The Sermon Story

The Bible opens with humans placed in a garden "to work it and take care of it" ( Genesis 2:15 ). Caring for creation is not a modern add-on to faith. It is part of the first job description God ever gave. Climate change and the collapse of fish stocks are, in part, questions about whether we are still doing that job. This story about climate change and creation care, retold in our own words, is built around two real boats, one from the first century and one from the twentieth. Put side by side, they show how quickly the scale of our impact on the earth has grown. It ends with a takeaway for preaching or reflection. Story in this post: Two Boats: The Jesus Boat and the Supertrawler ──────── ✝ ──────── Two Boats: The Jesus Boat and the Supertrawler In 1986, during a drought that pulled the waters of the Sea of Galilee back from the shore, two brothers from a nearby kibbutz spotted the outline of an old boat sunk in the mud. Archaeologists carefully dug it out. It turned out t...

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it" ( Psalm 24:1 ). The Bible begins with God delighting in his creation and calling it good, and it gives human beings the task of caring for it ( Genesis 2:15 ). These seven stories about creation and the environment, retold in our own words, include strange creatures of the deep sea, a famous speech of uncertain origin, a killer whale that helped whalers, a roadside experiment, two very different fishing boats and the letter that helped launch the modern environmental movement. Each ends with a takeaway for sermons or reflection. Stories in this collection: Giant Jellyfish of the Deep: Creatures Made for God's Delight The Speech Attributed to Chief Seattle Old Tom and the Whalers of Eden The Drivers Who Swerved to Hit "Lord of the Beasts"? Two Boats: From the Sea of Galilee to the Supertrawler Olga Huckins and the Letter That Sparked a Movement ──────── ✝ ──────── Giant Jellyfish of the Deep: Creatures Made for ...