Beach Mission Talks

Order (Talk 1)

Purpose (Talk 2)

; ,

I don’t know about you but I love looking into the deeper meaning of things.

hours just watching youtube videos

All the theories and thoughts people have as they think over what it all means

It’s pretty cool to look into this kind of stuff with all kinds of arty stuff like movies, music, paintings and stories. All the conspiracy theories and thoughts people have as they think over what it all means, what the author, film maker or artist was thinking. There’s so much we can see in movies that are more than a simple movie with a plot. There’s more to see in paintings than simply colours and textures on a canvas. There’s an artist behind it and that artist holds the true purpose and meaning behind it all. And to know the truth you don’t go simply to youtube to get the answer, or google what others have said about it’s purpose. You go to the source of the movie or painting or song. That’s where you get the final say on the purpose and meaning behind the piece of art.

more to movies than simple plots

more to see in paintings than colours and textures on a canvas.

There’s an artist behind it

they hold the true purpose and meaning behind it

to know the truth you don’t go to youtube or to google for what others have said

You go to the source of the movie or painting or song.

the artist has the truth

In life there are a lot of voices and opinions about

what life is all about,

what we’re here for,

what the purpose of our lives are.

We can turn to

our firends and ask them,

or our parents. We can look to

teachers

or other wiser older people We can turn to

facebook

or youtube

or books and magazines.

Pretty much everyone has an opinion on what we are here on this earth for.

But which one is right?

Which one will lead us into a true version of reality?

How can we know for certain that the way we are living is the right way?

Or that the purpose for my existence that I or the people around me see is the true one?

Just like with movies, art and music, life’s meaning and purpose can only be found with the Artist, Author and Creator. Only the maker of all the world and us people can truly tell us why we are here and what we are to do. As we heard last night God, who was there from the beginning, created everything that exists. He made light, animals, oceans, mountains, galaxies and stars all by speaking. He commands and all things obey. He made all things and so all things belong to him. It’s like when you make something you own that thing. You determine what it’s for and why you made it. In the same way, God is King of his creation. He gets to decide what it’s for and why he made it. So if we want to know from God what his purpose for our existence is then where do we look? The Bible. It’s a collection of books written over a long period of time recording how the Creator God worked in history to bring about his plan of ruling all of creation. And what does it say we are here for? One thing. says that we are made in God’s Image. In the Ancient World to be the image of God was to be an idol. You know those statues that you see in temples of other countries. They can look really weird. They can be like animals, or people or a mixture of both. But the point of them was and is to image a god. But what’s intereseting for us is that God calls us his image. He says that he made each one of us as his little statues. We are made to represent him.

My wife and I are kinda nerds in that

we don’t just love movies and books.

we love replicas!

Decided to get Julia a replica of the time turner from Harry Potter.

It’s the same size as the one from the movie.

She loved it - because it represents the real thing

Its the same with us

God made us to represent and reflect him

we are created to be like replicas of God

a replica isn’t cool because of what it is but because of what it represents

So we are made to reflect, represent, image God just like a replica points to the original

But as you look around at each other, your neighbourhood, school, Australia, the world, do you see God reflected?

we actually don’t see God reflected

we see people warring against each other, hurting one another destroying themselves and each other

Even in the way we interact with each other, i know I don’t make the cut of reflecting God truly

even when I try, so often I can’t help but fail to reflect God

We need someone to remake us and teach us how to reflect God truly

This is where Jesus comes in

Jesus is God become a person, a man

Jesus came to remake us through his life, death and resurrection

Jesus came to teach us how to be truly human, how to live out our purpose

He is the one we need to turn to

Jesus has come to restore our purpose

We were created to image God, reflect God to the world

we failed

But Jesus is the one who remakes us and restores us to our created purpose

If we are to look for purpose in life,

we need to start with looking to God and what he has said

So what will you do?

will you look for purpose elsewhere?

or will you look for purpose in God and find that Jesus is the one who remakes us and restores us to God’s purpose for our lives?

