Week 4: 22nd - 28th March

Week 4 (Day 4)

14 And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

Question 1

If you have ever travelled long-distance by plane you will know what havoc changes in our body clock can do. Do we live by natural rhythms of day and night? Is it encoded into our DNA? Read the passage from Genesis together. What do think this passage has to say about our relationship with God?

Question 2

How does the change of seasons affect what you do, what you eat or how you feel. In our world of multi-tasking do we try too hard to do too much?

Question 3

This week’s interview is with the Astronomer Royal Prof Sir Martin Rees. If you haven’t listened to any of the others this is a must. Go to……. www.spckpublishing.co.uk/saying-yes-resources.

Question 4

Read Isaiah 65:17-25, a prophecy linked to the return of exiles to Jerusalem. In this reading are a number of things promised to be made new. As you read this passage about “The New Heavens and the New Earth” (v17) what do you notice is new and what remains the same? How might this frame our thoughts about how God renews creation?

Question 5

Look back over what you have discussed over the last few weeks. What you have committed and whether or not you have done it.

Closing Prayer (from the Philippines)

Our heavenly Father, as we look up to you in the vastness of the skies, the sun that you have made opens our eyes to a world lit in colour and clarity, and the moon and the stars remind us of your faithfulness and steadfast presence, amidst the seasons of darkness and our communities moments of uncertainty.

Lord Jesus, you have shown us how from beginning to end was the light of love, that as endless as the heavens above so is the grace that sustains all things, so with faith that the Spirit has wrought in us, we seek the care every creature is to have, as we dream, hope and labour for a future wrapped in the fulness of joy that your new creation brings.

Amen

Week 3: 15th - 21st March

Week 3

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

 

Question 1

Read the passage from Genesis together. Do you notice how God said that it was good twice in one day. It seems that God filled the world with abundance of vegetation and delighted in it. How do you connect with nature in your life?

Question 2

How aware are you of your connection to the land? What helps you appreciate that more deeply?

Question 3

Read Matthew 13:31-32, the parable of the mustard seed. Why did Jesus tell that story? Why is faith like a mustard seed?

Question 4

Watch this weeks interview with Bernadette Kabonesa, a senior research technician at the Ugandan National Research Organization and an expert forester. Go to……. www.spckpublishing.co.uk/saying-yes-resources.

Question 5

Consider how your actions impact on forests whether it is through meat that comes from deforested land or wood to make paper. What steps could you and your church make in response?

 

Closing Prayer (from El Salvador)

God of creation, you have taught us to love life, that our longing for life should be above all other desires; a transcendent longing that values all of creations living creatures. The earth and trees groan because of our failure to care for and protect them, ruling over and profiting from them rather than protecting them from death. We have viewed the earth as a resource to be exploited rather than as our mother. We accept the challenge of taking care of ourselves, in order to care for the earth, our mother and common home, the trees and for life itself. We recognise that you have given us an understanding greater than other living creatures in order to reflect your creative communal and loving character towards all that exists. Lord, we commit to live caring for all nature, guarding our hearts from selfish desires and not living as proprietors, but as brothers and sisters and in community with all living things, especially the trees that are our source of life. Amen

Week 2: 8th - 14th March

Week 2

6 And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

Question 1

This week we are looking at water. In the orthodox church creation is seen as overflowing from the love between the three persons of the trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All creation therefore exists in God and has its being in and through God and exists within the space between the trinity. How does this affect your view of creation.

Question 2

Think for a moment how often Jesus used water and what he did with it. Where does the water used for baptism in your church come from? Does this make it more precious?

Question 3

Read John 4:5-14. As you read this account of an episode in Jesus’ ministry, think what place water has in this story.

Question 4

At the beginning of 2018, officials announced that Cape Town would run out of water in 3months. Overnight every citizen had to reduce their water consumption to 50 litres a day (about one third of what everyone in the UK uses). The whole community had to rethink its attitude to water and the churches quickly became involved. Watch the interview with Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba. Either use the link on the church website or go to www.spckpublishing.co.uk/saying-yes-resources.

Question 5

Water is a basic requirement for life. Across our world people are dependent on clean fresh water for daily existence. We take water for granted. How can we respond to a world where water is precious?

 

 

 

Week 1: 1st - 7th March

Week 1

3 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

It has been said that the debate about Genesis has generated more heat than light, indicating that much of the discussion has been unhelpful. In this study we will be looking not at a question of how we got here but who we are and let the Bible speak into that.

Question 1

Where does light feature in your life? Think for a moment how light is generated and dependent we are on the generation of artificial light.

Question 2

Read John 1:1-5. Think about what this says about Jesus and his place in the story of creation.   This

Question 3

What place does God as creator have in your faith and in that of our church? How might it make a difference if that was more strongly emphasised.

Question 4

Watch the interview with Christina Figueres from Costa Rica, who for 6 years was the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and oversaw the 2015 Paris Agreement. Either use the link on the church website or go to www.spckpublishing.co.uk/saying-yes-resources.

Question 5

When we think about how light is so fundamental to our society and to the development in other countries, how can we change how we use light to better preserve our planets resources. What changes can we make as individuals? What changes can we make as a church?