OCTOBER 4, 2020 SUNDAY MESSAGE
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I didn’t grow up in the digital era. Facebook & cell phones weren’t a normal item you carried with you and communication has come a LONG way…I read this newspaper clipping online from… ———->
The prediction was eerily accurate…and with the phone, not only translation, but it has ushered in a new digital language (short hand: LOL, IRL, BRB, BTW). It doesn’t stop there b/c we now have the ALMIGHTY EMOJI!! …and there is an emoji anything/everything…�
Emojis are helpful, right? Small/ simple images help us communicate our tone, emotions, feelings, & add
nuance to our text:
• Interview: Good luck � or �/� • In fact, your most commonly used EMOJI just
might says something about you!!
• I want to invite you to think Communally about this: what is the most popular EMOJI online right
now and what does it say about our country? No GOOGLE
Lots of qualifiers but a few appeared consistently in multiple platforms (Graphic up with EMOJIS):
• Crying Laughing
• Heart Eyes and
• Kissing Face.
• Paints a little more hopeful pic of 2020 b/c I may have guessed the vomit character!
Symbols are useful tools!! We can use them to…
• convey messages, large concepts, and our communal identities! • Civilizations throughout history
have used symbols for ALL KINDS of things! Think about…
• Statues, monuments, flags, or religious icons
• We might grab on to them simply because we..LIKE THEM
• LIKE them OR
• They can represent something deeper (an affiliation or
allegiance, even a moment in your life like a tattoo) to communicate some greater meaning!
• this guy even legally changed his name to just a symbol <PRINCE> • If it’s true that images and
symbols have representative power & help communicate,
As you have considered what image best represents you, I want you to know today that GOD chose an IMAGE that best represents HIMSELF. You might first think CROSS but that’s not it…it’s US!
God CREATED us with the IMAGE OF GOD. It is HUMANITY alone which has:
• the IMAGE - the THUMBPRINT - of God OR
• (as theologians call it) the IMAGO DEI!…embedded in them!
This is STAMPED upon our existence & changes EVERYTHING about how we:
• View ourselves,
• View others, and
• View our relationship to God. OPEN YOUR BIBLES TO…
GOD
GENESIS 1:26-31
26 Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our (1) image, in our (2) likeness,
There is a lot to unpack here so we will camp out on this one phrase for a bit then fill in some gaps with the rest of the section.
Essentially, He gave the world “IMAGES” of HIMSELF. God’s images are not static - like wood, or
stone idols by human hands - they are LIVING monuments that REFLECT WHO HE IS.
NT Wright uses a mirror illustration to communicate the image of God: You typically think of a
mirror as something you look directly into and see your own reflection but what if you angle the
mirror. Like one of the round street mirrors you use to see around a sharp corner than you drive.
You can see things you wouldn’t typically be able to see and vice versa. NT Wright says:
“It seems to me that God has put humans like an angled mirror in His world so that God can
reflect His love and care and stewardship of the world through humans…”
Though we are just the MIRROR and NOT GOD, the world sees God in us as we reflect it!
It also says we have God’s “likeness” SO, we are LIKE GOD. There is a DISTINCTION about us -
in comparison to all of the other created living things.
MEANING, if you want to know what God is like don’t look at your Golden Retriever or FLIPPER.
As adorable and smart as they are, they DO NOT have the IMAGO DEI…IN the midst of all the
created things, WE - humanity - are MOST like GOD and IMAGE BEARERS.
BUT what about us is LIKE God? Traditionally there are a few categories to describe this. Our
image bearing status:
• ENABLES us with a greater CAPACITY than other creatures (Mental, emotional, intellectual)
INSTILLS SACRED VALUE in Human life above all other creatures and assumes a level of
DIGNITY for all human life
• TIED to our RESPONSIBILITY to represent God’s KINGDOM.
1. CAPACITY
When we think of CAPACITY, the IMAGO DEI has been seen as the
special set of capabilities that set humanity apart from the other animals…”these are the ways in
which humans resemble God, such as in the characteristics of reason, morality, language, a
capacity for relationships governed by love and commitment, and creativity in all forms of art.”
