Embracing Our Identity: The Theology of the Body

In my sermon, I began by welcoming everyone to Menlo Church and introducing our new series, "Wonderfully Made," which focuses on the theology of the body, gender, and sexuality. I emphasized the importance of engaging in these conversations with compassion, civility, and conviction, aiming to be cultural ambassadors rather than warriors or capitulators. I acknowledged the diversity of beliefs within our community and our commitment to generous orthodoxy, making space for differing views while remaining centered on Jesus and the Bible.

I shared my personal background, growing up in an abusive home with learning challenges and a stutter, and navigating relationships within the LGBTQ+ community. I reflected on the negative impact of purity culture and the need for honest conversations about our bodies, gender, and sexuality.

I then delved into the theology of the body, starting with the creation narrative in Genesis, where humanity is described as being made in God's image, male and female. I stressed that every person is an image bearer of the divine, made on purpose for a purpose, regardless of their faith or life circumstances.

I discussed historical and modern views of the body, from ancient philosophies like Plato's and the Stoics to contemporary materialism and hedonism. I contrasted these with the Christian view that the body and soul are an integrated unity, and that our bodies are part of God's eternal plan.

I addressed the cultural narrative that prioritizes personal desires and the body as the ultimate authority, challenging this with the biblical perspective that as followers of Jesus, we are called to submit to God's will and ways, including how we steward our bodies.

I highlighted the profound implications of the incarnation, where Jesus took on a human body, and the resurrection, where he retained his body, demonstrating the eternal significance of our physical existence. I encouraged listeners to live in light of eternity, showing hope beyond our circumstances and finding purpose even in suffering.

I concluded by inviting the congregation to participate in communion, an embodied reminder of Jesus' sacrifice, and to consider how we might glorify God with our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Him.

Key Takeaways:

1. As image bearers of the divine, we are made with intentionality and purpose, reflecting God's image in our very existence. This identity is not based on our capabilities or functions but is an inherent truth that cannot be lost, regardless of our faith or life choices. ([33:19])

2. The Christian view of the body as an integrated unity with the soul challenges the dualistic perspectives of our culture, which often separate the physical from the spiritual. This integrated view calls us to steward our bodies in a way that honors God and aligns with His eternal purposes. ([38:28])

3. The incarnation and resurrection of Jesus affirm the value of the body in God's redemptive plan. Jesus' choice to enter into human existence and retain his body post-resurrection underscores the eternal significance of our physical selves and the hope of resurrection we share in Him. ([46:30])

4. Living in light of eternity transforms our perspective on suffering and purpose. By recognizing that our ultimate healing and fulfillment are found in Jesus, we can navigate the challenges of this life with hope and demonstrate the reality of the kingdom we are headed to, not just the one we are walking through. ([49:20])

5. Our bodies are not our own to do with as we please; as followers of Jesus, we are called to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. This act of worship involves a daily surrender to God's will, allowing Him to shape us into His likeness and use us for His glory. ([40:52])

### Bible Study Discussion Guide: "Wonderfully Made"

#### Bible Reading
1. Genesis 1:26-28 (ESV)
> "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"

2. Romans 12:1 (ESV)
> "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

3. John 1:14 (ESV)
> "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

#### Observation Questions
1. According to Genesis 1:26-28, what specific roles and responsibilities were given to humanity at creation?
2. In Romans 12:1, what does Paul urge believers to do with their bodies, and why is this significant?
3. How does John 1:14 describe the incarnation of Jesus, and what does this imply about the value of the human body?
4. In the sermon, what personal experiences did the pastor share to illustrate the complexity of conversations around body, gender, and sexuality? ([27:42])

#### Interpretation Questions
1. What does it mean to be made in the image of God, and how does this identity impact our understanding of purpose and value? ([31:57])
2. How does the concept of presenting our bodies as living sacrifices challenge the cultural narrative of personal autonomy and pleasure? ([40:52])
3. Why is the incarnation of Jesus, as described in John 1:14, a significant affirmation of the value of the human body in God's redemptive plan? ([46:30])
4. How does living in light of eternity transform our perspective on suffering and purpose, according to the sermon? ([49:20])

