September 5, 2025 • 10 mins
Season 1 of Coffee Break Theology begins with Pastor Greg Griffith and Marcus Nathan, who brew up big truths in small sips. This episode explores what the LCMS teaches about Creation and why it matters for faith and identity.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Coffee Break Theology a King of
Kings podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to Coffee Break Theology, where deep
truths meet hot brews.
I'm Greg, I'm Marcus and todaywe're diving into one of the
biggest questions ever what doesit mean that God created?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
everything.
You know.
I grew up in Colorado so I gota front seat to the Rocky
Mountains.
I call that the sneak peek intoGod's wonderful creation.
I don't live there anymore,obviously, but when I take my
family go back to see family, wecan't wait.
We're on the plains, it'sreally Brown, it's sort of hilly
(00:50):
, but not really.
But I can't wait for thatglimpse of the mountains.
They're purple mountains,majesty, and getting a chance to
drive through the mountains andget back there to show my kids
God's power, god's majestythrough his creation, to show my
kids God's power, god's majestythrough his creation.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, cool, yeah, it's pretty awesome, those
mountains, majesty right, andthen you got the contrast of the
Rockies, of course, theColorado Rockies that are not
anything but majesty.
Anyways, we only have 10 minutesso I shouldn't digress that
much.
So here's a question thatalways comes up how did
everything get here?
(01:26):
And I think it's superimportant not to get lost in the
eternal like what ifs, likewhat if this, what if this?
And we end up crossing over allthese hypothetical bridges and
this is the minor leagues.
Like let's stay in the majorleagues.
What does scripture teach aboutthe presence of God through
creation?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
And I think the best place to start is the very first
verse Amen.
Genesis 1.1 says in thebeginning, god created the
heavens and the earth.
That's not poetry, it's notfake, that's a historical claim.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, and that's what I love about our Lutheran
Church Missouri Synod theologyis we really do believe that God
created everything in sixnatural days.
Not a symbolic of like kind ofwe take the Hebrew word yom,
which means a literal 24 hourday, six natural days, not
(02:22):
mythical, factual events, andthe scriptures are clear Matter
of fact.
We say it this way Creation wasex nihilo, out of nothing, and
this is so awesome, but God justspoke and it happened in a six
lateral days.
Like we don't have that ability, no other created things have
that ability I try to go out tomy garage and be like let there
(02:44):
be a Corvette and it just no,it's still my Ford Bronco, which
is nice.
I'm not.
I'm not knocking my Ford, but Iwould love a Corvette.
Adam and Eve, they're realhistorical people and, again, we
don't want to get into, likethe what ifs.
Like, did they have bellybuttons, did they not?
I have no idea.
I think they did, do you thinkthey did?
And I'd say it doesn't matter,it'd be kind of cool to see them
(03:07):
without one, but I don't know.
And then also, it'sfoundational though, because
when we really look at that, ithelps us understand sin, it
helps us understand we need asavior and it helps us
understand the authority ofscripture, and that's why I do
believe the literal part of thatreally does matter, right?
Speaker 3 (03:27):
And I'm going to say a word here, greg, yeah, I think
I made it up, but it's a realword Hysterosity, that's a real
word.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, I'll fact check that with Peter Bay.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
He's a wordsmith, that's a bad source, but I think
you should do it.
Anyway, the historicalness ofthe Bible, though that's
especially in the creation event, it's foundational to our faith
, understanding who God is, whathe said, what he did and then
who we are.
Because of all that, there's abook out there called the
Reliability of the New TestamentScriptures.
(03:56):
It's written by FF Bruce and inthere he says Christianity as a
way of life depends on theacceptance of Christianity as
good news, a good report.
So like a news reporter reportsthe news, they're reporting
actual events.
So the gospel is a good report.
God entered into history andwhat the Bible says actually
happened.
So he says, this historicalonce and for allness of
(04:19):
Christianity makes thereliability of the writings a
question of first rateimportance.
So theologically orhistorically, it does matter if
the Bible is true, if it'sreliable or not, if the creation
story is real or not, andthat's so good?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
because I think one thing Christians get, especially
when we talk about thishistoricity and we talk about
the literalness of this, is thatwe're anti-science and we're
actually anything but that.
