For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt
(NOTE: I still need to make an audio recording and figure out how to get it up on this blog. I will do this as soon as I can!)
For my project I decided to write a song based on some thoughts I had after reading articles in week 4 of this course that discussed Jesus’ resurrection. I’ve noticed that many songs I’ve heard sung in churches talk about Jesus’ crucifixion but very few mention His ministry before His death or the fact that He is now alive. However this is extremely important to the Christian faith.
In the article “Resurrection, Our Living Hope,” Peter Davids says that:
Jesus presently reigns […] and in order for this to be meaningful, Paul says, one must be committed to the fact that God raised him from the dead. No resurrection, no reign. No reign, no good news. Paul proclaimed Jesus as resurrected, living Lord as the core of his good news (cf. Acts 17:30-31)” (IW Master All, page 310).
Also, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14 (NIV): “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
As I said in my blog post for week 4: “Jesus resurrection points to our bodily resurrection when God creates the new heavens and the new earth.” We’ve discussed quite a bit during the course the characteristic of God as Savior.[1] In N. T. Wright’s Simply Christian he discusses how God wants to set the world to rights and restore His Creation that He called “good”. With that in mind, I wanted to link Jesus’ resurrection with our restoration.
1 Peter 1:3 (NIV) puts it all together:
“…In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”
[1] Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of God
Here are the lyrics:
Jesus is Alive
By Chelsea Nisbett
Verse:
Made lame to leap
Made blind to see
Made deaf to hear
Made dead to breathe
Made weeping cease
Made dumb to speak
Made demons flee
Made captives free
Prechorus:
Crucified for our sins
He rose again
Chorus:
Jesus is alive
He breathes in us new life
He makes all things new
Jesus is alive
He gives abundant life
He makes all things new
Bridge:
He is the resurrection and the life (x4)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
More Thoughts on Worship (ICEWS, eb 08)
For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt
I enjoyed reading/hearing/watching the material for week 5 of this course and just bringing everything together. There were a few things that stood out to me:
In the article “Singing the Song of the Kingdom”, Gary Best touches on the spiritual warfare that is involved when we worship: “… it proclaims to the spiritual world our allegiance to Christ, causing rejoicing among God’s angels and trembling among Satan and his demonic forces.”[1] We talked a lot about representing God here on earth because we are made in the Imago Dei (image of God). I believe that is also true in the spiritual realm as we represent God in the battle field. Worship is a big part of putting on the “full armour of God”[2] because both worship and the “armour” involve the way we live our lives. This is no once-a-week event.
It also struck me how he said “True worship is a holistic response of our entire selves to God; it can be nothing less”.[3] We’ve been talking throughout the entire course about how worship encompasses our entire lives and that makes sense to me. What gripped me about Best’s statement was that “it can be nothing less.” What I gather from that is if it is “nothing less” it is not true worship. How many times have I half heartedly presented talents and situations in life to God and called it worship? This is very humbling.
After reading David Ruis article “Simple Devotion to Christ,” I had some thoughts about worship in relation to caring for the poor: In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about God rewarding the righteous who have served the poor. In Romans 12 we are called to be living sacrifices, giving our live completely over to God. If worship is living for God and in the end God keeps us accountable for how we treat the poor, then a large part of worship must be living a lifestyle that gives to the poor. Ruis says it well in his article: “Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 25: “Whatever you’ve done to the least of these, you’ve done to me.” I don’t know a better definition of worship than that.”[4]
I don’t think we could truly worship God without recognizing that we are in a spiritual battle, giving our whole lives over to Him, and caring for the poor.
[1] IW Master All, page 45
[2] Galatians 6:10-18
[3] IW Master All, page 46
[4] Ibid., page 25
I enjoyed reading/hearing/watching the material for week 5 of this course and just bringing everything together. There were a few things that stood out to me:
In the article “Singing the Song of the Kingdom”, Gary Best touches on the spiritual warfare that is involved when we worship: “… it proclaims to the spiritual world our allegiance to Christ, causing rejoicing among God’s angels and trembling among Satan and his demonic forces.”[1] We talked a lot about representing God here on earth because we are made in the Imago Dei (image of God). I believe that is also true in the spiritual realm as we represent God in the battle field. Worship is a big part of putting on the “full armour of God”[2] because both worship and the “armour” involve the way we live our lives. This is no once-a-week event.
