Joy in the Journey (Philippians 3:1-21)
Paul finishes his letter…then decides to keep going. He wants to make sure his friends understand they already have their citizenship in heaven, and that part of the fun is unwrapping that gift!
Paul finishes his letter…then decides to keep going. He wants to make sure his friends understand they already have their citizenship in heaven, and that part of the fun is unwrapping that gift!
Paul tells his friends that tolerance is a terrible foundation for community. Only compassion, humility – and death – are strong enough to stop the whining and bring true unity.
A special creature is scraped together out of the dust of a wilderness planet and receives the image of God. Meanwhile, in the mountains of the east, a valley fills with life and begins to spill over into the wastelands below…
God commissions the man to act as Prime Minister and Priest of the garden-temple, to work it and protect it. But protect it from what?
God commissions a woman to act as helper to the high priest, to work him and protect him. But protect him from what?
God told the man not to seize the fruit of knowledge for himself, but now a serpent shows up and says he really should. Why? Where did this serpent come from? And why is it a serpent and not something else?
Judgement Day begins. The serpent is condemned to endure millennia of war and inevitable defeat. But why? Isn’t the serpent just an animal? How can it be held accountable?
Judgement Day continues. The woman is condemned to experience pain in childbirth and the domination of her husband. Or is she? Surely something more must be going on here?
Judgement Day draws to a close. The earth is cursed because of what the man did. But how is that fair? What did the earth do wrong? Is there any hope at all in this whole thing?
Epilogue to Judgement Day: the priest and his wife are driven out of the temple to die in the wilderness. It sounds like a curse…but could it actually be a blessing in disguise?