Walsh and Middleton make a good point
about the Creation-Fall-Redemption story of Scripture: Christians may tend to think of the Bible as all about sin (fall) and salvation (redemption). But without creation, neither of these concepts makes sense. What is sin but the violation of the way God created things to be? And what is salvation but the restoration of God’s creation to its (our) original purposes? (pp. 43-44)
Identity: A Biblical Worldview of Yourself (Part 2: Biblical Teaching)
I delivered the following sermon at Tri-County Bible Church in Madison, Ohio, pastored by my longtime, respected friend Joe Tyrpak. Watch or read. Or both. Or neither. It's ok.It’s a distinct honor to serve you today. I have known your pastor since I was 16 or 17...
People with a lot more experience than me talking with Chinese people about Christianity say one of the most common complaints is: “The Bible doesn’t make sense. I can’t understand it.” When that complaint is made, the solution, much to the average Westerner’s surprise, is not to go over the purpose behind genealogies or pontificate on systematic theological explanations of things like justification. Rather, the need is to spend a lot of time going over every phrase in Genesis 1:1. After that, the Bible suddenly makes sense.
Western Christians (and even Western atheists who have never set foot in a church) are so familiar with Genesis 1:1 concepts that it doesn’t occur to us what it might be like not to know them.