Building a Godly Home

This past weekend was an annual men's retreat. As is my custom, I summarize and post the talks below. The speakers this year were Bob, Geoff, Kendall, Wayne, and Edward, all speaking on aspects of what it means to build a Godly home.

Session 1: God creates the home

When we think about building anything, you need to know what materials you have. God tells us this in Scripture. In this talk, we look at three things that were true before the fall of man.

1. A call to radical optimism
• In Genesis 1:28, God commands man to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion. How can we possibly achieve this?
• Look at Genesis 1:27. God creates man in his own image, and it goes on to use a singular pronoun (created ‘him’) followed by a plural (created ‘them’). We are individuals within a plurality; God’s design for our home [or sphere of influence] is as an individual plus being with others in community.
• We should thus have a radical optimism on what we can build.
2. A call to humble realism
• Consider Genesis 2:19-20. There was Adam and all the animals . . . and no suitable helper for him. Before the fall, by design, we need help! We cannot do it on our own.
• It is easy for us to begrudge each other and grow weary of the other’s persistent imperfections, but remember that the people you are building with are image-bearers and need help. We also need to be humble enough to accept help—to embrace our own need.
3. We are utterly compatible
• See Genesis 2:18, 21-23. Woman was taken from man. Made in the same place, out of the same stuff, for the same purpose. Adam calls Eve “bone of my bone.”
• It is tempting to view man and woman as entirely different. Instead, appreciate and celebrate the compatible person God gave you. Look to unity of purpose, and not what divides.

Session 2: Sin wrecks the home

How did the fall of man affect building a Godly home?

We were created with a purpose and obligation to serve God. We were never intended to be free agents, but with our whole being, we were to consecrate all that we do as an offering to God, demonstrating we are not our own. We consecrate ourselves primarily through listening and doing what God says, and not considering alternatives to what God tells us. Man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3 and Matthew 4:4). This should be a joyful obedience . . . but man fell (see Genesis 3).

After the fall, our consecrated purpose and obligation continues (see Hebrews 11:4 about Abel). But we are now evil (and God remains holy). Sin crouches at our door and wants to rule us (Genesis 4:6-7). What hope do we have?

In order for God to dwell in our midst (which is the essence of truly building a Godly home), Man needs to be consecrated—set apart for God as sinless, or holy through purging of evil and putting off sin. And that is only possible in Jesus. Paul tells us that through our union with Christ, we have died to sin and raised with him to new life (see Colossians 2:12-14).

Through Jesus, God is accomplishing his goal of building a Godly home. We are sinless through the work of Christ, and God's Spirit now indwells us, sanctifying us from inside out. God is dwelling in our midst now, and will be building a permanent, more glorious home yet in the future (Revelation 21:3). In this present life, we are to make all our actions as consecrated actions, doing all things in His name (Colossians 3:17, 23-24) and through His strength (John 15:5). And it is through the Spirit that we can break the bond of sin (Romans 8:1-9).

Yet as we continue to struggle with our sinful nature (Romans 7:19-25), we recognize we are in a spiritual battle., where we need to "put off " the sinful, selfish nature and at the same time "put on" the new nature being re-created in us by God's Spirit working in us. This leads to seven practical steps we should take:

1. We must choose: will we worship God or worship ourselves?
2. Commit to live by God’s word, not our own sense of right and wrong
3. Realize the spiritual battle (within and around us) and decide what to do about it
4. Recognize our need for forgiveness and boldly approach our Savior for it
5. Commit to repent and live differently (Colossians 3:5)
6. Be bold, courageous, and lead speaking truth. Don’t give up, knowing God is working in and through you. He will complete what He starts (Philippians 1:6)!

Session 3: God redeems the home

Though man fell (see previous session), God had a plan to redeem him.

In Genesis 17:1-8, God establishes a covenant with Abraham (God always acts first), promising blessing and multiplying and to be his God. Though we rejected God . . . He didn’t reject us. He rescues us from our burdens (see Exodus 6:7), adopts us (Ephesians 1:3-5), and is with us now (Matthew 28:20) and will dwell with us forever (Revelation 21:3). He wants to be with us!

Have you ever taken count of your blessings? We are blessed in so many ways . . . and yet we have darkness and struggles. Idols dominate relationships. There is evil, death, and hardship. And yet . . . we are in Christ.

Jesus uses hard things to grow and help us. He is sovereign even over the darkness in our life. We are promised trials, but it is to bring about God’s good purpose (see 1 Corinthians 4:11-13, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-7). “God wastes no pain.”

Jesus wants to be our God, and for us to be His people. He gifts/equips us (2 Timothy 1:6-7) and sanctifies us (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). He prays for us to be one with Him and the Father (John 17:20-23). Because of the redemption we have in Christ . . . the darkness will not overcome.

Session 4: We have a mission

The Christian life is not about yourself. We are commanded to go and make disciples (in and outside of your home). Consider how Jesus did so.

Read Matthew 10:1-7. Jesus appoints disciples and immediately sends them out to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, heal the sick, and more. That Jesus sends them out before being fully mature shows that their effectiveness (and ours) depends on the Spirit, not our competence, and indicates that we should not wait until we feel we are ready before we obey. (Indeed, one way to grow and fight our self-centeredness is to help others—see Philippians 2:3-8.) In doing this, the disciples learned 1) that they needed help (both God’s strength and each other) and 2) avoided hubris.

