Crossroads Church Temecula
CURIOUS?
Pray
Locations & Times
Crossroads Church Temecula
26090 Ynez Rd, Temecula, CA 92591, USA
Sunday 5:00 PM
“Culture Wars”
“ Culture War” is defined as…
“…aspects of contemporary politics
and conflicts based on values,
morality, and lifestyle.”
“…aspects of contemporary politics
and conflicts based on values,
morality, and lifestyle.”
1st, be AWARE that there is a culture war!
2nd, assuming a posture of NEUTRALITY is not an option!
3rd, it is imperative that we KNOW our adversary!
While we are to know our enemy, nothing and or any knowledge of
our enemy should take priority
over knowing Christ and His word!
our enemy should take priority
over knowing Christ and His word!
4th, maintain a complete DEPENDENCE on God!
Acknowledge the battle BELONGS to the Lord!
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Use the resources God PROVIDES for the battle!
This is God’s battle, and He will prevail!
5th, live out the QUALITIES of a Godly soldier!
Be on GUARD!
Stand FIRM!
“Wobbly Christians who have no
firm foothold in Christ are
easy prey for the devil!”
John Stott
firm foothold in Christ are
easy prey for the devil!”
John Stott
Be COURAGEOUS!
Be STRONG!
LOVE always!
It’s TIME for all Christ-followers to go to war FOR our kids, families, and friends MORE than the culture presently is!
Discuss and Reflect
Big Idea
I am pretty confident that most of us are familiar with the idiom, “Curiosity killed the cat…” but most of us don’t know the second half of the statement, “…but satisfaction brought it back.” So, we use the first half of the saying as a warning: Be careful of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation! But the second part -- "satisfaction brought it back" -- shows that the risk might be worth it. It is our hope that this series, “Curious: God’s Answers to Your Curious Questions” will eliminate any “danger” that you might associate with a curious question, and then when we see God’s answer the “risk” we’ve taken will indeed be worth it! Today, “Culture Wars.”
Discussion Questions
· Review the scriptures, the main points, watch or listen online to the message from this past weekend. What is the most significant point for you? Why?
· Is there such a thing as a “Culture War”? Yes/no? What support do you have for your answer?
· How have you personally experienced the “Culture War” that Pastor Gary addressed this weekend?
· Read 1Corinthians 10:3-5 and Ephesians 6:10-18. What do you learn about the spiritual battle that the Apostle Paul addresses? What is the significance of the weapons that are mentioned?
Next Steps
In this week’s message Pastor Gary made available resources that provide answers to many of the cultural challenges we are facing today. Use them! Do not be uninformed, do not dismiss these things as passing fads, the conflict is real. Watch the videos, buy and read the books; get on the internet and research for yourself the cultural war that we are fighting. Do it today!
Prayer Focus
As a country, in families, in our communities, schools, and neighborhood’s a cultural war is raging. Even so, God’s word is true, “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Prayer should not only be our first response but rest assured that it is the most powerful response we can make. So, pray as you’ve never prayed before and let’s believe that God will turn the tide of “Culture Wars 2021!
I am pretty confident that most of us are familiar with the idiom, “Curiosity killed the cat…” but most of us don’t know the second half of the statement, “…but satisfaction brought it back.” So, we use the first half of the saying as a warning: Be careful of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation! But the second part -- "satisfaction brought it back" -- shows that the risk might be worth it. It is our hope that this series, “Curious: God’s Answers to Your Curious Questions” will eliminate any “danger” that you might associate with a curious question, and then when we see God’s answer the “risk” we’ve taken will indeed be worth it! Today, “Culture Wars.”
Discussion Questions
· Review the scriptures, the main points, watch or listen online to the message from this past weekend. What is the most significant point for you? Why?
· Is there such a thing as a “Culture War”? Yes/no? What support do you have for your answer?
· How have you personally experienced the “Culture War” that Pastor Gary addressed this weekend?
· Read 1Corinthians 10:3-5 and Ephesians 6:10-18. What do you learn about the spiritual battle that the Apostle Paul addresses? What is the significance of the weapons that are mentioned?
Next Steps
In this week’s message Pastor Gary made available resources that provide answers to many of the cultural challenges we are facing today. Use them! Do not be uninformed, do not dismiss these things as passing fads, the conflict is real. Watch the videos, buy and read the books; get on the internet and research for yourself the cultural war that we are fighting. Do it today!
