Our story is wrapped up in God’s Story…
One Hebrew word sums up the picture of Genesis 1 and 2: shalom. Peace. Earth was full of God’s shalom, the kind of peace in which everything works according to God’s intention. The world was made for human flourishing, there we could live in joy in the presence of our Maker, worshiping God by loving Him and one another forever.
Adam and Eve rejected God’s rule over them. We refer to their rebellious choice as “the fall,” and because the represented all of humanity, their action affects us too. We have — through our attitudes and actions — declared ourselves to be God’s enemies. This rebellion results in physical and spiritual death.
Thankfully the loving Creator who rightly shows Himself to be wrathful toward our sin is determined to turn evil and suffering we have caused into good that will be to His ultimate glory. So the next movement shows God implementing a master plan for redeeming His world and rescuing fallen sinners. In the Person of Jesus Christ, God Himself comes to renew the world and restore His people. The grand narrative of Scripture climaxes with the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The story doesn’t end with redemption. God has promised to renew the whole world, and the Bible gives us a peak into this glorious future. The restoration of all things will take place in two ways. Christ will return to judge sin and evil, and He will usher in righteousness and peace. God will purge this world of evil once and for all.
—
At RENEW Church, we want to join Jesus in the renewal of all things. This means we are honest about our brokenness, and about being made in the image of God.
In Jesus we see God’s love for us on display, and His honest critique of our lives. So we turn from trusting in ourselves and in empty things to trust in the living God. We seek to become minor characters in the Big Story, where Jesus is the Hero.
You are invited to join us in worshiping the Creator who gave Himself to rescue us.
Feel free to contact me if you want to talk about what it means to follow Jesus.
