The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 20 June 2016 - "The Creator of all living things"

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 20 June 2016 - "The Creator of all living things"
Daily Scripture: Genesis 1:(A: iii) 24 God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature — each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast”; and that is how it was. 25 God made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.”

27 So God created humankind in his own image;

in the image of God he created him:

male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.”

2:19 So from the ground Adonai, God, formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them. Whatever the person would call each living creature, that was to be its name. (S: iii) 20 So the person gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air and to every wild animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.

Reflection Questions:
“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”[Roger Caras (Writer; Photographer)]
Animals in Bible times were more often valued for their fleeces, milk and hides than as pets. Even in that world, however, the Genesis creation stories said God created all living things, not just humans. The divine command to “take charge” of the animals, as with the rest of life on the planet, meant to care for all that God created, not to abuse or exploit it.

• This sermon series will focus particularly on the qualities that beloved dogs bring into our lives. But given the broader focus of the Genesis creation stories, have there been times when some other animal (e.g. a majestic hawk, a baby giraffe) made you aware of God’s loving creativity?
• In what ways (besides buying quality dog food) do you seek to care for the animal creation God loves (cf. Jonah 4:6-11)? Are there any parts of life in which you are indifferent to the pain or suffering of certain animals, or even find it entertaining to see certain animals hurt? To what extent have you thought about God’s charge for you to care for the animals God created?

Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, what a wonderfully varied world you created, teeming with so many kinds of life. Help me to value the creation you love, and to be a responsible, caring steward of it. Amen.
-------Insights from Donna Karlen

Donna Karlen serves in Communications at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, creating and managing social media content. (Some of this is taken from a post I wrote in 2014.)
I can’t help but smile just imagining God’s delight in creating all the beasts of the field, birds of the air and fishes of the sea.
Let’s say he created a horse or two first – beautiful animals, right? But then God thought, “Hmm – let’s put some stripes on the next one” and poof – a zebra! Or say God first made a giraffe with a regular ol’ neck and then decided to give it just a liiiittle stretch to create one of my favorite animals. And God just kept going: let’s put a pouch on a giant mouse, make a funny bird that can’t fly but swims like a fish, put some spots on a big kitty, add a beautiful tail here, a trunk there … It had to have been a really good time for God, Creator of Heaven and Earth! No wonder God rested after all that!
Of course all dog-lovers probably would agree that God may have done some of his best work when he came up with the noble dog. And even there God abundantly excelled. He didn’t just create a curly-haired poodle and stop there. He came up with the smooshed-face bulldog, a shaggy sheep dog, the hot dog-shaped dachshund, a joyful golden retriever – and my personal favorites: the endless combinations we lovingly call mutts.
Next weekend we’re having an animal blessing and you’re invited to bring your dogs, cats, hamsters, etc. – even snakes – to be prayed for (please put dogs on leashes and cats, hamsters, etc. and especially snakes in carriers – and PLEASE do not leave any pet in your car before, during or after the event!) And if you’ve ever lost a beloved pet, bring a picture or a memory and come join us.
Visit cor.org/leawood/pets for more information about this ministry.

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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue

Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States

913.897.0120
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