In the entire history of Planet Earth – in the entire history of the universe, in fact – it had never happened. Never. It had never happened, not even once. And it will never happen again.

What happened? God died.Yes, you read that correctly. You might want to read it again.

God died. Yes, God died. Not just some guy, but God Himself – for Jesus was, and is, God.

Maybe it should not surprise us, but this God the Son – this divine Logos (“the Word”) – spoke the Word until His final breath. The very last sentence of His life was a quote of Psalm 31:5. You squeeze Jesus, and He oozes Bible. You pierce Jesus, and He pours out Bible. You put Jesus in some remote desert, and He speaks Bible. You starve Jesus nearly to death, and He lives by the Bible. You send that roaring lion Satan to attack Jesus – and to tempt Jesus in every conceivable and inconceivable way – and He quotes the Bible. You nail Jesus to a cross. You torture Jesus. You unleash hell on Jesus. He prays the Bible!

I know that we generally focus on the last words of Jesus during Holy Week, but have you ever thought about the first words of the life of Christ as recorded in Holy Scripture? They were spoken to His mother and Joseph (Luke 2:49): “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” And the Bible specifically records that Mary and Joseph did not understand what their son meant.

Do we know what He meant? I believe that – as a 12-year-old – Jesus was saying in effect: “The Father has given me a job to do, and I can’t go home until the job is done.” With His last few breaths, Christ said something like this (Luke 23:46): “Father, I’m coming home now because I’ve done the job You gave Me to do.” Christ put Himself into His Father’s hands because that’s the only place He ever wanted to be. Christ did not commit His spirit into the hands of Pilate or Caiaphas or the Roman soldiers. Neither did Jesus commit His spirit to Peter, James, John, or any of the other disciples. Our Lord was to be in good hands, so He committed His spirit into the hands of the Father.

Charles Spurgeon preached it like this: “Now He is committing His spirit, as a sacred trust, into the Father’s hands that He may depart to be with the Father, to abide in His house, and go no more out forever. Christ’s life is all of a piece, just as the Alpha and the Omega are letters of the same alphabet. You do not find Him one thing at the first, another thing afterwards, and a third thing still later – He is ‘Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.’”

All because of the cross and resurrection, and their stubborn belief in both, the earliest followers of Jesus were put to incomprehensible tests. By way of example, Stephen – who we remember as the first Christian martyr – died with Scripture on his lips. Stephen was preaching in that most feared name of Jesus, and people told him he better stop or they’d kill him! But Stephen wouldn’t stop because he couldn’t stop. So Stephen just stood there and preached the Bible … never mind the consequences.

How shall you and I fare on the day of our testing? Probably the best way to gauge that is by considering how you and I live now. If we have any hope to be found faithful until the last day, it will be because we have fallen in love with the grace of Jesus …

A grace that went all the way!
A grace that could not be quenched by sin!
A grace that would nourish hope even in the darkest hour!

And the reason we know the truth about grace is because it’s been revealed to us in the Bible. Every page whispers His name, a Truth that would love until the moment of His death … so God died. Yes, God died. There’s lots of evidence that He really died (more on that Sunday), but you and I still must believe it by faith.

I can’t ask the question any better than Charles Wesley. It haunts me, yet it thrills me …

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain –
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

When the time comes for me to speak my final words, I hope they’re not my words.

Pastor Charles

I was able to capture these 16 photographs from the 5th floor of the St. Paul early this morning. In uncertain times, it’s more than comforting to know the God who commands the sun to rise. May the peace of Christ be upon our campus, and upon our beloved community.

Pastor Charles

Yesterday felt like a day of joy for our Green Hills staff team. After a brief devotional together, we spent some time talking about specific ways in which we’d love to see God work in our church. So you can imagine how delighted we were to see the Lord answering some of our prayers even before the day was through! I hope that we will record that one in our “God’s faithfulness” file. Indeed He is.

Admittedly, not every day unfolds like that. More often than not, perhaps, we find ourselves waiting on God to do what only God can do. That’s as it should be. He is building our faith. He is strengthening our resolve. He is cultivating in our souls a deep sense of dependence upon Himself. You know as well as I that we tend to wander when we’re not leaning on those everlasting arms.