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on the idea that you are made in the image of God. How does this truth affect the way you view yourself and others, especially those with differing beliefs or lifestyles? ([33:19])
2. The pastor mentioned the negative impact of purity culture and the need for honest conversations about our bodies, gender, and sexuality. How can you foster more compassionate and honest discussions in your community? ([28:23])
3. Romans 12:1 calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices. What specific steps can you take this week to honor God with your body, considering your daily habits and choices? ([40:52])
4. The sermon highlighted the importance of living in light of eternity. How can this perspective help you navigate current challenges or suffering in your life? ([49:20])
5. The pastor shared his personal background and struggles, including his experiences with the LGBTQ+ community. How can you show empathy and support to those who feel marginalized or misunderstood in your church or community? ([27:42])
6. Considering the cultural narratives around body and personal desires, what practical ways can you resist these pressures and align your life more closely with biblical teachings? ([39:30])
7. The sermon concluded with an invitation to participate in communion as an embodied reminder of Jesus' sacrifice. How can you incorporate this sense of embodied worship into your daily spiritual practices? ([52:09])

Day 1: Divine Image Bearers by Design
We are all created with a profound purpose that transcends our abilities, circumstances, or life choices. This inherent identity as image bearers of the divine is not something that can be earned or lost; it is a fundamental truth of our existence. Recognizing this can transform how we view ourselves and others, fostering a sense of worth and dignity that is rooted in our Creator. As image bearers, every aspect of our lives is an opportunity to reflect the character and love of God, which includes how we treat our bodies, interact with others, and make decisions. This understanding calls us to live with intentionality, knowing that our value is not contingent on external validation but is affirmed by the very nature of our creation. [33:19]

Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

Reflection: How does understanding your identity as an image bearer of God influence the way you view yourself and interact with others in your daily life?

Day 2: Unity of Body and Soul
The Christian perspective challenges the prevalent cultural narrative that often separates the physical from the spiritual. This dualistic approach is at odds with the biblical view that our bodies and souls are an integrated unity. Our physical selves are not merely vessels or shells but integral to who we are and how we serve God's purposes. This integrated view compels us to steward our bodies responsibly, recognizing them as gifts from God and temples of the Holy Spirit. It calls for a holistic approach to spirituality that includes physical health, mental well-being, and the pursuit of holiness in all aspects of life. [38:28]

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

Reflection: In what ways can you honor God through the stewardship of your body, and how might this holistic approach affect your spiritual practices?

Day 3: The Incarnation and Resurrection Affirm Our Physicality
The incarnation and resurrection of Jesus are central to Christian faith, and they also affirm the value of our physical bodies. Jesus' choice to take on human flesh and his bodily resurrection highlight the eternal significance of our physical existence. This truth provides hope and a promise of resurrection for believers, indicating that our bodies are part of God's redemptive plan. The implications of this are profound, as they suggest that our physical lives are not just temporary or insignificant but are destined for eternal purposes. [46:30]

Colossians 1:19-20 (ESV)
"For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."

Reflection: How does the reality of Jesus' incarnation and resurrection shape your understanding of the significance of your own body and its role in God's plan?

Day 4: Eternal Perspective on Suffering and Purpose
Living with an eternal perspective transforms our approach to suffering and our search for purpose. Recognizing that our ultimate healing and fulfillment are found in Jesus allows us to navigate life's challenges with hope. This perspective helps us to understand that our present struggles are not the end of our story and that there is a greater reality beyond our current experiences. By focusing on the eternal kingdom, we can find meaning in our suffering and use it as a platform to demonstrate the transformative power of the gospel. [49:20]

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV)
"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Reflection: How can maintaining an eternal perspective help you to find purpose in your current struggles, and what practical steps can you take to cultivate this mindset?

Day 5: Our Bodies as Living Sacrifices
As followers of Jesus, we are called to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, which is an act of worship and surrender to God's will. This means that our bodies are not our own to do with as we please but are to be used for God's glory. Offering ourselves as living sacrifices involves daily decisions to live according to God's ways, allowing Him to shape us into His likeness. It is a commitment to live not for our own desires but for the purposes of the One who created us and redeemed us. [40:52]

Romans 12:1 (ESV)
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you can begin to offer your body as a living sacrifice to God, and what are some specific actions you can take to live out this commitment?

Well, hey, good morning, Menlo Church.

And welcome, welcome, welcome to those of you from all of our other campuses: San Mateo, here in Menlo Park, Mountain View, Saratoga. Those of you joining us online, we are so thankful to you.