It also struck me how he said “True worship is a holistic response of our entire selves to God; it can be nothing less”.[3] We’ve been talking throughout the entire course about how worship encompasses our entire lives and that makes sense to me. What gripped me about Best’s statement was that “it can be nothing less.” What I gather from that is if it is “nothing less” it is not true worship. How many times have I half heartedly presented talents and situations in life to God and called it worship? This is very humbling.
After reading David Ruis article “Simple Devotion to Christ,” I had some thoughts about worship in relation to caring for the poor: In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about God rewarding the righteous who have served the poor. In Romans 12 we are called to be living sacrifices, giving our live completely over to God. If worship is living for God and in the end God keeps us accountable for how we treat the poor, then a large part of worship must be living a lifestyle that gives to the poor. Ruis says it well in his article: “Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 25: “Whatever you’ve done to the least of these, you’ve done to me.” I don’t know a better definition of worship than that.”[4]
I don’t think we could truly worship God without recognizing that we are in a spiritual battle, giving our whole lives over to Him, and caring for the poor.
[1] IW Master All, page 45
[2] Galatians 6:10-18
[3] IW Master All, page 46
[4] Ibid., page 25
Worship Theology
What is worship?
Worship encompasses your whole life. During our course we’ve looked at what is says in Romans 12:1-2 about being a “living sacrifice”. The Message says it well:
“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
Honestly, I’m not sure I could say it better than that.
I love what Wright says on the topic of “Reclaiming Worship” that humans are to reflect God into Creation and then sum up the praises of Creation and present them to God[1]. I believe we do that with our lives.
What does music and creativity have to do with it?
As Dan Wilt discusses “The Nature of the Human Being,” he points out that everybody has creativity in them. Wilt says that creativity allows us to think through and wrestle with ideas and problems.[2] Creativity is being fully alive before God and doing your passion which involves your whole life, not just a couple hours on Sunday morning.
But still, why music?
As Brian Doerksen points out, it is something that we can all do together.[3] The Bible says in Psalm 98:4, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise” (King James Version; I love the wording in this version!). Anyone can make a loud, joyful noise, from infancy right up to the days when your body is worn.
I also think music helps to express thoughts and emotions that words simply can’t express adequately. The Bible even acknowledges in Romans 8:26 that sometimes words simply aren’t enough: “… the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (NIV).
How does worship further the Kingdom Story in the world?
As mentioned previously, worship involves the entirety of a person and his/her life as they reflect the glory of God into the world and then gather Creation’s praises and present them back to God[4].
In Simply Christian, N. T. Wright discusses how heaven and earth “overlap and interlock in a number of different ways”[5]. God did not create the world and then leave it to its own devices; He is very present and active. He intends to make everything new and put everything right again in the world: “God does indeed intend to put the world to rights”[6].
Dan Wilt talks about the characteristic of “God as Saviour”[7]. As a result, because are made in the Imago Dei (image of God), we are “salvific storytellers”.[8]
As we reflect the glory of God into the earth we tell a story of hope to all those around us. We take part in heaven meeting earth as we display God’s love and desire for our restoration.
How should all of the above affect how we lead worship as worship leaders?
We need to be aware that leading worship means leading with your whole life, not just with the music on Sunday morning. Every Christian is themselves a worship leader in the way they represent God here on earth and then present Creation’s praises to God, and we simply help them along in the process of discovering the wonderful task God has given us in this. This task is wonderful news! We get the privilege to tell everyone about the hope that is found in Jesus Christ and participate in making God’s will happen here on earth as heaven and earth meet.
[1] Audio CD: Wright, Reclaiming Worship
[2] Audio: Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of the Human Being
[3] What is Worship? DVD
[4] N. T. Wright, Reclaiming Worship
[5] N. T. Wright, Simply Christian, page 63
[6] Ibid. page 225
[7] Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of God (section 2)
[8] Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of the Human Being (section 3)
Worship encompasses your whole life. During our course we’ve looked at what is says in Romans 12:1-2 about being a “living sacrifice”. The Message says it well:
“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
Honestly, I’m not sure I could say it better than that.
I love what Wright says on the topic of “Reclaiming Worship” that humans are to reflect God into Creation and then sum up the praises of Creation and present them to God[1]. I believe we do that with our lives.
What does music and creativity have to do with it?
