Download “In the World” for July 23, 2023 here.
SEPARATING OUT THE PLASTIC
A 22-year-old Irishman has taken third place in the Young Inventors Prize contest in Europe for his ingenious method of removing microplastics from water. The UN estimates that there are more than fifty-one trillion microplastic particles in the seas, a crisis that affects our food chain and, ultimately, us. Fionn Ferreira’s method mixes seawater with ferrofluid, a magnetic liquid mixture that binds to microplastic particles. A magnet draws both the ferrofluid and the plastics out of the water, removing eighty-five percent of the particles in a single pass. The plastics can be recycled, the ferrofluid can be reused, and the water is rendered safe. “This prestigious award,” Ferreira says, is “a profound acknowledgment of the urgent need to combat the devastating impact of microplastics on our planet’s water systems.”
SEPARATING OUT THE WEEDS
In Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares (weeds), a field where good seed was planted gets sabotaged by an enemy, who sows weeds alongside the good seed. The workers soon spot the weeds and ask the owner if they should begin weeding. But the owner instructs them to let both crops grow together, and they’ll sort one from the other in the harvest. Jesus later reveals that this is a metaphor for the people of God’s kingdom and the people of the devil, who share the earth. They will continue to live side by side until they are separated in the judgment.
- As a steward of the earth, what do you feel is the most pressing concern in the natural environment?
- What do you think Jesus means by the children of the devil?
- If Jesus is going to sort out these two groups, what role does evangelism or missions play?
Additional Resources
These videos and materials are for your personal use. If you show videos in class, be sure to have the necessary rights to do so.
- Music Video, Traditional: “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”
- Music Video, Multicultural: “All Honor” by Ron Kenoly
- Music Video, Contemporary: “Spirit Fall” by New Wine Worship
- Working Preacher Commentary on Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43
- Crosswalk Commentary on the Parable of Wheat and Tares
- GotQuestions Commentary on the Parable of Wheat and Tares