Have you ever participated in a game of “dizzy bat”? This relay is straight from the pit of Hades if you ask me. In this game, people run down to a stationary baseball bat, place one end of the bat on their forehead, the other end on the ground, then spin around as quickly as possible 10 times before “running” back to the start line. I say “running” because it is next to impossible to run after spinning around that tight of a circle that fast. When you stop spinning, your world doesn’t … your brain sufficiently scrambled … you either stumble back to the start line like a drunk at the end of a bender, or (if you are like me) fall flat on your back and beg for mercy. Only after I stop moving can I gain sufficient perspective to get back up and move without falling apart.
I tell you this story because figuratively, I think our society has been playing a professional level game of “dizzy bat” the past 12 months. With our heads on a “stick” of P’s (pandemics, politics, and protests) we have spun ‘round and ‘round at a disorienting pace in recent days. As we head into the spring of 2021, many are stumbling toward a new start line, while others are flat on their backs trying to catch their bearings. Can you relate?
How do we gain PERSPECTIVE in this moment to stop the world from spinning and make sense of what is happening … and (even more importantly) as Christ followers how do we understand our times through a Christian lens and know how we can respond in a God glorifying way in this moment?
Well, over the next 4 weeks at Wildwood Community Church, I am going to do my best to orient us to 4 absolutely critical-to-remember truths to maintain the proper perspective in our day. These four truths help us maintain a Christian worldview in the midst of a society that wants to keep us spinning.
Most all sermons we preach at Wildwood are parts of larger series of messages, but these next 4 weeks are especially important to hear together. In a sense, this series is one message in four parts. I hope you make plans to join us for each of the four weeks for this series entitled, “Perspective: Viewing today’s world through a Christian Lens.” The outline of the series is as follows:
- April 11: The God who IS vs. the God we IMAGINE (Acts 17:16-34)
- April 18: The Human Race, part 1: Created ON purpose and FOR a purpose (Genesis 1-3, Psalm 139)
- April 25: The Human Race, part 2: What Happened? (Romans 1-5)
- May 2: The BEST Solution (John 3:1-17, Matthew 5:13-16)
In this series, not only will we be looking at these core truths, but also seek to apply these truths to our current dilemmas to see how we might make sense of what is happening around us, and understand the path Christ is calling us to walk.
I hope you all will join us in person in one of our 3 identical services at Wildwood Community Church – 9:00, 10:15, or 11:30 AM or online at wildwoodchurch.org/live. I will also be posting some additional thoughts and links to resources on this blog throughout the series for those who want to go deeper. See you Sunday … and invite any friends you know who are also wrestling with these issues. Let’s look together to see what God says about who He is, who we are, and what we are to do.