Sunday, November 6, 2011

God's first malediction...and it's not the one you think it is.

Reflecting on Tim Keller's sermon...
In Genesis 1 God creates dry land He calls it "good"
God also sees the plants of the Earth and calls them "good"
Light is separated from dark and it is "good"
God makes every living creature and sees that it's "good"
Finally, God creates man and woman and pronounces His final benediction saying all is "good"
Then, in Genesis 2, a flashback to the man in the garden, prior to the creation of Eve, and God says; "It is not good that the man should be alone..."
So, up until this point, God has deemed everything "good."  But suddenly, there is this "not good" thing.  It's pivotal because it's the very first time, ever, that something is "not good".
And what is this "bad" thing? - Being alone.
The first and original bad thing; loneliness...

Friday, April 22, 2011

The Gospel of Work

Notes on Tim Keller's sermon...
Assumption
God put humanity in the garden to work.  

This establishes the dignity of all work.  
Even the simplest kind of work images the creator.  
The impact is this; preachers and doctors will be unemployed in the new earth

Direction 
Gardening is the paradigm for work, work is re-arranging the raw material of a particular domain for the flourishing of everyone.  
Work is the gracious expression of creative energy in the service of others

Burden
The doctrine of the "fall" causes thorns

Provision
The "rest" of peace
We lost something in the garden, we knew our value and significance in relationship with God, but now that we've lost that we've got to find it somewhere else, that's what we are working for, there's a work underneath our work and that's the work that tires you. The finished work of Christ means we can have deep sense of fulfillment that our relationship with God is secure, then the work is no longer about 'you' it's about the work.

God in Gen 2 says "it's finished" At the end of the work of redemption Jesus says "it's finished" The deep peace, the deep rest comes from our knowledge that we no longer have to perform, we are free to provide a gracious expression of creative energy in the service of others

The "rest" of hope