How did our lives become so plastic?

One of my mates from high school recently spoke at the TEDx event in Newcastle. Check out Tim Silverwood’s presentation, How did our lives become so plastic?

I’ve been really challenged over the past year as I’ve followed along with some of Tim’s environmental work to be more deliberate in caring for creation.

In John Stott’s final book, The Radical Disciple, he has a chapter on Creation-Care. As well as Tim’s practical example, I found Stott’s challenge in this chapter to be a firm rebuke for a lack of creation care on my behalf.

Stott has this quote from Chris White with a vision for Christians to take their environmental responsibility seriously:

They choose sustainable forms of energy where possible. They switch off unneeded appliances. They buy food, goods and services as far as possible from companies with ethically sound environmental policies. They join conservation societies. They avoid over-consumption and unnecessary waste and recycle as much as possible.

Here is Stott’s conclusion:

It seems quite inexplicable to me that there are some Christians who claim to love and worship God, to be disciples of Jesus, and yet have no concern for the earth that bears his stamp of ownership. They do not care about the abuse of the earth and indeed, by their wasteful and over-consumptive life-styles, they collude in it.

God intends… our care of the creation to reflect our love for the Creator.

To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it (Deuteronomy 10:14).

Check out the Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation, a foundational statement for those engaged in the ministry of creation care.

What are some practical ways that you are seeking to take care of creation?

No More Tumbleweed

The December blog drought is about to end with a barrage of posts ready to be unleashed on the interwebs. We’ve been away on holidays for the past week. A pic from Kiama Carols:

Stay tuned for the following blogposts:

  • Compassion Christmas/New Year Fundraising Project
  • How to become a Christian
  • Music Reviews
  • Best of 2011
  • App Reviews
  • Christmas Sermon Preview
  • Bus Stop News
  • Year 12 Youth Ministry Strategy

3 Tips on How To Die Well from Abraham

I preached up at Coast Evangelical Church this past weekend. Reading Genesis 23-25, Abraham seems to be deliberate in his actions as he nears the end of his life. He dies well.

GENESIS 23-25 Sermon- Dave Miers (right-click etc to download)

Here’s the outline:

  1. Abraham trusts God will keep his promise
  2. Abraham works to continue to see God’s promises continue in his family
  3. Abraham looked forward to his home to come

Pinch + Punch // December 2011

This might well be the final Pinch + Punch. I always seem to back date it!! Today is 8th December, but I’m pretending it’s the 1st. Here’s a Desktop wallpaper from smashing mag:

New reader of DMDC? These posts were the most clicked for November 2011:

Hanno un grande Dicembre!

Horn of Africa Crisis – Dollar for Dollar

Dear Australians, we have a Federal Government who have been matching dollar for dollar every individual East Africa famine donation to selected NGOs during October and November. This is amazing! If you give $20, the government will turn that into $40. If you give $50, the government will turn that into $100. $400 becomes $800. $2000 becomes $4000. You get the picture. HOWEVER, it ends on 30 November 2011. So we only have 24 hours left to donate. Click here for a list of places to donate.

We may not hear about it much in the media, but the need is massive. Some 13 million people are directly effected by the drought, famine and conflict. Read more about the situation here.

If you haven’t yet donated, act fast! This is an amazing opportunity to leverage your personal wealth and the wealth of our nation for those in desperate need.

Here are 4 ways you can donate:

    1. Anglican Aid – I’m an Anglican minister, so I went through our Archbishop’s Oversees Relief and Aid Fund. Anyone is welcome. They have some great work happening in Kenya. Give now.
    2. World Vision – these guys are doing amazing work on the ground throughout the Horn of Africa. Worth checking out.
    3. Aus Aid – check the government website for all 19 NGOs that are approved for the dollar for dollar initiative. Go crazy.
    4. A night of prayer & song for East Africa – Trev Hodge is leading this event on Wednesday night 30 November in Sydney. All money raised will likewise, be doubled! Check the facebook event for deets.

Do something now. Hurry. Go.

Peaceout, Dave.

High Quality Design at an Affordable Price

Some mates have just launched a new design business. Introudcing: Tyro Designs.

For too long, good quality design has been out of the reach of the ‘little guys’. We’re hoping to change that with our company!

We are seeking to offer many of the design skills that usually cost thousands of dollars at a reasonable price for people who are just trying to get off the ground.

Good stuff. Definitely worth checking out.

There is no wrong twin

Many Australian readers would be familiar with the tragic news of two twin babies being killed recently in a Melbourne hospital mix-up. Devastating. Below is an extract from an article that John Piper linked to in this tweet.

It’s from the volunteer disability ministry blog for Bethlehem Baptist Church.

It has also happened in Italy and the United States.  Here are the headlines for each:

Australia: Hospital kills wrong baby, aborts twin.

Italy: Italian police to investigate abortion of wrong twin

United States: Doctor loses license after aborting wrong twin

Every headline is mistaken.  There is no ‘wrong’ twin in any of these circumstances.  Only helpless unborn babies, every one of them.

The only reason any of these babies was chosen to be aborted was because of potential disabling conditions.

The answer isn’t better medical tests or more specific hospital guidelines, but changed hearts that rush to help mothers and babies rather than destroy them.

Read the full article here.

See more of my posts on ‘abortion’