And welcome back to some of you for whom this is your very first time or your first time in a long time to attend church that is not Easter or Christmas. You weren't entirely sure we were meeting today, but it turns out we were. So thanks for being here. It means a lot.

We're so thankful for you. We see you. God loves you. And there's a place for you here at Menlo.

Today, we are beginning a new series and an important conversation called "Wonderfully Made," where we are joining several other local churches in our community in a conversation around body, gender, and sexuality.

And over the next few weeks, we are going to engage in these conversations with some community events and resources as well. You can find out more about those events, discover those resources, even ways to maybe engage in difficult conversations in your community by going to menlo.church/wonderfullymade.

In terms of kind of weekend conversations, I wanted to give you a snapshot of where we're headed. You can also find this at that website.

Today, we are going to talk about the theology of the body. Next week, we'll talk about the spirituality of sexuality. Then a week that we will talk about gender. Then a week about the grace and truth of Jesus in this conversation. And finally, a week talking about living in the future, which is so central to what it means to faithfully follow Jesus.

Now, I also don't want to bury the lead in this conversation. We are a church that has always, always held to a very important value of generous orthodoxy, which means that we are intentional about making space for people who believe differently and have found belonging here at Menlo. That they've found themselves loved by God and loved by others.

And we don't want this series to change that at all. If anything, we want to name that and make sure we're continuing to grow into that. I know that for some of you, it would be way more comfortable if that value was just generous and the idea of orthodoxy, or right belief in these conversations, was abandoned entirely.

I know some of you also, you would love it if we abandoned the generous side and I just took a stand on every issue that didn't make sense or space for people who were different than that. Neither of those extremes is helpful, in my opinion.

Author and professor Mark Yarhouse provides helpful language in this tension that we're trying to identify, that we're not trying to be culture warriors where we make our position more important than people. We're also trying to make sure that we don't become cultural capitulators that simply change with the currents of culture.

That actually our goal should be that we are cultural ambassadors. That if you're a follower of Jesus, you live in a world that looks nothing like the kingdom of heaven. And living as ambassadors of that eternal kingdom in the midst of the kingdoms around us, it requires compassion, passion, civility, and conviction.

And that's what I hope we will deliver in this series together.

One last thing before I pray, I want to offer some shared commitments for all of us in this conversation. All of the conversations throughout this series, not just the messages on a weekend, but also the conversations in hallways throughout the week, around coffee, with friends, even online.

And so as you think about this series, I would just say these are ways to navigate lots of tensions in our lives, this one included.

Number one, we don't have to agree in order to show respect. There are plenty of people who will see and understand this differently and are a part of Menlo. And we want to be a community that brings hope to everyone.

With that in mind, I would just encourage you at times, you may hear me say something, and for you, it's really encouraging, something that I say. And so you're tempted to say something or to clap, and I would just say, please don't.

There are people that what is encouraging for you may be really difficult or hurtful for them to hear. And so for us to be a place where all of us can show kindness through this conversation, I think for us to just listen may be a better posture.

Number two, we are a community centered on Jesus and the Bible. This conversation represents our best understanding of these topics through the whole of scripture, not a handful of passages to prove a point.

I'm not trying to debate or argue. I believe that clarity is kindness in this conversation of a generous orthodoxy, of a theologically orthodox view of gender and sexuality. And I want to model that well for us as a community.

Number three, we are trying to build bridges, not walls. In our church, we are all sinners. All of us, myself included. If you think you hear me single out a group or an individual, I would just say, listen again, because I'm aiming to make sure that we are all at the foot of the cross.

I'm aiming to make sure that we are all at the foot of the cross together in this series and beyond. As a matter of fact, I will need your grace in this conversation as well. I will say something incorrectly. I'll flub my words up. You'll hear something based on your story that I don't know that will be triggering or painful for you.

I hope through this series, we hear and experience that we are all wonderfully made and broken by sin together and that all of us need a savior.

Also, one final one as a parent, move at your own pace, but move. This conversation can be overwhelming. And I'm going to present it in a way that assumes middle schoolers and up are in the room with us, but you decide what is right for your family, what the right pace is and experience.

If you need resources for that, go to that website I mentioned just a few minutes ago, but here's what I would caution you with. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your children or students are not being discipled in this. They are being discipled and formed in this.

