Environment Sermon
Sermon Presented September 24, 2006
Prelude
Announcements & Explanation of Service
Invocation God, we invite you to be present with us this morning
as we offer this service of worship to you, acknowledging both your
glory and our failure to preserve the environmental gifts you have given
us. Amen
Music - Solo "We Cannot Own the Sunlit Sky"
Psalm 98:4-9 (Call to Worship) Lawrence
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy
at the presence of the Lord.
Hymns This Is My Father's World p. 384 (vs. 1&2) & For Beauty of Meadows p. 383
Psalm 8 - Lawrence
O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish
of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
INTRODUCTION (Jo Ellen)
Here we are in the midst of another hurricane season, and we pray that
we won't have another Katrina. Things are looking better this year.
Following the devastation of that deadly hurricane last year, mainstream
Americans began to look at global warming as a real and present danger.
Prior to that disaster, those concerned about the state of the environment
were scorned and called tree huggers or acceptors of the "liberal
myth". Times have changed!
Recently, Al Gore's movie and book titled An Inconvenient Truth have
helped raise public awareness of the dangers we face, and the doubters
have dwindled to a minority. However, some people, including Jerry Falwell
and Pat Robertson continue to claim that global warming is a myth.
The tide turned when the overwhelming scientific evidence concerning
the reality of global warming began to be heard by the masses. Burning
fossil fuel = carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide = more trapped heat. More
trapped heat = a world going increasingly berserk with erratic climate
changes. We look at pictures of melting glaciers, charts for increased
or decreased rainfall, and data on storms, and we know that something
must be done to correct the problem.
For the past two decades, scientists were unable to convince the population
of this country that the danger was real and the poison deadly. Until
this year, people believed the bogus research of energy lobbyists. Now
public opinion has turned, and we view the danger as reality - like
crime and poverty. The time has come to act aggressively - because spoken
public opinion can help move our local, state, national and international
governments to stem the tide of destruction.
I invite you to join me in looking at the environmental problems we
face and then explore ways that we can be a part of the solution, rather
than adding to the problem.
KIDS TIME (Plant a tree!)
Psalm 95:1-6 Lawrence
O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have
formed.
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our
Maker!
Music Touch the Earth Lightly
FACING UP TO GLOBAL WARMING Jo Ellen
In the July 15, 2006 issue of the Journal Sentinel we read a government
report that the average temperature for the 48 contiguous United States
from January through June of this year was 51.8 degrees fahrenheit,
or 3.4 degrees above average for the 20th century. It was the warmest
such period since recordkeeping began in 1895, the National Climatic
Data Center reported. No state was cooler than average, and five states
- Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri - experienced record
warmth. We even saw record temperatures of 107 degrees in North Dakota!
As of June of this year, 45% of the contiguous U.S. was in moderate-to-extreme
drought, an increase of 6% from May. Dry conditions spawned more than
50,000 wildfires, burning more than 3 million acres in the continental
U.S. (p. 2A First half of '06 was warmest on record, government says)
On August 11, 2006 we read that the huge Greenland ice pack, which contains
10% of all the ice on Earth, has been melting at a dramatically faster
rate in the past two years. Using data from a pair of NASA satellites
that measure small variations in the Earth's gravity, University of
Texas scientists said Greenland is losing ice into the ocean at the
rate of about 57 cubic miles a year. That would mean a net loss since
the summer of 2004 of about as much water as is in Lake Erie. Byron
Tapley, chief scientist NASA's satellite system stated: "It's kind
of sobering when you look at the rate Greenland is depositing water
into the ocean." He noted that ocean current alterations that could
result from massive Greenland melting may represent a more imminent
danger than sea level rise. That's because the constant northward movement
of water in the Atlantic Ocean carries heat from the tropics to northern
Europe. Heavy infusions of fresh water into the North Atlantic could
shut down this "heat conveyor," scientists fear. Paradoxically,
this would cause Europe - and Greenland - to become much colder for
a century or so. (Journal Sentinel, p. 2A Greenland ice is melting more
quickly)
The April 3, 2006 issue of Time magazine featured a special report on
global warming. It pointed out that the polar ice caps are melting faster
than ever with polar bears drowning as warmer waters widen the distance
from ice floe to ice floe. It showed pictures of cattle struggling across
parched land in Ethiopia as the amount of the earth's surface afflicted
by drought has more than doubled since the 1970's, and Indian villagers
washed out of their homes as creeping seas and increasingly savage monsoons
make for deadlier floods. Stories of forests that formerly were cool
and wet are now falling victim to drought and then to fire.
The debate over whether Earth is warming up is over, and now we're learning
that climate disruptions feed off one another in accelerating spirals
of destruction. The burning forests reduce oxygen and increase drought.
Rising temperatures cause the polar ice to melt. Less ice means more
heat and raises sea levels inundating low coastal areas. And burning
fossil fuels release carbon into the atmosphere triggering all of these
reactions.
The health of the people of the world is being affected by global warming.
The World Health Organization believes that climate change is responsible
for at least 150,000 extra deaths a year-a figure that will double by
2030. The vicious cycles must be stopped. Scientists fear we may be
approaching the point of no return. We see problems and not solutions
to the problems. What does God have to say?
Jeremiah 6:13-16a Lawrence
For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,
saying, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace.
They acted shamefully, they committed abomination;
yet they were not ashamed, they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I punish them,
they shall be overthrown, says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in
it,
and find rest for your souls.
Anthem On Holy, Holy Ground
Jeremiah 4:23-28 Lawrence
I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void;
and to the heavens, and they had no light.
I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
I looked, and lo, there was no one at all,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
For thus says the Lord:
the whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
Because of this the earth shall mourn,
and the heavens above grow black;
for I have spoken, I have purposed;
I have not relented nor will I turn back.
