06/01/2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDgTNl9qhaY
Sermon | Love Creates | Rev. Ann Mann | Barnesville First UMC | May 31, 2026
This week I attended a funeral, visited with a friend living with stage 4 lung cancer, and another with stage 4 liver cancer. Then, my neighbor’s youngest son died of a massive heart attack. These are difficult moments.
Sometimes chaos does not arrive all at once. Sometimes it seeps slowly into our spirits until we feel exhausted. And yet, from the very first lines of scripture, we discover something essential about God: chaos never has the final word.
The Bible begins with creation. God step into darkness and speaks light into being. Before there was order, before beauty, before life, there was the presence of God hovering over the deep. Wherever chaos exists, God is already there, preparing to create something new.
Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:1–3, 4a (please read on your own)
From the beginning, scripture reveals the nature of God. God creates, brings life, brings order out of disorder and hope out of emptiness. The opening words of Genesis are about who God still is today.
The Hebrew phrase translated “formless void” describes wild emptiness, confusion, chaos, a world without shape or direction. It is not difficult to imagine what that feels like.
Many of us have lived there emotionally. Some families live there relationally. Nations live there politically. Communities live there spiritually. Chaos is a present reality.
But notice that God does not wait for chaos to settle down before moving. Verse 2 says, “a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” The Hebrew word is ruach. It can mean wind, breath, or spirit. Before light appears, the Spirit is already present. Before order emerges, God is already moving.
That matters. There are times we look at the world and wonder where God is. We see political bitterness tearing relationships apart. We see war and violence. We see loneliness, anxiety, grief, addiction, and despair. We see communities fractured by fear and anger. And sometimes we wonder whether the darkness is simply too much.
Genesis says otherwise. God is present. Not absent from the darkness. Not defeated by the chaos. Not intimidated by the void. God hovers over it, still creating. God speaks: “Let there be light.”
The Father speaks. The Spirit hovers. The Word brings life. Creation itself is born from divine relationship and overflowing love.
We are part of God’s ongoing creative work. We were created to reflect the image of the Creator into the world. When we nurture instead of destroy, when we forgive instead of retaliate, when we build bridges instead of walls, we participate in the creative work of God.
Chaos has a way of exhausting us. The constant noise of the world can make us cynical. We grow weary of the anger. We become suspicious of one another. We start believing darkness is stronger than light.
Genesis reminds us that darkness is not ultimate. Darkness exists, but darkness is never worshiped, never feared, never treated as equal to God.
God speaks into it. “Let there be light.” And there is light. The darkness cannot overcome the creative Word of God.
I think sometimes we imagine creation as a one-time event, as though God wound up the universe like a clock and then stepped away. But scripture paints a different picture. The same Spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis is the Spirit poured out at Pentecost.
The same God who called light into existence is the God who raised Jesus from the dead. The same creative love that formed humanity from the dust is the same love still shaping disciples today.
Perhaps some of you are in the middle of your own chaos. Life feels uncertain. Maybe your family is struggling. Maybe your faith feels fragile. Maybe the future of the world itself feels overwhelming. Hear this good news: God is not frightened by chaos. In fact, some of God’s most beautiful work begins there.
A seed must break open before it grows. The dawn arrives only after the longest darkness. Resurrection comes after the cross. And creation itself teaches us this rhythm again and again.
We are living through a time of transition and tension. We feel it politically. We feel it culturally. We feel it spiritually. People are anxious about the future. Communities are fractured. Many feel untethered and weary.
The church has always been called to speak hope precisely in such moments. Not shallow optimism. Not denial. Not pretending chaos does not exist.
Genesis never denies the darkness. Genesis proclaims that God is greater than the darkness. That is the difference.
Christian hope is not built on circumstances. It is built on the character of God. And The character of God is creative, redemptive love.
When the world feels chaotic, remember the opening lines of scripture. Before there was anything else, there was God. God is still creating, redeeming, and speaking light into darkness.
Sermon | Love Creates | Rev. Ann Mann | Barnesville First UMC | May...
