Mark 10:17-18
“God is Good”
Preached Sunday, August 2, 2026
I want to start my sermon today with a little call and response test. If you grew up in a church, or went to church camp, or perhaps have even just been around the church for a long time, you probably know it. If not, that’s okay too…
So I say:
God is Good - and you say? (all the time)
All the time (God is Good)
God is Good.
First, before I talk about God being Good, I’d like to give some background information on this sermon series we are starting today. This series is called “God is…” It was inspired by the book “Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have to Heal From” by Meredith Miller. In the book she pictures faith as a web that is woven together - and webs have anchor strands. These 6 anchor strands are what a child, or any person, needs to know about God first in order for them to know God, trust God, and have a lifelong relationship with God.
And, the most important one is this first one - God is Good.
If we don’t believe God is Good, then we cannot trust and know God.
And I am going to start by saying - I think a lot of us actually struggle with this one. Sometimes I even catch myself wondering - do I really believe and act like I trust that God is Good? Goodness is the reason that God does anything. One of the defining characteristics of John Wesley’s theology, John was the founder of the Methodist movement, is the "Sovereignty of God’s Love.” John Wesley said God cannot act outside of God’s Love. That Love is the throne that God sits upon and Love is the crown upon God’s head. This was an argument against pre-destination for if God pre-destined those who would be saved then it is inherently implied that God would pre-destination some humans for damnation. That some people would be created to be beyond the reach of God’s love and grace. And that is so antithetical to a God who is Good. I am not saying that because God is Good that only good things will happen to us in our lives. I am not saying that nothing bad will ever happen to those who believe in God. It is obvious in our world that this is not the case. What I am saying is, if it is not Good, then it is not of God. And in those, not Good things, the God who is Good still acts towards us and all creation out of Goodness - despite that which is not Good.
God cannot act outside of God’s Love, God’s Goodness. Miller says “God is Good because God is love, and God is love because God is Good.”
God created the world out of Goodness. God listens to us out of Goodness. God loves us out of Goodness. God provides out of Goodness. God forgives out of Goodness. The problem that we struggle with in God’s Goodness, is that we often have an image of Zeus as our God - not a Good God but a god that delights in smiting and punishment. A God who has faults, a God who toys in the lives of humans, who falls back on violence and bloodshed. This is not our God - our God is Goodness and Love of itself. A lot of us hold views about God, that when held up to the Goodness and Love of God, don’t hold up. And often, instead of modeling our theology around God’s Goodness, we model God to look more like ourselves - more like our faults, quicker to anger, quicker to judge and condemn, quicker to violence.
So I want each and every one of us to hear this today:
God is Good.
God existed before creation and therefore, Goodness was present before creation. And Goodness will exist beyond the end of the ages, beyond time and space, in the eternal presence of our Good, Good God.
Today I read a paraphrase of the creation story to you - this paraphrase was written to emphasize one of the primary themes of our creation narrative - our God is Good. Many creation narratives in the Ancient Near East start with gods at war with one another. In Mesopotamia there was the story of Tiamat, a goddess of chaos and of the sea, and Marduk, a storm god fighting with one another. In the fight, Tiamat’s body is split in two, creating the heavens and the earth. In this narrative, that would have been known by the people of God, the Hebrew people, who orally passed on the creation narrative in Genesis, the world was created out of violence and death. So the people of God told a different kind of story for a different kind of God. The creation of the world was not brought upon by violence, fighting, and strength. The creation of the world came from Divine Creativity. From speaking into being. And from Goodness. Genesis emphasizes the goodness of creation by declaring each thing created as good because a Good God could not create anything that was not Good.
God is Good - and so our Bible starts with a story of God’s innate Goodness. God ordered chaos, gave life, gave to us - humanity - you and me and all people - the very image of God, marked upon our souls at Creation, a God who delights in creation, and a God who rests and gives to us the gift of rest. Everything that comes from our creation narrative tells us that God is Good. The story of our faith, our collective and individual faith needs to start there, if we don’t know and trust that God is Good then we cannot know and trust who our God is.
And yet, as I said - many of us struggle with knowing and trusting that God is Good. And knowing that God is Good is not just a head-brain thing. And it’s not even entirely just a heart-soul thing. It is a lived into thing. In any relationship, we can work on it. We can lean into it. This might mean practicing better communication with a spouse, showing up for lunch with a friend even when you don’t always want to, setting aside another task to give your full attention to a beloved child in your life… Likewise, we can do things, we can choose actions that will help us lean into knowing the Goodness of God. I am going to suggest several Spiritual practices but this is not a one size fits all and this is not a one person must do all. Because while God is Good - I don’t want this to just be a general thing for you. I want each and every one of you to know specifically, in your head, in your heart, and in your lived body - I want you to know the specificness of God’s Goodness that God is specifically God towards you.
