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The Green New Steal (GA2021)

Christ Church on August 14, 2021
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How to Confess Your Sins

Christ Church on September 28, 2020

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The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with this spirit of grace, they are accepting free will donations at https://www.graceagenda.com/donate.

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And We Shall Have Dominion

Ben Zornes on July 23, 2017

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Our Divine Commission to Rule over all Living Things

The Text: 28 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 thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:28-31.

Biblical Reasons to Rule the Living Creation

  • It is a command. (Genesis 1:28-31; Psalm 8:6-8) – The Dominion Mandate
  • God values it highly – God created the various kinds of plants and animals… and He said it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Plants and animals do not have to justify their existence by having some use for man to exploit.   
  • He made life to feed us – Plants to eat (Genesis 1:29). Animals given after the flood (Genesis 9:3). Both used for sacrifices (Leviticus).
  • God wants us to maintain the created diversity. Genesis 7:2-3
  • God wants us to take good care to animals under our charge. A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel (Prov. 12:10). Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations? (Prov. 27:23) (Psalm 23)
  • Nature declares the glory of God and proclaims his invisible attributes (Psalm 19, 104; Romans 1:20)
  • Knowing about plants and animals was considered part of Solomon’s wisdom. (I Kings 4:33-34)
  • Living things (not just man) bring praise to the Lord (Psalm 148)

Understanding dominion: An analogy from Ephesians 5 shows that dominion is not exploitive or oppressive. Godly headship never is.

  • Christ and the Church – under Christ’s headship the church is to thrive, be fruitful, and become more lovely
  • Husband and wife – under her husband’s righteous headship a wife is to thrive, be fruitful, and become more lovely
  • We have been given dominion over the Creation. If we exercise godly dominion under the Lordship of Christ the living creation will thrive, be fruitful, and will become more lovely.  Knowledge and appreciation of our fellow creatures is essential for good husbandry.

Disastrous Acts of Judgment in the Bible:  For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! (Ezekiel 14:21) Three of the four are environmental problems.

What is the cause of environmental problems? Sin (direct or indirect causality)

Hosea 4:1-3 – Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is
no faithfulness or steadfast love,
and 
no knowledge of God in the land;
2 there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
they
break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
and
all who dwell in it languish,
and also the
beasts of the field
and the
birds of the heavens,
and even the
fish of the sea are taken away.

See also Jeremiah 12:4

What is the solution to environmental problems? The Gospel

How so? Because of the Fall we have been alienated from God, from our fellow man, and from nature. Nature also has internal conflicts (all creation groans). Francis Schaeffer refers to these as divisions. When we are reconciled to God by justification that lays the groundwork to begin healing these other divisions.

How shall we then live?

  • Live and proclaim the gospel with a conscious desire to heal all the dislocations caused by the fall. God to man; man to man; and man to nature, and nature to nature. Prov. 16:7; Isaiah 11:6-9
  • Cultivate a love and appreciation of God’s living world…in yourself and in your children (children have an innate love of nature). Through hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, gardening, zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums, and parks.
  • Have a heart of gratitude to God who made living things to meet our practical needs (food, clothing, and shelter). Thank him that they also fulfil our aesthetic and emotional longings.
  • Principles for professionals that directly exercise dominion over plants or animals (zoo keepers, farmers, ranchers, foresters, soil scientists, horticulturists, vets, breeders, animal rehab, park rangers, landscape architects, wildlife managers, ecologists, developers, etc. etc.)
    • Exercise good husbandry for the animals in your charge (Prov. 12:10; Prov. 27:23).
    • Think biblically regarding the management of nature. Don’t be narrow-minded and disregard the diversity, balance, and interdependency of nature.
    • Be humble and eager to learn of better practices from others (non-Christians and Christians alike). Look for ways to enhance your real estate. Don’t just think in terms of mitigating the negatives.
    • Don’t look down your nose or be judgmental at others who are at different levels of knowledge, wisdom, and practice. Be an example of better practice.
  • Developers: You have a greater capacity to do great good as well as great damage. In addition to abiding by environmental laws to avoid possible punishment (Romans 13) love God and your neighbor in how you develop. Don’t chafe under the environmental regulations, set a higher standard. We should be reformational and think generational in all things. Think how to achieve a win-win not zero-sum game.  Think, innovate, and work toward a garden city. A human city or town that emulates Hobbiton and Rivendell. Keep in mind that wilderness has its place (Psalm 104:18). It is not useless.
  • Don’t just think sustainability. We (along with the sea creatures and fish) were told to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Mankind at present has an MO that diminishes creation; we are not enhancing the created order. Sustainability is indeed a step in the right direction but we can’t stop there. In the parable of the talents which servant got chewed out?

