Navigation: This page 'sermon.html' ---> New View Overview ---> New View Main Page ---> Xn Main Page. About This Page. Contact.

Christians and Climate Change - Hope and Responsibility

This was a talk (sermon) given on 27 September 2009 to Main Street Community Church, Frodsham, UK, at the end of their Eco Week. It is placed here because it might be useful to others, perhaps as a template. Please use as you wish. Andrew Basden.

What I wanted to achieve: To Give people hope they can do something, and to Channel the energy, emotion, thoughts, feelings that came up in week. But primarily, to challenge God's people to serious commitment on a Biblical basis.

1. Drawing together Eco-week Events.

This is the end of eco-week. Review the week: CafeChurch, BibleStudy, Film.

Thank you to all who took part, who came to one or two of these events; appreciate how you responded. Mention 1-2 highlights.

2. Historical Perspective

1960s: with individuals
1980s with the poor, with justice
2000s with the rest of creation

Initially each is an extension of the earlier one, but later we realise God is concerned with it directly as well.
Romans 8: creation is groaning
Climate change is one of the groanings.

3. Facts about Climate Change

A few facts [some of these not shown in the event]
- Temp rise
- CO2 rise
- What likely to happen. 2 deg C
- Things just starting.
- CCEs 1980s, 1990s impact to 2040. Our CCEs now make things worse, and impact to 2080.
If in 1997 we had acted we could have levelled off before reducing.
But since we did not, we must start reduction immediately.

4. What prevents us taking action

Three major reasons why so little action is taken.
- idolatry, e.g. airline industry and the 'sacred cow' of air travel
- self-interest, e.g. governments all wanting to protect their own interests, and unwilling to act before others do.
- unbelief, refusal to believe. Climate skeptics - most of their writing is full of sneer and smear, and it feels as if they would not believe even if major evidence were presented.
This is a spiritual problem, not just economic, political, scientific, etc.
Luke 16:31 "If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death."
Despair? No: hope because ...

5. God's story.

God's plan and activity is:

Gen 1:25-28. Our mandate is to shepherd the rest of Creation for its own sake; treat it aright, both individually and together.
Eph. 1:10, Col 1:20. God's plan: to bring all things together in Christ. In this life and the next.
But we turn(ed) away from God.
God entered the world as a human being, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again.
Romans 8:1-3, 14-17. No condemnation for those who are in Christ. Then the Holy Spirit of God indwells us.
Gal 5:22-23. The Holy Spirit grows his fruit in us: an attitude, which is towards the rest of creation as well as towards people.
Rom 8:19-23. So God's people are those who will be so like their Father that creation will be eager to see them, will rejoice.
This restores and reactivates the mandate.

For fuller exposition of this theology see 'Five Rs' of New View.
Those who have the Holy Spirit are the ones who should take the lead in this.
God is equal to this task, and his plan of salvation is to give his people the privilege of representing him, and working with him for the good of his world that he loves. We've been entrusted with the solution and with the image of God.
*We* are the hope.

6. Silent prayer

Response box: thoughts, comments, questions, suggestions, prayer
Invitation to come to next event. Future: As a church shift our focus as a result of this week and start looking at God's world in a new way and start working for the good of God's world in a way we haven't collectively done before.

7. Our Responsibility

Since God's plan is completeness in Christ, he is concerned about the future.
What we do now affects the future. Esp. the climate in 2050
Responsibility for the future.
Law, responsibility and power.
Seculars ignore God so cannot see the whole picture; no hope, despair and denial.
God's people understand the whole picture. Hope. They *are* the hope.
God want's his people - those who have been saved by Christ and have the Holy Spirit - to take the lead.
- UK has committed to 80% reduction in climate change emissions by 2050. To be applauded.
- But how will we reach that?
- Example: Those who currently drive 15000 miles per year in car, must reduce this to 3000 miles a year, all other things being equal.
- We must seriously think: how will I achieve this?
CC won't be solved unless God's people take the lead.
Tear Fund 'Act Fast' cards to fill in.
Changing our lifestyles while the world is still structured to encourage consumerism, will not be easy and there will be many inconveniences - but also great joy and meaningfulness.

8. Challenge:

Jesus said Lk 9:24

"For whoever wants to save his life [all the pleasures and conveniences in it] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."
What are we going to do?

Andrew Basden.

This page is offered to God as on-going work in developing a 'New View' in theology that is appropriate to the days that are coming upon us. Comments, queries welcome.

Written on the Amiga with Protext. Number of visitors to these pages: Counter .

Created: 4 October 2009. Last updated: 14 Jan 2025 canon, bgc.