Genesis 1 (NIV)
‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’.

Gracious God, as we begin our journey through Lent, we go back to the very beginning and come to You with thanks and praise because You are our creator God. You are the creator of everything. Stars, too many to count, twinkle and light up our night sky because you placed them there. The Sun rises in the morning and sets at night because You created it to radiate heat into our world. The Moon waxes and wanes and shines down brightly because you began its rotation. You created planet Earth to spin on its axis and on the Earth, You made sandy beaches that we can walk on barefoot to watch waves tumbling in seas and oceans. You have created seas and oceans that ebb and flow with the turning of the tides and rivers and streams. You built mountains that we can scramble to the top of to see the vastness of the fields and valleys you have created below. You have made trees and flowers that change in colour and appearance, as the seasons change, to give us a world of colour, variety and delight. You have made creatures of every shape and size, of the sea, of the sky, of the land. And you have made us, each of us unique and individually precious to you. And so, we come before you this morning to praise and thank you for the wonderful world you have created because you are an awesome God. Amen.