Date: April 28, 2021

Bible Text: Psalm 24:1-6, Romans 8:18​-25 |

Things didn't go well for our tech this week! Our sound system was barking at us first, and then the WIFI went down and crashed our live stream. Oh no! Fortunately, we were still up on Zoom and got the service recorded. So here it is!

We focused on God's good Earth on this Sunday after Earth Day. There are plenty of good reasons to be concerned about the environment, and we look at a LOT of them! So let's give glory to God by thinking faithfully and theologically about our consumption, by researching ways to reduce our environmental footprints, by advocating for meaningful environmental protection and restoration, and by giving, acting, and praying for a healthy world.

Notes from the Preacher

I didn't mention and should have that several ideas from the sermon were inspired by  resources from Interfaith Power and Light, especially "Ten Biblical Themes for Preaching on Climate Change" by Dr. Patricia Tull. Building on this article and others, I developed the list of reasons we should be concerned about the environment enough to act and their opposites that appeared in the sermon, which was:

  • Covenant vs. Idolatry
  • Stewardship vs. Greed
  • Compassion vs. Apathy
  • Generational Concern vs. Selfishness
  • Love vs. Hardheartedness
  • Justice vs. Injustice
  • Resurrection vs. Death

Ways we can approach our consumption faithfully and theologically include reducing, reusing, recycling, and researching such elements in our lives as:

  • Single-use items
  • Household goods
  • Energy
  • Food
  • Clothing
  • Transportation
  • Recreation

By learning about the environmental impact of these types of consumables and finding items with smaller footprints and better ways to dispose of them, we can make a positive difference.

However, these differences may not be enough to stem the tide of pollution, consumption, and global climate change by themselves. So as we grow more ecologically minded, we can begin influencing the principalities and powers that have dominion over large-scale systems that are driving negative environmental impact. We can advocate with local, state, and federal elected officials to implement better environmental policies, and we can organize giving, action, and prayer to increase our influence.

 

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