As Dan Wilt discusses “The Nature of the Human Being,” he points out that everybody has creativity in them. Wilt says that creativity allows us to think through and wrestle with ideas and problems.[2] Creativity is being fully alive before God and doing your passion which involves your whole life, not just a couple hours on Sunday morning.
But still, why music?
As Brian Doerksen points out, it is something that we can all do together.[3] The Bible says in Psalm 98:4, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise” (King James Version; I love the wording in this version!). Anyone can make a loud, joyful noise, from infancy right up to the days when your body is worn.
I also think music helps to express thoughts and emotions that words simply can’t express adequately. The Bible even acknowledges in Romans 8:26 that sometimes words simply aren’t enough: “… the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (NIV).
How does worship further the Kingdom Story in the world?
As mentioned previously, worship involves the entirety of a person and his/her life as they reflect the glory of God into the world and then gather Creation’s praises and present them back to God[4].
In Simply Christian, N. T. Wright discusses how heaven and earth “overlap and interlock in a number of different ways”[5]. God did not create the world and then leave it to its own devices; He is very present and active. He intends to make everything new and put everything right again in the world: “God does indeed intend to put the world to rights”[6].
Dan Wilt talks about the characteristic of “God as Saviour”[7]. As a result, because are made in the Imago Dei (image of God), we are “salvific storytellers”.[8]
As we reflect the glory of God into the earth we tell a story of hope to all those around us. We take part in heaven meeting earth as we display God’s love and desire for our restoration.
How should all of the above affect how we lead worship as worship leaders?
We need to be aware that leading worship means leading with your whole life, not just with the music on Sunday morning. Every Christian is themselves a worship leader in the way they represent God here on earth and then present Creation’s praises to God, and we simply help them along in the process of discovering the wonderful task God has given us in this. This task is wonderful news! We get the privilege to tell everyone about the hope that is found in Jesus Christ and participate in making God’s will happen here on earth as heaven and earth meet.
[1] Audio CD: Wright, Reclaiming Worship
[2] Audio: Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of the Human Being
[3] What is Worship? DVD
[4] N. T. Wright, Reclaiming Worship
[5] N. T. Wright, Simply Christian, page 63
[6] Ibid. page 225
[7] Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of God (section 2)
[8] Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of the Human Being (section 3)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Thoughts on Resurrection (ICEWS, eb 08)
For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt
This week has helped me to see some places where I am really lacking in my understanding of heaven, resurrection and the New Jerusalem.
Here is one thing I’m guilty of doing: concentrating on Jesus’ death on the cross and not saying a whole lot about His resurrection. But really, without the resurrection, my entire faith is pointless!
In the article “Resurrection, Our Living Hope,” Peter Davids says that:
"Jesus presently reigns (parallel to, and a replacement for “Caesar is Lord”, the patriotic acclamation of good Romans) and in order for this to be meaningful, Paul says, one must be committed to the fact that God raised him from the dead. No resurrection, no reign. No reign, no good news. Paul proclaimed Jesus as resurrected, living Lord as the core of his good news (cf. Acts 17:30-31)” (IW Master All, page 310).
"Jesus' resurrection points to our bodily resurrection when God creates the new heavens and the new earth. Yet we only concentrate on “going to heaven.” This is something of which I am also guilty, mostly because I’d never really questioned it. I just took it for granted as fact. Yes, I believe in heaven but in the book Simply Christian, N. T. Wright notes that after “going to heaven,” and facing a bodily death, we will be resurrected into God’s new Creation (Revelation 21:1). Wright calls resurrection “life after ‘life after death.’” (Simply Christian, page 218)
Here’s an interesting thought: Talk about “going to heaven” is what made me decide to give my heart to Jesus. For the next few years of my childhood I thought Christians were “not-very-good-looking” people who didn’t have great lives now but got to party later on. I was now part of that group, bound to a life of humdrum looks and very little fun but it would be all worth it in the end. Those thoughts from elementary school make me laugh now!
What does this have to do with worship?
If worship is designed for us to connect with God, and the end result of time will be an eternity in God’s presence, and living out His kingdom on earth, then worship gives us a taste of what is to come.
