Tag: Restoration

Redeeming the Broken

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Interruptions are part of life. For the last couple of weeks in our teaching series, When Life Gets in the Way, we have been talking about the kinds of interruptions God’s plans can bring to our lives and what to do in those times. But what about when our interruptions are the cause of our own, sinful choices. What then? Today we are going to explore the story of a Bible “hero” whose choice to sin seems like it should have derailed all of God’s plans for his life. But it didn’t. Let’s talk about why and what that might mean for us.

Redeeming the Broken

People are different. Now, you can take that statement in several different ways, but what I mean is that we’re not like the rest of creation. When Moses was poetically describing the creation process, when he got to the part where God made people, he presented it differently than all the other aspects of creation. He changed the poetic pattern, which would have been a major tipoff that something was different. He said this: “So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.” In bearing God’s image—His personal characteristics, not His divine ones—God made us distinct from the rest of creation. 

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Digging in Deeper: Galatians 6:1

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“Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I’ve been talking more and more often about the church lately, and today is going to follow in that pattern. I was reminded just last night while watching one of the shows my bride and I enjoy together of yet another reason the church matters so very much. This time, though, the reason is hard. It’s hard on both sides of the equation too. Yet in spite of the difficulty of this reason and its expression, its significance to our lives and to the life of the church more generally is hard to overstate. Let’s talk this morning about birthing babies, nearly missed affairs, and why the church is so important.

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Morning Musing: Romans 8:19-22

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“For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Things in this world are not the way they should be. That’s something every religion acknowledges in one way or another. It’s not just that we’re broken, though. The problem extends to the whole world. Creation itself is broken. Creation itself needs to be restored and set right again. Believe it or not, this is part of the Gospel. Let’s take a look here as Paul explains that creation is looking forward to our redemption as much as we are.

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Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 4:31-32

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“Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I remember a day when cartoons were just for kids and they were mostly silly. In the early 90s, though, cartoons began to mature some. They were still designed for kids, but they started telling more nuanced and complex stories. Actually, they started telling stories period. No longer could you just watch one episode and not wonder or worry about anything else. They became episodic. And they were good. Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series which later combined to become The Justice League and eventually Justice League: Unlimited, Spider-Man, X-Men, Gargoyles, and more like them changed the way a whole generation of kids – including me – watched and thought about cartoons. Today animation has become a vehicle for mature and in-depth storytelling that takes viewers on a grand adventure while exploring large and important themes. And I’m not just talking about anime which I have just never taken to liking. One of the more recent entries into the genre is the Netflix series, Arcane. Let’s talk about what works, what doesn’t, and why, once again, the Gospel lies at its heart.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 33:7-11

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“Now Moses took a tent and pitched it outside the camp, at a distance from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who wanted to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand up, each one at the door of his tent, and they would watch Moses until he entered the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance to the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. As all the people saw the pillar of cloud remaining at the entrance to the tent, they would stand up, then bow in worship, each one at the door of his tent. The Lord would speak with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend, then Moses would return to the camp. His assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent.” (CSB – Read the chapter)‬‬

The best relationships are our closest ones. That’s not the same thing as saying they are the easiest. The easiest ones are the most distant because those require the least of us. The closest relationships are often the hardest because when we get close we can see—and experience—each other’s faults and flaws in ways that cause inconvenience, frustration, and pain. But closer is better. Broken relationships are often distant. In this next part of the story, we see Israel experiencing distance from God. Let’s talk about judgment, relational distance, and why what we have in Jesus is so much better.

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