Brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! Let's talk about God. We're exploring the word of God through questions you have asked, and this morning we're going to tackle a tough one. One of the members of our congregation has asked this question: would you please talk about the debate that goes on between creationists and scientists? That's a big one, a tough one. And I tell you this – as I prepared this sermon, I found that instead of having three points, I had three sermons. It's too big a topic for us to tackle all in one gulp. So I suggest we relax, and take a look at this very intensely important question over this week and the next two.

I'd like to call this series "The Quest of the Spiritual Scientist." What does the spiritual scientist think? What does the spiritual scientist believe? I believe that the question is not so much a debate between people who believe in God and scientists. No, that's not so at all. We have lots of scientists in this congregation. And I believe that God is calling all of us to be scientists in one form or other, don't you? God is calling us to know, from the Latin word scio, from which science comes, to know. We are called to know, to investigate, to explore the earth. We are all called to be scientists.

In the beginning, what? The unspiritual scientist says, "In the beginning, nothing." In the beginning, it just happened. In the beginning, all the puzzle pieces just got thrown up into the air and came down as a picture. I don't think so. The spiritual scientist says, "In the beginning, God." And there is the line. There, my friends, is the choice. Because no matter what anyone says, no matter what the most clever  philosophy professor may say, no matter what the most clever linguist may do to conjure up contortions of the language to  try to destroy faith, it can't happen. But it does come down to a choice.

So the choice is this: Are you a spiritual scientist, or are you an unspiritual scientist? The question is important. It is important as we deal in dialogue with people who are unspiritual scientists. The question is intensely important for our young people. Lord help them, our young people who are subjected to faith-busters in school, some in the form of professors. Heaven help us all. My heart goes out to our college students in particular, and I want them to hear this series. I want them to think about this with me. And I invite you to bring friends who may be skeptical or borderline or agnostic or unspiritual scientists to come and hear this, or at least to read it on the internet. It's an important question.

We are called to be scientists. In the beginning, God put Adam and Eve into a garden, and He said, "Enjoy it, and name it. Name everything you find." That scripture has two implications. One is that we are called to be ecologically responsible. When you name something, you take ownership. You take care of it; you become responsible for it. You name a pet; you take responsibility for it.

And the other thing in naming something, that's what scientists do. Scientists name things, and they describe what happens. God wants us to do that. So, establish the idea that we are all called to be scientists on some level.

But the question before you and before me is, "Will you be a spiritual scientist or will you be an unspiritual scientist?" The unspiritual scientist says, "I will only believe what I can see. Everything can be seen and measured and explained away, really." The spiritual scientists says, "There's more to life than meets the eye." Which are you? The spiritual scientist says, "Things can be seen and measured and described, but everything has its foundation in spirituality." Which are you?

The spiritual scientist and the unspiritual scientist can be absolutely equally brilliant, as brilliant as a J.S. Bach or an Einstein, who were both spiritual scientists, I might add. Which are you?

In this first installment, I would like to say that the spiritual scientist believes that life is a miracle. Next week we'll be talking about "Life has a Maker," and the third week we'll talk about "Life matters to the Maker." But let's start here.

The spiritual scientist believes that life is a miracle. Do you believe that? Do you believe that life is a highly unlikely situation that is poorly described by the answer of simple chance? The spiritual scientist believes that life is a miracle. And for the unspiritual scientist, we must ask these questions: where did matter come from? Where did design come from? And where did awesomeness come from?  Are they important questions? Aren't they worth asking?

First of all, where did matter come from? Oh, some scientists might say, "There was a big bang...." Yes, we can go with that. "It just sort of evolved, in and of itself." Oh really? It's just too simplistic. Isn't it just too hard to believe? I tell you, my favorite story about this continues to be one Bill Jones so graciously shared with me. A scientist, once having decided that he could master the intricacies of DNA, decided to go to God and tell Him that He was out of business. He went up to God and said, "God, we understand DNA now. We understand cloning, so we can make life. We don't need you anymore."

And God said, "Is that so?"

And the scientist proudly said, "Yes. Why don't we have a test, and I'll show you we've got it licked?"

And God said, "Fine. Why don't we make a person?"

The scientist said, "Fine. I can do that."

God said, "Why don't we make the person out of mud, the original way?"

The scientist said, "Oh, ho, ho, I can do that."

So God took a handful of mud, and the scientist took a handful of mud. And God said, "Oh, no, no. You get your own mud."

And may I add that God may have added, "You get your own mind," because where did that scientist's mind come from? Where did matter come from?

Can any unspiritual scientist answer that articulately, believably? It so much more stands to reason that matter has its source in God.

Second, where did design come from? Can I send you home with a little assignment this week? Would you be so kind as to observe where the miracles are in life, where the absolutely unlikeliest things in life are? You'll find them often in design, in the intricacies of the way a tree grows, when its leaves are gone in the winter. You'll find them in the way a leaf is formed, in the way the veins are formed in the leaf, in the number of petals in a flower, in the way the miracle of a flower grows. Where did design come from? An accident? Gracious!

I was watching a PBS special not long ago, late at night. There was a young man, a young scientist, telling about his theories. He said, "Life started by itself. It didn't have a source or a designer. At least, that's my opinion," he said. I was grateful for his humility. He was setting out to show that he could make a model of a being that could sustain itself and evolve. After years of research with a huge team of doctoral level scientists and an incredibly expensive array of computers, he created this thing on a computer screen that looked like a series of elongated balloons, like the type you use to make balloon animals, that sort of rolled themselves around.

But I thought to myself, "That's pretty basic, when you consider a running horse." And with all due respect, he came up with this design with a team of doctoral level scientists and incredibly expensive computer arrays. So what does it prove? I think it proves for us that there is a mind behind the miracle. There is a wisdom behind the creation.

Third, where does awe come from? Where does awesomeness come from? When you sit on the edge of the shore, you see the waves come up to a certain point, and when the tide is at a certain level it goes no farther, when you see the crashing waves and the gulls flying and the sun sparkling over the water, isn't your heart filled with a certain unexplainable awe? When you ride around this town and look out over the distant mountains, sun rising or sun setting, isn't your heart filled with awe? When you see a little baby moving around, opening its eyes for the first time, isn't your heart filled with awe? Where does that awe come from? Where does that childlike sense of wonder originate? Doesn't it have a source? Doesn't that make sense?

Little children seem to have it most of all. They have an innate way of knowing and appreciating the miraculous nature of life and its awesomeness. Jesus said, "Lest you become like little children, how can you enter the kingdom of heaven?" Oh, dear friend, I pray that you would become a spiritual scientist, that you would know and learn all you can about the mystery of life, and yet know that it is rooted and grounded in its foundation, the Creator. And I pray that you would have that childlike sense of awe at the origin of matter and the origin of design and the innate awesomeness that the world contains. And as you do, become a spiritual scientist. And after the manner of Jesus, may I suggest that you will be very near to the kingdom of God .

God loves you. I do, too. Have a blessed week. Amen.