Romans 12:1-2 gives a great picture of what it means to worship with our lives: being living sacrifices
In the article “Worship Fit for a King” by Don Williams, he says that, “In Hebrew, the word “worship” [shakah] means to fall down or bow down: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God” (Psalm 95:6). To fall down is to surrender, to give up, becoming physically lower than the King.” (IW Master All, page 4). This scene sounds just like Revelation 5 where the elders and 4 creatures fall down in worship and singing before the Lamb who is worthy to open the scroll.
This was a good week for reflection and to open up my heart and mind into areas where I hadn’t put in a whole lot of thought.
This week has helped me to see some places where I am really lacking in my understanding of heaven, resurrection and the New Jerusalem.
Here is one thing I’m guilty of doing: concentrating on Jesus’ death on the cross and not saying a whole lot about His resurrection. But really, without the resurrection, my entire faith is pointless!
In the article “Resurrection, Our Living Hope,” Peter Davids says that:
"Jesus presently reigns (parallel to, and a replacement for “Caesar is Lord”, the patriotic acclamation of good Romans) and in order for this to be meaningful, Paul says, one must be committed to the fact that God raised him from the dead. No resurrection, no reign. No reign, no good news. Paul proclaimed Jesus as resurrected, living Lord as the core of his good news (cf. Acts 17:30-31)” (IW Master All, page 310).
"Jesus' resurrection points to our bodily resurrection when God creates the new heavens and the new earth. Yet we only concentrate on “going to heaven.” This is something of which I am also guilty, mostly because I’d never really questioned it. I just took it for granted as fact. Yes, I believe in heaven but in the book Simply Christian, N. T. Wright notes that after “going to heaven,” and facing a bodily death, we will be resurrected into God’s new Creation (Revelation 21:1). Wright calls resurrection “life after ‘life after death.’” (Simply Christian, page 218)
Here’s an interesting thought: Talk about “going to heaven” is what made me decide to give my heart to Jesus. For the next few years of my childhood I thought Christians were “not-very-good-looking” people who didn’t have great lives now but got to party later on. I was now part of that group, bound to a life of humdrum looks and very little fun but it would be all worth it in the end. Those thoughts from elementary school make me laugh now!
What does this have to do with worship?
If worship is designed for us to connect with God, and the end result of time will be an eternity in God’s presence, and living out His kingdom on earth, then worship gives us a taste of what is to come.
Romans 12:1-2 gives a great picture of what it means to worship with our lives: being living sacrifices
In the article “Worship Fit for a King” by Don Williams, he says that, “In Hebrew, the word “worship” [shakah] means to fall down or bow down: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God” (Psalm 95:6). To fall down is to surrender, to give up, becoming physically lower than the King.” (IW Master All, page 4). This scene sounds just like Revelation 5 where the elders and 4 creatures fall down in worship and singing before the Lamb who is worthy to open the scroll.
This was a good week for reflection and to open up my heart and mind into areas where I hadn’t put in a whole lot of thought.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Christian Worldview
This week's discussion was to type up a Christian worldview in 250-500. I found it a real struggle because it's such a huge topic so anything I can say would just be inadequate to cover the whole scope of things.
Anyway... That being said... Here's my answer...
God is One with three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each taking on a different role (the Trinity). He is the Creator of everything in the physical and spiritual world. He is Sovereign and reigns over all He has created. He is love; He cares for Creation and wants to make it right again. Humans are the lead worshippers of Creation, made in the Image of God (Imago Dei). We represent God’s reign in Creation and then gather the praises of Creation present them back to God. Humans create from what God has created. We are meant to tell stories of hope in a hurting world and build communities linked together by grace, forgiveness and love.
Although God loves humans, we have a choice of whether or not to love Him back. In order to fully love Him, we must have faith in Him, trust Him and obey Him. However, from Adam and Eve right on through human history we have all struggled with the choice to trust God and have the faith to do what He says or to do something else for some reason or another. Many times we’ve chose the “something else” thus “missing the mark" (sin) of what we were created to be. God, in His mercy, came down in bodily form as His Son Jesus and gave hope of restoration for all humankind. His Kingdom broke into our hurting world and defeated evil so that heaven and earth could unite.
The Kingdom of God is God’s presence and reign and it is very active in this world. It is not completely overlapping with Earth (pantheism: God is everything and everything is God) nor is it far off in a distant place (deism: God created the world but has since remained indifferent to it). The Kingdom is expressed in Creation as living things do what they were created to do (colourful rainbow, sun shining, flower growing, fish swimming, etc.). It is expressed in the human family as we love each other, use wisdom and represent God by showing grace and mercy to each other. The Church expresses the Kingdom of God through worship, service and love.
