October: Creativity

Resolution: I choose to reveal the beauty of God according to my strengths and gifts.

For many people in the Northern Hemisphere, October marks the time when the fullness of autumn arrives. As the nights lengthen and the air cools, people take this time to celebrate the end of the hard work of the harvest with festivals and turn to more creative pursuits while spending additional time indoors. It is also accompanied by the changing of the leaves. Each year, just when the nights are lengthening and nature is preparing for the winter months, the greens change to bright oranges, reds, and yellows. Autumn colors remind us of the Heavenly Father’s infinite creativity. 

In Genesis 1:1, God’s first recorded act is creative. It is an outflowing of His power, glory, and love. And we who are created in His image not only share in this creative nature but also reflect it. Just as the leaves reveal beauty in creation, we do the same when we use our gifts for his purposes. Being creative takes many forms, whether it is a beautiful piece of music, a stunning image on a computer screen or a canvas, a quilted or crocheted blanket, a sermon on a Sunday night, a poem, a dance, a joke, or a brilliant idea. Like all our gifts, using our creativity is a form of worship. When we create something new or something beautiful, we glorify the One who gave us the gift of creation, and we acknowledge the ultimate source of all things good and beautiful. And when we, as the Body of Christ, reflect the good and the beautiful through our creative gifts outwardly, we draw the world toward that source so that they in turn may know God’s love for them.

October: Liturgy

Leader: Heavenly Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth, all creation displays Your handiwork and brings glory to Your name. In Your wisdom You instilled within humanity the capacity for imagination and the desire to create.

People: Father, may the works of our creativity bring glory to Your name. 

Leader: Lord Jesus Christ, our Great Teacher and Storyteller, Your teachings touched both hearts and minds by engaging your follower’s imaginations through beautiful narratives and parables.

People: Jesus, help us to follow Your example and minister to the whole person with our gifts of creativity.

Leader: Holy Spirit, through Your inspiration human agents preserved Divine Truth in beautiful verse, song, prose, and narrative. Through You, human creativity and imagination continues to communicate the Gospel through writings, hymns, architecture, and artwork.

People: Holy Spirit, inspire us to continue in the long tradition of showing the beauty of the Gospel through our gifts of creativity.