Scriptures stand as theultimate authority, speak
clearly about creation and andscience is a created thing, and
(04:57):
so science is part of that.
We actually affirm science.
Genesis 1 and 2 areaffirmations of science.
And then Exodus continues andsays for in six days, the Lord
made heaven and earth.
And it's six days, john 1 and 3.
Jesus is the word through allthings were made.
(05:17):
Through him he was in thebeginning, and so that really
matters.
And and as we think about that,creation matters, right, um, it
matters because we're createdand he's a creator.
And, uh, you know, I just had ainteresting conversation with my
nephew.
We were on a golf course andand we were talking about faith
and belief in God.
And we were talking about faithand belief in God and he asked
(05:39):
that question of, well, whocreated God?
And I said to him I said Dino,god is not created, he's the
creator, and so he's just alwaysbeen, always is, and this is
what even Yahweh in the Hebrew,yahweh means I am who I am.
Literally, it actually is.
(06:00):
I is who I is.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
And so it's just always being right.
Yeah, and this creation, itshows us our identity.
Yeah, if we're created by God,we're not random, we're not
afterthoughts, we're not justdust out of the earth that just
appeared out of nothing.
He designed us with a purpose.
So if we're designed with apurpose, genesis 2.7 shows us
this.
Then the Lord, god, formed theman of dust from the ground and
(06:31):
breathed into his nostrils thebreath of life.
The man became a livingcreature.
So we're the crown of creation.
We are created differently thanthe rest of creation.
If you look at the Genesis story, the first five days of
creation, god said let there belight.
God said this.
God said let there be animals,let there be birds of the air,
(06:52):
creatures of the sea.
On day six, when he created man, he got down on his hands and
knees.
Created man, he got down on hishands and knees, got the dust
of the earth in his hands,formed man and then breathed
life into his nostrils.
In Genesis 1.26, he continueswith this theme.
Then God said let us make manin our image, after our likeness
.
Let them have dominion over thefish of the sea, over the birds
(07:14):
of the air and over thelivestock, over all the earth
and over every creeping thingthat creeps on the earth.
This is part of our purpose.
We were created differently.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Man, I that that is.
That is so deep when you reallythink about it, like and I
don't know that I actually spenda ton of time thinking about it
and I need I need to go moreinto that that that God breathed
into us, and that is adifferent right.
We weren't formed or we weren'tspoken into existence.
We were breathed into existencewith the very breath of God
(07:48):
Holy smokes, I mean.
That's one of thosemind-blowing things when you
really think about it, and itreminds us how powerful God is,
orderly, and this is something Ithink is important.
Like creation shows us too thatGod's a God of order.
So when we're in the midst ofchaos and mess, that's not from
God.
God doesn't keep us in chaos ormess, he's a God of order.
(08:12):
And then he's a God of good.
Matter of fact, he calledcreation very good, including
all of humanity, right?
Speaker 3 (08:22):
And being the crown of creation.
It reminds us that we'restewards, we're not owners.
We might be the crowns, butwe're not the owners.
So part of our mission, ourpurpose that God gives us is
shaping how we treat people, theplanet, even our own bodies.
They're not our own.
We have a plan and he's got aplan for us and a mission for us
.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah, and when we look at that and remember that
every person we encounter is avery image of God and a creation
of God and very good, it justchanges how we treat one another
.
And so, summing this up rightlike God made you, God made me
(09:04):
on purpose with order for apurpose, and that's not just
theology, it's hope.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yeah, I like that.
And the LCMS teaches creationis the beginning of the gospel
story.
If Genesis 1 is not true, thecross loses its foundation.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, I love what Luther said.
He said when Moses writes thatGod created heaven and earth,
like we confess that it was donejust as Moses wrote it.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
I like it.
Well, that's it for thisepisode.
Thanks for joining us on CoffeeBreak Theology.
You like what you heard?
Subscribe, send it to a friend.
You can have a good Genesisconversation with them as well.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Man.
So our next episode is going tobe about sin, intentional and
unintentional.
You're not going to want tomiss it.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology.
