For The Beauty Of The Earth

For The Beauty Of The Earth

1. For the beauty of the earth, 

For the glory of the skies; 

For the love which from our birth, 

Over and around us lies; 

Lord of all, to Thee we raise 

This, our hymn of grateful praise. 

2. For the wonder of each hour, 

Of the day and of the night; 

Hill and vale and tree and flow'r, 

Sun and moon, and stars of light; 

Lord of all, to Thee we raise 

This, our hymn of grateful praise. 

3. For the joy of ear and eye, 

For the heart and mind's delight; 

For the mystic harmony, 

Linking sense to sound and sight; 

Lord of all, to Thee we raise 

This, our hymn of grateful praise. 

4. For the joy of human love, 

Brother, sister, parent, child; 

Friends on Earth and friends above, 

For all gentle thoughts and mild; 

Lord of all, to Thee we raise 

This, our hymn of grateful praise. 

5. For Thy church that evermore, 

Lifteth holy hands above; 

Off'ring up on ev'ry shore, 

Her pure sacrifice of love; 

Lord of all, to Thee we raise 

This, our hymn of grateful praise. 

Amen.

by Folliott S. Pierpont

Photo Credit:  kareni via www.pixabay.com

Christian Outdoor Object Lesson 26: Why So Blue?

Photo Credit: Brennon Garner

Key Verse

“Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Psalms‬ ‭62:8‬ ‭WEB‬‬

Lesson

There is blue everywhere you look. How you ever wondered ever why? The sky is blue and so is the ocean. Almost every body of water you look at appears blue. It is perhaps the most common color in nature, maybe second only to green. This could be why blue is such a common favorite color. Or maybe that is due to the way it causes a feeling of calm and peace.

What is it that makes the sky blue? Why does water look blue in an ocean or stream. This is a question scientists have studied closely. They have found that the sky is blue because water droplets scatter mostly blue light. When light travels through a water droplet, the main color it reflects is blue; other colors are absorbed. Bodies of water such as the ocean appear blue for the same reason.

Blue also appears on flags, in symbols, and in other significant places. For centuries blue has been an important color. This is because it is used to represent loyalty and trust.1 Many things in life are not certain. But the sky is. We can be sure that even though grey storm clouds come for a time. The blue sky will emerge after they pass. Sometimes the ocean may crash with great waves; rivers and lakes may flood dangerously white and foaming. But this too will pass. Before long, they will loyally return to a calm blue.

When Jesus created the sky, he made it a calming blue so that every time we look up towards heaven, we would be reminded that we have a loyal and trust-worthy God. He is our refuge and we can trust in him at all times just as Psalms 62:8 says. Even though storms cover the blue sky for a time, it will emerge again to calm and reassure us, just like our loyal God.

Questions

What is your favorite color? Do you know what is represents?

Do you think God is trust-worthy enough to pour your heart out to as the text in Psalms says?

Why do you think the Christian flag has blue on it?

Sources

1https://resources.oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/rreagan/Filemanager_Public_Files/meaningofcolors.htm

Christian Outdoor Object Lesson 20: Rainbow Promise

Key Verse

When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. Genesis 9:13-16 WEB

Lesson

What is the symbol seen in the sky after a rainstorm? A rainbow of course. A rainbow is a beautiful phenomenon. The word describes what we see. A bow is the shape of the arch of colors that appear after it rains – in other words a rainbow. Whenever it rains or there is water in the atmosphere, light is separated into all the colors of the spectrum of visible light. The sun must be behind you to be able to see one. The sunlight reflects off the droplets of water and separates the light into colors.²

After God sent a flood over the earth to cleans it, he chose the rainbow as a symbol of the covenant between him and us. God promised not to destroy the world again through a flood. He chose the rainbow because it appears when the rain threatens to overwhelm. However, the rain never does completely overwhelm, it passes away and we see the rainbow as a reminder of God’s promise to not let the rain flood the whole earth again.¹

Rainbows are not always seen high in the sky after it rains. They can be seen in the mist from falling water, or when water droplets accumulate in the air. Rainbows can be made from other sources of light too such as streetlights or flashlights. Rainbows can even be seen at night caused from moonlight.²

Wherever we see a rainbow we are reminded of God’s promise in Genesis 9:13-16 to each one of us not to flood the earth again. God said the promise is between him and you personally. This is incredible because each of us see our very own rainbow. When we see a rainbow, the light is reflected at a very specific angle. So even when two people are looking at a rainbow in the same direction, they see light reflected off of different water droplets. The rainbows they see may be close to each other, but are not the same. So no two people look at the same rainbow.³ God made a promise to you and he makes a rainbow just for you to look at. The rainbow is a constant reminder that God keeps all his promises.

Questions

Do you believe God keeps his promises?

How do you feel now that you know God makes a rainbow only you can see?

What other promises has God made in his word for us?

Sources

¹ http://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/genesis/9.htm

² http://eo.ucar.edu/rainbows/

³ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/31/facts-about-rainbows_n_3779801.html