Land and Our World

Imagine a picture of the word LAND.

What does it look like? (City, mountains, beach, jungle, prairie, back yard...)
What do you especially notice about your picture of land?

Is there a territory or place that feels as if it belongs to you? (Your room, house, neighborhood, city...?)

How far does your territory extend?

How do you and your territory relate to each other?

From the past few weeks' lessons, what do you especially remember about God, the land, and God's people? To whom does the land belong? What about land as private property?

Throughout history there has been a close and special relationship between God, people, and land. Let's look again at some of what the Bible tells us about the relationship:

• GENESIS 1:26-31
• GENESIS 17:1-9
• LEVITICUS 25:4-5 (1-7)

When we don't take care of the land, then the land is unable to take care of us. Can you think of some examples of this?

The people, the land, and we are interdependent; if we do not cooperate and care for the land together, everyone loses—not only us, but everyone on this entire planet.

But God promises to redeem land that has been abused, misused, or deserted. What's that about? The book of Isaiah mentions it a lot:

• ISAIAH 35:1-7
• ISAIAH 51:3
• ISAIAH 60

How will the land be redeemed? Who will do it? Or has the land already been redeemed?

God has made us to be his helpers, and he does very little without our cooperation. The land is our to use, to care for, to enjoy, and to share with the rest of God's creatures.

Imagine you are a journalist for a national magazine with a lot of readers, or maybe a reporter for a local TV station. Write an article (a few paragraphs) about one or more of the topics we've been discussing. Or, write a full-page ad about caring for the land. Or, make a poster or an illustration about our stewardship of land.