All the time, every day, no matter how protected, insulated you think they are. The real question is, are they being discipled by Jesus? Are they being shaped in the way that they love people and think about this by you? Because they are by someone else.

All right, so that's a lot of preamble. But before we dive into our theology of the body conversation together, I want to pray for us.

And if you've never been here before or heard me speak, before I speak, I pray kneeling. And part of the reason for this is because I pray kneeling. And part of that in a conversation like this is the reminder that God's power is over all of this. He can handle it.

Whatever you're walking in, whatever you walked in with, and whatever you're headed to, God is with you. Would you pray with me?

God, as we come before you, it's meek and humble people saying, God, we need you. We need your bread of life into the pains of ours. We need your clarity in the confusion and pain that we feel in so many different ways.

And God, thank you that you offer to give it. Would you give it now? Would you help us to be able to see and savor the good news of the gospel, that no matter where we are, we can be found in you, that no matter where we are today, it's not where we have to be tomorrow and certainly not where we have to be for eternity.

Thank you for the good news of Jesus that that's possible. It's in his name that we pray, amen.

Now, I know that as we begin this conversation, some of you are thinking something like this: Who is this cisgendered, heterosexual, Caucasian male married pastor to talk to me about anything? Who is this cisgendered? Totally get that, but I would also say that my story is probably different than what you assume.

I grew up in an extremely abusive home with personally severe learning challenges and a debilitating stutter, probably a result of the ongoing trauma I experienced every day. And I had immediate family members and close friends in the LGBTQ+ community.

All of this, as I was navigating how to fight for relations and love people well in the midst of painful home life, in the midst of great personal challenge, in the way that I was being taught and shaped in a church culture that at the time was something that has been since called purity culture in that kind of era of church history that has not aged very well.

I felt all of that. Now I will tell you that for me, church was an overwhelmingly good place for me, especially because of the circumstances I found myself in in life, but I was torn between my own desires, the teachings that I heard at church, and this completely indescribable home life that no one could know all the details about.

That was true for my upbringing. In addition, as a young Christian, I saw competing worldviews all the time. There were people who were pretending to have it all together on Sunday, but they were living a very different Saturday. I experienced hypocrisy everywhere.

And what that hypocrisy taught me, especially around the area of my body, gender, and sexuality, is that these conversations were off limits. As a matter of fact, it taught me that the tensions and desires that I had and that I felt were exclusively evil and talking about them with anyone would be shameful.

Now, there was a type of therapy at the time that has since become a pretty big black eye in the church called reparative or conversion therapy that has become pretty painful to look back at. But it tried to provide a quick fix for people who are struggling with what would oftentimes become a part of that person's lifelong story.

Now, what is ironic in our moment is a couple decades later, it feels like there is a new type of conversion therapy taking place all around us. We are all being converted to a movement where the body and our desires are the most important things about us and to resist that at all, even to have this conversation.

This conversation is the cardinal sin of our culture. Now, I want to specifically thank all of our friends in the LGBTQIA+ community here at Menlo because you have reached out, many of you, in the last few weeks leading up to this series and you shared part of your story with me.

And I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. That as we hold to a traditionally Orthodox view in these conversations, you've shared a little bit about how that has felt to you historically as a part of a church and what that feels like here at Menlo and how it's going to impact you.

And I would just say thank you so much for helping us to shape this conversation, our posture in it, and our capacity as a church to continue to love people no matter what is true in their life. I really hope that you see those fingerprints, that love, and that care throughout all of it.

But this cultural change we're watching, it's happening at a pace that we've never experienced before, not just in our lifetimes, but for many of us, even when we think about the course of human history, have we seen anything socially move at this pace?

And really the question that it demands is where do we start? Like in this conversation, where do we even begin? And I want to start at the beginning. No matter your view of the scriptures or the book of Genesis, the first book in your Bible or the Hebrew scriptures, it gives us a snapshot of how these ancient scriptures present the creation that we all know as existence.

And in the first chapter, we are given this vision. We are given this perspective. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heaven, and over the livestock over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Now in the narrative, God has made all that we know and think about as the created universe. And we were the pinnacle of his creation. You are the only part of the creation that God describes as having been made in his image.

