SPLINK for the week of the 20th

Creation Declares God's Glory   Item Needed: digital camera   Take a walk with the purpose of finding things (and taking a picture of them) that show God's glory; ie., things that show His greatness and power. Download them to the computer and look at them.   Read Psalm 19:1.   Ask: What does creation do? (Declares the glory of God) What does it mean to declare? (To tell, to make known, to display) How does creation show us God's glory? What can we learn about God just by looking at creation? (It shows us that He is wise to think up each creature or part; it shows us that He is powerful to create such an amazing world and keep it going; it shows His order; it shows His beauty, etc.)   God's glory is seen in so many things in the world. We cannot add to it, but we can tell about and do things that will show His glory to others.           Reflecting God's Glory      On a clear night, drag a blanket outside and look up at the moon and the stars.   Ask: Does the moon make its own light? (No) If the moon doesn't make its own light, where does the light come from? (From the sun) Just as the sun illuminates earth, the moon reflects the sun's light, making it bright in our sky. Why don't we always see a full moon?  The complete moon is always there, but you can only see parts of it as the moon orbits the earth and different parts of it are illuminated by the sun.   The moon reflects the sun’s light on to us even when the sun is on the other side of the earth.  The amount of reflected light depends on the moon’s surface area, so we are fortunate to have a moon that is so large.  It is over a quarter of the Earth’s diameter—far larger in comparison with its planet than any other in the solar system. God's creation shows His glory.   What can we see about God from looking at His creation? (It shows us that He is wise to think it all up; it shows us that He is powerful to create such an amazing world and keep it going; it shows His order; it shows His beauty, etc.)   Just as the moon has no light of its own, we have no light on our own. Just as the moon reflects the light from the sun, we were made to reflect God's light and bring glory to Him.   Read Matthew 5:16.   How can we bring glory to God?               How Can We Bring Glory to God?   Another way Jesus brought glory to God was the miracles He did. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the people knew that Jesus was no ordinary man; they knew He was God's Son. We can't do miracles like Jesus did, but we can do good deeds to bring God glory.   Read Matthew 5:16   How can we bring glory to God? (When we do good deeds, others will see God's glory in us)   Ask every family member to choose one good deed they will do during the week.  Brainstorm ideas if needed—play a game with a younger sibling, do someone's chore, buy and give a small gift to someone, help an elderly person, bake some cookies for a neighbor, etc. Set a time for it to be done and then let each person tell what he or she did and how it went.   We reflect God's glory when we love and do kind things for others. On the journey with you, Pastor Beau