Jesus helped us to understand what will happen in the end when He prayed: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” God will judge the living and the dead then after that He will restore the earth that He called “good” when He first created it. Those who chose to have faith in God will be resurrected to live in the New Jerusalem, in God’s presence. Everything will be put right again.
Anyway... That being said... Here's my answer...
God is One with three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each taking on a different role (the Trinity). He is the Creator of everything in the physical and spiritual world. He is Sovereign and reigns over all He has created. He is love; He cares for Creation and wants to make it right again. Humans are the lead worshippers of Creation, made in the Image of God (Imago Dei). We represent God’s reign in Creation and then gather the praises of Creation present them back to God. Humans create from what God has created. We are meant to tell stories of hope in a hurting world and build communities linked together by grace, forgiveness and love.
Although God loves humans, we have a choice of whether or not to love Him back. In order to fully love Him, we must have faith in Him, trust Him and obey Him. However, from Adam and Eve right on through human history we have all struggled with the choice to trust God and have the faith to do what He says or to do something else for some reason or another. Many times we’ve chose the “something else” thus “missing the mark" (sin) of what we were created to be. God, in His mercy, came down in bodily form as His Son Jesus and gave hope of restoration for all humankind. His Kingdom broke into our hurting world and defeated evil so that heaven and earth could unite.
The Kingdom of God is God’s presence and reign and it is very active in this world. It is not completely overlapping with Earth (pantheism: God is everything and everything is God) nor is it far off in a distant place (deism: God created the world but has since remained indifferent to it). The Kingdom is expressed in Creation as living things do what they were created to do (colourful rainbow, sun shining, flower growing, fish swimming, etc.). It is expressed in the human family as we love each other, use wisdom and represent God by showing grace and mercy to each other. The Church expresses the Kingdom of God through worship, service and love.
Jesus helped us to understand what will happen in the end when He prayed: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” God will judge the living and the dead then after that He will restore the earth that He called “good” when He first created it. Those who chose to have faith in God will be resurrected to live in the New Jerusalem, in God’s presence. Everything will be put right again.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The value of humans created in the Imago Dei (ICEWS, eb 08)
For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt
[1] Wilt/Gentry (Podcast, Two Brothers on Righteousness)
[2] Wilt, Exploring Our Roots: The Contemporary Worship Movement
Dan Wilt discusses in section 3 of his book Essentials in Worship Theology four different characteristics of God and each one is matched with a characteristic of human beings:
1. God as Creator, humans are sub-creators
2. God as King, humans are image-bearers
3. God as Trinity, humans are community-builders
4. God as Saviour, humans are salvific story-tellers
Humans take after God because we are created in His Image (Imago Dei). Each of the four qualities of the human that coincide with God’s characteristics gives meaning and value to human beings.
GOD AS CREATOR, HUMANS ARE SUB-CREATORS
Creativity makes a difference. A photographer takes a shot that captures a heart-breaking event and this moves people to help. A scientist creates a new formula to fight a disease. A parent creates a loving environment in which their child can develop. A cook creates a delicious meal that celebrates that God has provided healthy food for us. A musician composes a song with notes expressing something that can not be said in words. Creativity is essential to making our world function well, solving problems and bringing joy to others. Humans have the privilege of carrying this valuable characteristic.
GOD AS KING, HUMANS ARE IMAGE-BEARERS
God has given us authority over His Creation. This gives human beings the honor and value of being righteous representatives here on Earth. As Ed Gentry says, “righteousness” actually means “right-relatedness”.[1] This gives value to human beings who get to display and experience love as we rule through service as “right-related” representatives of God.
As image-bearers we also represent creation to God. N.T. Wright discusses in his video Scriptural Resources, Creative Integration that Creation is praising God by being what it has been called to be and we as humans are called to gather those praises and present them to God. As lead worshippers we make those praises into a new song.[2]
GOD AS TRINITY, HUMANS ARE COMMUNITY BUILDERS
God has with in Himself a relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Taking after our Creator, we too yearn to be in community, to know someone and be fully known by someone. In Creation, humans have value because of this trait. Animals build “communities” out of instinct whereas we build communities out of love. As human beings we show the “why” of the “what” of community building.
