{"id":37549,"date":"2021-04-02T11:06:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T11:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/created-to-clap\/"},"modified":"2021-04-02T11:06:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T11:06:00","slug":"created-to-clap","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/created-to-clap\/","title":{"rendered":"Created to Clap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>God looked with delight upon his handiwork at the end of each day of creation having found it good. Part of what it means for us to be created in God&#39;s image is to possess a natural appreciation for beauty and the urge to celebrate it and its source.<\/p>\n\n<p>Anyone who doubts this need only visit the pier at Mallory Square in Key West, Florida around sunset. Tourists from the world over line the railing there each day and watch reverently as the sun sinks silently into the western horizon. In its fading rays a spontaneous response ensues&#8211;clapping!<\/p>\n\n<p>Beholding once this ritual with my own eyes, I couldn&#39;t help but wonder. For whom do they think they&#39;re clapping?<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead2\">Possible Preaching Angles:<\/h2>\n\n<p><em>1) As a Thanksgiving illustration this reveals mankind&#39;s universal inclination to give thanks; 2) The incongruity of recognizing the beauty in God&#39;s handiwork but denying his existence (Rom. 1).<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3424,3432,3465,3711,3713,3910,4092,4181,4213,4413,4526,4677,4699,5143,5144,5146,5147,5305],"tax_ctp_topics":[397,404],"class_list":["post-37549","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-apologetics","tax_ctp_tags-appreciation","tax_ctp_tags-awe","tax_ctp_tags-creation","tax_ctp_tags-creator","tax_ctp_tags-excellencies-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-gratitude","tax_ctp_tags-human-nature","tax_ctp_tags-image-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-majesty","tax_ctp_tags-nature","tax_ctp_tags-praise","tax_ctp_tags-presence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-thankful","tax_ctp_tags-thankfulness","tax_ctp_tags-thanksgiving","tax_ctp_tags-thanksgiving-day","tax_ctp_tags-worship"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Created to Clap - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/created-to-clap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Created to Clap - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"God looked with delight upon his handiwork at the end of each day of creation having found it good. 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