All these insights can be put together by observing that the resemblances (man is like God in a
series of ways) allow mankind to represent God in ruling, and to establish worthy relationships
with God, with one another, and with the rest of the creation.1
2. SACRED VALUE/DIGNITY This distinction does not just separate us from the other creatures,
it INSTILLS a SACRED VALUE IN US and informs the way we treat humans vs. the other
creatures. • Inherent Understanding -
We recently got a cat - we named the cat ALEXANDER HAMILTON (for obvious
reasons). The cat is fun and we care for it - if we fall on difficult times, wherein we had to choose
between feeding ourselves or the cat…there is not a part of us that contemplates what to do in
that situation!
• You may have a specific conviction about eating animals, but nobody calls a detective when I
eat a steak or when a lion kills a gazelle. They are animals!! Does this mean we can ABUSE
animals? NO: the abuse of our responsibility to cultivate and steward creation is
wickedness.
…but if I kill a human being that’s different. WHY? Our life is sacred above all other living things.
• This is inherent but there are other aspects that cause
• Cultivated Understanding. • The part that needs to be cultivated IN US as seen by
history because the SACRED VALUE of humanity is directly connected to our sense of
human DIGNITY and how we treat all other humans around us… is this:
• our lives are absolutely sacred simply BECAUSE of God’ IMAGE IN US and no other factor!
• This means that our VALUE is NOT based on merit, survival
capabilities, or contribution to society.
• This thinking is what leads to genocide and holocaust
• …because basing the value of life on MERIT (or survival of the fittest mentality) strips others of
their God-given dignity.
• This belief will affect our view of how christians respond to human needs: those who are sick,
imprisoned, bereaved, poverty-stricken, differently abled, or defenseless!
• The IMAGO DEI informs our understanding of human rights (gender equality, abortion, sex-
trafficking), equality and racial justice in our social landscape.
LISTEN, as Christians, we believe ALL people bear the image of God and, therefore, all deserve
to be treated with the dignity afforded to them by that IMAGE AND any assault on God’s image
bearers is an assault on God.
This is not to say working out the Kingdom Ethic in all of these areas is simple. There are
complicated systems of injustice (built to take advantage of some at the benefit of others and to
do so covertly). These things take intentionality, awakening, and untangling but it says we are not
allowed to hit the eject button and disengage from it even if it is difficult!
SO, as Christians, we are to seek to shape the culture around us in ways that will preserve
human value, dignity, and cultivate a thriving society which leads me to…
The 3rd implication of being image bearers which is our RESPONSIBILITY. Now, our
responsibility is represented better in the following verses. Let’s read it…
Verse 26:
Let us make humanity in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea
and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that
move along the ground.”
3. RESPONSIBILITY
We are meant to rule and reign, to steward and cultivate. The beginning of that verse “Let us
make humanity in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over" “links the image of God
with the exercise of dominion and we…see that humanity is endowed here with authority to rule
the earth as God’s representatives or vice-regents” 2
Not going to spend a lot of time on this because we covered this a few weeks ago and talked
about how this affects our understanding of work/vocation and how the Gospel isn’t escaping
those things but understanding how we glorify God - helping humanity to thrive like EDEN (which
is what God intended).
There is a second part to this that we are going to get to in a second but our IMAGE BEARING
RESPONSIBILITY - our Gospel Responsibility - is to be rule in the likeness of God over creation
and build neighborhoods, cities, and cultures that are embedded with His Kingdom!
Let’s read verse 27
27 So God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and
female he created them.
Male and Female representation! There is a binary representation of physically different beings,
and there is absolutely no distinction of status as bearers of God’s image…this is what reflects
the creator.
“…no more interesting and telegraphic comment exists on the nature of being human and on the
nature of God. The male aspect and the female aspect implicitly are part of the first human and a
reflection of the Creator.” 3
They are equal while having distinction as they fulfill the divine mandate to steward the earth.