GOD AS SAVIOUR, HUMANS ARE SALVIFIC STORY-TELLERS
God has poured out His grace on His undeserving Creation that doesn’t always have the full capacity to understand or appreciate what was done. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, God runs to us as we shamefully tell Him about some of (often not all) our crap. Now after meeting with God, we have the honor of giving hope to others who are where we once were. As story-tellers of salvation, we are very valuable as messengers of a life-altering message. How will the message of the story be known if someone doesn’t tell it?
I love it that because we humans take after God, our lives are valuable, irreplaceable in Creation!
[1] Wilt/Gentry (Podcast, Two Brothers on Righteousness)
[2] Wilt, Exploring Our Roots: The Contemporary Worship Movement
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Fully Human - What Does It Mean To Be A Human Being?
In thinking about what it means to be fully human, I want to go back to two beginnings:
1. the beginning of humans on earth: Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
2. the beginning of the church: Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Each time, humans are sent out with a task, a purpose to fulfill which I believe displays the purpose of humankind.
HUMANS ARE SUB-CREATORS
Human kind starts when God creates Adam from the dust of the earth and then the first command Adam and Eve receive is to create more life. Our sexuality is a big part of what makes us fully human because we get to participate with God in creating life. Likewise, Jesus’ first command to the church is to make disciples. We get to participate with God in the creation of spiritual multiplication.
HUMANS ARE IMAGE BEARERS
Being the Imago Dei here on Earth, authority is bestowed upon humans in Genesis to be God’s royal representatives over everything. In Matthew 28 Jesus reassures His disciples that He has the authority and therefore is able to bestow it on them. Being made in God’s image, we are responsible handle our authority the way Jesus handled His: by becoming a servant. As Dan Wilt pointed out, we are called to be stewards and care-takers. In order to better fulfill our calling to represent God we are called to worship because “You become like what you worship.” (Wright 148)
HUMANS ARE RELATIONAL
By being fruitful and multiplying life spiritually and physically, we are automatically creating community. It has never been all about the individual, the “me”. Dan Wilt points out that it’s a “cosmic salvation.” Christ redeemed the whole created order, not just the individual. This is important to keep in mind since as we just saw, we are created in the Image of God, given authority to be care-takers of the people to whom and the environment to which we relate.
HUMANS ARE SALVIFIC STORY-TELLERS
As image bearers of God, we are given authority to multiply spiritually and physically, thus growing in community. These are all intricately woven together but would not fit right if weren’t for this last attribute. Telling stories of hope and salvation is HOW you multiply spiritually. No one can become a disciple if they don’t hear about Jesus!
1. the beginning of humans on earth: Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
2. the beginning of the church: Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Each time, humans are sent out with a task, a purpose to fulfill which I believe displays the purpose of humankind.
HUMANS ARE SUB-CREATORS
Human kind starts when God creates Adam from the dust of the earth and then the first command Adam and Eve receive is to create more life. Our sexuality is a big part of what makes us fully human because we get to participate with God in creating life. Likewise, Jesus’ first command to the church is to make disciples. We get to participate with God in the creation of spiritual multiplication.
HUMANS ARE IMAGE BEARERS
Being the Imago Dei here on Earth, authority is bestowed upon humans in Genesis to be God’s royal representatives over everything. In Matthew 28 Jesus reassures His disciples that He has the authority and therefore is able to bestow it on them. Being made in God’s image, we are responsible handle our authority the way Jesus handled His: by becoming a servant. As Dan Wilt pointed out, we are called to be stewards and care-takers. In order to better fulfill our calling to represent God we are called to worship because “You become like what you worship.” (Wright 148)
HUMANS ARE RELATIONAL
By being fruitful and multiplying life spiritually and physically, we are automatically creating community. It has never been all about the individual, the “me”. Dan Wilt points out that it’s a “cosmic salvation.” Christ redeemed the whole created order, not just the individual. This is important to keep in mind since as we just saw, we are created in the Image of God, given authority to be care-takers of the people to whom and the environment to which we relate.
HUMANS ARE SALVIFIC STORY-TELLERS
As image bearers of God, we are given authority to multiply spiritually and physically, thus growing in community. These are all intricately woven together but would not fit right if weren’t for this last attribute. Telling stories of hope and salvation is HOW you multiply spiritually. No one can become a disciple if they don’t hear about Jesus!
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