The Word and Creation

May 10, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Breath from the Maker’s Hand

Jesus stood before anxious crowds teaching about sparrows and lilies. He pointed to birds pecking at seeds, flowers swaying in fields—ordinary things His Father feeds and clothes. “Your life is more than food,” He declared, exposing how worry distracts from God’s care. The same hands that shaped galaxies now hold your heartbeat. [51:24]

Creation depends on Christ’s sustaining power every second. He didn’t wind up the world like a clock but actively breathes life into lungs, pumps blood through veins, and spins planets in orbit. When Jesus says “your heavenly Father knows,” He means the Creator tracks every hair and hunger pang.

You flip light switches expecting power, yet forget the true Source. Today, let your pulse remind you of the Sustainer. When stress tightens your chest, inhale deeply as a prayer. What daily habit could become your reminder that Christ holds your breath?

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
(Matthew 6:26, ESV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for three specific ways He sustained you today—your waking, working, breathing.

Challenge: Set a phone alarm for 3 PM. When it rings, pause and take three conscious breaths as acts of trust.

Day 2: Nails That Framed the Stars

The Word spoke light into chaos long before Roman spikes pierced His hands. John’s Gospel opens with cosmic scale—planets spun into place, DNA strands woven, all through Christ. Yet this Creator later stretched those same hands on a crossbeam, splinters digging into palms that once carved riverbeds. [45:33]

Jesus’ scars prove creation matters. He didn’t redeem souls through a divine memo but by entering the dirt He formed. The hands that molded Adam’s ribs later healed lepers. The voice that said “Let there be” whispered “Father, forgive them” through split lips.

You face problems that feel too earthly for heaven’s concern. Remember—your Maker got callouses. He knows the weight of wood, the sting of thirst. Where in your mundane struggles do you need to see His invested love?

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
(John 1:3, ESV)

Prayer: Confess one area where you’ve acted like God is distant. Ask Him to reveal His nearness there.

Challenge: Write “Maker & Redeemer” on a sticky note. Place it where you’ll see it during routine tasks.

Day 3: Upholding the Unraveling

Paul told Athenians, “In Him we live and move.” The God who needs nothing gives everything—heartbeats, jobs, sunrises. When ice storms topple power lines and hospitals overflow, Christ still holds protons in orbit. Your crisis doesn’t surprise the One who counts sparrow falls. [56:28]

Dependence isn’t weakness but reality. Like a child carried through a crowd, your existence rests in stronger arms. Anxiety lies, whispering you’re unsupported. Truth says the same Voice that calmed storms steers your storms.

You check bank accounts more than Scripture. You refresh newsfeeds but neglect prayer. What practical step would shift your focus from “holding it together” to being held?

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
(Colossians 1:17, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to replace one specific fear today with the certainty of His grip.

Challenge: Text a struggling friend: “Christ holds us both right now.” Add a verse about His sovereignty.

Day 4: Storm-Tested Foundations

Job worshipped through loss, declaring, “The Lord gave.” The ice storm stripped illusions of control—no electricity, heat, or open gas stations. Yet the church became a refuge, Risk games replacing Netflix. Crisis revealed what lasts: Christ’s people and Christ’s presence. [25:55]

Trials don’t mean God’s abandoned His creation but refines it. Like pruning vines or testing gold, hardship exposes false supports. When everything shakes, the Rock remains.

You’ve faced your own ice storms—layoffs, diagnoses, grief. How did those moments clarify what truly sustains? What false foundation still needs dismantling?

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
(Matthew 7:24, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for a past trial that deepened your dependence on Him.

Challenge: Identify one “backup plan” you rely on more than Christ. Write it down, then tear it up as a surrender.

Day 5: From Spectator to Sustained

The disciples once panicked in a storm while Jesus slept. They forgot the One who hushed seas also knit their seafaring muscles. We repeat their mistake—admiring creation’s beauty but doubting the Creator’s care when waves crash. [48:01]

Faith isn’t ignoring storms but knowing the Boat-Maker’s aboard. Your anxiety doesn’t shame Him; He leans in, asking, “Where’s your trust?” Every crisis is a classroom to learn His faithfulness.