But What does it mean to reflect God? How are we supposed to do that? In three ways: By ruling what God made and by living in harmony with each other.

we reflect God in what we do in the world

We reflect God in how we live

But we fail to reflect God

Big picture - wars, environment,

small picture - how we treat each other, how disregard God and

We need someone who can show us how to reflect God

Enter Jesus

But how do we know what God’s good is? By getting to know God himself. We do this by reading his word to us. As we read and understand the way God has worked in the past with people we ge to know what he is like. As we pray and ask for him to guide us and teach us how to reflect him, we become more like him.

We also reflect God in our relationships with one another. As we get to know how God treats people he is friends with, we get to know how we should treat each other. Not only that but we also see that we aren’t alone in living as God’s reflection. Every person is made to be that. So, we all do this together. God makes two people, males and females, to reflect him. Neither is better than the other. Both need each other. We need each other to uncover the true potential of what it means to reflect God. As those made to reflect who God is, we are to reflect his love and care for each other. Just like promoting and building up the goodness in the world of creation, we are to do the same with each other.

What does this mean for us then? I think for us its our friendships and people we interact with that we find hardest to reflect God. I know I find myself treating others poorly, not looking out for their good. Instead I look out for myself.

Made to reflect God

relationship

What are some movies, songs or paintings that you know the deeper meaning of?

rule creation by promoting the goodness in it

Where do you look for purpose in life?

spread the Garden to cover the earth

If we are made to reflect God, how does this affect the way we live?

In what ways do you reflect or fail to reflect God?

How does that look in our day?

Why do we need Jesus to remake and restore us?

Painting illustratiion of artist explaining the purpose of a painting

Messy bedroom - owner cleans it up, reorders it, makes it right

To be a mirror of the Creator himself. We are made to reflect what God is like to the whole world. This includes our actions, thoughts, accomplishments, desires and relationships. All of life is to be a big arrow pointing to the Creator God. Some people may think that because we are made in God’s image we automatically define what God is like. But that’s not true. We need to look to God to know what that image is suposed to be a reflection of rather than ourselves.

We have been made to be rulers that reflect God’s rule over creation. God gives order and makes things good. In the same way we are to work in the world to bring about order where there isn’t and make things good where they are bad. We reflect who God is when we look to reflect what God does in making all things good. And we are to spread that good all over the world. God puts the first people in a Garden but they are to spread the Garden everywhere. The world was good but it needs people to make it reach its fullest potential. Work still neede to be done there.

But how do we know what God’s good is? By getting to know God himself. We do this by reading his word to us. As we read and understand the way God has worked in the past with people we ge to know what he is like. As we pray and ask for him to guide us and teach us how to reflect him, we become more like him.

We also reflect God in our relationships with one another. As we get to know how God treats people he is friends with, we get to know how we should treat each other. Not only that but we also see that we aren’t alone in living as God’s reflection. Every person is made to be that. So, we all do this together. God makes two people, males and females, to reflect him. Neither is better than the other. Both need each other. We need each other to uncover the true potential of what it means to reflect God. As those made to reflect who God is, we are to reflect his love and care for each other. Just like promoting and building up the goodness in the world of creation, we are to do the same with each other.

What does this mean for us then? I think for us its our friendships and people we interact with that we find hardest to reflect God. I know I find myself treating others poorly, not looking out for their good. Instead I look out for myself.

Chaos (Talk 3)

Re:order (Talk 4)

Recap the last couple of nights where we’ve been.

Last night we heard that God’s good world fell apart because of sin. Yet, we heardof a promise. In God promises that there would come a person who would come and defeat the serpent, sin and death. God himself promises to undo all that went wrong in the world. The rest of the story of the Bible is of God working towards bringing about the reordering of all creation. He sets out to remake people into his image again and give them the power to live as living reflections of their Creator.

Fast-forward thousands of years of history from the garden. Over that time we learn in the Bible that God’s plan moves forward and that his plan means that he will enter into history as a human being. He promised to become like a servant to all people. The king and creator of the universe becoming part of his creation and a servant to it. He promises to bring about the changes needed to take place so that people can know him, live with him and reflect him fully. This happened one night in the town of Bethlehem. Jesus was born. God became a man.

Jesus -

He is the Creator come into our story

He is fully human, living out what God created people to do

He is the one promised when people rebelled against their Creator