It can feel sometimes like our choices, our experiences, something that's true of us can undermine that idea that somehow we're excluded from that reality. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Author and theologian Carmen Joy Imes puts it this way. She says, "We can fail to live well as God's image, but we can never stop being God's image. Because the essence of being God's image is a claim about our identity rather than a capability or function. We cannot lose it."

Even if you're not a Christian, even if you would say you're not a person of faith, you are an image bearer of the creator of the universe. No matter what you've done, or maybe what's been done to you, no matter where you've been, no matter who you are, you are an image bearer of the divine.

And he made you on purpose for a purpose. This isn't just true at a universal human level for all of us. This is at the specific and personal level for you too. This is about your story and our story simultaneously.

Now, I want to personally apologize for any times that a pastor or a Christian has made you feel as though you were less than that, as though somehow you weren't qualified. Even if you aren't a Christian or you're embroiled in things that you know aren't good or helpful in your life, you are still an image bearer of the King of Kings today. Nothing and no one could take that from you.

Now, this passage, it was written about a moment in human history before sin had entered the world, before rebellion, before the world was destroyed. It was in the human genome. And some of what flows after this isn't universally available for each one of us, but it is still the design for all of us.

Don't disqualify yourself from all of this if some of this isn't true for you. God uses even the broken pieces of our past and our story for the purpose that he has made us for.

Here's what I mean. This line, "to be fruitful and multiply," is what is often referred to as the creation mandate. We were made, we were called to be faithful, fruitful, and fostering care for the world.

Now, for some people, that means that you've had children. For others of you, you're single, or that was something you decided not to do. For some of you, that's a painful part of your story. But this overall idea, wherever we've fallen short, is for humanity, this bigger call from God on the human species.

As a matter of fact, this word, "subdue," is about bringing God's ways to our world. About bringing God's order to the disorder of a sinful and broken world. About showing the true and eternal kingdom in the broken and fallen kingdoms all around us.

As overwhelming as this can feel, let's highlight the major components we discover here. You were made on purpose and for a purpose. You are an image bearer with a physical body. Your body is a part of your purpose. And your purpose is a part of the creation mandate.

You can begin to see the problem if we disassociate one from the other. Now, we've seen a lot of themes throughout human history in the way that we think about the body. And some of the major ancient views about the body are really helpful for us because they help us understand the modern views of the human body. It's where they've come from.

And so just a few to look at. You have those who thought, like Plato, that the body doesn't matter at all, it's irrelevant. You had the Stoics who believed that the body was the enemy, so actually you would punish it. You had Epicureans who believed that the body is just a vehicle for pleasure, so you indulged it.

And then you had the Gnostics where nothing physical mattered at all, only the spiritual mattered. And the early church was facing elements inside from some of all of these different philosophies. And actually, so are we.

The early church wasn't silent about their implications and we shouldn't be either. They argued that ambiguity in this conversation has not served us well. Avoiding the posture of a cultural warrior or a capitulator, but taking on the creation mandate as a reminder that we are all ambassadors of a different kingdom who has a king.

Now, a couple of modern views that feed into lots of thinking today. One is materialism, that the body is the only thing that matters and is real. Everything else sort of fades away. And then one sort of built on top of a few is called hedonism, or that pleasure is the only thing that matters.

And so if you think about the world you live in, if you think about what you scroll through, if you think about what you watch, if you think about what's available to read, if you think about what is valued and venerated in our culture, do those sound like some worldviews that may have been informed by those pictures of the body?

Maybe for you, that's something you can't see and relate to personally. Maybe you can think about someone in your life that has fallen prey to that. Maybe for you, you're just familiar and you know, yeah, yeah, there's probably some of that around me.

It's no wonder that the idea that we were made, bodies and all, on purpose and for a purpose, can be so quickly distorted in our modern moment. We want to be disconnecting the two. Our world wants to reject the author's intent, and we are left to pick up the pieces.

In her book, "Love Thy Body," Nancy Pearcey distinguishes the Christian view this way. She says, "Christianity holds that body and soul together are an integrated unity, that the human being is an embodied soul. By contrast, personhood theory entails a two-level dualism that sets the body against the person, as though they were two separate things merely stuck together. As a result, it demands the body as extrinsic to the person."

What does that mean? That inner introduction to the human body is two-type co-supplantation of the soul.

In her book, "Trophy," all this clearly says that the flesh of the earth was the promise, a part of the purpose and plan that God has for us.