You’ll face new squalls—a diagnosis, conflict, uncertainty. Will you rehearse fears or remember who steers the universe? What current worry needs replacing with “He upholds all things”?

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
(Hebrews 1:3, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to transform one area of fear into bold reliance on His sustaining power.

Challenge: Share a story of God’s faithfulness with someone under 18 today.

Sermon Summary

We begin by celebrating the gift of mothers, lifting up specific prayer needs, and calling the congregation to worship with thanksgiving. The psalmist’s words direct us to recount God’s wonderful deeds and to sing praise to the Most High. The heart of the assembly turns to John chapter one verses one through three, where the Word identifies the true origin and nature of all that exists. The Word is eternal, was with God, and is God. All things were made through this Word, and nothing came into being apart from him. Scripture across Paul, Hebrews, and Colossians converges to show that Jesus is not a created being but the Creator, preeminent over visible and invisible realms, sustaining the universe by his word.

The text emphasizes four contours. First, the scope of creation covers all things without exception; creation traces its origin to the Logos. Second, creation is the result of personal agency; the preposition through communicates willing, intentional action by the person of the Son rather than impersonal force or mere instrumentality. Third, the gospel insists that no part of existence escaped the Logos; John repeats the claim negatively so that theological mistake cannot stand. Fourth, dependence pervades our experience. The Creator upholds every breath, governs providentially, and remains intimately involved in the life of his creatures. Matthew’s teaching on God’s care for birds and lilies frames a pastoral application: worry cannot add a single hour to life because our being depends on God’s sustaining will.

This doctrine carries both judgment and mercy. The tragedy of sin becomes evident when creatures act as if independent of the One who gives life. Yet the greatest grace appears in the Creator entering his creation to redeem it. The very hands that fashioned humanity reached down in Christ and submitted to death on a cross to restore what was broken. The gospel calls for trust that grounds worship and steadies us in trials, inviting us to live as dependent people who respond in faith to the Lord who made, sustains, and redeems all things.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus created all things All reality originates in the Logos. No creature or cosmic order exists apart from the creative act of the Son, so creation bears the intention and purpose of its Maker. This grounds worship and reorients every claim to independence. [29:02]
2. Jesus acted as personal agent The preposition through signals a person who wills and works, not an impersonal force. Creation results from the Son’s deliberate counsel and loving activity, so every element of the world reflects his personal care. Recognizing this reshapes how we read providence and suffering. [38:54]
3. We depend on him constantly Existence itself depends on the sustaining word of Christ, not on human effort or chance. Every breath, heartbeat, and functioning limb testifies to ongoing divine upholding, which means anxiety about provision misunderstands our true posture before God. Trust arises from remembering that we live, move, and have being in him. [57:36]
4. Creator entered to redeem creation The Creator did not abandon a fallen world but entered it in mercy to restore what was lost. The hands that formed us bore the nails that purchased our reconciliation, so redemption joins ontology and grace. This calls for devotion that rests in both creation and cross. [46:11]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[03:22] - Recognizing Mothers and Gifts
[04:02] - Prayer Requests and Updates
[05:09] - Membership Meeting Announcements
[06:31] - Call to Worship from Psalm 9
[29:02] - Reading John 1 1-3
[29:23] - The Scope of Creation
[38:54] - Personal Agency of the Logos
[45:33] - The Creator Became Flesh to Redeem
[49:03] - God’s Care and Freedom from Anxiety
[52:43] - Clarifying That Nothing Escaped the Logos
[57:11] - Creation Dependence and Acts 17
[73:40] - Benediction and Closing Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 1:1-3 (ESV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

Observation Questions

According to John 1:3, what does the phrase "all things were made through him" reveal about Jesus’ role in creation?
How does the repetition of "without him was not anything made that was made" emphasize the scope of Jesus’ creative authority?
In the sermon, what examples were given to illustrate how creation depends on Jesus’ ongoing sustenance? [57:36]
How does Colossians 1:16-17 (referenced in the sermon) expand on the idea that Jesus is both Creator and Sustainer?

