Here are 10 points from Pastor Dale’s sermon last weekend for further reflection:
- You’ve been created in the image of God! (Genesis 1:27)
- Our identity is actually a status which God has conferred on all human beings. Being created in the image of God means to be an “imager” of God. In a sense, we are the second most important beings in the universe! C. S. Lewis said, “We are not mere mortals; we are immortals.”
- The idea of human rights came from the Bible and got into European jurisprudence and cultural institutions through the Church (Brian Tierney, Cornell University).
- Christianity introduced the concept of equal rights. It overthrew ancient social hierarchies between rich and poor, master and slave. According to Christianity, “We are brothers and sisters on the same level as creatures of God” (French Philosopher, Luc Ferry).
- Professor Richard Rorty said, “Christianity gave rise to the concept of universal rights derived from the conviction that all human beings are created in the image of God.” In the modern age, however, Rorty says due to Darwin we no longer accept the idea of creation. Therefore, many have a worldview that does not support the Christian idea that we are morally bound to maintain that everyone who is biologically human has equal rights.
- When you deny the God of the Bible as the Creator, you open the door to self-harm and injustice.
- Nancy Pearcey in her book, Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality, writes that there is no longer a debate in the western world over when a person becomes a human being. Science has proven—and it is mostly accepted by secularists and pro-abortionists—that you’re a human being at conception. The issue is no longer when are you human, but when do you become a person? It’s called personhood theory. What does it mean to be a person? Who decides?
- How do we overcome seeing ourselves and others in the wrong light? God’s Word provides a mirror to see ourselves and others as God does.
- One of the places we should be able to look and see ourselves is within the community of the church family.
- The church should be a place where:
- Those who have been beat up by the world should come and experience healing.
- No matter who a person is or what he or she has done, they feel valued for being created in the image of God.
- People stand up for each other, protect one another and empathize with each other. Like Jesus, we even love those who reject us.
Does your life shine with the presence of God because you’ve been in His midst?