This is important because when we talk RENEWAL, REDEMPTION, RECONCILIATION and
Heaven Coming to Earth, THIS IS THE GOAL!
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and
subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that
moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the
whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all
the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the
ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was
so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning— the sixth day.
As I mentioned before, our image responsibility includes ruling “in the likeness of God over
creation and to build neighborhoods, cities, and cultures that are embedded with His Kingdom!”
You can’t build these things without filling them with humans.
So, having children is a part of the creation mandate that God gives His people.
• As male and female, they are meant to multiply faithful followers of Yahweh. Who love God and
carry on his representation and stewardship throughout the world.
• You actually see the adherence to this mandate becomes a hindrance and a threat to Pharaoh in EXODUS. Their multiplication leads to earthly persecution but, ultimately, their deliverance!
• We are meant to be fruitful and multiply upon this earth (including making disciples) as we
spread the Kingdom rule/reign of God to the ends of the earth!
• This isn’t to say that you are necessarily sinning if you choose not to have kids but these verses
should be considered in your decision making process.
• If you have desired to have children but couldn’t - or have had difficulty in this process
(especially recently) - the first thing I want to do is extend my heartfelt sympathies.
• I know how difficult and heartbreaking this can be - for three or four years, my wife and I were
unable to get pregnant. During that time, she had several miscarriages and I want you to know
that God sits with those who mourn and this is NOT God’s intention when he created the world
but a result of a broken state of creation.
• Remember too: that, in the context, large families were part of the household and created
survival capabilities like provision through trade (farming, fishing, etc) and protection (enemy at
the gate)
We are to multiply and bring God’s rule with us. The way in which we rule is incredibly important!!
As we opened up today, we looked at the power of symbols and and IMAGE BEARING symbols
were not uncommon in ancient times. Pictures of rulers were created and placed on coins and
statues which were distributed to lands they could not (or didn’t care to) govern directly but
wherein they still wanted to keep. It was a way to make sure that the citizens in that area knew
who their ruler was, who had power, and who had control.
WHILE some image bearing symbols are EVIL:
• meant to instill fear (confederate monuments install after CivilWar)
• God’s people are not to instill fear
• Symbols like this can be co-opted for evil purposes (Swastikas).
• God’s people are not to be co-opted
Other IMAGES are GOOD:
• meant to inspire courage in adversity ( ______ )
• Designate accomplishment or finishing a task (Checkered flag and gold, silver, bronze medals)
• Meant to inspire hope (fire & rescue)
If you are a good news image bearer, do people think it is good news when you are coming over?
When you walk into a room are people relieved, excited, put to ease, uplifted and inspired?? Or
are you a threat to their security, do you put people on edge, and make people want to leave?
Simply put, is it GOOD NEWS when you enter the ROOM because JESUS was good news to
those who needed Him. Only those who operate in evil need fear Him.
Furthermore, we are not to sub create IMAGES of God ourselves. Some of the ancient societies
created picture, statues, and idols to represent the presence of their Gods or their affiliation with
that God.
• YHWH, however, sends living/ breathing images of himself by way of His people to represent
Him in all that we do!
• While idols that were lifeless and mute, God’s image bearers had the very winds of God
breathed into them as they portrayed the Kingdom.
Interestingly, we are not to make an image of God…
Deut. 20:4-6
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the
earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the
Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third
and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of
those who love me and keep my commandments.”
God knows we are likely to begin worshipping the work of OUR hands or making God in OUR
image (like white Jesus) and using it to RULE and REIGN in ways that dishonor God.
I Love the way the Gospel Project puts it: “People are not supposed to make images of God
because he has already made images of Himself.”
And our singular focus, if we want to be GOOD image bearers is God’s word and the life of Jesus.
It is our IMAGE BEARING. Our representation that creates a responsibility is meant to bring about
shalom, healing, deliverance, restoration, and the good news of the Gospel to all people.
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SAVE THE DATE: The 2020 Marriage Retreat is scheduled to be Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and November 8!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
Coty Miller’s own “Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.