Am I Doing My Part?

Murray Wade
11/10/24 - Sunday

AM I DOING MY PART? (Oak Ridge, TN, November 10, 2024)

After a 70 year absence, wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995.

Wolves made things much better for plants & animals

Overgrazing by deer and elk decreased

Aspen, willow, and cottonwood trees again grew

Beaver returned to make ponds which helped otter, duck, muskrat, fish, reptiles, and amphibians

Trees remarkably grew at 5 times the rate they had grown previously

Erosion along streams and lakes decreased

Migratory songbird numbers increased dramatically

Fish and aquatic animals grew in numbers

Less coyotes (because of wolves) meant more rabbits and mice for hawks, fox, weasels, and badgers

Ravens and eagles fed on carrion left by the wolves

More plants and shrubs produced berries which helped to have more bears

Wolves made things much better for the rivers!

There was less erosion.

More pools formed and more riffle sections, which were great for wildlife and fish habitats

The regenerating forests stabilized the river banks so they collapsed less often, so rivers became more fixed in their course

By driving the deer out (for decades Yellowstone was overgrazed) of some places and the vegetation recovering on the valley sides, there was less soil erosion, because the vegetation stabilized

Wolves, small in number, transformed the ecosystem and physical geography of the 2,219,791 acre Yellowstone National Park!

*By one animal being introduced and by one animal doing its part, everything got better! The natural balance God had created was restored. We individual Christians, by each one doing our part, can make everything better!

Our homes; Our workplaces; Our neighborhoods; Our communities; Our congregation

This evening we are going to place a special emphasis on the personal application of the scriptures we read, because it starts with me knowing what God wants me to do to be pleasing to him (John 14:15, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)!

What Christians Should Be Doing

Mark 12:29-31, Matthew 7:12

Romans 12:1-2, 4-8, 9-21

1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

Galatians 6:1-10

Ephesians 4:15-16

Colossians 3:18-24, 4:5-6

1 Peter 2:11-12, 3:15-17, 4:7-11

*By each Christian doing their job, we can make everything better!

Our homes; Our workplaces; Our neighborhoods; Our communities; Our congregation

If you are not a Christian today, you can make everything better by repenting of your sins and being baptized to wash them all away! That is how you can make yourself a better person serving Christ and make the world a better place.

Notice our last passage in Matthew 28:18-20.  

• AM I DOING MY PART?
• HOW ABOUT YOU TODAY?
• ARE YOU DOING YOUR PART?