From Stardust to New Creation
A Leonard J. Vander Zee Sermon Summary
This is a story of creation that does not ignore science.
According to the Bible, there has always been one God, the source and end of all things. This God is the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), the Creator of our time and space.
Out of nothing, God created the universe. As described in the Big Bang, a smaller-than-a-proton component exploded, expanding trillions and trillions of times, and gradually cooled into matter, all as hot gases. Then stars were formed. Some stars exploded and generated stardust, the basic elements of life. Around one of the stars (the sun), earth was formed. With the right amount of light and heat from the sun, earth gave birth to all kinds of plants and creatures.
Based on God’s divine plan, one unique creature appeared. They were humans, with consciousness. God breathed into this creature, and they knew God. They could love and worship God, and they knew themselves.
God considered this creature to be His image on earth, to rule over and take care of the earth. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Over time, humans grew, accumulating knowledge and understanding.
Unfortunately, this magnificent creature rebelled and wanted more. They envied and mistrusted their Creator, leading to alienation and destruction of all kinds.
But the Creator loved them and would not let go. He wanted to be their God and dwell among them. God chose Abraham and his descendants to be light among nations.
But sins continued to spread.
To bring salvation to them, God the Son, Christ, came on earth. Through Christ, humans can be restored from decay and back into their true identity, as children of God and as image bearers of God (Romans 8:19-21, 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Through Christ, one day, God’s creation will be restored, things made new, with humans shining in their full and true humanity. This is the wonderful news that gives salvation and hope to all who live in the light of God.
Summary of a talk by Leonard J. Vander Zee:
https://biologos.org/resources/the-big-story-from-stardust-to-the-new-creation
According to the Bible, there has always been one God, the source and end of all things. This God is the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), the Creator of our time and space.
Out of nothing, God created the universe. As described in the Big Bang, a smaller-than-a-proton component exploded, expanding trillions and trillions of times, and gradually cooled into matter, all as hot gases. Then stars were formed. Some stars exploded and generated stardust, the basic elements of life. Around one of the stars (the sun), earth was formed. With the right amount of light and heat from the sun, earth gave birth to all kinds of plants and creatures.
Based on God’s divine plan, one unique creature appeared. They were humans, with consciousness. God breathed into this creature, and they knew God. They could love and worship God, and they knew themselves.
God considered this creature to be His image on earth, to rule over and take care of the earth. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Over time, humans grew, accumulating knowledge and understanding.
Unfortunately, this magnificent creature rebelled and wanted more. They envied and mistrusted their Creator, leading to alienation and destruction of all kinds.
But the Creator loved them and would not let go. He wanted to be their God and dwell among them. God chose Abraham and his descendants to be light among nations.
But sins continued to spread.
To bring salvation to them, God the Son, Christ, came on earth. Through Christ, humans can be restored from decay and back into their true identity, as children of God and as image bearers of God (Romans 8:19-21, 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Through Christ, one day, God’s creation will be restored, things made new, with humans shining in their full and true humanity. This is the wonderful news that gives salvation and hope to all who live in the light of God.
Summary of a talk by Leonard J. Vander Zee:
https://biologos.org/resources/the-big-story-from-stardust-to-the-new-creation