Creating God in Our Own Image

In MY Image

We live in an incredibly diverse world, and through the myriad forms of media, we are increasingly aware of this fact.  For some, that awareness creates a need to pull back and try and get closer with like-minded people.  Whether out of fear or simply being overwhelmed by the range of options on any given subject, some of us begin to be hyper-loyal to their particular group of ideologies.  

In our quest for limiting the number of options we have to consider on any given subject, we mentally marginalize options dismissing them as radical when they are much more mainstream.  Instead of dealing with the diversity we ignore it and convince ourselves that most of the world sees things like us.

We do the same with God.  Whether or not we try and use him as the ultimate trump card or just another voice in our echo-chamber, we use scripture and other Christians to reinforce our views.  We make God in our own image.

However, God is not a republican, democrat, conservative, liberal, or member of any other group that we associate ourselves with.  He is... God.  Rather than looking to talking heads on television to judge our beliefs, God calls us to look at him.  God asks us to make him the standard against which our lives and belifs are held.  

Not just some of him.  All of him.  All of the scripture.  Both New AND Old Testaments.  Holding both the clarity of the proverbs, the hopelessness of ecclesiates and the drama of the cross together.  And, it is in this diverse, beautiful, complex being that we find truth and reality.

It is with that hope that we enter a new series in our evening worship: Culture Shock.  We will be looking at cultural issues with the hope of transcending the current debate, steer clear of endorsing a human ideology and find the beauty of God in the midst of it all.

Here's what the road ahead looks like: 

• 1/13 American Jesus: confusion of faith and culture
• 1/20 Was Jesus married?
• 1/27 Does God care about Global warming?
• 2/3 Are Christians supposed to be Pacifists?
• 2/10 Is Jesus pro-life?