Dennis R. Wiles
First Baptist Arlington
August 3, 2025
Flourishing Together
First Baptist Arlington
2025 – 2030
2025: Flourishing Together: Rooted in Christ
1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (Gospel Guide: Matthew)
AUGUST 2025: Gold’s – God’s Gym
August 3 – September 6, 2025
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30)
What Happened?
Genesis 3
Theme for 2025: Flourishing Together: Rooted in Christ
Theme for August 2025: Gold’s – God’s Gym
HUMAN FLOURISHING: One of the domains currently being researched in the Global Flourishing Study is Mental and Physical Health.
Flourishing Measure Questions
MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS IN US – According to the American Psychological Association, most people agree there is a “mental health crisis” in America.
ANXIETY – According to the American Psychiatry Association, increasing numbers of American adults are experiencing growing levels of anxiety.
Genesis 1-2 records the Creation Account in Scripture. Human beings were uniquely created by God in His image. He placed His blessing upon humanity. What happened?
PARADISE LOST – or perhaps, a deep sense of the loss of the intimate access to God.
Three kinds of disorder, covering the greater part of human suffering, make their germinal appearance in this chapter . . . In personal relations . . . In the spiritual realm . . . and on the physical plane . . . This multiple disarray is, from one aspect, his punishment, pronounced by God; from another, it is the plain outcome of his anarchy. Leaderless, the choir of creation can only grind on in discord.
-Derek Kidner, Genesis
THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
“Understood from a Christian perspective, sin, wrongdoing, and rejection of God are ultimately the root cause of brokenness, illness, and death. Sin is understood as the cause of ill health at the most fundamental level . . . That does not imply that every instance of ill health is the consequence of one’s own sin . . . However, while certainly not every instance of ill health is attributed to a wrongdoing of the person, the deep connection between sin and ill health is portrayed in the biblical texts in various ways . . . The relationship between sin and ill health is sometimes pictured in the biblical text as the general all-persuasive fallenness and brokenness of the created order that is the consequence of sin and the rejection of God.
-Tyler VanderWeele, A Theology of Health
In Genesis 3 humanity experiences shame, blame, separation, judgment, banishment, and provision. The brokenness that resulted from the story recorded in Genesis 3 remains with us today ------ on every level of human existence.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT – Let’s acknowledge our need for our Good Shepherd in the face of our anguish.