EXTRA supports the group plans in the Bible Studies for Life leader guides.
Date: April 20, 2025
The Ultimate Sign
The Point: Jesus’s resurrection makes eternal life possible.
Get Into the Study
TEXT
Have you heard of microplastics? What about “forever chemicals?”
Research shows that microplastics particles, “smaller than a grain of rice, can harm reproductive, digestive and respiratory health, potentially leading to colon and lung cancers,” as well as increasing the risk for dementia. When a plastic bottle is squeezed or exposed to heat, tiny particles break away from inside the bottle and enter the water, from which they enter (and remain inside) the human body. As one headline terrifyingly put it, “there are enough microplastics in your brain to make an entire spoon.” A new scientific paper indicates that switching from bottled water to filtered water “could cut your microplastic intake by about 90%.” Understanding more about microplastics and how they remain in the human body – in organs, tissues, blood, and even in babies in utero– has many people rethinking the old assumptions about plastic.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Canada, and many U.S. states, are considering bills to tamp down on “forever chemicals.” These nearly-indestructible man-made chemicals, called PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are found in water-repellant products and non-stick cookware. Exposure to forever chemicals have been linked to cancers, growth abnormalities, and decreased antibody responses.
Say: “While microplastics, and the long life-cycle of chemicals that exist in our environment and bodies, are a growing concern, these concerns are not eternal. Like the disciples, we can get so focused on practical details in front of us, that we miss the big picture of what God has eternally accomplished through Jesus.
Then point people to The Point: Jesus’s resurrection makes eternal life possible.”
Information for this post was gleaned from:
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https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained
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https://nypost.com/2025/03/05/health/making-a-single-change-can-drastically-cut-microplastics-intake/
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https://www.courthousenews.com/scientists-detect-higher-microplastic-levels-in-brains-linked-to-dementia/
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https://www.fastcompany.com/91289378/there-are-enough-microplastics-in-your-brain-to-make-an-entire-spoon
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https://www.nrdc. 
