God Is A Hunter

God is a Hunter

Recognize our youngest hunter

Recognize chili winner and judges

Welcome to Hunter Sunday.

A. Today after the service we will be serving chili and cornbread. Some of it has been made out of venison. Some has been made out of chicken and other meats. Some of it is very hot! Also out back by the picnic pavilion there will be archery for anyone who would like to shoot. And there is some camo gear in the foyer for free for anyone who would like to get some to use.

Why Hunter Sunday?

A. To encourage a biblical understanding of what God says about hunting animals and eating meat. There are so many passages in the Bible that we could never cover them in one sermon. Today I am going to challenge some of your beliefs and give you an opportunity to look at some scriptures with a deeper understanding of what was really going on.

B. I would like to recommend a great book if you are really interested in all the places that the Bible talks about hunting. “Rise, Kill, and Eat” by Doug Giles. It is a great book.

C. One thing that many non-hunters do not realize is that deer hunting is good for the state. Most people are not aware of the damage that deer cause to farmers. Deer destroy almost $50 million dollars a year in crops in Ohio alone! There are also around 30,000 deer related car accidents a year in Ohio. In the US there are about 1.5 million vehicles that are in accidents caused by deer, causing about $1.1 billion in property damage. That is partly why your auto insurance is so high. That means about 10% of all car accidents in Ohio are caused by deer.

D. The other thing most people don’t know is how much money the hunters as well as the anglers give to the state. Ohio is one of the best deer hunting states in the country right now. Hunters fly in from all over the country, from almost every state just to hunt in Ohio. About $100 million comes in each year from licenses, tags, and special tax on ammo and guns. . That money is used to buy the land for state parks and lakes. It is also used to pay to for care and upkeep of these lakes, parks, and rivers around the state. What that means is that you would not have all these beautiful parks and lakes without all these hunters. Hunting has a more than $853 million economic impact in Ohio through the sale of equipment, fuel, food, lodging and more.

There is a big difference between animal rights and treating animals with respect. Proverbs 12:10

A. There are a lot of animal rights activists or Peta members today who are so confused about animal care. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals believe that animals should be treated with respect, they also feel that people should not eat meat, fish or drink milk, no wear leather or fur. That sounds nice but what does the Bible teach?

B. The Bible teaches that God created everything on the earth and that man was placed here to be the steward or caretaker over it. Part of caring for the earth is caring for creation which would include the animal and plant kingdom. In Proverbs chapter 12:10 we read, “The righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” This Bible teaches that animals are to be treated with respect, but there is a difference between animal respect and animal rights. The PETA organization pushes for ‘animal rights.’ They feel that animals should have the same rights as humans. They feel that it is wrong to eat animals, to use animals for research, to put animals in zoos, or to wear animal furs. They call all of this animal cruelty.

C. Christians should be concerned about animal cruelty but need to distinguish between animal respect and animal rights. All animals should be treated with respect. This is what the proverb is talking about ‘to regard the life of his animal.” But the Bible clearly teaches that ONLY man was made in God’s image and animals are not equal to humans. A righteous person would not treat animals cruel, but to raise animals for consumption by humans is not cruelty. Is it animal cruelty to use animals in medical research? No, as long as the animals are treated with respect and are being used to help advance human life.

D. There is some question whether putting an animal in a zoo is animal cruelty. Probably some zoos would fall into this category. But many zoos are also places of education and animal research and the animals are treated with respect.