Be sure to tune in next timeand remember to check out our
other podcast series availableon every major podcast listening
service.
You're listening to Coffee Break Theology a King of
Kings podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to Coffee Break Theology, where deep
truths meet hot brews.
I'm Greg, I'm Marcus and todaywe're diving into one of the
biggest questions ever what doesit mean that God created?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
everything.
You know.
I grew up in Colorado so I gota front seat to the Rocky
Mountains.
I call that the sneak peek intoGod's wonderful creation.
I don't live there anymore,obviously, but when I take my
family go back to see family, wecan't wait.
We're on the plains, it'sreally Brown, it's sort of hilly
(00:50):
, but not really.
But I can't wait for thatglimpse of the mountains.
They're purple mountains,majesty, and getting a chance to
drive through the mountains andget back there to show my kids
God's power, god's majestythrough his creation, to show my
kids God's power, god's majestythrough his creation.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, cool, yeah, it's pretty awesome, those
mountains, majesty right, andthen you got the contrast of the
Rockies, of course, theColorado Rockies that are not
anything but majesty.
Anyways, we only have 10 minutesso I shouldn't digress that
much.
So here's a question thatalways comes up how did
everything get here?
(01:26):
And I think it's superimportant not to get lost in the
eternal like what ifs, likewhat if this, what if this?
And we end up crossing over allthese hypothetical bridges and
this is the minor leagues.
Like let's stay in the majorleagues.
What does scripture teach aboutthe presence of God through
creation?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
And I think the best place to start is the very first
verse Amen.
Genesis 1.1 says in thebeginning, god created the
heavens and the earth.
That's not poetry, it's notfake, that's a historical claim.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, and that's what I love about our Lutheran
Church Missouri Synod theologyis we really do believe that God
created everything in sixnatural days.
Not a symbolic of like kind ofwe take the Hebrew word yom,
which means a literal 24 hourday, six natural days, not
(02:22):
mythical, factual events, andthe scriptures are clear Matter
of fact.
We say it this way Creation wasex nihilo, out of nothing, and
this is so awesome, but God justspoke and it happened in a six
lateral days.
Like we don't have that ability, no other created things have
that ability I try to go out tomy garage and be like let there
(02:44):
be a Corvette and it just no,it's still my Ford Bronco, which
is nice.
I'm not.
I'm not knocking my Ford, but Iwould love a Corvette.
Adam and Eve, they're realhistorical people and, again, we
don't want to get into, likethe what ifs.
Like, did they have bellybuttons, did they not?
I have no idea.
I think they did, do you thinkthey did?
And I'd say it doesn't matter,it'd be kind of cool to see them
(03:07):
without one, but I don't know.
And then also, it'sfoundational though, because
when we really look at that, ithelps us understand sin, it
helps us understand we need asavior and it helps us
understand the authority ofscripture, and that's why I do
believe the literal part of thatreally does matter, right?
Speaker 3 (03:27):
And I'm going to say a word here, greg, yeah, I think
I made it up, but it's a realword Hysterosity, that's a real
word.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, I'll fact check that with Peter Bay.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
He's a wordsmith, that's a bad source, but I think
you should do it.
Anyway, the historicalness ofthe Bible, though that's
especially in the creation event, it's foundational to our faith
, understanding who God is, whathe said, what he did and then
who we are.
Because of all that, there's abook out there called the
Reliability of the New TestamentScriptures.
(03:56):
It's written by FF Bruce and inthere he says Christianity as a
way of life depends on theacceptance of Christianity as
good news, a good report.
So like a news reporter reportsthe news, they're reporting
actual events.
So the gospel is a good report.
God entered into history andwhat the Bible says actually
happened.
So he says, this historicalonce and for allness of
(04:19):
Christianity makes thereliability of the writings a
question of first rateimportance.
So theologically orhistorically, it does matter if
the Bible is true, if it'sreliable or not, if the creation
story is real or not, andthat's so good?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
because I think one thing Christians get, especially
when we talk about thishistoricity and we talk about
the literalness of this, is thatwe're anti-science and we're
actually anything but that.