There’s a powerful description of the gospel in Romans 5:1-11. You may be quite familiar with that passage, penned by the Apostle Paul, but I would encourage you to take another look at it today. I believe that it will speak to you in fresh ways, because God’s Word works like that. It is alive! Doctrine that is as familiar to us as our favorite shirt can – all of a sudden – awaken in us new and powerful insight. As I read and reread that text, I’m seeing a description of joy that I’ve never recognized as the gem that it is. I’ll bet that, regardless of our individual circumstances, the joy of the Lord is what we most need.

It’s a joy that is longer than my waiting. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Yes. It’s a joy that stretches farther than what my eyes can see. Because of what Jesus has accomplished for us, on the cross where He died in our place, our account has been settled with God. Can you imagine such a gift? We who had no means by which to pay our sin debt have discovered that our debt has been paid in full. “It is finished.”

It’s a joy that is larger than my circumstances. We rejoice in our sufferings. Yes. The Bible calls us to the impossible, that you and I may draw our strength from another source. We can identify, personally, with our Savior. We can communicate, personally, with our Lord. We can trust Him with all of the unknowns … and all of the sorrows … and all of the unresolved “why’s” in our vocabulary. Our magnificent Savior is no stranger to suffering, and He felt – and feels – our every pain.

It’s a joy that is stronger than my feelings. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Yes. We must never forget that we didn’t initiate the search party –He did. He loved us before the foundation of the world. He loved us in spite of our treacherous rebellion. He loved us when there was nothing lovely or lovable about us. So my feelings about what God may think of me are no match for what God has already declared about His passionate grace toward me.

It’s a joy that is deeper than my understanding. While we were enemies we were reconciled. Yes, and I can hardly believe it! That I would receive such undeserved yet extravagant grace … I suspect that will blow my mind as long as I live. When I wade into the Scriptural promises which describe the love of God for me, I feel like a giraffe going for a swim. I know that I need to dive headfirst and let the waters engulf me, but the clunkiness of my own pride and myopathy hold me back from fully delighting in the ocean of grace that is already mine. Perhaps you can relate. Perhaps we need to form a support group for recovering giraffes. Better yet, perhaps the church is the place where we can learn to rise above our clunkiness – and the place where we can find the people who will go “all in” with us.

I’m not sure how your journey feels today. Maybe you feel like you missed an important turn. Maybe you feel out of gas. Or maybe you feel like you’ve driven completely off the road. I can relate, friend. I can relate. But there is great joy to be found in Christ. This is not the time to give up, or to give in, but to press on. The promises of God are unchanging. The promises of God are ours for the taking, and God gives freely.

Nearly a decade ago and tucked inside a book, a letter written by C.S. Lewis was discovered. As you may remember, joy was one of topics most frequently addressed by the British writer. In any event, when I read the letter, one line jumped off the page: “I doubt whether anyone who has tasted joy would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world.” Though we likely agree with Mr. Lewis in principle, surely you and I would have to admit that we far too often trade the joy that should be ours in Christ for significantly lesser things. So, today, I’m calling you to trade up for joy.

I’ll be trading up with you.

Pastor Charles

It’s always great when I can blog on a happy day. And it’s always a happy day when the good guy wins. And here’s my happy report: Coach Joe Kennedy is back to doing what he loves: coaching football!

Just in case you haven’t been following the story, in the state of Washington, Coach Kennedy was fired just last year. His offense was that he prayed silently on the football field after games. The Bremerton School District had been on his back since about 2015, alleging that the coach’s prayers violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Last summer, the United States Supreme Court disagreed with the school. It was a 6-3 decision. Subsequently, a U.S. district judge ordered that the coach’s job be reinstated before today (March 15).

You might think that a SCOTUS ruling is the end of such stories, but the Christian cake baker out in Colorado – who is still being harassed by the state (you can see my previous job postings on this subject, including photos of my trip to D.C. to rally for Jack Phillips) – would beg to differ. So I was really glad to see Coach Kennedy back on the job, and I thought that I would share the good news with you.

If you’ll momentarily allow me, I’ll share with you just three quotes from the SCOTUS majority that may be an encouragement to you …

“A government entity sought to punish an individual for engaging in a brief, quiet, personal religious observance doubly protected by the free exercise and free speech clauses of the First Amendment.”

“The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.”