Prayer Focus
As a country, in families, in our communities, schools, and neighborhood’s a cultural war is raging. Even so, God’s word is true, “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Prayer should not only be our first response but rest assured that it is the most powerful response we can make. So, pray as you’ve never prayed before and let’s believe that God will turn the tide of “Culture Wars 2021!
Culture Wars Resources
Definition of Terms
Woke is holding views or attitudes principally with regards to certain social justice issues or to an excessive degree.
Cancel Culture or call-out culture is a modern form of ostracism in which
someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person. …The expression "cancel culture" has mostly negative connotations and is commonly used in debates on free
speech and censorship.
Triggeredis occurring in response to a stimulus typically perceived as negative or harmful
Socialism is an economic and political system where the community or state owns the general means of production (i. e. farms, factories, tools, and raw materials.) This is different from capitalism, where the means of production are privately owned.
Totalitarianism is a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.
Safe Space refers to places created for marginalized individuals to come
together to communicate regarding their experiences with marginalization.
Neo-Marxists believe the economic system creates a wealthy class of owners and a poor class of workers. They also believe that certain social institutions such as churches, prisons and schools have been created to maintain the division between the powerful and the powerless.
Identity Politics is a tendency for people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics.
Transgenderism refers to an informal diagnosis that describes individuals whose gender identity (the inherent sense of being male or female) differs from their biologic sex.
“Critical Race Theory” recognizes that racism is ingrained in the fabric and system of the American Society…CRT identifies that these power structures are based on white privilege and white supremacy which perpetuates the marginalization of people of color.” (UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs)
Intersectionality it is about the multiple layers of oppression minorities suffer. (Kimberle Crenshaw Harvard Law School.)
Relevant Magazine
A new Christian consortium, dedicated to preserving religious liberty, is promoting its mission with militaristic imagery and language. The group’s website uses terms like “battle,” “fighters,” and “war.” It’s clear the founders of this organization see themselves as being on the front lines of the conflict for the soul of our nation. They’re proud participants in the ongoing culture war.
To some, this approach may seem legitimate. After all, in the struggle for dominance between polarized groups, only one side can emerge victoriously—and it isn’t the side that refuses to fight.
The question we must ask is this: Is a warlike posture the proper response to an increasingly anti-Christian society? Does such an approach represent the “wisdom that comes down from above,” or the wisdom that is “earthly, unspiritual, [and] demonic” (James 3:13–18)?
All’s Fair in Love and Culture War
The problem with the culture-war approach is not that it (rightly) discerns
opposition from the world. The problem is in the chosen mode of response.
By embracing the culture-war paradigm, many Christians adopt—likely Inadvertently—an “all’s fair in love and war” perspective. After all, in a war you don’t turn the other cheek; you strike back as hard, or harder, than your opponent. That’s how wars are won.
And so we employ battle tactics we normally would not find defensible:
We express outrage over every new infraction we see in the news or on social media—forgetting that we are neither to give in so easily to anger
(1 Cor. 13:5; James 1:20), nor to imitate the evils of outrage culture, cancel culture, or victim culture (3 John 11).
We fight and quarrel with our opponents—forgetting that such skirmishes stem from selfish motives (James. 4:1), and that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone” (2 Tim. 2:24).
We mock those in opposition to us, using the popular rhetoric of sarcastic memes, name-calling, and condescending language—forgetting that we are to communicate “with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15), and to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders” by letting our “speech always be gracious” (Col. 4:5–6).
In short, culture warriors wrestle with others in an antithetical way to scriptural teaching: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Or, as Jesus himself put it, “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting. . . . But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36).
Ours is a spiritual war. We take our marching orders from our own former
Enemy, he who reconciled us to himself by the shedding of blood—not ours (in just retribution), but his (in gracious propitiation).
Cultural Engagement
Some might well ask, “But shouldn’t we oppose the evils being spread in our society?” The answer is a resounding yes. Engaging with—and even confronting—our culture is a legitimate form of being salt and light in the world.
Again, the deciding factor is the nature of our engagement. Are we seeking to destroy or to rescue our opponents? When we correct or oppose or reprove, is it with the goal of winning the conversation or winning a neighbor? Do we confront others in the right spirit? We are not at war with our ideological opponents—we are at war for them.