Action Jo Ellen
People haven't changed much since the days when the prophet Jeremiah
warned God's people to put away greed and falsehoods and to pursue peace
and love of one another. We are still greedy. We look after our own
interests and don't consider future generations or third world countries
like we should. We don't consider our neighbors, but are self-absorbed
with personal comfort and pleasures. We are delighted that we don't
live on the coasts so we don't have to worry about hurricanes and floods.
We fail to listen to the prophets of old or to modern-day prophets.
Some people drove less when gasoline prices soared to more than $3.00
a gallon, but since that price only computes to about $430 a year more
than at last year's prices for 15,000 miles, most of us continue to
drive according to our previous habits. I was reading in the newspaper
a couple of weeks ago that many people commute to work one to two hours
each way - five days a week. When I drove to Kansas City, Arkansas,
and Palmyra, MO a week ago, I drove almost 2000 miles and I drove more
that 60 miles an hour much of the time as I raced to see everyone I
wanted to see. I knew I was doing the wrong thing, but I did it anyway.
And I imagine I'm not the only one here who is guilty of these sins.
I am convicted of my sins - but I need to change my actions.
I would also like to tell you that years ago I began walking when I
could, instead of driving, and combining trips to conserve gasoline.
I would like to say that I keep thermostat at 60 degrees in winter and
80 degrees in the summer, and that I recycle everything but, I honestly
can't. I am doing better than I was, but not what I should do. This
sermon is for all of us.
Love of neighbor demanded by Jesus and by the seriousness of this situation
calls us to change our ways and take positive actions. NASA's chief
climatologist James Hansen says we can't afford to delay dramatic action.
He says that we need, as a planet, to be emitting less CO2 inside of
10 years, which is an enormous task given that China and India are finally
beginning to use power in appreciable quantities. Their use of power
isn't for luxuries but for a second light bulb or a first refrigerator
(Christian Century, 7-11-06, p. 29.)
The burden for change falls into the laps of American citizens. Western
Europeans use half as much energy per capita as Americans do and not
through different technologies, but through different lifestyles and
policies. I don't feel sorry for the financial woes of Ford Motor Company
and General Motors because they could be manufacturing cars with much
better gas mileage than the more energy efficient foreign manufacturers
if they had changed policies years ago. They, along with our government
chose not to address the crisis until it was almost beyond control.
What can we do? We can contact our legislators urging them to get this
issue back on the national agenda following the election. Because you
have a vote and are concerned about the issue, let your political leaders
know of your feelings and resolve. I am convinced that politicians will
pay attention when their political power is threatened.
We can also join and support organizations that support environmental
improvement here in the Milwaukee area. The Audubon Center in my neighborhood
and the Urban Ecology Center at Riverside Park in Milwaukee provide
environmental education programs to neighborhood schools, environmental
awareness in the community, classes for children, and preservation of
natural resources. We are blessed to have many state parks along Lake
Michigan and the Milwaukee River and they need our support.
Please take home the insert in the bulletin and put these suggestions
into action. We can cut our speed when driving, lower the thermostat
in the winter and raise it in the summer, recycle more waste, improve
our home's insulation if we own our home, use compact fluorescent light
bulbs, drive less, use less hot water, plant a tree, and become aware
of positive actions that are before us and tugging at our consciences.
Many of our nation's cities are acting individually, without waiting
for the U.S. to approve the Kyoto Treaty. In February, 2005, the mayor
of Seattle launched the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement for
cities to meet or beat Kyoto's original target of cutting greenhouse-gas
emissions to 7% below 1990 levels over the next six years. There are
now over 218 mayors in 39 states who have signed on and the Milwaukee
Common Council will vote on this issue next Tuesday. States and cities
don't have to wait for the federal government to begin to address the
problem.
We have a choice in this matter. We can choose to be good neighbors
and help save the environment, or we can fail to pay attention to God's
directive to care for God's creation. God saw everything that God made,
and indeed it was very good! How will God's people address this great
need today? Hopefully, we will respond by doing our part.
Music All Things Bright and Beautiful (st. 1&2)
Genesis 1:26-31a Lawrence
Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to
our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild
animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon
the earth.
So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply,
and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of
the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that
moves upon the earth." God said, "See, I have given you every
plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every
tree with seed in its fruit: you shall have them for food. And to every
beast of the earth and to every bird of the air, and to everything that
creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have
given every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw everything
that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
Pastoral Prayer & Lord's Prayer
God, we have been given a feast for our eyes and ears as we view your
world from our small part of it. We snap mental and real photos of Lake
Michigan, state parks, trees, birds, animals, wild flowers, rivers,
and clouds, and we rejoice. We listen to the sound of water lapping
the shores of the lakes, trickling streams, songs of birds and wind
moving through the leaves of the trees and we contemplate our blessings.
We are blessed, but sadly, we take too much for granted.
Forgive us for our greed and self-absorbsion, and help us to be faithful
to your command to care for what you have given us. Help us to be bold
in ways that are faithful to who you are calling us to be.
Thank you for life and for family and friends. Thank you for this church
family and for our commitments to you and to one another. Lord, be near
to all who especially need your presence right now - those who are present,
those who want to be present and are unable, and those we love and hold
dear to our hearts. May we be your presence to those we know who need
you.
Now bless the remainder of this service and may we take from this place
what we need to take. Amen (Lord's Prayer)
Offertory music
Give Thanks
Prayer of Dedication
Closing hymn God the Omnipotent! p. 427, (vs. 1-3)
Benediction: Go forth as God's ambassadors to do your part to help
preserve the earth.
Postlude
