Categories: Preparing for Sunday

The Pathway to Peace

Dear Friends,

This week concludes my series on the path of peace. Mother’s Day is next week then we will begin a series on “Servant Leadership”.

Our study for this week is on “Peace with Creation”. Living in peace and health in the natural world. Learning to be servant rulers who take care of and tend the creation God has given us.

We live in a day where most people have no creation ethic. We claim to believe in a creation that declares Gods glory and reveals His nature but, treats creation as a thing to be thoughtlessly exploited.

We can easily ignore or spiritualize what the bible says about land and how God speaks through our natural world.

Many are fearful, sick, hungry, and in danger, all because in our sinful rebellion humans continue to choose to abuse and destroy creation rather than rule as tenders and keepers as commanded. We continue self – rule over servant rule.

We can live like Darwinist as the dominant species taking with no consideration of the effect. We can be bad stewards with creation while thoughtlessly claiming to believe in creationism.

This week is a study on how we can become consistent creationists. We can learn to see and treat each other and all things in a way that glorifies God.

We all must learn, develop, and teach a creation ethic of value if our children and grandchildren will have a healthy, holy, happy life.

Blessings,

Joe

STEPS TO PREPARE

PRAY FOR THE SERVICES AND FOR YOURSELF
AND ME AND THE OTHER TEACHERS.

PRAYERFULLY READ THE SCRIPTURES
AND CONSIDER THE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS.

MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND A PREACHING SERVICE AND A SMALL GROUP.

INVITE SOMEONE TO COME WITH YOU.

PREPARING FOR SUNDAY: SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

God created a good world and put humans in it as servant rulers for a good reason.

Gen 2:15-17 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

 

What happened?

Humans wanted self -rule not servant rule.

Gen 3:17-19  Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

 

Do you think people are becoming more afraid or disconnected from outdoor activities and of natural or wild places in creation?  Why?

 

Describe the most beautiful God created a place you have been?

 

How did that affect you? Why did it affect you?

 

Describe an experience when God spoke to you from creation?

Psa 19:1-3 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.

 

Describe how God has shown you his nature through what he has made

Rom 1:19-20 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

 

In the bible how has God used the natural world to show us how God feels and what to do? examples —Noah

Gen 6:5-6 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

 

Why should we pay attention to our place in creation to see what God is saying and the earth was filled with violence?

Gen 6:12-13 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

2 Ch 7:12-14 Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14  and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 

How does God use creation now to show us how he feels and what to do?

 

Why should we give sacred value to creation?

Psa 104:24 O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions.

Exo 19:23 Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it.'”

 

Describe a place you treat as sacred spaces, cemetery, mountaintop ect…..

 

Share an example or experience where a place that mattered to you was destroyed or made unrecognizable and how that affected you.

 

How can you teach your children to value and protect creation?

Joe Martin

Senior Pastor - Click Here for full profile