latin for out of nothing.

He created out of nothing, as we saw in Genesis one and elsewhere in

the Bible. It insists that at the point of the beginning there was nothing

apart from God. In Revelation four, verse eleven, you are worthy our

Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all

things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Also,

anything that exists apart from God, art, music, literature are brought

into being by the raw materials he created. The second major affirmation he created

for his glory, not his need. In Acts seventeen, verse twenty fourth

or twenty five, it reads the God who made the world and everything in

it, is the Lord of heaven and earth, and does not live in

temples built by human hands, and He is not served by human hands as

if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and

everything else. Over the past several weeks, Pastors Duncan and Greg and myself

have spoken about how God is triune, that God exists as three in one

father, son, holy Ghost in perfect relationship, lacking nothing, he wants

and needs nothing. He instead created out of a superabundance of his love and

goodness for his glory, and he graciously shares that with us, his children,

which leads me to how it was created. The act of creation was

trinitarian. Father and Spirit worked together in Genesis one, verses one through two.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the

earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep,

and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. It was created the

father and son John one verses one through three. In the beginning was the

word Jesus, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

This affirmed Jesus's deity as God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him, all things were made. Without him, nothing was made

that has been made the fourth point. Fourth affirmation of this doctrine is that

the original creation was very good, but is now spoiled by sin. We

find in Genesis after each step of his creation, at the end of each

day, God declared it good. Seven times he called it good, and

on the seventh time he called it very good. Now, it's obviously sometimes

very hard. In fact, it may feel impossible sometimes to look at the

hurt and chaos around us and on the news and think this is good,

this is fine. It's like that mean, everything's fine. But how the

world is now is not how God created it initially. That wasn't his intended

plan. He called it good after each phase of his creation. When Adam

and Eve sinned, which we're gonna look at more in depth next week,

God's creation fell under a curse, the curse of sin, which brought death,

disease, and corruption, which is what we see every day now in

Romans five twelve current mood. Therefore, justice sin entered the world through one

man, and death through sin. And in this same way, death came

to all people because all sinned. This is where we're at currently, after

the fall of Adam and Eve. This is where we're at but we have

hope. In Revelation twenty one Versus one through eight. Let's look at the

hope we have. Then I saw a new heaven and a new Earth.

For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was

no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed

for her husband. And I learned a loud voice from the throne saying,

look, God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell

with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with

them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain,

for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on

the throne said, I am making everything new. Then he said, write

this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. He said to me,

it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning

and the end to the thirsty. I will give water without costs from the

spree of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all of this and I

will be their God, and they will be my children real quick. Those

who are victorious, that's those who put their faith in Jesus, we share

in that victory. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the

murderers, the sexually immoral, those who can't remember thank you, those who

practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars, they will be consigned,

consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

God promises his creation renewed. He promises to wipe away our tears.

We also see at the end of the text of warning to the unbeliever,

they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the

second death. I would be I would be scared for myself not to talk

about this, because this is not something I can just read through and move

on. All right, This is my time to share the gospel with you.

If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and savior, if you do

not believe that he died on the cross, lived a perfect life, and

rose again three days later and is now alive on the throne. The Bible

says that he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. I implore

you turn to Christ. If you have not done so yet, I implore

you. Okay, I love all of you. I had this problem of

getting up here and being very serious and stuff. But I'm a very fun

person. I just I don't know what happens. We assign these sermons like

months out and maybe it doesn't matter what sermon I have. This is just

me, man, Okay, next time I want like psalms something I don't

know. Okay. One last error that I want to warn you about is

worshiping the created instead of the Creator. This is something we can easily fall

into. Worshiping nature, the stars, created idols, ourselves, making ourselves

like God. In Romans one, verse twenty two, Paul writes, for

although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to

him. But their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Although they claim to be wise, they became fools and exchange the glory of

the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds

and animals and reptiles. One of Paul's primary points in these verses is that

there is no such thing as religious neutrality within the hearts and minds of human

beings. When people reject the one True God, they do not stop worshiping.

Rather, they direct their worship to something else. Only the term foolishness

can describe this redirection of devotion. Though human beings were made to experience the

unmediated, perfect glory of God, they have rejected this for things that cannot

satisfy them. We also see in these verses, or another thing we've seen

in Versus is idolatry that worships gods, that worships gods who act just like

fallen man. Every religious every religion such as Islam, results from exchanging God's

truth for a lie and serves the creature. For Allah is a God who

conforms to what human beings think a deity should be. John Calvin wrote religious

honor cannot be given to a creature without taking it away in a disgraceful and

sacrilegious manner from God, the only one deserving. Arc Sproul writes, rejecting

God is so serious that if we will not have him, he will not

have us. One cannot persist in impenitent sin and in giving to other creatures

the devotion God deserves. Those who do so become more ensnared in idolatry and

grow more blind to the truth. So we talked about some errors, some

different theories. We talked about affirmations of this doctrine. Let's talk about how

to enact it. What do we do with this doctrine after looking at it.

The first thing we do is we recognize God's authority as the creator.

In Psalm thirty three, verses six through nine, it says, by the

word of the Lord, the heavens were made their starry host. By the

breath of his mouth, he gathers the waters of the sea into jars,

He puts the deep into store houses. Let all the earth fear the Lord.