“Our precedents remind us that the First Amendment’s protections extend to teachers and students, neither of whom shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

You and I might not enjoy the “free exercise of religion” and free speech forever – many of our sisters and brothers around the world do not live with such privileges – but I believe that we ought to do all that we can to protect such rights for as long as we can. This is not just a matter of law, government, or politics – in my opinion – but I contend that our nation’s fundamental freedoms have in large measure allowed the gospel of Jesus to be exported around the world. Over the course of America’s history, as our churches have been allowed to prosper, many of those blessings have overflowed into the missionary enterprise.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’ve preached in the underground church in China, so I am by no means suggesting that God is dependent upon our government to do His work. I’m simply calling us to be grateful for our freedom, and to do what we can to secure that freedom for others.

And there are some even larger lessons to be learned here, I believe. First of all, you and I need to be ready to take a stand when the time is right. We’re not called to fight every battle, or to die on every hill, but we are called to live as salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). I say it often on Sunday mornings (and I stole it from R.C. Sproul): “Right now counts forever.” Sometimes we do find ourselves in the fiery furnace, and we must never forget that we never go there alone.

Secondly, this is a great time to refresh ourselves in some basics that we may not have considered since high school. About two years ago Eileen and I led a study called “Government and the Gospel,” and we were surprised by how many people had never taken a serious look at the text of the First Amendment. I would encourage you to pull that out, dust it off, and at least develop a basic framework which you can employ to engage in important conversations on this subject. The conversations are happening, from sea to shining sea – and I want us as God’s people to be awake, alert, and influential in the court of public opinion. I think it matters, here and now.

Thirdly, are we still praying for revival? All the civics lessons in the world can’t transform society like the power of the Holy Spirit! Coach Kennedy told reporters, “It’s been a long road.” That’s likely the understatement of the week. These are wearying times for many in the church, but we know where our strength really lies. You and I have a chance, right now, to band together in asking our sovereign God to do the impossible in our midst!

Free speech or no free speech, when it comes to Christ’s Great Commission, I hope that the cry of your heart and mine is, “Put me in, Coach!”

Pastor Charles

The Apostle Paul tells us that we, as followers of our risen Lord, ought to “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Another popular English translation of that verse tells us that we ought to shine like stars! And, in perhaps even a more familiar passage (Matthew 5:16), Jesus reminds us to let our light shine!

When we lived out in SoCal, we were consistently amazed by how just a slight change of elevation could completely transform everything in view. We would hop on State Route 73 (known to the north as the Corona del Mar Freeway), immediately leaving behind all traffic congestion in the O.C., and in just a couple of minutes be so far removed from the urban lights that the stars above seemed nearly touchable. From that new perspective, every hilltop vista was exquisitely beautiful, and we never grew tired of those “ooh” and “aah” moments around every bend.

It seems to me that the Scriptures are calling us to take on a new perspective, in Christ. Paul connects our practical “shining” with our call to humility. It is not about us. God has graced us with the gift of salvation, so we love Him and others in response. We are the grateful recipients, and so we simply share the love that we have received. Specifically, Paul reminds us not to grumble and complain. I know that you and I sometimes attempt to minimize the sin of grumbling, but I don’t think the Bible supports our flimsy excuses. Grumbling is a mockery of the sovereign provision of God. And our ungrateful attitude can draw others into the same sin. It’s dangerously contagious.

The apostle describes the world in which we live as “a crooked and twisted generation.” That’s a mouthful of warning, and a powerful reminder to us of our call to live in sharp contrast to the pervasive culture and ideology. Thus, the shining. The backdrop of spiritual darkness sets the stage for our lives to really count, and to count for eternity.

Paul places this new perspective under the umbrella of our “working out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” Notice that we’re not working for our salvation. That would be legalism, which is deadly. But we’re working out our salvation. A life of humble sacrifice is our heartfelt response to the great love which has been lavished upon us in Christ. We’re reminded that it’s the “good pleasure” of God which is motivating us to, and empowering us for, faithful living.

As you read this today, I don’t know what you’re up against. But I do know that God’s desire is that you rejoice in both good times and bad. That reality in Christ is your unique privilege, because you are His. You are the apple of His eye. You are His beloved. You are His distinct light in this dark world. So you and I must rise above the fray and give Him praise.

Jesus tells us why all of this matters, and it’s because He desires that many others come under the influence of the light that emanates from you and me … “that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Shine!

Pastor Charles

I hate to see this series come to a close, but I want to express my sincere thanks to all of you for making it such a success. Everyone contributed to the robust conversation. Everyone taught something. Everyone learned something. Last night was no exception, as the barbecue dinner set the stage for our final opportunity in this series to sharpen each other in the timeless truth of the gospel of Jesus.

