Connecting With Creation and the Self!
Over the next few Sundays the themes of Sunday worship will centre around the stories of creation in the Bible. In the morning services we will seek to find a Christian response to the seemingly hopeless misuse of the earth's resources. In the evening services we will start a new series centred around the importance of work and its purpose in our lives. I think this will be an interesting exercise as I intend to also use the themes and the prayers mentioned on the Sanctuary First website centred around sustainability.
The aim of the services is to highlight to all of us the part that we are called to play in caring for and sustaining the creation and bringing hope into a world that has lost its direction. If the Book of Ephesians teaches that the Church has a special calling to create a touch of heaven here on earth, Genesis seeks to teach us that the world we live in does not belong to us. We are simply the trustees of creation. The scripture teaches us that we have a duty to ensure a correct balance when it comes to understanding the importance of work and rest, sustainability and profit.
All of us are short term lease holders or tenants in the world. We have a responsibility for the care of the land and the welfare of the animal and plant kingdom. Economics also has a moral dimension which means Christians and people of faith have a a contribution to make to the way we order our economics.
This series of sermons will encourage us all to realise that we are called to be both the master and the servant of the creation and we all have a duty to create a just and fair society. The gospel of Jesus Christ has much to say about how this can be brought about.
At a time when we are all being encouraged to tighten our belts and take time to reflect on what is important in our lives it is essential to see that there is a place of hope and meaning and purpose in the midst of all the doom and gloom. I'm indebted to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks for his insights in his book entitled the " The Dignity of Difference" I have used his chapter on the importance of Sabbath to help me begin to shape thoughts for Sunday Morning.
The place of the Sabbath is key to understanding and sustaining a proper life balance. The sermon will be exploring the importance of making space in our lives for rest and reflection. I've also been reading Norman Drummond's new book entitled" The Power of Three", it has some interesting reflections on the
importance of engaging with the place of prayer and reflection in order to be sustained as caring and balanced human beings.
