Lord’s Day, Vol. 3 No. 10

(1) Easter Sunrise Service

Thank God for the provision of a public garden for BHBPC’s first Easter Sunrise Service. God willing, we shall meet at Gardens by the Bay on 5 April 2015 at 6.30am, to remember our Lord’s resurrection.

The exact location is an open area beside ‘Satay by the Bay’ within the Gardens. There are ample parking lots in the vicinity. A short walk from the drop-off area for our elderly brethren was part of the consideration in our search for a suitable site. Breakfast of toasts, eggs and coffee or tea is available at ‘Satay by the Bay’ after the service. Arrangement will be made for those who require transportation to be picked up from their homes from 5.30am onwards. Please pray and plan to attend.

(2) Creation Account – The Privilege of Man

When God created the universe, the earth was the focus. When the earth was created, man was the focus. Man is very special because man was made in the image of God.

In 6 literal days, God completed His creation. In the first three days, God created light, the firmament and water, land and vegetation. Then God created in the next three days sun, moon and stars (day 4), fowls and fishes (day 5) and animals and finally, man (day 6)!

God made man last for a good reason. His love, care and special endowment are upon man. God made the earth a habitable place before He placed man in it. All of God’s creation was for the benefit of man.

Just to give an idea of the vastness of the created universe, the following are some statistics:

Object                                    Diameter

Earth                                    7,900 miles

Earth-moon orbit              239,000 miles

Sun-earth orbit                  186 million miles

Solar system                        7 billion miles

Milky way                           100,000 light-years*

Universe                            30 billion light-years

* One light-year is about 6 trillion miles. 1 mile approximates 1.6km.

The Focus of God’s Love

When God created, He allowed the splendor of His creation to speak for itself. God let nature proclaim Him. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1).

God made the sun and since its creation is expending itself, providing heat and light to sustain human life. The sun is an “average” star. The majesty of the sun is nearly incomprehensible. It is an immense ball of seething gases, 864,000 miles in diameter, nearly 4 times the earth-to-moon distance.

If the sun could be hollowed out like a giant pumpkin, a million planet earths could easily fit inside. But the sun is not hollow. Instead, it has an internal temperature of millions of degrees, resulting from its furnace of nuclear reactions.¹ The distance of the sun from the earth is just right so that the temperature is most habitable for man.

It is sad that man would worship the creation rather than the Creator! For man to not recognise His Creator is indeed great ingratitude. Therefore, it behooves us to set our lives in order by approaching God, the Originator of life, in humble adoration.

Only man can appreciate the beauty and the grandeur of the creation around him. The animals cannot appreciate itself or its beauty. The peacock does not know that it is special and beautiful.

Man is created with a conscience. We are capable of thinking in terms of who we are, whether our actions are right or wrong and, most importantly, we could worship God.

The redeemed man is able to know God’s love, and have hope, joy and peace, being heir of God, and joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).

As we consider Genesis chapter 1, may we reflect on the great privilege we have as God’s children. Amen.

Yours lovingly in Christ,

Pr. Lek Aik Wee

¹ Donald B. DeYoung, Astronomy and the Bible – Questions and Answers, Baker, 1988, 36.