So what? Even if our bodies are a part of the plan, what does God have to say about the way I use my body? After all, it's my body. The worldview of our world can be tragically summed up by the celebrity Anthony Bourdain, who said before his passing, "Your body isn't a temple, it's a roller coaster. Just enjoy the ride."

Tragically, my brother, who I lost just this last year, he had a similar philosophy a lot. He would say, "I've treated my body like a carnival ride for 35 years."

Now, if this life is all there is, then all that makes sense. But if our bodies are a part of the eternal plan and an eternal kingdom, which I believe they are, then what does God have to say about them? And what are we willing to submit in our lives to that picture and plan?

The Apostle Paul, he tries to put the first 11 chapters in the letter that he wrote to the church at Rome about the history of God's redemption for humanity. He tries to sum them up, the implications for all of that, into one famous verse that we just celebrated at Easter. He says this: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship."

Paul is talking to a group of people about what it means that their individual bodies and collective bodies are a part of our unified worship. What a worldview-changing perspective of the accountability and responsibility we have as embodied souls.

The right response to realizing what God has done for us, that he lived the life we couldn't, that he died the death we deserve, that he came back from the grave to win us back, like we celebrated last week at Easter. It brings powerful implications.

And if we are really committed to following him, we will follow him with our bodies, not in spite of them, not separated from them. See, in our culture of expressive individualism and hyper-autonomy, this can feel completely foreign to what we swim in every single day.

The oxygen we breathe can convince us otherwise. But I'm going to ask you this question a few times over the course of this series. That idea of hyper-autonomy, hyper-autonomy, hyper-autonomy, hyper-autonomy, hyper-autonomy, and expressive individualism, do what you want, your body is a roller coaster, just enjoy the ride. How is that going?

How is that going in our world? How is that going in our culture? And how's it going in your life? I would argue that for all of us, if you are living perfectly fulfilled in that worldview, I'd say, I guess you figured it out.

But I think for many of us, even those of us who are not yet Christians, followers of Jesus, we know inherently there is something that we are not. And I think that's what we need to do.

We are living in contrast to the design, something we are walking unfaithfully to the faithfulness of God in our life. And if you're a follower of Jesus, it means that you set down the ways and the will of you, and you choose his will and his ways instead.

And he slowly changes you over the course of your life. It's a word in the New Testament called repentance, that we turn and continue to follow the will and ways of God. As a bigger part of this process, we're going to call it sanctification, that God is shaping us every moment of our lives.

We'll talk more about that next week. But in a letter to the church at Corinth, this early church that had some of the same struggles we have today in Silicon Valley in 2024, the Apostle Paul reiterates how important our body is when he says, "So glorify God in your body."

These early church letters, they're written to churches and specifically for followers of Jesus. So if you aren't a Christian, look, wisdom for your body is a really good idea. You should explore it.

I would argue that the world's systems are teaching us some very destructive and counterproductive ideas here. But God, the Holy Spirit, lives uniquely and exclusively in followers of Jesus. And if you're a follower of Jesus, you are no longer a spiritual free agent.

You don't just get to decide this anymore for yourself. We submit to God's will and ways, his plan for our lives, even as we continue to require his grace because we fall short.

It is this process of repentance and confession and ongoing growth to the work of Jesus in our lives. The culture will keep telling us that our desires and our body are ultimate and entirely up to us. But that's not what an ambassador of this eternal kingdom is.

It's not what an ambassador of this eternal kingdom is. It's not what an ambassador of this eternal kingdom is. It's not what an ambassador of this eternal kingdom is.

It's not what an ambassador of this eternal kingdom is. It's not what an ambassador of this eternal kingdom is. It's not what an ambassador of this eternal kingdom is.

So what will you do with this? Maybe you were hoping that today I would say something you could use to win an argument. Maybe you were praying that there would be some loophole that you would discover in our time together that would allow you to continue to live a divided life, where this one part of you, this one part of your life gets to continue to live it according to your will, where you said, "God, you can have the rest of it."

And the thing we are least likely to want to give to God is the thing he most wants in our life. And that's what God wants in our life, because it's actually the thing that we have to surrender.

And the more we surrender our lives to Jesus, the more parts of our lives, including our bodies, he becomes the Lord of. And that's really good news over time.