Let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke,

and it came to be. He commanded, and it stood firm. The

second way we enact this doctrine is recognized Jesus's authority in John one. In

the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the

Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him,

all things were made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life, and the life was the light of all mankind.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Praise Jesus. More on Jesus's authority in Mark four, verse thirty five,

it reads that day, when evening came, he said to his disciples,

let us go over to the other side, leaving the crowd behind.

They took him along. Just as he was in the boat, there were

other excuse me, there were also other boats with him. A furious squall

came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was

nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. So

gigantic storm is happening, and Jesus has taken a nap because he's not worried.

It's his seat. The disciples woke him up and said, teacher her,

don't you care if we drown? He got up, rebuked the wind

and said quiet, be still. Then the wind died down and it was

completely calm. He said to his disciples, why are you so afraid?

Do you still have no faith? They were terrified and asked each other,

who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him. That's the

creator in action. Colossians one, verse fifteen. The Sun is the image

of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all

things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers, or rulers or authorities, all things have been created

through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him

all things hold together. And he is the head of the body the Church.

He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that

in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all

his fullness dwell in him and through him, to reconcile to himself all things,

whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his

blood shed on the cross. The third thing we do to enact this doctrine

is we praise God, the creator of all things. Can I get the

band to come up? I said earlier. If you want to know how

to do something in scripture tells you to do. Read more Scripture. This

is what we're gonna do. We're gonna go through a lot of verses that

all points to God as the supreme being and creator of the universe, and

praises him for it. Let's start in psalms. Praise the Lord, my

soul, Lord, my God, you are very great. You are clothed

with splendor and majesty. The Lord wraps himself in light, as with a

garment. He stretches out the heavens like a tent, and lays the beams

of his upper chambers on their water. He makes the clouds his chariot,

and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers,

flames of fire his servants. He set the earth on its foundations. It

can never be moved. You covered it with the watery depths, as with

garment. The waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke, the

waters fled. At the sound of your thunder, they took to flight.

They flowed over the mountains. They went down into the valleys, to the

place you was signed for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross.

Never again will they cover the earth. He makes springs, pour water into

the ravines. It flows between the mountains. They give water to all the

beasts of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of

the sky nest by the waters. They sing among the branches. He waters

the mountains from his upper chambers. The land is satisfied by the fruit of

his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people

to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth, wine that gladdens human hearts,

oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.

The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he

planted. There the birds make their nests. The stork has its home in

the junipers. The high mountains belong to the wild goats. The crags are

a refuge for the higher rex. He made the moon to mark the seasons,

and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness. It

becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar

for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises and they

steal away. They return and lie down in their dens. Then people go

out to their work, to their labor until evening. How many are your

works, Lord, and whizz them? You made them all. The earth

is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast, spacious,

teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both large and small. There are

the ships going to and fro and Leviathan, which you form to frolic there.

All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.

When you give it to them, they gather it up. When you

open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your

face, they are terrified. When you take away their breath, they die

and return to the dust. When you send your spirit, they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the

Lord endure forever. May the Lord rejoice in his works. He who looks

at the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to

my God as long as I live. May my meditation should be pleasing to

Him, as I rejoice in the Lord in revelation, for leaven. You

are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.

For you created all things, and by your will they were created and

have their being. Nehemiah, Blessed be your glorious name, and may it

be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone, are the Lord.

You made the heavens, even the highest heavens and all their starry host,

the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is

in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship.

You give life to everything, and the mountains multitudes. Excuse me Psalm

ninety five. For the Lord is the Great God, the great King above

all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the

mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down

and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. For he

is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock

under his care. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord my soul. I

will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God

as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in

human beings who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the

ground. On that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those

whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord,

their God. He is the maker of heaven and earth, The sea

and everything in them. He remains faithful forever. What we need to believe

about creation is that God did it. God existed before anything. God was

when there was nothing. He created out of nothing. Wherever you land in

and how creation happened, whether you believe that it took those days were longer

than an actual day, that's up to you. Read the Bible. Trust

in its word. What we see now in the world is not how creation

was when God declared it good, but it will be again. Put your

faith in, your hope in the maker of all things and our Creator.

While we await that day. For now, we're going to worship him as

a maker. We're going to move to a time of response. If you

came prepared to give, that's an act of worship. You can give in

the offering box outside the doors. If you need prayer for anything, myself

and the other elders that are available will be on either side of the room

to pray for you. I would encourage you to do so. I would

love to pray for you as with the other elders. We have connect cards

you can fill out if you want to. If you want prayer from the

elders from the church, leaders and the community groups. We pray for those

during the week. I would encourage you to do that. If it's a

prayer quest that you'd rather keep private, just ride on the card anonymous if

you remember how to spell that. I can never remember how to spell anonymous,

So good luck. See the prayer connect card giving. That's everything.

Yeah, all right, we definitely stand. I'm gonna pray and then we're

gonna worship. Lord God. We praise you as the creator of all.

We praise you as the one who made the seas, the mountains, all

living things. We praise you for making us in your image. We praise

you for having mercy on us, us sinners, for sending your son to

save your creation from their sins. We thank you that you are faithful and

just to forgive us our sins. If we confess with our tongue and believe

in our heart that you are Lord. Help us to help us when we

read our Bibles, that we believe what is said. Give us faith to

overcome any doubt. Help us to put scripture first before theories. Lord,

as we worship you, help us to comprehend as best we can your power

and majesty as the creator of all that we get to come before you hum

in humility and brokenness, but free from sin, that through Christ's rights has

its extended to us, we can approach you. Thank you for that,

Lord, in your name, Amen,