Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 12:12

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“For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body – so also is Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I love cartoons. Near as I can remember, I always have. Animation brings a world of storytelling possibilities to life that live action films and series simply can’t touch. CGI and Ai are a modern marvel in terms of what they allow us to put on the screen that looks so real you almost can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not, but what are those two except tools of animation? The kind of cartoons I’ve always been most drawn to are the ones with good stories. I’m a sucker for well-developed characters and a gripping plot. And, of course, cartoons about superheroes have always been my favorite. Growing up, one of the absolute best on television was X-Men. When news came out a few months ago that Marvel was going to pick back up the classic series that ended its run almost 30 years ago (I can’t tell you how much it pains me to write that), I was thrilled. They did not disappoint. X-Men 97′ wrapped up its first season this week and it was even better than I had hoped it would be. And, as is so often the case, the Gospel made an appearance in the story. Let’s talk about another Marvel classic and why we just can’t escape the Gospel.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 23:23-28

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“For my angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow in worship to their gods, and do not serve them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them and smash their sacred pillars to pieces. Serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you. No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days. I will clauses the people ahead of you to feel terror and will throw into confusion all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat. I will send hornets in front of you, and they will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hethites away from you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the books on the shelves in my office wrestles with the question of God’s character. The title makes the question pretty plain: Is God a Moral Monster? It tackles several of the most challenging stories in the Old Testament that are often presented as evidence for God’s being just that. One of the subjects the author, Paul Copan, spends a lot of time on is the Israelite entrance into the land of Canaan which came at the expense of the peoples already living there. The Exodus narrative doesn’t cover that particular journey, but God does give the people a bit of a preview of coming attractions. So, let’s wrestle a bit with it.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 23:20-22

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“I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him. But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The idea of angels is a pretty rich and varied one in human religious history. Nearly every culture has stories of angels in some form or fashion. Angels themselves are portrayed in all sorts of ways. And indeed, the Scriptures present angels in several different forms. Each kind seems to have a different role in the administration of God’s kingdom. Here, in the concluding statement on the first block of law, we find God’s telling the people about an angel that will serve as His representative as they go from Sinai to the Promised land. Let’s talk about a couple of ideas regarding the identity of this angel and the authority God has given to him.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 23:18-19

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“You must not offer the blood of my sacrifices with anything leavened. The fat of my festival offering must not remain until morning. Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God. You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself tasked with having to get the sound working for an outdoor movie event. I had all of the supplies I needed, but I wasn’t sure how to connect them all in a way that made the audio come out where I wanted it to. I needed instructions. Anytime we do something new, we need instructions. Just about everything you buy from the store comes with instructions. When we understand the instructions, we’ll know how to do whatever it is we are trying to do. God was creating a people who were being called to follow Him. The trouble was, that kind of thing hadn’t ever existed before. They needed instructions. Thus the law. Sometimes, though, just like instructions can be hard to understand, so can the laws God gave to Israel. Here’s a classic example. Let’s see what we can do with it.

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Working Properly

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This week we are in the fifth part of our teaching series, Authentic Church. So far we have talked about both the foundation and the context in which all of the different elements that make a church a church happen. These are Jesus and worship, respectively. We have also talked about two of the pillars that hold up this structure. These were sharing the Gospel and growing one another in Christ. This week we are tackling another one of the pillars of what makes the church the church. This one has everything to do with our actively being the body of Christ. Let’s talk about serving.

Working Properly

Let’s do a bit of imagining together this morning. First, I want you to imagine a company. Let’s say it’s a large company. It’s a large and successful company that has recently rolled out a new product that is promising to be a huge success in terms of sales and advancing the corporate brand in the minds of present and potential consumers. Managing to create a product like this is the goal of pretty much every company that has ever existed. This kind of product-launch that puts a company on the map can set a company up for success for many years into the future. But with this particular company, not all is well behind the scenes. The CEO is a tyrant who rules by threatening fiat and a demagogic personality. He’s brilliant, but mean. He rewards employees not for their character and competence, but for personal loyalty to him and their demonstration of a willingness to step over or even on top of their fellow employees in their attempts to advance their own careers in the company. This promising product was the CEO’s idea and he doesn’t let anyone forget that fact. Beyond this, though, innovation is stifled and new ideas are generally not welcome. Now, think on this for just a second: How successful do you think this company is going to be in the long-term? 

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