Now, the implications of the body are so profound that Jesus himself would enter into human existence through the incarnation, that God the Son, eternal co-equal, God made him to become like us, fully God and fully man.

The Apostle John puts it this way, says, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory. Glory is of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

He didn't just look like us. He didn't just appear to be human for a short period of time. Even after Easter and the first resurrection celebration 2,000 years ago, well, we would think maybe his body would no longer be necessary. He could have discarded it. He kept it.

Luke records Jesus' conversation with his disciples this way. He says, "Jesus has been in the fight that you are in. He understands what it is to live in a broken world with pain and hardships and disappointments. And yearnings and longings that we would say, 'God, this doesn't match what I know you want for my life.' Jesus would say, 'I know I have been there.'"

Even as your body fails, God is preparing the same resurrected reality for you that we see in him. This life is not all that there is. If it was, then by all means, get all the pleasure you can out of it. Drain it out.

But if it's not, living in light of eternity is the only real option that makes any sense. Last week, I was talking with someone after service who's older in our church. And in the last year, he lost his wife. And he was telling me, saying, "This is probably likely my last Easter."

And I just reminded him kindly, I said, "This is not anywhere near your last Easter. You will have an eternity of celebrating Easter."

Because in Jesus, followers of Jesus, eternity is not some token line that we say to feel better in bad situations. It's the reality we live in light of today, and we will live in the presence of someday.

Jesus took eternity so seriously for you and me, that he took on a body to give us eternity. Not only that, on Easter morning, he didn't leave his body behind. He took it with him.

Not only that, but this picture of Jesus suffering in the body for us, it's beautifully described by theologian and author Ann Voskamp this way. She says, "Christ's rising is your rising. And if Christ rises still carrying his scars of suffering, even especially us scarred, suffering ones, get to be the rising people who rise to a new way of life, who live resurrections every day."

We don't live as though we're perfect. We live recognizing that God is perfecting us all the time. You were made on purpose. You were made for a purpose.

In the body you have, in the way you live, what the limitations are, you are perfect. You are perfect. You are perfect. You are perfect. You are perfect.

Maybe that means challenges that you wish you didn't have. We probably all have some of those. Maybe for you, it's a cancer diagnosis you wish you could give back. It's chronic pain that you have no answer for.

But God can use all of that to, see, in a broken world, we show hope when we live beyond our circumstances. When we show a waiting and watching world that perfect comfort and circumstantial blessing are not the only reasons to live in light of eternity.

We show the kingdom that we are headed to, not just the one we are walking through. This doesn't mean the kind of superficial triumphalism where we just pretend everything's going okay even when it's not.

It means that we start by grieving the pain and the hurt, that we're honest about what we're going through and where we feel like we're headed to, the loss, the shortcomings, but we don't stop there. We don't just live in that. We live in light of forever, that through grief we find the way.

We don't just live in that. We live in light gratitude, not just for what we have, but for who we have. And because of that, we're headed to.

Today, we're beginning this conversation. And I would just encourage you to make this series a priority. The average Christian churchgoer in America attends church less than twice a month.

So I know that this will mean a commitment for you. That for some of you, you're like, "Phil, there's a lot of brunch to have on Sundays," right? Some of you, you came today as your first non-Easter thing and you're like, "Wait, I just signed up for five weeks? This is not the deal I made."

But I think God has something really unique for us in this. And I don't want any of us to miss it. You are an important part of this community.

And I want this series to help you find a deeper sense of belonging than maybe you ever have in the past, even if it comes with difficult conversations or navigating tensions.

Because here's the thing, as followers of Jesus, we don't sit in tension very well. As followers of Jesus, we want to know who agrees with me. We want to know who agrees with me. We want to know who agrees with me and who doesn't.

Who's on my side and who's on the other side? Who's in my camp and who's in the other camp? And the moment we figure out who's who, we decide these are my people and those are not.

But people who have followed Jesus for millennia have found ways, when even they disagree on important topics, to fight for relationship, to maintain the tension rather than just finding ways to release it.

Find ways to learn. To express empathy. To hear and share stories. That we could be a place where people could belong long before they ever believe.

That has a lot more to do with us than it does me. We have to decide together that we are willing to walk through these difficult conversations together.

Because your body and mine, with all of its internal conflicts, the reminders of the sinful world that we all live in, the elements that we wish we could change, our bodies were made by God on purpose.

