1. Less So much more…

2. 1) Limitless 2) Fearless 3) Powerless

3. Image

4. Imageless

5. Adaption

6. Adaption without Adoption

7. Christianity Moralism

8. Christianity was never designed to be equated with Morality

9. Because of Religious Moralism o Unbelievers hate the faith

10. Because of Religious Moralism o Unbelievers hate the faith o Cults prosper

11. Because of Religious Moralism o Unbelievers hate the faith o Cults prosper o People are glorified instead of God

12. Because of Religious Moralism o Unbelievers hate the faith o Cults prosper o People are glorified instead of God o Real issues are ignored

13. Jesus didn't die on a cross to make me a better person

14. Jesus didn't die on a cross to make me a better person but to make me a new person through second birth

15. I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must be born again"- Jesus, John 3:5-7

16. We can't add Jesus to our lives But we can lay down our arms And surrender to his Kingdom

17. Corollary- The problem in our nation is not a lack of morality- it’s a failure to honor God

18. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened…

19. They…worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator - Romans 1:21, 25

20. We are alwaysworshipers

21. If I fail to honor God I'll find something else to worship

22. Symptoms are never illnesses

23. Symptoms are never illnesses The problem societally is not morality but worship

24. Morality does not cause worship But worship does produce Moral behavior

25. When I really worship God Certain things cease to be options

26. Exhibit A: Image Creation (Ginormous in Religious Groups)

27. Exhibit A: Image Creation What I portray myself as That which I want others to see in me and believe me to be

28. Exhibit A: Image Creation Creates: A sense of value or worth based on that image

29. Peter, Paul and Image

30. As for those who seemed to be important- whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance- those men added nothing to my message - Galatians 2:6

31. When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles.

32. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

33. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray

34. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?” …

35. "Hey Peter- your image is a lie!"

36. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

37. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

38. "Your image is nullifying the gospel!"

39. Peter= trying to create and maintain an image for Jewish leaders Leads to: hypocrisy compromise of the faith leading others astray

40. Image Creation: Do we do this?

41. Image Creation: What are some of the images We present to people?

42. Image Creation: Why?

43. Image Creation - We're afraid of not being accepted

44. Image Creation - We're afraid of not being accepted - We don't believe we have intrinsic worth

45. Image Creation - We're afraid of not being accepted - We don't believe we have intrinsic worth - We don't accept ourselves

46. Image Creation - Is self-deceiving - Is, by definition, a form of hypocrisy

47. Image Creation - Hides the truth from people so I miss out on growth - Accentuates a part of me to the exclusion of the whole person

48. Necessitates Image Maintenance

49. Image Maintenance Is exhausting Produces nagging guilt “I know better” than God's creative design Robs our spiritual family of the blessing of helping us in our weak areas

50. Because of the cross… it’s OK to not be OK There's no need to present an image or produce morality

51. Because of the cross… it’s OK to not be OK it's not OK to stay that way

52. My spiritual growth comes to a dead if I present an image rather than living honestly

53. Why?

54. it’s OK to not be OK it's not OK to stay that way Starts with being authentic and honest about who we are and where we struggle

55. Honest with Ourselves God People

56. God's Plan

57. “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground”

58. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them - Genesis 1:26-27

59. When I substitute God's Image for my own manufactured image things go sideways

60. Image creation what we say about ourselves Created in his image How God made us

61. One leads to enslavement and hypocrisy The other leads to freedom, self-acceptance, value and the joy of discovery

62. Point A to Point B From Image Creation to Created in the Image of…

63. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me - Galatians 2:20

64. - New birth-> death to self and alive to Christ= transformation

65. - New birth-I live out of my new birth rather than my substituted image

66. - Identity based on Christ’s love & acceptance= strength

67. - Spiritual Family that is both accepting and willing to speak the truth in love= vulnerability

68. Goal: Predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ

69. Heart Issues - What images of myself do I present that are not strictly true? Why? - What's the cost?

70. Heart Issues - Do I trust that God created me in his image with intrinsic worth and value regardless of what anyone else might say? - Do I find my worth in God's creation or my image creation?

71. Heart Issues - Do people really know me? Why or why not? - Is my identity and self-acceptance found in Christ? - Will I choose to rest in Christ?