This service was originally designed to be a chapel service at Unity Christian High School in Hudsonville, Michigan, during Holy Week, but it could be expanded into a full worship service by adding elements like a sermon, offering, and time of confession/assurance. It could also be adapted for use at any time during the year when there is an emphasis on God’s marvelous creation.
(On stage: Speaker 1 and men’s chorus.)
| Speaker 1: | In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And it was good. All that God created was and is good. It was perfectly created to give God the honor and glory. Creation was and is the magnificence of our Creator. All the earth sings alleluia to the Creator of the universe. (Speaker 1 exits stage.) |
Songs:
Men’s Choral Ensemble or
Song:
“All Creatures of Our God and King” Francis of Assisi
(Men’s chorus exits stage. Four speakers come out on stage.)
| Speaker 1: | In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. |
| Speaker 2: | Majesty. |
| Speaker 3: | Divine. |
| Speaker 4: | Truth. |
| Speaker 2: | Knowledge. |
| Speaker 3: | God speaks. |
| Speaker 4: | God acts. |
| Speaker 2: | God creates. |
| Speaker 1: | Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep. |
| Speaker 2: | No separate land. |
| Speaker 3: | No light source for the earth. |
| Speaker 4: | Dreadful chaos. |
| Speaker 2: | Uninhabitable. |
| Speaker 1: | The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. |
| Speaker 2: | Wind, |
| Speaker 3: | mighty wind. |
| Speaker 4: | Bringing order to chaos. |
| Speaker 2: | Order to the universe. |
| Speaker 1: | And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. |
| Speaker 2: | God said, and it was. |
| Speaker 3: | One command. |
| Speaker 4: | One creative act. |
| Speaker 2: | And there was light. |
| Speaker 3: | God, |
| Speaker 4: | the ultimate source of light. |
| Speaker 1: | And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” |
| Speaker 2: | Sky. |
| Speaker 3: | Heavens above, |
| Speaker 4: | mass below. |
| Speaker 2: | God, |
| Speaker 3: | Ruler of the cosmos, |
| Speaker 4: | naming the sky. |
| Speaker 1: | And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” |
| Speaker 2: | Land and seas, |
| Speaker 3: | separated under God’s command. |
| Speaker 2: | Deep seas, |
| Speaker 3: | rushing rivers, |
| Speaker 2: | splashing brooks, |
| Speaker 3: | calm lakes. |
| Speaker 2: | Plains, |
| Speaker 3: | mountains, |
| Speaker 2: | hills, |
| Speaker 3: | valleys, |
| Speaker 4: | soil bringing forth plants. |
| Speaker 2: | Trees, |
| Speaker 3: | rustling grass. |
| Speaker 4: | All at God’s command. No species exists apart from God’s design. |
| Speaker 1: | And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night.” |
| Speaker 2: | Sun, |
| Speaker 3: | moon, |
| Speaker 2: | stars. |
| Speaker 3: | Signs, |
| Speaker 2: | seasons, |
| Speaker 3: | days and years. |
| Speaker 4: | Marking off the calendar |
| Speaker 3: | by the God who needs no time. |
| Speaker 1: | And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” |
| Speaker 2: | Great sea creatures, |
| Speaker 3: | microscopic plankton, |
| Speaker 2: | flying creatures, |
| Speaker 4: | winged at God’s command. |
| Speaker 2: | Increasing in number, |
| Speaker 3: | filling the skies, |
| Speaker 4: | filling the seas. |
| Speaker 1: | 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. |
| Speaker 2: | Giant beasts, |
| Speaker 3: | small insects, |
| Speaker 2: | creeping turtles, |
| Speaker 4: | speeding gazelles. |
| Speaker 2: | Cattle, |
| Speaker 3: | sheep, |
| Speaker 2: | monkeys, |
| Speaker 3: | horses, |
| Speaker 2: | donkeys, |
| Speaker 3: | tigers, |
| Speaker 2: | lions, |
| Speaker 3: | mice, |
| Speaker 2: | giraffes, |
| Speaker 3: | bears. |
| Speaker 4: | Variety. |
| Speaker 2: | Creativity. |
| Speaker 3: | Diversity. |
| Speaker 4: | A medley of imagination and brilliance. |
| Speaker 1: | Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” |
| Speaker 4: | So God created mankind in his own image; |
| Speaker 2: | in the image of God he created them; |
| Speaker 3: | male and female |
| Speaker 4: | he created them. |
| Speaker 2: | And it was good. |
| Speaker 3: | It was very good. |
| Speaker 2: | It was perfect. |
| Speaker 4: | A world without sin: no immorality, no iniquity, no transgression, wrongdoing, or crime. The world was God’s creation—and it was good! The world was flawless, pure, undamaged, whole, and perfect. It . . . was . . . good! |
| Speaker 1: | The psalms are full of praise to God for his magnificent creation. |
| Speaker 2: | Psalm 29:3. “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.” |
| Speaker 3: | Psalm 24:1-2. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.” |
| Speaker 4: | Psalm 33:6. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” |
| Speaker 2: | Psalm 19:1-4. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” |
| Speaker 1: |
This is the universe that our Creator established—a (All speakers exit. Soloist comes out on stage.) |
Solo:
“Hallelujahs” (Chris Rice)
(Solo is accompanied with slides that fit the music.) or
Song:
“God of Wonders” (Chris Tomlin) Byrd, Hindalong
(At the end of the song, Speaker 1 returns to the stage.)
| Speaker 1: | We know very well that God’s perfect creation was and is marred by sin. But we also know that we have a promise. Now, all creation groans with sin. But someday Christ will return. In Revelation 21 we read, “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” Someday we will experience God’s creation as it was meant to be: perfect and good. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and it was very good. And in Revelation 22 we read, “Look, I am coming soon! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Creation again will be restored. |
Song:
“Beautiful Savior” (st. 1, all; st. 2, women; st. 3, men; st. 4, all) Unknown
Speaker 1: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