One spiritual practice that may help anchor us to God’s Goodness is creation care. God created this good world and then asked us, who God called very good, to steward it. For those who are gardeners, they will often share that tending a garden is a spiritual act. To plant and to weed to to harvest - hopefully get to harvest - for there is a lot that can go sideways with gardening - or even to grow flowers - not to harvest but to appreciate the beauty. As we tend to the plants, admire the beauty of the flowers, and even eat and taste the fruit, we can be reminded of this good world that our Good God made. Creation care, of course, isn’t just gardening. It may be picking up litter on a walk, composting or making eco-friendly decisions, or even just learning about this world that God made - and learning about those fellow beloved humans of God that God gave the gifts to help conserve, protect, and even repair our planet. Caring for creation - and also delighting in it. Marveling at a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Appreciating the beauty of a mountain. Letting the beauty of a seashore wash over you. In a recent email, I asked members of our Administrative Council to share Good News with me! I asked, “where do you see the Gospel, that is literally, Good News, in your lives?” One church member replied: “Nature. Although it can cause damage and destruction, I love the change of seasons in [Northeast] Ohio, sometimes hourly. I love living near Lake Erie in the summer...the beaches and waves, lapping or crashing. Sunsets, sunrises, watching the eagles who live nearby. Also the hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and resident robin we named Ruby. Looking for beachglass, a treasure more valuable than diamonds. Well, almost, made by man, but tumbled and frosted by nature.” She may not have known it at the time but she was describing ways that she lives into knowing God’s Goodness - God’s specific Goodness for her. A bird watched so much that it’s named. A piece of glass, washed up on the beach, like a tiny fragment reminding us of God’s Goodness.
Another spiritual practice that may anchor us to God’s Goodness is to be intentional about speaking life-giving words. Miller says, “As we speak to our children in life-giving ways, they internalize messages that align with who God made them to be, reinforcing the truth that they are made with care and deeply loved.” This is so vital with children but I also think it is vital for all of us. All the words that come out of our mouths can reflect back to others who they think God is. This is a sobering truth. As Jesus said, it is not about what goes in the mouth that defiles but that which comes out of it. So for many of us, we may need to stop the flow of words that are not life-giving but may even be death-giving. Words of judgement or condemnation. Words of negativity. Words that inflict pain rather than lift up. One way I practice the ritual of life-giving words is every night before bed I tell my youngest child that I love her, her dad loves her, her sister loves her, and God loves her. Before she has any concept of God or love - I can use my words to begin sharing God’s goodness and love with her. Other ways to use words of love include calling people by the names they wish to be called by, praying for others outloud, regularly offering apologies - and words and acts of reparations - when we mess up. And above all, simply letting God’s Goodness fall out of our mouths in our words to others - and perhaps even to ourselves. We can say to ourselves everyday, “I am loved by God.”
Still another Spiritual practice of God’s Goodness is taking Sabbath rest. I will say a little more about Sabbath in other weeks, but know simply this: God is Good and created you and called us very good, without us having to prove a single thing. God does not love you based on your productivity or output. God does not love you based on how full your calendar is. Because God is Good - you are simply loved. Intentional sabbath and rest does not come naturally to us, especially in this day and age, but taking time off (and planning well so that we can take time off) to simply BE and to rest in the God who is Good is in and of itself Good.
And lastly, I would like to invite you to experience God’s Goodness in the sacrament of Holy Communion today. Psalm 34:8 says “Taste and see that the Lord is Good!” God came to us and took on flesh in Jesus because God is Good. Because we are loved by God. God gave us this sacrament, because God is Good. Because God knows us and knows that we need ways to tangibly and physically connect with God. And so as the bread and juice hits your tongue, take a moment, taste and see that God is Good.
I pray that each and every one of us would come to know the Goodness of God. That we would know and trust that our God is a Good, Good God. And so I will leave you with these questions to reflect on - how has God been good to you in your life, specifically? And what helps you experience God’s goodness in your life? How do you lean into, practice, and know God’s Goodness?
God is Good (all the time),
All the time (God is Good).
Amen.
God existed before creation and therefore, Goodness was present before creation. And Goodness will exist beyond the end of the ages, beyond time and space, in the eternal presence of our Good, Good God.
Today I read a paraphrase of the creation story to you - this paraphrase was written to emphasize one of the primary themes of our creation narrative - our God is Good. Many creation narratives in the Ancient Near East start with gods at war with one another. In Mesopotamia there was the story of Tiamat, a goddess of chaos and of the sea, and Marduk, a storm god fighting with one another. In the fight, Tiamat’s body is split in two, creating the heavens and the earth. In this narrative, that would have been known by the people of God, the Hebrew people, who orally passed on the creation narrative in Genesis, the world was created out of violence and death. So the people of God told a different kind of story for a different kind of God. The creation of the world was not brought upon by violence, fighting, and strength. The creation of the world came from Divine Creativity. From speaking into being. And from Goodness. Genesis emphasizes the goodness of creation by declaring each thing created as good because a Good God could not create anything that was not Good.
God is Good - and so our Bible starts with a story of God’s innate Goodness. God ordered chaos, gave life, gave to us - humanity - you and me and all people - the very image of God, marked upon our souls at Creation, a God who delights in creation, and a God who rests and gives to us the gift of rest. Everything that comes from our creation narrative tells us that God is Good. The story of our faith, our collective and individual faith needs to start there, if we don’t know and trust that God is Good then we cannot know and trust who our God is.