In the words of Jonathan Edwards, do we engage one who opposes us “without angry reflections or contemptuous language . . . [and] as seeking his good rather than his hurt; [and] more to deliver him from the calamity into which has fallen than to be even with him for the injury he has brought”? As these words suggest, we are not at war with our ideological opponents—we are at war for them.
To engage with our culture in a militant and hostile manner is to forsake our role as ambassadors. It’s trading our diplomatic visas for military dog tags. It’s trading the armor of God for the fig leaves of human striving. It’s a capitulation to earthly wisdom—attempting to fight for the kingdom of God on the world’s terms.
Enemies or Neighbors?
Throughout human history, Christians have displayed valiant love in the face of overwhelming opposition. That’s why the apostle Paul was able to address a crowd, who had just tried to kill him, as “brothers and fathers.” That’s why Maria Goretti was able to speak these words shortly before dying from the wounds of her attacker: “I want him with me in heaven forever.” That’s why the newly converted Ed Johnson was able to say, before being lynched by a mob, “God bless you all.”
That is how Christians are called to battle. Not to fight fire with fire—at least, not how that phrase is normally understood: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head” (Rom. 12:20). As counterintuitive as it may seem, the fire of human hatred can only be overcome by the spark of divine love. The unassuming meekness of this love may appear weak and ineffectual, but it generates a supernatural yield more powerful than any earthly weapon we can wield.
Too often, when push comes, shove follows. Too often, when the culture opposes us, we feel like equal opposition is the only answer. But the second greatest commandment reminds us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. And the parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us that our neighbor is any person we come into contact with—including those who insult and threaten us. By divine decree, everyone is our neighbor. No exceptions. And we win our neighbors through the same love that won us.
Books
“Fault Lines” “The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming
Catastrophe.” Voddie T. Baucham Jr.
“Love Thy Body” Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality.” Nancy R. Pearcy
“Live Not by Lies” “A Manual for Christian Dissidents.” Rod Dreher
“Hope of Nations” “Standing Strong in a Post-truth, Post Christian World.” John S. Dickerson
Videos
1.Voddie Baucham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuSMvIVtd0A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i60eQZPG5XM
2.Nancy Pearcey on “Love Thy Body” Podcast with Allie Stuckey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsDgLePJNTY
3.Rod Dreher “Live Not by Lies”
https://albertmohler.com/2020/10/28/rod-dreher
4.John S. Dickerson “Hope of Nations” https://www.hopeofnations.net/media
Woke is holding views or attitudes principally with regards to certain social justice issues or to an excessive degree.
Cancel Culture or call-out culture is a modern form of ostracism in which
someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person. …The expression "cancel culture" has mostly negative connotations and is commonly used in debates on free
speech and censorship.
Triggeredis occurring in response to a stimulus typically perceived as negative or harmful
Socialism is an economic and political system where the community or state owns the general means of production (i. e. farms, factories, tools, and raw materials.) This is different from capitalism, where the means of production are privately owned.
Totalitarianism is a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.
Safe Space refers to places created for marginalized individuals to come
together to communicate regarding their experiences with marginalization.
Neo-Marxists believe the economic system creates a wealthy class of owners and a poor class of workers. They also believe that certain social institutions such as churches, prisons and schools have been created to maintain the division between the powerful and the powerless.
Identity Politics is a tendency for people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics.
Transgenderism refers to an informal diagnosis that describes individuals whose gender identity (the inherent sense of being male or female) differs from their biologic sex.
“Critical Race Theory” recognizes that racism is ingrained in the fabric and system of the American Society…CRT identifies that these power structures are based on white privilege and white supremacy which perpetuates the marginalization of people of color.” (UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs)
Intersectionality it is about the multiple layers of oppression minorities suffer. (Kimberle Crenshaw Harvard Law School.)
Relevant Magazine
A new Christian consortium, dedicated to preserving religious liberty, is promoting its mission with militaristic imagery and language. The group’s website uses terms like “battle,” “fighters,” and “war.” It’s clear the founders of this organization see themselves as being on the front lines of the conflict for the soul of our nation. They’re proud participants in the ongoing culture war.
To some, this approach may seem legitimate. After all, in the struggle for dominance between polarized groups, only one side can emerge victoriously—and it isn’t the side that refuses to fight.
The question we must ask is this: Is a warlike posture the proper response to an increasingly anti-Christian society? Does such an approach represent the “wisdom that comes down from above,” or the wisdom that is “earthly, unspiritual, [and] demonic” (James 3:13–18)?
