Dig Deeper - Sunday 31st August 2025

2 Sept

Sermon Reflection Questions - Exploring Life's Biggest Questions Through the Lens of Faith: Have You Ever Wondered If Christians Should Care for the Environment??

Psalm 104:1-16

Dig Deeper notes from Sunday 31st August service:

In our Summer Series this week, we’re thinking about ‘Have you ever wondered if Christians should care for the environment?’ Our starting point for considering this is the story of creation in the book of Genesis. It’s literally the first words in the Bible. Here God builds up a picture of how creation came about rather than providing a scientific explanation.

When it comes to the creation of human beings, we read that we were not only made in the image of God, but that He also breathed His creative spirit into us. Then in Genesis 2:15 we read how God instructs us to look after all that He has created for us. He wants us to be stewards looking after His handiwork on His behalf, not just for God’s benefit, but also because it will be good for us too.

As you read this, you may be thinking that on your own you may not be able to make much difference, but if we think about all that we could do together as a church it can start to make an impact. Then, thinking about the worldwide church, the impact can be significant.

Of course, there are many things as Christians that God wants us to do. The Anglican Church sees looking after creation as one of five ‘Marks of Mission’. Here is a list of these marks of mission.

The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ

1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

2. To teach, baptise and nurture new believers

3. To respond to human need by loving service

4. To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation

5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

I hope you can see that at St John’s we engage with all these aspects of mission. But today our focus is on the way we look after creation, and there are many ways that we can nurture creation and the environment in all its many aspects. This time we looked at it under three headings: -

Buy – Goods and services we purchase

Use – How we use what we have, whether it’s things we own or energy we use.

Dispose – How we dispose of things we no longer need or no longer work

We also thought about how we can make sure that creation is sustainable so that it ‘meets the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.

Discussion Questions to reflect on:

1. In Genesis 2:20 Adam named the different types of animals. This is what biologists do. So, does that make him the first scientist?

2. How careful are we when we decide what to buy? Do we try and avoid goods that are made without caring for the environment or where the conditions of the workers making them are poor?

3. Are we thoughtful about our use of energy, causing damage to the environment through emissions?

4. When we no longer need items, do we dispose of them in waste, or recycle them or better still, allow others to use them by donating them to charity shops?

5. If something we own breaks down, do we think about repairing it before we replace it?

Set out below are a set of links to websites which you may find helpful in considering this further.

Let’s pray:

Almighty God, your spirit moved over the face of the earth bringing forth light and life and forming the environment you have created for us. We pray that you will help us to turn from being casual tenants to become faithful stewards, so that Your threefold blessing of clean air, pure water and a rich earth may not be just our inheritance, but the inheritance of generations to come. And that every generation may see the wonder of Your works and give you praise and glory. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

Links to websites

Useful Conservation Websites

A Rocha – Caring for God’s Earth

How big is your carbon footprint?

https://footprint.wwf.org.uk

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust

https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/

RSPB Bird & Wildlife Conservation

https://rspb.org.uk

Butterfly conservation

https://butterfly-conservation.org/

Woodland Trust Gardening Tips