I began the presentation by highlighting some of the key themes which we’ve established in previous weeks. When you and I look at the contemporary landscape of gender ideology, it’s easy to get depressed. The subject matter is nearly overwhelming, and it’s changing so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up – try as we may. Some specific areas of “bad news” come to my mind immediately …

Sexual desires have become the definition of personhood. Time and again in this series I’ve tried to point out just how inherently flawed this thinking really is – and yet it permeates our culture. “He is gay.” “She is trans.” They are bi.” As if the totality of a person’s being  – not to mention their worth or their value – can be reduced and minimized like that.

Sexual and gender ambiguity is considered a virtue. The terminology and the distinctions are kept fluid – and intentionally so it seems – and the definitions keep morphing. Instead of well-intentioned energy being focused on helping young people successfully resolve their issues of gender dysphoria, the goal seems to be something akin to a complete social revolution (and one that will never be satisfied).

Sexual freedom has been elevated to the point of idolatry. Last night I shared with the church family a recent statement from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) warning of the long-term consequences of “gender reassignment” procedures. I’ll share here a portion of that statement: “Conflicting motivations have led to a growing industry dedicated to providing ‘gender-affirming’ procedures that are generally irreversible and have a high probability of causing sterilization. These include puberty ‘blockers,’ sex hormones, and surgery, such as castration, penectomy, and mastectomy. They commit a patient to a lifelong need for medical, surgical, and psychological care. ‘Gender-affirming care” in minors is medically and ethically contraindicated because of a lack of informed consent. There are inherently unknown and unknowable long-term risks, and the consequences of removing normal, healthy organs are irreversible.”

Our sexual obsession is on a collision course with the truth. We could go on and on with examples of (what I labeled last night) the “house of cards phenomenon,” but the point has been well made: much of the current gender mantra is directly at odds with God’s Word – from Creation onward. As a bit of a “state of the union,” each one of these current trends represents some version of “exchanging the truth for a lie” (Romans 1:25). That’s the bad news.

But, when it comes to navigating this current cultural crisis, you and I are trusting in a power that isn’t us! Resurrection power! Holy Spirit power! Our gospel hope reminds us daily that we can’t rely on ourselves to change anyone – or to change anyone’s mind. We watched a portion of a video testimony by Professor Christopher Yuan of Moody Bible Institute. Dr. Yuan reminded us, in a personal and compelling way, that God can change within us things that no one else can change. When it comes to our sin, He is the overcomer. When it comes to our national sins, only He can be the overcomer. That’s why Emily prayed for us – that you and I might have “holy courage” for such a time as this.

Before our friend so graciously shared with us her personal “pronoun story” from her workplace – a global corporation with a sizable presence right here in Nashville – I presented one final thought: when confusion marks the land, grace is the sweetest language that can be spoken. Grace. I believe it’s our only path forward. It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), and we desperately need His kindness in us. After all, you and I have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). We are counting on the fact that our Lord Jesus will live through us a life that would be otherwise impossible. Hallelujah!

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this series as much as I’ve enjoyed spending the time with you. Our Midweek Spring Series will begin on Wednesday, April 12 at 5:30 p.m. The topic will be publicized soon. Dinner and childcare will be provided.

You make my joy complete.

Pastor Charles

Last night we explored the role of the body of Christ in an environment where the culture seems to be shifting so quickly that we can barely stay on top of it. This is certainly true in the land of gender ideology. I shared with the participants my theory that because LGBTQIA+ advocacy forces have managed to control much of the public narrative, it’s going to get harder and harder for the church to speak the truth in regard to these matters. I believe that this will be the reality both from the pulpit and in the public square.

Today I’ll share three of the popular narratives that are most concerning to me. They seem to have captured the hearts of millions of Americans, and yet they are substantively untrue when held up against the light of God’s Word. We carefully considered each one of these last evening …

1. Matters of sexual orientation (and all the gender-related subcategories therein) are the hallmark of human personhood and human identity. False. This may even be close to the truth, but it falls short. Yes, we are created in God’s image with a sexual identity that is central to the core of who we are. But the summation of a person’s identity is neither their sexual behavior nor their sexual desires. We’re living in a time when many want to identify themselves and each other (right down to the pronouns) based on wildly subjective interpretations of “gender,” as if “sex” and “gender” were completely interchangeable terms. And I’m noticing in contemporary literature that “gender” is rarely clearly defined. In contrast, the Bible grounds us in the undeniable reality of biological sex, and reveals many other human characteristics which fall under the umbrella of our being God’s image bearers (intellect, emotion, volition, etc.). Though our fallen world is marked by gender dysphoria and some rare chromosomal abnormalities, these do not negate God’s created order. So the question is not “Who do I believe myself to be?” but “Who has God purposefully designed and created me to be?” When we answer that question correctly, we are a whole lot more (and a whole lot more valuable) than that which can be captured by popular (and seemingly ever-shifting) labels.