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). Since God has put us in charge, as far as it depends on us, let’s enhance its intrinsic beauty and diversity in the sphere of influence God have given us, motivated by our love of God, His creation, and our neighbor.

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GraceAgenda 2016 Sessions

Ben Zornes on April 8, 2016

CanonPress kindly produced these talks free of charge! So, to return the favor, all you gotta do to access all GraceAgenda 2016 talks is subscribe to the CanonPress mailing list!

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Dr. John Sanford : New Saint Andrews Disputatio


Dr. Tim Edwards : Genesis in the Psalms


Nate Wilson : Fantastical Realism


Gordon Wilson : Seven Evolution Busters


Dr. John Sanford : All Creation Groans


Pastor Douglas Wilson : Darwin As Wrecking Ball


Round Table Discussion

[/emaillocker] CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GRACE AGENDA 2017 – REFORMATION 500

 

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Unity

Gary Stedman on June 13, 2010

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What Is Unity?

  • The Triune God. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; (John 14:11) 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:20-21)
  • Imitating the Trinity.
  • “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.” (I Corinthians 12:12-14)
  • “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6).
  • We are rooted in Christ. “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Col. 2:6-7 ) Are we separate potted plants?
  • We are the body of Christ. “…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head —Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Eph. 4:15-16) Are we separate organs in tissue culture trays?

What Destroys Unity?

  • Unconfessed sin in the church.
  • Exalting leaders and distinctive doctrines over love for all the brothers. “For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” (1 Cor. 3:4-7)
  • Being wrong in our rightness. Our views on church liturgy, music, architecture, preaching style, childrearing, educational pedagogy, food, medicine, etc., etc. give us occasion to despise or judge our brothers. (review the last two sermons)
  • Lack of love for other Christians in different denominations. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”. (John 13:34-35). “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil…” (I Corinthians 13:4-5).

Benefits of Unity

  • God blesses us.
  • It is good and pleasant. 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)
  • “The world will know we are His disciples! A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).
  • Evangelism will be much more effective. When we are living in unity, we are presenting to the unbelieving world a better picture of the Gospel and the Trinity. If not, they see an unattractive & dismembered body of Christ.

Bringing About Unity

  • Confess our sins. We must be made pure, holy, and righteous? How? (1 John 1: 9). What sins? All kinds of sin hinder unity to some extent, but some sins overtly cause disunity. Bitterness (lack of forgiveness), divisiveness, looking down our nose at other denominations (doctrinal pride: knowledge puffs up), and stubbornness. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
  • We must cultivate humility, gentleness, patience, and love. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Eph. 4:1-6)
  • Practice hospitality (Romans 12:13). Make close friendships with other believers outside your denominational tradition. This should be a delight (Romans 12:9). It shouldn’t be contrived or forced. Friendship builds trust and brotherly love. Once a loving friendship is established, you can talk about your doctrinal differences graciously without becoming contentious.
  • Seek to work with other churches in evangelism & mercy ministries (as far as you are able). 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (Phil. 2:2).
  • Don’t be possessive or territorial. What are we trying to build? Our denomination’s local or national presence or God’s Kingdom?

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

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