The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Creation Care Conference
Sandy Cove, MD

Worship is the one of the essential lynchpins that keeps creation care connected to faith in the Creator. So, when a group of senior evangelical leaders gathered in June, 2004 for the CT-NAE-EEN Creation Care Conference, a time for devotions was incorporated into the schedule along with presentations and discussions.

Co-sponsored by Christianity Today, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Evangelical Environmental Network, the conference was held at the Sandy Cove Christian Conference Center in Maryland. On the evening of June 29, standing at an outdoor podium against the backdrop of the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay, Rev. Dwight McKissic, Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, spoke powerfully of creation’s witness to its Maker. Quoting from Scripture and hymns and alluding to the history of great Christian preaching, McKissic constructed a counterpoint of nature’s and humankind’s praise and testimony to the Creator.

“God has been faithful to send great preachers to proclaim his name throughout history, the history of the Christian church.... However, David and Paul taught that before any of these preachers came along, God's creation proclaimed his greatness, goodness, glory, and yes, even the gospel. Long before any of these men took the stage, Paul said that God's invisible attributes are clearly seen in creation and his eternal power and Godhead, leaving man without excuse when it comes to expressing faith in God.

"David and Paul taught that God revealed Himself through nature. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God,’ David said. ‘And the firmament shows forth his handiwork.’

“In my tradition, all preachers, when talking about the creation would say, ‘God stepped out on nothing, and stood on nowhere, and hung something where there was nothing, and said stay there.’"