Interpretation Questions

Why does John stress that nothing exists apart from Jesus’ creative work? What theological error might this address?
How does the use of the preposition "through" in John 1:3 highlight Jesus’ personal agency rather than impersonal force? [38:54]
What does it mean for creation to be "very good" (Genesis 1:31) in light of Jesus’ intentional design, and how does sin distort this reality? [43:15]
Why is it significant that the Creator entered creation to redeem it, rather than abandoning it? [46:11]

Application Questions

How might your daily perspective change if you consciously acknowledged that every breath and heartbeat is sustained by Jesus? [57:36]
What areas of your life do you struggle to trust Jesus’ care over, and how could Matthew 6:25-34 reshape your response to anxiety? [49:03]
The sermon states, "The tragedy of sin is that we attempt to live as though we were independent of [God]." In what practical ways do you see independence from God manifesting in your choices or attitudes?
How can reflecting on Jesus’ sacrifice (the Creator "bearing nails" for redemption) deepen your gratitude and worship this week? [45:33]
What is one step you can take this week to actively depend on Jesus’ sustaining power instead of relying on your own strength or plans?

Sermon Clips

51s

#NotRandomChance

“``I beg of each of us this morning to realize there is not a millisecond in which your life is the product of random chance. There is not a millisecond in which the Christ who has created all things is not actively, personally involved in your life and sustaining you. And I think one of the we do as Christians is we that. We allow the circumstances and the situations in which we face in life to to to detract and and distract and and take us off course, and we fail to understand the very breath I'm breathing right now is a sovereign gift from my king.”

46s

#TrustHisSovereignty

“If Jesus created all things and the bible makes it very clear that he did, beloved, I would say to you this morning that nothing in your life lies outside of his authority. Your life lies there. And you might be sitting there right now thinking, you don't know how hard I've got it right now. I would say to you in response to that kind of comment, do you trust that he is who he says he is? Or do your circumstances and your situations trump the scriptures revelation of who Christ is?”

56s

#LifeHasPurpose

“That is Jesus declaring my creation is very good and Jesus is not uninterested in his creation and you are part of his creation. That means to me that your struggles and my struggles are not meaningless to the one who created all things. Your life is not meaningless. Your life is not insignificant. We are not the results of of random chance. We are the product of the divine will of almighty God. And you must understand that the very God who made all of creation is the very God who put on flesh to redeem it.”

54s

#NothingOutsideTheLogos

“In case you didn't get it the first time that he created all things, let me say it from the there's nothing that has been made that was made unless it was made by the logos. John not want us to formulate wrong theological conclusions about the person of Jesus. So he restates this truth emphasizing the fact that nothing that exists came into existence apart from the log odds, the word of God. Nothing. In the Greek, it it literally literally reads this way, not even one thing. And without him, not even one thing was made that was made.”

41s

#KnowTheRealJesus

“This is where the apostle John begin, not with the genealogy, not with the story of birth. He gets and says, you need to know Jesus. And not the Jesus that other people might tell you about because there's a good chance they might get it wrong. Here's the Jesus, the real Jesus, the true Jesus, the one who is God, the one who is eternal, the one who has created all things, and the one who holds it all together.”

50s

#JesusIsEternal

“The point that John is driving home is very to understand all things were created. How? Through the logos. The word of God who was with God at the of creation, the logos who is himself God. John wants us to understand that Jesus not as the the Mormons or the Jehovah's Witnesses or many other groups would want us believe Jesus is not a created being. Jesus is eternal. Jesus has no beginning. He has no end. Why is that? Because he is God.”

44s

#DontTakeItForGranted

“How many get how how many of us are guilty of getting up, going through our day, taking for granted a body that is working, a job that's still there, a house that's still standing, a spouse that still loves us, children who are all those things and and never once stop and think it is the God who created everything. The God who rules and reigns over everything that's holding all this together. How often should we stop and worship and praise the one true and living God who is sustaining us by breath?”

50s

#DependentOnThePerson

“Text this morning, John is going to confront us with the truth that is far more fundamental than electricity or or infrastructure, the apostle is show us that existence itself, the fact that you're breathing right now is dependent on something unseen. Not a system. It's not a force. But John is going to show us that we are absolutely 100% dependent upon person. We're gonna camp out this morning in John chapter one verse three.”

Ask a question about this sermon

FBC Holton This sermon · AI assistant

Who created all things according to Scripture?

How does Jesus personally sustain all creation?

Why did God become flesh to redeem?