2. Matters of sexual orientation (et al) are matters of basic equity and civil rights. Again, I have to respectfully disagree. I understand the desire to frame gender-related issues in this manner, and it seems to be working, but I don’t think it’s valid because we’re not talking about immutable characteristics like the color of a person’s skin. We moved to California right after the famous Proposition 8 became law (2008). Liberal California moved in a conservative direction and defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. People were stunned. How did this happen the same year that political liberals enjoyed so many victories? When the studies were done, it was the African American community which had most strongly supported traditional marriage at the polls. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying that we cheapen the gains made by the civil rights movement when we attach “civil rights” to matters of personal choice. (I know that some will not like my use of the phrase “personal choice,” but please just hear me out … it is the LGBTQIA+ community that is most convincing me of this … please keep reading …)

3. Matters of sexual orientation (et al) are personal and fluid. Really? It gets interesting, doesn’t it? We’re being told, on the one hand, “Let me be me. Don’t tread on my civil rights.” And we’re being told, on the other hand, “I may identify one way today and a different way tomorrow, and you must grant me the freedom to self-identity in any way that I want, and to change my self-identity at any time that I want.” Friends, how can it be presented (and believed) both ways? I’ll tell you how. Moral relativism. As a culture, we’re drowning in it. I believe that, at this point, most Americans believe that we can simultaneously hold competing truth claims with neither of them being untrue. Sadly, widespread confusion about the nature (the “knowability”) of truth has invaded many segments of the professing church. (For more on the subject of moral relativism, see Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air by Francis Beckwith and Gregory Koukl.)

So that was much of our substance last night. I touched briefly on the terms “heterosexual privilege,” “heterosexism,” and “heteronormativity,” just because I want us to be conversant in these things when the opportunity arises to shine the light of Christ. (If you weren’t able to attend, we have copies of all the handouts in the office.) Many of you expressed your appreciation for the video clip that I shared from the Oxford Union. We watched a stirring speech given by Calvin Robinson urging the Church of England not to jettison Biblical orthodoxy under the weight of cultural pressure.

I ended the night with an appeal for love. We must love God. We must love each other. We must love a lost and dying world. Jesus didn’t use His toughest words with trans boys and trans girls and others who were longing to be recognized and valued. Quite the opposite, in fact. Our Lord used his harshest language with the religious hypocrites. “Lord, I don’t want to be in that number!” There’s only one place where you and I can look to see the truth about ourselves – the truth about who we really are – and that’s the mirror which is the Word of the living God. Commenting on James 1:25, Adelynn Spiecker says it like this: “As we stoop down on our hands and knees to look intently at Jesus, He raises Himself up powerfully within us, as He is seated at God’s righteous right hand, interceding for us. Hallelujah, what a Savior!”

Hallelujah, indeed!

Pastor Charles

Last night we enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner followed by another robust discussion on the subject at hand. We focused our attention on our need to have the right heart posture in order to share Christ in such confusing times. Everyone “out there” is struggling with something, as are we. We reminded ourselves that what we all long for is this: to be fully known and fully loved!

Many people struggle with shame, so we discussed the distinctions between guilt and shame. One participant shared a valuable insight on the distinctions between conviction and condemnation, a point of clarification for which we were all grateful. Then we had a brainstorming session centered on the kinds of life events which cause shame. I shared some insights from a book that I’ve been reading called The Soul of Shame, written by Curt Thompson, M.D., and we discussed how shame becomes deeply associated with a person’s sense of self. In other words, shame becomes internalized, and makes its way into the core of who we are.

We then discussed how shame impacts our thinking, feeling, and sensing in powerful ways. Shame can make us emotionally numb or emotionally “nauseous,” for example. And our negative thoughts can recycle and feed on each other. When we are crippled by shame, even our cognition can become fuzzy. Dr. Thompson makes the point that shame sets us up for what he calls “disintegration,” which can drive us into isolation from others.

