Old Testament
Psalm 24:1-2
1 The earth is the LORD’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it.
2 For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods.
Common Good
The Earth is the Lord’s
Scripture References
Read FirstNew Testament
Colossians 1:15-20
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.
Read 3 more verses
18 He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him,
20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
Thought for the Day
Psalm 24 begins with ownership and ends with welcome. The earth is the Lord’s, and everything that fills it. That single line refuses both despair and entitlement. We do not stand over creation as if it were ours to use without consequence; nor do we fear it as if it were abandoned. It is held.
Then the psalm asks who may ascend the Lord’s hill. Clean hands. A pure heart. Environmental concern without integrity is noise; integrity without neighbour-love is thin. The King of glory is not impressed by slogans.
Show 111 more words
Colossians widens the horizon further. All things were made in Christ, and for Christ; and in him all things hold together. The gospel is not a private rescue from the world, but God’s reconciling work for the world. In Christ the πλήρωμα, the fullness, dwells, and peace is made by his blood.
So we pray as heirs and as subjects: heirs of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and subjects who must answer for how we treat what the King calls his. Lord, make our public life truthful and steady. Teach your Church to speak with humility, to act with courage, and to love the world as gift, not as prey.
Prayer Points
Respond- Give thanks that the earth belongs to the Lord, and ask for reverent hearts that receive creation as gift.
- Confess where our lives are marked by waste or contempt; ask for clean hands and a pure heart.
- Pray for those shaping environmental policy and regulation: honesty, courage, and protection of the vulnerable.
Show 2 more prayer points
- Pray for communities already harmed by pollution or degradation, and for just repair and restoration.
- Pray that the Church would bear witness to Christ’s reconciling lordship with humility and hope.