Scriptures stand as theultimate authority, speak
clearly about creation and andscience is a created thing, and
(04:57):
so science is part of that.
We actually affirm science.
Genesis 1 and 2 areaffirmations of science.
And then Exodus continues andsays for in six days, the Lord
made heaven and earth.
And it's six days, john 1 and 3.
Jesus is the word through allthings were made.
(05:17):
Through him he was in thebeginning, and so that really
matters.
And and as we think about that,creation matters, right, um, it
matters because we're createdand he's a creator.
And, uh, you know, I just had ainteresting conversation with my
nephew.
We were on a golf course andand we were talking about faith
and belief in God.
And we were talking about faithand belief in God and he asked
(05:39):
that question of, well, whocreated God?
And I said to him I said Dino,god is not created, he's the
creator, and so he's just alwaysbeen, always is, and this is
what even Yahweh in the Hebrew,yahweh means I am who I am.
Literally, it actually is.
(06:00):
I is who I is.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
And so it's just always being right.
Yeah, and this creation, itshows us our identity.
Yeah, if we're created by God,we're not random, we're not
afterthoughts, we're not justdust out of the earth that just
appeared out of nothing.
He designed us with a purpose.
So if we're designed with apurpose, genesis 2.7 shows us
this.
Then the Lord, god, formed theman of dust from the ground and
(06:31):
breathed into his nostrils thebreath of life.
The man became a livingcreature.
So we're the crown of creation.
We are created differently thanthe rest of creation.
If you look at the Genesis story, the first five days of
creation, god said let there belight.
God said this.
God said let there be animals,let there be birds of the air,
(06:52):
creatures of the sea.
On day six, when he created man, he got down on his hands and
knees.
Created man, he got down on hishands and knees, got the dust
of the earth in his hands,formed man and then breathed
life into his nostrils.
In Genesis 1.26, he continueswith this theme.
Then God said let us make manin our image, after our likeness
.
Let them have dominion over thefish of the sea, over the birds
(07:14):
of the air and over thelivestock, over all the earth
and over every creeping thingthat creeps on the earth.
This is part of our purpose.
We were created differently.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Man, I that that is.
That is so deep when you reallythink about it, like and I
don't know that I actually spenda ton of time thinking about it
and I need I need to go moreinto that that that God breathed
into us, and that is adifferent right.
We weren't formed or we weren'tspoken into existence.
We were breathed into existencewith the very breath of God
(07:48):
Holy smokes, I mean.
That's one of thosemind-blowing things when you
really think about it, and itreminds us how powerful God is,
orderly, and this is something Ithink is important.
Like creation shows us too thatGod's a God of order.
So when we're in the midst ofchaos and mess, that's not from
God.
God doesn't keep us in chaos ormess, he's a God of order.
(08:12):
And then he's a God of good.
Matter of fact, he calledcreation very good, including
all of humanity, right?
Speaker 3 (08:22):
And being the crown of creation.
It reminds us that we'restewards, we're not owners.
We might be the crowns, butwe're not the owners.
So part of our mission, ourpurpose that God gives us is
shaping how we treat people, theplanet, even our own bodies.
They're not our own.
We have a plan and he's got aplan for us and a mission for us
.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah, and when we look at that and remember that
every person we encounter is avery image of God and a creation
of God and very good, it justchanges how we treat one another
.
And so, summing this up rightlike God made you, God made me
(09:04):
on purpose with order for apurpose, and that's not just
theology, it's hope.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yeah, I like that.
And the LCMS teaches creationis the beginning of the gospel
story.
If Genesis 1 is not true, thecross loses its foundation.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yeah, I love what Luther said.
He said when Moses writes thatGod created heaven and earth,
like we confess that it was donejust as Moses wrote it.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
I like it.
Well, that's it for thisepisode.
Thanks for joining us on CoffeeBreak Theology.
You like what you heard?
Subscribe, send it to a friend.
You can have a good Genesisconversation with them as well.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Man.
So our next episode is going tobe about sin, intentional and
unintentional.
You're not going to want tomiss it.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology.
Be sure to tune in next timeand remember to check out our
other podcast series availableon every major podcast listening
service.
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