In a world where technology has not served to cure our isolation, but rather to enhance it, we discussed how communities which promise freedom from identity issues can appear quite attractive. Young people in particular are drawn to places of acceptance and affirmation, and will seek that nearly anywhere. So if the LGBTQ community promises such heartfelt acceptance, you have a recipe for gender confusion.

Last night we underscored just how important it is for the church to be strong right now – strong doctrinally, relationally, and missionally. We want to be a refuge for everyone. We want to be a place of grace for everyone. We want the world to see us with our arms open wide (because our arms are indeed open wide). Only God can make us such a place, and such a people.

Then I introduced the group to Rosaria Butterfield (via video), who once chaired the Feminist Studies department at Syracuse University. Rosaria has abandoned her former identity as a lesbian and is helping the evangelical church understand some of the critical issues which are raised by the subject of gender ideology. We took a look at her second book, Openness Unhindered, and I focused our attention on a few of her key points there. I’ll share just three via blog this morning …

“Adam’s fall rendered my deep and primal feelings untrustworthy and untrue.”

“I was converted not out of homosexuality, but out of unbelief.”

“God’s revealed purpose for my identity always nails me to his cross.”

Wow! That’s some powerful truth! In a feeling-driven culture, you and I can be guided by something much more steady and stable. By way of example, gender dysphoria is a legitimate medical issue, but we must be very careful how we treat it. And we must be very careful about who is making those decisions. And we must be very careful about the motivations of the people who are making those decisions.

As we reviewed the simple gospel of Jesus, including the truth about our sinful nature, we reminded ourselves that we all experience a very real struggle when it comes to living out the identity that matters most: we are sons and daughters of God. That’s not always easy, is it? “Through many dangers, toils, and snares …” And yet the lover of our souls has gone before us to lead us home. His grace is, even when we can’t see how things will work out, strangely sufficient.

So, as we “glorify God and enjoy him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, 1647), we want to love others – all others – with the completely undeserved love which we have so freely received in Christ.

The tomb is empty!

Pastor Charles

Last night proved to be another important installment of our ongoing midweek series. We focused our energy on learning what it means to be “fearfully and wonderfully made,” as we took in the text of Psalm 139 verse-by-verse.

We made a number of important observations from the text, including the fact that only Christ can satisfy our deep need to be fully known. It may sound obvious, but it’s worth remembering: God knows us better than we know ourselves! To think that God knows everything about me causes me to marvel, like David – “This is too wonderful for me!” I made the point that God’s knowledge is a searchlight into the deepest recesses of my being, even those “thought closets” that I don’t want Him to know anything about. But who am I kidding? We considered a quote from Matthew Henry: “God has perfect knowledge of us, and all our thoughts and actions are open before him.”

Then we talked about the love of God for us. Only God can satisfy our deep need to be fully loved. Our Creator’s own invisible hand leads and guides and protects and sustains us. We see this in the miracle of the conception of a child. God brings together something from the man … and something from the woman … and they must come together at precisely the right moment … and under precisely the right circumstances … and a human being is created! Marvelous! God’s little image bearers just keep coming into the world, and each one is not just a human body, but a human soul. Who can create a soul? Not you. Not I. We, like David, just stand in awe.

There are no mistakes: God chose gladly to give us life, and – when the time was perfect – He deliberately brought each one of us into being! And only Christ can satisfy our deep need to be valued. A true sense of self-worth must start with the recognition that we have been purposefully designed – including our gender. There is no such thing as an “accident” or a “mistake.” Last night we talked again about the importance of acknowledging  and respecting the image of God that has been stamped upon every person, and we considered how certain societal evils – like human trafficking – seek to erase that powerful and personal image. We considered a couple of laws in California which, though purportedly designed to support people struggling with gender identity, end up empowering perpetrators of sexual abuse.

We talked about David, Israel’s second king and the psalm writer, who did not have a microscope of any kind. But David could see. Not only could his eyes survey their surroundings, but his ears could detect the sounds of wildlife in the woods … his tongue could speak to other people and communicate with them … his hands could grip a sword for battle … his arm muscles could guide a horse or a plow … his carefully crafted fingers could strum a harp beautifully and skillfully … and David was intelligent enough to recognize that the inanimate matter all around him could do none of those things. Far surpassing everything else, David’s God-given mind could meditate and contemplate and plan his next weighty move. No other kind of living thing could compose songs in praise of its Maker … but David could.