All’s Fair in Love and Culture War
The problem with the culture-war approach is not that it (rightly) discerns
opposition from the world. The problem is in the chosen mode of response.
By embracing the culture-war paradigm, many Christians adopt—likely Inadvertently—an “all’s fair in love and war” perspective. After all, in a war you don’t turn the other cheek; you strike back as hard, or harder, than your opponent. That’s how wars are won.
And so we employ battle tactics we normally would not find defensible:
We express outrage over every new infraction we see in the news or on social media—forgetting that we are neither to give in so easily to anger
(1 Cor. 13:5; James 1:20), nor to imitate the evils of outrage culture, cancel culture, or victim culture (3 John 11).
We fight and quarrel with our opponents—forgetting that such skirmishes stem from selfish motives (James. 4:1), and that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone” (2 Tim. 2:24).
We mock those in opposition to us, using the popular rhetoric of sarcastic memes, name-calling, and condescending language—forgetting that we are to communicate “with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15), and to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders” by letting our “speech always be gracious” (Col. 4:5–6).
In short, culture warriors wrestle with others in an antithetical way to scriptural teaching: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Or, as Jesus himself put it, “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting. . . . But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36).
Ours is a spiritual war. We take our marching orders from our own former
Enemy, he who reconciled us to himself by the shedding of blood—not ours (in just retribution), but his (in gracious propitiation).
Cultural Engagement
Some might well ask, “But shouldn’t we oppose the evils being spread in our society?” The answer is a resounding yes. Engaging with—and even confronting—our culture is a legitimate form of being salt and light in the world.
Again, the deciding factor is the nature of our engagement. Are we seeking to destroy or to rescue our opponents? When we correct or oppose or reprove, is it with the goal of winning the conversation or winning a neighbor? Do we confront others in the right spirit? We are not at war with our ideological opponents—we are at war for them.
In the words of Jonathan Edwards, do we engage one who opposes us “without angry reflections or contemptuous language . . . [and] as seeking his good rather than his hurt; [and] more to deliver him from the calamity into which has fallen than to be even with him for the injury he has brought”? As these words suggest, we are not at war with our ideological opponents—we are at war for them.
To engage with our culture in a militant and hostile manner is to forsake our role as ambassadors. It’s trading our diplomatic visas for military dog tags. It’s trading the armor of God for the fig leaves of human striving. It’s a capitulation to earthly wisdom—attempting to fight for the kingdom of God on the world’s terms.
Enemies or Neighbors?
Throughout human history, Christians have displayed valiant love in the face of overwhelming opposition. That’s why the apostle Paul was able to address a crowd, who had just tried to kill him, as “brothers and fathers.” That’s why Maria Goretti was able to speak these words shortly before dying from the wounds of her attacker: “I want him with me in heaven forever.” That’s why the newly converted Ed Johnson was able to say, before being lynched by a mob, “God bless you all.”
That is how Christians are called to battle. Not to fight fire with fire—at least, not how that phrase is normally understood: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head” (Rom. 12:20). As counterintuitive as it may seem, the fire of human hatred can only be overcome by the spark of divine love. The unassuming meekness of this love may appear weak and ineffectual, but it generates a supernatural yield more powerful than any earthly weapon we can wield.
Too often, when push comes, shove follows. Too often, when the culture opposes us, we feel like equal opposition is the only answer. But the second greatest commandment reminds us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. And the parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us that our neighbor is any person we come into contact with—including those who insult and threaten us. By divine decree, everyone is our neighbor. No exceptions. And we win our neighbors through the same love that won us.
Books
“Fault Lines” “The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming
Catastrophe.” Voddie T. Baucham Jr.
“Love Thy Body” Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality.” Nancy R. Pearcy
“Live Not by Lies” “A Manual for Christian Dissidents.” Rod Dreher
“Hope of Nations” “Standing Strong in a Post-truth, Post Christian World.” John S. Dickerson
Videos
1.Voddie Baucham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuSMvIVtd0A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i60eQZPG5XM
2.Nancy Pearcey on “Love Thy Body” Podcast with Allie Stuckey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsDgLePJNTY
3.Rod Dreher “Live Not by Lies”
https://albertmohler.com/2020/10/28/rod-dreher
4.John S. Dickerson “Hope of Nations” https://www.hopeofnations.net/media
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