We are made by God on purpose. We are made by God on purpose. We are made by God on purpose.

And when we remember that ultimate healing is coming and that the pain we face is only for a moment in the grand scheme of eternity, it drives all of us to Jesus.

In just a few moments, we'll share communion together. A reminder of this work that Jesus did for us. And it's an embodied reminder. Jesus says, "This is my body which is broken for you. This is my blood which is poured out for you."

This is not a means to an end. Jesus did not come as a ghost to help us. He came fully God and fully man. That you and I, as men and women, might choose to follow him with all that we are.

Can I pray for you?

God, I know there are people here today, right now, that are genuinely agonizing from an injury or an illness. From feeling disconnected to their body. God, they are feeling... They are feeling a sense of inner turmoil that makes their body feel like you've made a mistake with them.

They hate their body. They feel exhausted in their mental health because of it. They have had things done to them or they've done things that make it so they can't even look at themselves in the mirror anymore, God.

Or God, they have habits that they are continuing with their body that they want to stop but they don't know where to start. Would you give them courage to ask for help for you today, God? Right now, from you?

And maybe in a few minutes from someone else who wants to pray for them and connect them to care that could really make a difference. God, there is a longing you have put in all of us and it shows up in so many different ways, God.

But the longings that we have can only fully and finally be satisfied in you. And so, God, maybe this is the very first time somebody's thought about that.

And they've asked their career or they've asked their body or they've asked their sexuality or they've asked something that they don't know about. And they've asked their life or they've asked their life for some assistance that they don't know about in their life to hold the whole weight of their identity and purpose.

And God, would you just, would you lean on their heart right now and help them to see how much you love them and the length that you want that their relationship, our relationship with you could be restored?

God, we believe that your kingdom can come, your will will be done in our lives as it is in heaven. We pray that it would be today. Just one more step along. It's in Jesus' name.

"We're not trying to be culture warriors where we make our position more important than people. We're also trying to make sure that we don't become cultural capitulators that simply change with the currents of culture. That actually our goal should be that we are cultural ambassadors. That if you're a follower of Jesus, you live in a world that looks nothing like the kingdom of heaven." [22:47](Download clip | Download cropped clip | Download captioned clip)

"We are a community centered on Jesus and the Bible. This conversation represents our best understanding of these topics through the whole of scripture, not a handful of passages to prove a point. I'm not trying to debate or argue. I believe that clarity is kindness in this conversation of a generous orthodoxy." [24:36](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)

"You are an image bearer of the divine. And he made you on purpose for a purpose. This isn't just true at a universal human level for all of us. This is at the specific and personal level for you too. This is about your story and our story simultaneously." [33:57](Download clip | Download cropped clip | Download captioned clip)

"Christianity holds that body and soul together are an integrated unity, that the human being is an embodied soul. By contrast, personhood theory entails a two-level dualism that sets the body against the person, as though they were two separate things merely stuck together." [38:28](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Paul is talking to a group of people about what it means that their individual bodies and collective bodies are a part of our unified worship." [40:52](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)

"Living in light of eternity is the only real option that makes any sense. Last week, I was talking with someone after service who's older in our church. And in the last year, he lost his wife. And he was telling me, saying, this is probably likely my last Easter. And I just reminded him kindly, I said, this is not anywhere near your last Easter." [46:30](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)

"In Jesus, followers of Jesus, eternity is not some token line that we say to feel better in bad situations. It's the reality we live in light of today, and we will live in the presence of someday. Jesus took eternity so seriously for you and me, that he took on a body to give us eternity." [48:02](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)

"Your body and mine, with all of its internal conflicts, the reminders of the sinful world that we all live in, the elements that we wish we could change, our bodies were made by God on purpose. We are made by God on purpose for a purpose." [50:40](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)

"Even if you're not a Christian, even if you would say you're not a person of faith, you are an image bearer of the creator of the universe. No matter what you've done, or maybe what's been done to you, no matter where you've been, no matter who you are, you are an image bearer of the divine." [33:19](Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)

"This line, to be fruitful and multiply, is what is often referred to as the, creation mandate. We were made, we were called to be faithful, fruitful, and fostering care for the world. Now, for some people, that means that you've had children. For others of you, you're single, or that was something you decided not to do." [34:38](Download clip | Cropping clip | Captioning clip)