I invite you to pause and remember moments when you have experienced awe. Maybe you were out in nature or had an insight into how nature works. Maybe it was through family or friends. Perhaps it was a memorable time of worship. Savor those moments; they are powerful reminders of a God that is greater than anything we can possibly imagine. They are a vital part of how we worship that same God.
From ancient times, we have peered into the skies seeking to understand the magnitude of God’s handiwork… This quest has led theologians and scientists alike to peer into the skies for clues to help them build and support cosmogonic theories. So, following this great tradition of scientific and theological inquiry, the James Webb space telescope images provide us with the latest window into God’s creative impetus.
Beauty is the very structure of the universe… put simply what God has imprinted on this world. And that’s why God’s creation is “Very Good.”
We’ve had this remarkable evening, year after year, on which we come together for a little while to sing songs, to pray in hopes of feeling connected, to hear a story of a little place that comes out big, of a fleeting moment that turns out to be eternal, of an event that seems insignificance in a world of big plans and big ideas and big struggles, but that becomes the beginning of the most potent, meaningful, and world-changing story of all.
The emotion of awe can be a bridge between science and faith. Just as worship can bring us to our knees, so can our experience of the natural world that science reveals to us. In recent years, awe has become a subject of scientific study and psychologists are beginning to understand the impact it has on us.