Much, much later in human history … in 1828, the German chemist Friedrich Wöhler rocked the world by shattering the distinction that science had made between life and nonlife. And if life is made of chemicals, then chemists could study it. Biochemistry would teach us that a cell is made up of immensely complex, discrete chemical substances – enzymes, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, and more … all with myriad, specific, critical roles to play. The foundation of life consists of enormously complicated, working molecules. That would lead eventually to the electron microscope, and eventually to our understanding of DNA. As human beings, our design is breathtakingly elegant … wondrous … complex … precision-engineered … and multiplied every day in the billions of God’s deeply loved image bearers on Planet Earth.

We talked about how misguided gender ideology undermines the truth of God. Particularly, it endangers young people, who are so hungry for affirmation and acceptance. We looked at examples from sports, advertising, and even preschool education. We considered the unique opportunity that the church has right now to breathe hope into an incredibly confused culture. In fact, in the gospel of Jesus, we have the hope that the world most needs.

And we talked about how, in God’s economy, you and I are not replaceable. Like Moses, we may think that God can find a more qualified candidate to do the job to which we’ve been called – but it’s simply not true. We are fearfully and wonderfully made! Last night we remembered the words of Ephesians, and Paul’s reminder that we were loved “before the foundation of the world.”

You and I have neither the smarts nor the ability to fix everything that’s broken about our world, but we can share the love of Christ with those who long to be loved. That includes everyone. I closed our night with this simple thought: “Our message is not, ‘Get your gender straight!’ Our message is, ‘Come to Jesus! His arms are open wide.’ May our Lord enlarge our heart to be bold but humble ambassadors of grace for such a time as this.

Pastor Charles

Since the icy weather derailed our Midweek Winter Series this week, I thought that I would share with you a few more highlights from our first session. We started with a close look at Genesis 1:26-31, focusing on the nature of our “first parents” as we see that nature revealed in God’s original design. We made multiple observations from the text, and we landed on four key truths which will serve us well for the remainder of the series …

1. Adam, the original human being, was created in the image of God. This makes humankind a unique species.

2. Sexual distinction (difference) is undeniable.

3. The maleness and femaleness enable us to produce new image bearers: bearing the likeness of the parents and the likeness of God. Thus, the unique identity which marks humanity is passed down to successive generations.

4. Human beings are granted a positional and vocational honor expressed in their unique authority on the earth. This reflects the ultimate rule of God.

After briefly touching on what theologians often refer to as God’s “creation mandate” (what Adam and Eve, as well as their posterity, were commissioned by God to do), we turned a page and looked closely at Genesis 2:18-25. We asked ourselves some questions: What further insights into human nature do we gain by the nuanced Creation account of the Bible’s second chapter? What additional light is shed? What would Adam have noticed as he named all the animals, and how would this have contributed to his profound appreciation for – and intense delight in – Eve? Why was it important for our first parents to be “naked and unashamed”? (By the way, we’ll deal specifically with the problem of shame later in this series.)

Here were some of our primary takeaways after considering Chapter 2 …

1. More light is shed on maleness and femaleness. When it comes to “being fruitful” and “exercising dominion,” both sexes participate in both tasks – but not in exactly the same ways. The distinctions are necessary, and reflective of the nature of God.

2. There is every indication in the text that God loves both Adam and Eve – He cares for and provides for them both – but He does not create them in the exact same way. Built into the first “not good” in the Bible is the need for a complementarity of relationship which marriage will provide.

3. The marriage bond is intended to supersede other human relationships, and to be inviolable.

4. The marital love and commitment will be celebrated in sexual intercourse, surely including a transparency with each other and a vulnerability to each other. (The rest of Scripture will shed further light on this.)

5. Though they need each other, both Eve and Adam have a higher need for God Himself.

6. These foundations reflect not only the character of God, and our relationship to Him, but they are the very underpinning of human civilization – and human flourishing.

Speaking of human flourishing, that’s what this series is all about! We have no desire to point our fingers at others and shame them for not living up to God’s perfect standards. Rather, we – deeply aware of our own need for a Savior – want to share with our fellow image bearers the way of Jesus. We believe that His way is the way that will lead to their ultimate satisfaction and joy. So we seek to be humble proclaimers of life, light, and love. We are but dust. Christ is everything.

I look forward to seeing all of you for Session 2 on Wednesday, February 8 at 5:30 p.m. Don’t forget that dinner and childcare are included.

Pastor Charles