We are created in God's image (week 1), BUT we are broke reflections due to sin (week 2). Mistrust and disobedience has led us to separation from God. We are left spiritually dead. Wired for eternal life, but seeking it in things that only bring death. We know, however, that God is Love (1 John 4:8). He still loves us in our broken, messy, separated, selfish state. And He had a plan all along.
Sacrifices: Before God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ (which we will get to) was fulfilled, the Israelites, who were God's chosen people, made sacrifices for their sins. God told Adam and Eve that eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge would bring about death. God is HOLY (meaning set apart, sacred), and so He cannot just let sin go; He is set apart from sin, and so to be in relationship with Him, we must be sinless. For the Israelites sacrifices enabled them to have a relationship with God.
For example, the Day of Atonement took place once a year, and it gave the people a new starting point with God. The High Priest would sacrifice an ox for his sins, a goat for the people's, then would place the sins of all of Israel onto a scapegoat, which would be cast out from the community, carrying the sins with it into the desert. This transaction of sin foreshadowed what was to come in Jesus. The community's sin was put on the scapegoat, so they could be seen as pure before God.
Now the rope...There is a legend that says that the High Priest would often have a rope tied to his ankle when he went into the Holy of Holies, where God's Presence dwelt. This was in case he had not repented of his sins and offered up a sacrifice for himself before presenting the sacrifice for the people. If he had not done this, the people feared that he would die in the Presence of the Holy God. They took so seriously the fact that God is holy that they viewed even the High Priest of needing to stay separated if he still was stained by sin. The literal story of a rope is probably not true, but the seriousness of sin and the holiness of God are sometimes too easily ignored by us.
Obviously we no longer make animal sacrifices in order to be in relationship with God. How did that change? Jesus. During his life, Christ lived in perfect trust and obedience to God. he did what we never could, and lived in perfect unity and harmony with the Father's will. He was the unbroken mirror; that perfect reflection that God created Adam as.
Romans 5:19 says, "For just as through the disobedience of one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man many will be made righteous."
Just as the scapegoat, Jesus was able to take on our sins. By his death on the cross, he took the punishment of our sins onto himself. Even more, he was resurrected, defeating death once and for all. "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." -1 Corinthians 15:22
Christ was the ultimate sin offering, and through his death and resurrection, we are freed from the bondage of sin and separation from God. If we are in him, we are reconciled and can come before God without fear. He is the unbroken mirror, and he steps in front of us, allowing us to connect to God.
In John 10:10 Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." As we reflect this weekend on Jesus' death and resurrection let us rejoice that through his obedience and love we are healed and may have life to the full.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Ways to Serve
Just wanted to let you all know about a few opportunities:
-"Son Rise" Service at 7AM Easter Sunday...we need whoever can make it to help greet, take the offering, and generally be hospitable
-Saturday before the sunrise service...we need people to help make muffins and get coffee together and to make signs to direct people to Fellowship Hall for the service
-May 21st Philippi Golf Outing...we need Sr. High students to sign up to register golfers, serve lunch, and help with dinner
-"Son Rise" Service at 7AM Easter Sunday...we need whoever can make it to help greet, take the offering, and generally be hospitable
-Saturday before the sunrise service...we need people to help make muffins and get coffee together and to make signs to direct people to Fellowship Hall for the service
-May 21st Philippi Golf Outing...we need Sr. High students to sign up to register golfers, serve lunch, and help with dinner
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Broken Mirrors
This week we talked about The Fall. The story of Adam and Eve, a sneaky talking serpent, and the result of mistrusting and disobeying God. Read Genesis 3 for the full story...I can wait...seriously, grab a Bible and read...it's way better than anything I have to say.
Ok, good, now that we're all on the same page with how Adam and Eve got banished from the Garden of Eden and became separated from their Creator, we can continue on to why this matters for us. Other than being called "The Fall," this part of history is often referred to the original sin. Let's take a quick look at what that means because sin has become a constant part of our story and our language. The English word "sin," is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. It refers to acts of rebellion or resistance to the Lord...often it refers to the action of disobeying God's commands, but also includes thoughts that resist God, or placing trust in anything other than the Lord. The word used in the New Testament is ἁμαρτία (harmatia in English). This would have been understood by early Christians as sin, as actions and thoughts that disobey God's word, but the word harmatia itself derives from an archery term meaning "to miss the mark."
What was the bulls-eye that Adam and Eve missed? God's plan for His creation was unity with Him. It was walking in the Garden together in a harmonious, loving relationship. Adam and Eve, however, believed a serpent instead of trusting in God. They believed that God did not have their best interests at heart when He told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge...they did not believe that God was acting out of Love for them...they trusted in the serpent's version of reality over God's truth. They missed the mark of trust and obedience when they ate of the fruit.
So two people made a huge mistake thousands and thousands of years ago...why does it affect us? Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. They were separated from God, separated from the Tree of Life...they were spiritually dead. We do the same thing as Adam and Eve. We trust in other voices more than God's. We fall into the enemy's manipulation of God's word...believing that money, success, friends, looks, and the way others view us will fill us. We believe that we have things under control, and that God's plan isn't best. This leaves us separated...spiritually dead. We are unable to eat of the Tree of Life because we are filling ourselves up with all sorts of things that lead us to death...we seek sin over righteousness, death over life. We're created in God's image, just like Adam and Eve, but our sin, rebellion, and lack of trust in God causes breaks and cracks. We become a poor reflect of God, just like a broken mirror. We broke.