And yet, as I said - many of us struggle with knowing and trusting that God is Good. And knowing that God is Good is not just a head-brain thing. And it’s not even entirely just a heart-soul thing. It is a lived into thing. In any relationship, we can work on it. We can lean into it. This might mean practicing better communication with a spouse, showing up for lunch with a friend even when you don’t always want to, setting aside another task to give your full attention to a beloved child in your life… Likewise, we can do things, we can choose actions that will help us lean into knowing the Goodness of God. I am going to suggest several Spiritual practices but this is not a one size fits all and this is not a one person must do all. Because while God is Good - I don’t want this to just be a general thing for you. I want each and every one of you to know specifically, in your head, in your heart, and in your lived body - I want you to know the specificness of God’s Goodness that God is specifically God towards you.
One spiritual practice that may help anchor us to God’s Goodness is creation care. God created this good world and then asked us, who God called very good, to steward it. For those who are gardeners, they will often share that tending a garden is a spiritual act. To plant and to weed to to harvest - hopefully get to harvest - for there is a lot that can go sideways with gardening - or even to grow flowers - not to harvest but to appreciate the beauty. As we tend to the plants, admire the beauty of the flowers, and even eat and taste the fruit, we can be reminded of this good world that our Good God made. Creation care, of course, isn’t just gardening. It may be picking up litter on a walk, composting or making eco-friendly decisions, or even just learning about this world that God made - and learning about those fellow beloved humans of God that God gave the gifts to help conserve, protect, and even repair our planet. Caring for creation - and also delighting in it. Marveling at a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Appreciating the beauty of a mountain. Letting the beauty of a seashore wash over you. In a recent email, I asked members of our Administrative Council to share Good News with me! I asked, “where do you see the Gospel, that is literally, Good News, in your lives?” One church member replied: “Nature. Although it can cause damage and destruction, I love the change of seasons in [Northeast] Ohio, sometimes hourly. I love living near Lake Erie in the summer...the beaches and waves, lapping or crashing. Sunsets, sunrises, watching the eagles who live nearby. Also the hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and resident robin we named Ruby. Looking for beachglass, a treasure more valuable than diamonds. Well, almost, made by man, but tumbled and frosted by nature.” She may not have known it at the time but she was describing ways that she lives into knowing God’s Goodness - God’s specific Goodness for her. A bird watched so much that it’s named. A piece of glass, washed up on the beach, like a tiny fragment reminding us of God’s Goodness.
Another spiritual practice that may anchor us to God’s Goodness is to be intentional about speaking life-giving words. Miller says, “As we speak to our children in life-giving ways, they internalize messages that align with who God made them to be, reinforcing the truth that they are made with care and deeply loved.” This is so vital with children but I also think it is vital for all of us. All the words that come out of our mouths can reflect back to others who they think God is. This is a sobering truth. As Jesus said, it is not about what goes in the mouth that defiles but that which comes out of it. So for many of us, we may need to stop the flow of words that are not life-giving but may even be death-giving. Words of judgement or condemnation. Words of negativity. Words that inflict pain rather than lift up. One way I practice the ritual of life-giving words is every night before bed I tell my youngest child that I love her, her dad loves her, her sister loves her, and God loves her. Before she has any concept of God or love - I can use my words to begin sharing God’s goodness and love with her. Other ways to use words of love include calling people by the names they wish to be called by, praying for others outloud, regularly offering apologies - and words and acts of reparations - when we mess up. And above all, simply letting God’s Goodness fall out of our mouths in our words to others - and perhaps even to ourselves. We can say to ourselves everyday, “I am loved by God.”
Still another Spiritual practice of God’s Goodness is taking Sabbath rest. I will say a little more about Sabbath in other weeks, but know simply this: God is Good and created you and called us very good, without us having to prove a single thing. God does not love you based on your productivity or output. God does not love you based on how full your calendar is. Because God is Good - you are simply loved. Intentional sabbath and rest does not come naturally to us, especially in this day and age, but taking time off (and planning well so that we can take time off) to simply BE and to rest in the God who is Good is in and of itself Good.
And lastly, I would like to invite you to experience God’s Goodness in the sacrament of Holy Communion today. Psalm 34:8 says “Taste and see that the Lord is Good!” God came to us and took on flesh in Jesus because God is Good. Because we are loved by God. God gave us this sacrament, because God is Good. Because God knows us and knows that we need ways to tangibly and physically connect with God. And so as the bread and juice hits your tongue, take a moment, taste and see that God is Good.
I pray that each and every one of us would come to know the Goodness of God. That we would know and trust that our God is a Good, Good God. And so I will leave you with these questions to reflect on - how has God been good to you in your life, specifically? And what helps you experience God’s goodness in your life? How do you lean into, practice, and know God’s Goodness?
God is Good (all the time),
All the time (God is Good).
Amen.
