One of the unquestioned truths in our culture is that everyone is their own master. And certainly it is true that we want to uphold freedom and eradicate oppression. However, is this assumption of extreme individualism actually healthy? What if there is One ultimate authority over everything, including our bodies? It could be that denying that is one of the most destructive forces in human history.

For many people, the thought of diving head first and adopting a faith like Christianity and submitting to the authority of the entire Bible sounds unthinkable. They find many parts of the Bible to be offensive. So what should you make of Jesus and Christianity if there are parts of the Bible that offend you? There are two main options people take: reject Jesus altogether or revise Jesus to better fit their views. Jude 3-4 advocates for a different way.

Most Christians would acknowledge that as they are following Jesus, the intended result is that they become more like him. But often the most repelling factor for our society is how unlike Jesus, Christians can be. Why is that? And what should you do if that has turned you away? We talk about that in Part 2 of Faith and Logic, “When Christians Don’t Look Like Christ.”

The central core of the message of Jesus fundamentally hangs in the balance on the question of one historical moment. This must be addressed and confronted primarily, if someone is going to consider Jesus. Did Jesus Christ die and rise again from the dead? That is one of the most unbelievable claims in history. But what if there is logical reason to put faith in that claim?

It doesn’t solve much to deal with just symptoms and never go to the cause of a problem. Genesis 3 reveals the source of all the struggle for superiority in the history of the world. That struggle has led to all kinds of evils and oppressions. In all of its complex and varied forms, the root is the same. There is only one thing that can cure the source.

We’ve been talking about the idea that every human being is made in the image of God. That means every human life matters and has inherent value in the sight of God. In our broken and fractured world, people are often devalued and overlooked. The Bible repeatedly identities orphans as a group that is particularly vulnerable to mistreatment and injustice. The good news is that God has a plan for how to care for the fatherless. A plan that includes you.

As God’s image bearer you have tremendous worth and value. God looks at you and says you have radical worth and value simply because you bear my image. This means our value is not contingent on secondary things and as Gods image bearer you represent him and his purposes in the world. What would it look like if in our neighborhoods and family’s if they reflected the Kingdom of God and His image?

Imagine what our world would look like if Christians who followed Jesus would not fall under the illusion of whichever cultural voice we're listening to. Imagine if we didn't fall prey to that view and vision of what it means to be a man and a woman, that there are no differences. That it's all culturally constructed. Imagine what it would look like if we rose up and we actually express Christ’s love and honor to each other.

Every human life is precious. God tells us that He made us in His image. This week hear the compelling story of a woman who is giving her life to save as many lives as she can.

All humans are made in the image of God. Scripture makes this clear. Yet, because this image is greatly distorted by sin, each person’s expression of God’s image to others is also distorted. But if we dig deep into scripture and seek the heart of our creator we find the kind of clarity and hope that not even a fairy tell ending could offer. Our identity is made perfect in Him…