We got ourselves into this...but we're dead...we can't give ourselves life. God is the only source of true life. We cannot bring life to our dead spirits, no matter how hard we try. God has to do it. And praise be to God, because God is Love...He loves us in our broken mess of a state. His love is bigger than our brokenness. And His Son enters our story...
Ok, good, now that we're all on the same page with how Adam and Eve got banished from the Garden of Eden and became separated from their Creator, we can continue on to why this matters for us. Other than being called "The Fall," this part of history is often referred to the original sin. Let's take a quick look at what that means because sin has become a constant part of our story and our language. The English word "sin," is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. It refers to acts of rebellion or resistance to the Lord...often it refers to the action of disobeying God's commands, but also includes thoughts that resist God, or placing trust in anything other than the Lord. The word used in the New Testament is ἁμαρτία (harmatia in English). This would have been understood by early Christians as sin, as actions and thoughts that disobey God's word, but the word harmatia itself derives from an archery term meaning "to miss the mark."
What was the bulls-eye that Adam and Eve missed? God's plan for His creation was unity with Him. It was walking in the Garden together in a harmonious, loving relationship. Adam and Eve, however, believed a serpent instead of trusting in God. They believed that God did not have their best interests at heart when He told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge...they did not believe that God was acting out of Love for them...they trusted in the serpent's version of reality over God's truth. They missed the mark of trust and obedience when they ate of the fruit.
So two people made a huge mistake thousands and thousands of years ago...why does it affect us? Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. They were separated from God, separated from the Tree of Life...they were spiritually dead. We do the same thing as Adam and Eve. We trust in other voices more than God's. We fall into the enemy's manipulation of God's word...believing that money, success, friends, looks, and the way others view us will fill us. We believe that we have things under control, and that God's plan isn't best. This leaves us separated...spiritually dead. We are unable to eat of the Tree of Life because we are filling ourselves up with all sorts of things that lead us to death...we seek sin over righteousness, death over life. We're created in God's image, just like Adam and Eve, but our sin, rebellion, and lack of trust in God causes breaks and cracks. We become a poor reflect of God, just like a broken mirror. We broke.
We got ourselves into this...but we're dead...we can't give ourselves life. God is the only source of true life. We cannot bring life to our dead spirits, no matter how hard we try. God has to do it. And praise be to God, because God is Love...He loves us in our broken mess of a state. His love is bigger than our brokenness. And His Son enters our story...
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Created in the Image of God
The next six weeks, we are embarking on a journey through God's Story. We are studying how He has revealed Himself in human history, and how He continues to reveal Himself through His Word and in our lives.
This week we looked at His first act in human history: CREATION. God created all of us in His own image. We are created to reflect the Creator...to work like Him, to rest like Him, to create like Him. We are like a mirror, reflecting God's own attributes back to Him. However, all of us cannot honestly look into a mirror and say we fully reflect our Creator. If we really look, we can still see God's image in us, but it's fogged up. We allow the breaths of others, society, and ourselves to fog up the mirror, and so the image of God gets dimmer and dimmer. This is not how we were created to live. Adam and Eve walked and talked with God in the garden. They participated in God's on-going creation by naming the animals and taking care of the land.
Sometimes we get weighed down so much by the foggy-ness and noise in our lives that we only see how we are not like our Creator, but the truth is that we are ALL created in God's image, and all meant to live a life where we walk with the Lord and reflect Him to others.
How can we stay in step with God, and walk with Him daily?
What are some of the voices and breaths that drown out God and fog up His image in your life?
If everyone is created in God's image, how should that change how we view one another?
This week we looked at His first act in human history: CREATION. God created all of us in His own image. We are created to reflect the Creator...to work like Him, to rest like Him, to create like Him. We are like a mirror, reflecting God's own attributes back to Him. However, all of us cannot honestly look into a mirror and say we fully reflect our Creator. If we really look, we can still see God's image in us, but it's fogged up. We allow the breaths of others, society, and ourselves to fog up the mirror, and so the image of God gets dimmer and dimmer. This is not how we were created to live. Adam and Eve walked and talked with God in the garden. They participated in God's on-going creation by naming the animals and taking care of the land.
Sometimes we get weighed down so much by the foggy-ness and noise in our lives that we only see how we are not like our Creator, but the truth is that we are ALL created in God's image, and all meant to live a life where we walk with the Lord and reflect Him to others.
How can we stay in step with God, and walk with Him daily?
What are some of the voices and breaths that drown out God and fog up His image in your life?
If everyone is created in God's image, how should that change how we view one another?
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Tonight's (4/3) Youth Group!
Hello Route 68ers and Fishers!
Tonight we'll be having youth group as per usual: Meet in the Youth Room at 6PM if you are in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade...or at 7:30PM if you are in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
As it is my first *official* week here, we will be embarking on a new series called The Thread, playing some sweet games, worshiping together, having some delicious snacks, and perhaps even having a challenge involving prizes. Get pumped.
Also, after youth group, whether you could make it or not, check back on here for some more on the message and to give me some feedback.
Hope to see you all there!
Tonight we'll be having youth group as per usual: Meet in the Youth Room at 6PM if you are in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade...or at 7:30PM if you are in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
As it is my first *official* week here, we will be embarking on a new series called The Thread, playing some sweet games, worshiping together, having some delicious snacks, and perhaps even having a challenge involving prizes. Get pumped.
Also, after youth group, whether you could make it or not, check back on here for some more on the message and to give me some feedback.
Hope to see you all there!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)