God's Children at Play

Genesis 1(TNIV)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

    3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. . . 

26 Then God said, "Let us make human beings 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."

    27 So God created human beings in his own image,

       in the image of God he created them;

       male and female he created them.

    28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

    29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

    31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

John 15:11 (TNIV)

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

How playful are you feeling today?  That's the question we began with today.  So, what does play have to do with anything?  Why does it matter?  And what is it that Jesus is implying when He invites us to consider emulating little children if we want to fully discover what the Kingdom of God is about?  Those are the questions we explored today in the sermon.Click here to listen to Pastor Ken's sermon.The excerpts to the right are the passages of scripture we reflected on this morning as we considered the idea of play.  You might want to take a few moments to reflect on them, and see where you see play, or insights into the nature of play, surfacing.  This morning we were thinking together in terms of ideas like:

• Creation as an example of God at Play

• Creativity and Play as central to being in God's image

• The impact of sin on our ability to play

• The implications of what we know about Jesus giving us insights into God as God creates.

• How the image of a playful God shapes the way we understand what Loving God,  Loving People looks like.

What other things come to your mind as you reflect on the sermon and these passages of scripture?

Additional Reading on Play:

Catherine & Loren Broadus, Play, It's Not Just for Kids.

Stuart Brown, Play:  How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul.

Tony Compolo, The Kingdom of God is a Party.

Harvey Cox, The Feast of Fools.