Apple’s recent announcement of its new iOS 7 operating system for mobile devices will motivate consumers to upgrade their smart phones. By regularly upgrading our gadgets, we—as a culture—are producing more electronic waste than we can handle. Much of our e-waste goes to facilities in developing nations that aren’t equipped to deal with it properly, resulting in widespread health and environmental problems. This week we’ll learn about e-waste and how we, as Christians, can serve God and love our neighbor by being mindful of how we dispose of old phones and laptops. Key Scriptures: Leviticus 19:9-10; 23:22; Luke 12:15-21; James 1:27. Independence Day is coming soon, a day when Americans celebrate the freedoms that were won when we declared our independence 237 years ago. Freedom is also something that we celebrate as Christians. Through Christ, God freed us from sin and freed us to live as God’s people. Too often we reject this freedom by dwelling on the expectations and pressures that other people place on us. We worry so much about impressing and satisfying others that we lose sight of whom we are as God’s children. Next week we’ll look at how we claim our freedom to be and love ourselves and to live as the people God created us to be.
