Seasons of Creation 2026
LIVING WATER
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice: Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from within them John 7:37-38.
Download Study #1 – Caring for Creation
Download Study #2 – Where did it all go wrong
Download Study #3 – The Way Forward
Introduction
What is our role in the created order? Three bible studies:
- Why care about creation? Because God does.
- Humanity in rebellion and redemption
- A biblical approach to a sustainable lifestyle
These Bible studies are based on those produced by The John Ray Initiative. The web site for The John Ray Initiative is https:/www.jri.org.uk/
The John Ray Initiative is an educational charity with a vision to bring together scientific and Christian understandings of the environment in a way that can be widely communicated and lead to effective action. JRI’s mission is to promote responsible environmental stewardship in accordance with Christian principles and the wise use of science and technology. The Initiative gives priority to biblically based environmental education, especially among Christian believers. It encourages people to think globally as well as locally to promote a positive interaction between development and environmental issues.
The studies have been adapted for The Season of Creation 2026 using some material from the Uniting Church
Download Study #1 – Caring for Creation
Some Key references and recommended reading material for these Bible studies
The statement from Uniting Climate
Uniting Climate enlivens the Uniting Church community in their care for God’s creation and action for a safe climate future for all, as an integral part of faith and discipleship
It is not “loving your neighbour” to use resources wastefully while others go without. Nor to add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and cause Pacific Islanders to lose their homes due to sea levels rising. And what of the poor in low-lying countries like Bangladesh?
The neighbour includes future generations. It is neither loving nor just to leave waste and pollution and deplete resources that they will need.
Some useful web sites
https://www.unitingclimate.org/
https://www.commongrace.org.au/climate_change
https://www.sydneyalliance.org.au
https://www.unitingworld.org.au/
Books
Is God Green? By Lionel Windsor (2018) $9.59 from Koorong or download an ebook version. https://matthiasmedia.com.au/products/is-god-green
Description
Do we need to save the planet? Is the future of our world at stake? It’s hard to escape questions like this in the media and the wider world these days. How would you answer them? Have you wondered where God stands on this issue? Does he care about the world and what we do with it? Is God green? In this short book Lionel Windsor takes us through what the Bible says about the environment.
Christianity, Climate Change and Sustainable Living by Nick Spencer and Robert White, published in August (2007) by SPCK.
Description
Our current habits of consumption and production in the West cannot be maintained. The way we live, in particular the way we generate and use energy, is no longer environmentally or socially sustainable. In high-income countries, it threatens our health and well-being. In low-income ones, it is already responsible for the death or displacement of hundreds of thousands of people every year. We urgently need to reconsider our lifestyles and he policies that shape them.
This book represents the first serious Christian engagement with the emerging issue of sustainable consumption and production. Spencer and white analyse the scientific, sociological, economic and theological thinking that makes a Christian response to these trends both imperative and distinctive. Their practical conclusions explore what can be done at the personal, community, national and international levels to make sustainable living a reality. Firmly rooted in the good news of the Christian faith, this is, above all, a constructive and hopeful book that offers a realistic vision of a better future.
Hope in an Age of Despair: by Jonathan Moo and Robert White (2013) Published by IVP
Description
In the face of climate change and other environmental trends, it is easy to be pessimistic about the future. Philosophers, film-makers, environmentalists, politicians and even senior scientists increasingly resort to apocalyptic rhetoric to warn us that a so-called ‘perfect storm’ of factors are coming together in a way that threatens the future of life on earth. [I]f the Christian gospel fundamentally reorientates us in our relationship with God and his world, then there ought to be something radically distinctive about our attitude and approach to such threats. Moo and White therefore reflect on just what difference the Bible’s vision of the future of all of creation makes to how we live now and respond to the challenges facing life on earth.
Creation Care and the Gospel: Reconsidering the Mission of the Church. Edited by Colin Bell and Robert S White (2016) published by Hendrickson on behalf of The Lausanne Movement.
Description
How should Christians react to environmental crisis? Historically, evangelicals have ignored this aspect of living for Christ, so this book aims to reinvigorate and empower Christians across the globe to care for creation.
The book contains biblical and theological affirmations from well-respected scholars and teachers, reminding us that caring for creation is central to the evangelical faith. It is an integral part of our mission, an expression of our worship of God, and a matter of great joy and hope.