Creation Sunday 2005: April 24 (suggested)
Theme: Protecting God's Endangered Creatures
God's word calls on all His creatures to praise Him: "Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths… wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds…" (Ps. 148:7, 10).
But God's other creatures cannot praise Him if we extinguish them from the earth. The current rate of species extinctions is far greater than the natural rate—100 to 1,000 times higher than it should be under natural conditions. Humans have been the main cause of extinction and continue to be the principle threat to God's creatures at risk of extinction. Habitat loss, the introduction of new species into ecosystems where they have not been before (so-called "exotic invasives"), over-exploitation, and pollution are the main threats, with human-induced climate change becoming an increasingly significant threat.
Extinction isn't stewardship; it isn't creation-care. Extinct creatures cannot praise God.
If current trends continue, human actions will bring about a holocaust of God's other creatures. To extinguish a species is to literally curse what God has blessed (Gen. 1:22). When we do so, it's because we really don't value God's other creatures the way God does. As such, we fail to be God's image or stewardly representative on earth.
In this instance, to begin to image or reflect God in our actions is to protect and care for His other creatures, not drive them to extinction and snuff out the glory they proclaim to God. To extinguish them is to act as if we were God, to grasp at God-like power when our very actions prove we are too spiritually immature to come close to handling such power.
Who is the proper image of God? Jesus is, according to Colossians 1:15. Did Jesus grasp at his God-like powers? No. Jesus "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant…" (Phil. 2:6b-7a).
Paul admonishes us to have this same Christ-like attitude of humility in our exercise of the power we have been given. Let us do so in protecting God's other creatures from extinction. Literally, it is the least we can do.
We hope that the resources and suggestions provided here will help you devise worship experiences and educational offerings that help your congregation understand more fully what God's will is concerning our responsibility to care for and protect His creatures.
Materials Available
Specific materials, resources, and suggestions related to our 2005 theme, "God's Endangered Creatures," can be found on the following pages of this site:
Worship Materials: many of the sections have specific endangered creatures emphasis
Quick Facts and References: see especially the section on other creatures.