Spider-Man swinging between Manhattan skyscrapers above a busy avenue

Best New Day

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“From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:16-18 CSB – Read the chapter)

Between taking a break through the month of July and exploring different aspects contributing to a growing church, it has been a while since we have reflected on culture together. Well, if you’ve missed that, I’m not going to keep you waiting any longer. This summer, Hollywood managed to do something it had not accomplished in quite some time. It released a genuine superhero blockbuster film. And I don’t just mean a little blockbuster either. This one smashed what had become a bit of a superhero glass ceiling into a million pieces. It also served to finally get the monkey off of the back of Marvel Studios that has been plaguing the company ever since Avengers: Endgame came out. I’m speaking, of course, about the latest Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Let’s talk about why this one was a grand slam in every way. And just for the sake of those who haven’t yet seen it, this will have spoilers.

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Luminous spiral galaxy surrounded by colorful nebulae and stars

The Wisdom of Creation

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“The Lord acquired me at the beginning of his creation, before his works of long ago. I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began. I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water. Before the mountains were established, prior to the hills, I was given birth—before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth. I was there when he established the heavens, when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, when he placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out, when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the earth. I was a skilled craftsman beside him. I was his delight every day, always rejoicing before him. I was rejoicing in his inhabited world, delighting in the children of Adam.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭22‬-‭31‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

One of the more common slang words for something old is to refer to it as “OG.” That’s technically short for “original gangster.” The phrase came out the urban hip hop culture as a way to establish something as authentic and real. Today it gets thrown around all over the place as a way simply to refer to things that are old or otherwise authentic. Well, when it comes to creation itself, it’s hard to imagine something more authentic and original than wisdom. Let’s talk about how Solomon describes it here.

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Split scene showing an elderly scholar in a library and a young executive in a modern office

The Real Wealth of Wisdom

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“With me are riches and honor, lasting wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than solid gold, and my harvest than pure silver. I walk in the ways of righteousness, along the paths of justice, giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Do you want to be rich? Who doesn’t? Sure, you may be able to find someone here or there who will claim they are perfectly content where they are, but I suspect just about all of us could think of what to do with a sudden and great infusion of wealth—and I don’t just mean charities you would support. And yet, it is true that there are many ways to be rich, not all of which have anything to do with the volume of physical resources you control. Every single one of these manifold of ways, though, has one thing in common: they all start with wisdom. Let’s talk about it.

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Scholar writing notes beside books and a globe in a historic library

Many for the Price of One

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“I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech. I possess good advice and sound wisdom; I have understanding and strength. It is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law; by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges. I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭12‬-‭17‬ ‭CSB – Read the chapter) ‬‬

One of the ways businesses try to increase their bottom line is by selling things in sets. Product B is good, but it really only works at its maximum potential if you also have Product A with it. Of course, if you purchase Product A, Products C, D, and E will also work better. Product A is the thing that ties them all together and completes the set. Wisdom and its fruits are like that. The fruits are all good, but if you try to acquire them independently of wisdom, they won’t work as well. Let’s talk about this as Solomon tells us about some of wisdom’s accompaniments.

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More Like Him

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It is necessary and often good to talk about the challenges facing a marriage. Until we properly understand the nature of the problem, we don’t know what it is we are trying to solve. However, unless we have a positive vision and understanding of what marriage was designed for in the first place, we’re not going to be able to point things in a direction that can help prevent future challenges. Last time, as we started our new teaching series, The Journey of a Lifetime, looking at what the Scriptures have to say about marriage, we identified the problem: sin. This week we are going to look at what marriage was designed for in the beginning so that we can walk away from the problem in the right direction.

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I’m going to show you an image of something, and I want to see if you know what it is? For some of you, this is probably going to be really easy, but a few of you might not have any idea. In fact, I’m going to show you a couple of different images for us to talk about. Let’s start with that first image. What is the thing sticking up out of the container here? Be honest with me now: How many of you knew this was a potato masher without being told or without cheating by reading the answer in your copy of my manuscript before the service even started? How many of you genuinely didn’t know what this thing was and wouldn’t have known without being told? Everyone else apparently is just confused. 

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