The Lord of Heaven and Earth

SERMON TITLE:   “Lord of Heaven and Earth”    (Series:  “50 Days for the Earth”)
SERMON TEXT:    Acts 17:16-34
PREACHER:           Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:           May 17, 2020, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                This past week, a number of our church members were here at the church property doing volunteer ministries.  Some did inside projects.  A few were doing maintenance on the church building itself.  Others were in the church yard—mowing the lawn, running the tractor and weed whacker in the outer areas, pulling weeds from flower beds, and continuing the sprinkler system repairs.  
                Kristen and Steve Bell put a lot of time in the church garden.  You may recall that the Bells received a $15,000 Earthkeepers grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief for their SWIFTS Project.  “SWIFTS” stands for “Sustainable Water Initiative—Food To Share.”  The Marriott-Slaterville City part of the pressurized secondary water isn’t ready yet, but our own church watering lines are now up and running with an electrical system to time the watering.  So, we won’t have to open canal gates and flood irrigate at weird hours of the day and night anymore, and the water will be available when needed and in just the right places without waste.  With all that in order, Steve and Kristen began planting peas, beans, onions, and more. 
                We also had a couple guys here from The Deseret News this week.  The photographer and writer are preparing a story about our First UMC ministries with the bees and the community garden, and our Christian commitment to caring for the environment.  Whenever that news story appears, I’ll send out the link so you all can read it.  We can be proud that our congregation has this positive relationship with God’s creation. 
                Throughout these 50 days between Easter and Pentecost, we’ve been celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day by focusing our worship themes on both resurrection and the care of the earth.  We continue that today.  So let’s dig into this story in Acts 17 about the Apostle Paul and see what it means to worship the Lord of heaven and earth.  

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