Culture War — The Introduction

by The RevNo Comments
The Holy Spirit lives in those of us who have been reconciled by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those of us who are invited into and adopted as sons and daughters of the living God have received our new but old identity as ambassadors.He gives us all we need to be who we are. This is it what it means to human.What does this ambassadorship look like?We create culture. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them.And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and...
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The New is the Old

by The RevNo Comments
Where have we been in this quest for understanding the cultural engagement by Christians? Well first we saw that humanity is created in the image of God, second we recognized our epic fail, then we saw how the Law was given to keep on the straight and narrow, and in the previous post we looked at King Jesus.The question we must now face is what does this mean for the Christian? If we indeed have been transferred from death to life by King Jesus through his bloody revolution on a Cross, what does this new life look like?2 Corinthians 5 gives us the answer, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV).”In the new life we are now ambassadors for Christ. Wait, isn’t that what we were called back in the first post: “God gives humanity a very specific responsibility and...
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Easter, It’s More Than a Bunny

by The RevNo Comments
As we continue to think about what it means to be culturally engaged Christians we must take a look at the turning point. Where have we been so far? First, we are created in God’s image. Second, we failed and failed big. Third, the Law was given as an overseer to show us our need for the Son. Now, we come to this place, the turning point. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to...
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Book Review: Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Conquering any Business Challenge

by The RevNo Comments
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=danielmroseco-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=0470947802Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Conquering any Business Challenge. It was given to me by a friend who said, “You have to read this. It’s pretty great.”I was looking forward to reading it because I had already taken the leadership style inventory that goes with the book and found out that I was a “Wildebeest”.That didn’t seem very inspiring.You can read that last comment as “I was a bit skeptical”. I have read many books on leadership. I could list them for you but, my fingers would stop working. Swanepoel, has however, brought a unique twist to the game. He identifies seven key skills that a person needs to succeed in the Serengeti of leadership.I am a pastor and so I read Swanepoel’s parable of the Serengeti through a bit of a different lens. I am not very interested in making a lot of money. What I am interested in is making an impact.A big impact.As I read I...
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Overlords, Overseers, and a Glimmer

by The RevNo Comments
Last week I wrote that we have experienced an epic fail regarding our roles as ambassadors for the Creator to the creation. We rebelled and separated ourselves. We lost our way and began a corrupting process that led to shame and guilt (the first sin was Adam’s silence followed quickly by fratricide, that’s one heck of a spiral).The story though is just beginning. Thankfully we are not the heroes or the centerpieces of this story. A good story needs a hero who desires something and overcomes conflict to get it.The story that I am talking about has a hero, God. He wants something, relationship with people. So, what is he doing to get it? That’s the question I want look at.It started in Genesis 3: And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21 ESV) If you look a few verses earlier you see that Adam and Eve were experiencing shame from being...
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Epic Fail

by The RevNo Comments
In my previous post we looked at our identity as image bearers of the Creator King. We saw that humanity is called to follow its Creator in creation as representatives and ambassadors.But, something is not right.The original ambassadors for the King failed. They failed and as a result they sent all future generations into despair and exile. The man, Adam our representative head, was silent as his wife was deceived and drawn into sin.From this moment on humanity was in a state of brokenness. We were lost and dead. The consequences extended to how humanity related to one another and to the creation. We no longer functioned as the King’s ambassadors but as traitors to the throne.We corrupted it all.We broke everything.Separation was natural.As a result we went to war to with our natural calling as human beings. We set aside our freedom for law. Enslaved by a self-centeredness that is tangible to every aspect of life.We lost our way....
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In the Beginning…

by The RevNo Comments
God created…Did you catch that? God created.God made. God did. God acted.What did he create? Quite simply, everything. He created it all and he did it well. You might even say perfectly.One of the things he created was a human being, “male and female he created them.” We learn from Genesis: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living...
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Welcome to the Jungle

by The RevNo Comments
I am reading a great book by Dick Staub entitled, The Culturally Savvy Christian. As I have been reading it, I keep hearing amens and alleluias rumble inside my head. I think it’s because this guy has written a book that I would have loved to write.I can’t write the book, he already did.What I can do though is bring some focus to this little corner of the cybernet and discuss a bit what I think it means for the church to engage culture.Welcome to the Jungle, it should be an interesting journey....
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