How did Jesus tell them to do things? To behave in a way that doesn’t impede the gospel (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 or 10:24).

What are we to do? To be just, kind, and walk humbly with God (see Micah 6:8). To visit the needy and keep unstained from the world (see James 1:27).

What is our motive? Love, without which we are nothing (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-7). Love involves doing good things and laying down our life for others, and when we do so, we are doing so for Jesus (see John 15:13-14, 1 John 3:16, and Matthew 25:31-40).

Our call is to outward mission. Our motivation is love, which we can model because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). When the journey gets hard, here are four meditational aids to help us remember that we are loved.

1. Be reminded of the creator/creation intimacy (see Psalm 139). We are known! The Creator knows me well and calls me his child.
2. Think seriously about how sin severs that relationship (see Psalm 32:3-5) and not being right with others can hinder our prayers (see 1 Peter 3:7). We need the greater affection of being with Jesus to take over to overcome our sin.
3. Reflect on examples (real or fictional) where people lay down their life for others. These stories can be flawed but powerful and pack an emotional punch, pointing us to what Christ did for us and demands of us (John 15:12-13). We should meditate on the perfect and real sacrifice of Christ until it moves us at least as much—the Lord’s Supper is for that purpose.
4. Remember a sense of belonging and our end (see Matthew 25:21)—entering the joy of our Maker!

Session 5: Building like a man

God created the home. Sin wrecked the home. God redeemed the home. We have a mission. So how do we build a Godly home? There are five pillars to consider, using 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 as the text.

1. Diligent Watchfulness
• Whatever flows out of our hearts flows into our homes. We are called to watch two things: our hearts (Proverbs 4:23) and for the enemy (1 Peter 5:8).
2. Firmness in the Faith
• Cultivate a hunger for the truth of God (Proverbs 23:23)
• Where does our time/attention go? Is it on knowing Christ and making Him known?
3. Courageous Masculinity
• We are called to be bold like the righteous (Proverbs 28:1). How can we? It is given to us/declared of us in Christ. We must therefore strive for bold, fearless action, avoiding fear, passivity, pride, and anger.
4. Active Strength
• To be strong, we need to recognize our innate weakness and sense of need (2 Timothy 2:1), modeling humble reliance on the grace of God.
5. All-encompassing Love
• Let all we do be done in love (1 Corinthians 13)
• “A Godly man must be all of love or all he does is all for naught.”
• “Love is biblical faith worked out in proper order.”

Maul—Shadow Lord: Season 1

It is a year after Revenge of the Sith. Jedi Master Daki and his Apprentice Devon hide on an unnamed planet, eking out an existence in the shadows. Elsewhere on the same world, Maul does the same. When the Imperials learn that these Force-wielders are present, they send Inquisitors to eradicate the problem. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend . . ." but can Jedi fight beside fallen Sith without being corrupted?

Maul—Shadow Lord is an excellent animated series, filling in the gaps between Episode III and Solo (from a movie perspective) and between Bad Batch and Rebels (from a television perspective). The title character is intriguing—a Sith dedicated to destroying his former master. It creates some intriguing dynamics. Though you know how his story ends, and this series is largely an extended hunt/chase sequence, it is suspenseful and captivating. Recommended.

Rating: A

Scythe

Today's review is of the 2016 release, Scythe. For 1-5 players, it takes two hours.

Overview

In a steampunk-inspired version of Europe after the Great War, five factions vie for dominance. You will construct buildings, gain resources, build mechs, and perform other actions to expand your influence and earn stars (once one player has completed six, the game ends and is scored). You'll want to increase military power, popularity, resources, money, and territory to be successful. That's a lot . . . do you have what it takes to prevail?

In Scythe, each player gets a character, associated faction board (showing their faction and unique abilities) and action board (showing eight standard actions arranged in four columns of two each, but arranged differently on each—more on that below). Everyone gets mechs (placed on their faction board), workers, and cubes (placed on their action board). After setup (placing your character in its starting space and placing two workers in adjacent hexes), turn proceeds clockwise. 

game box showing contents; image from here

On your turn, you choose a column and take one or both actions, from top to bottom, in that column if you can. The actions simplified:

Top row (economic or movement):

• Move (move up to 2 units (worker, mech, or character) to an adjacent hex) or Gain (1 coin)
• Produce (gain resources from two territories containing workers)
• Resources are metal, oil, wood, food, and workers
• Bolster (increase military power and draw a combat card)
• Trade (pay 1 coin for any two resources or two popularity)

Bottom row:

• Upgrade (pay enough oil to improve your action board by moving a cube from a top action [increasing yield of that] and moving it to a bottom action [reducing the cost of that])
• Deploy (pay enough metal to build a mech, which is required to move over certain terrain and help fight battles)
• Build (pay enough wood to construct a building to unlock bonuses)
• Buildings are armory (helps military), mill (helps resource generation), mine (helps movement), and monument (helps popularity).
• Enlist (pay enough food to recruit personnel by moving a cylinder from your action to your faction board, gaining both an immediate bonus and an ongoing effect based on what adjacent players do)

On your next turn, you must choose a different column, so plan wisely! Efficiency is key; it's best if you can take both actions in the chosen column. And note: each action board has different action pairs per column (so one board might pair Move with Upgrade, while another pairs Move with Build). 

A word on combat: if your figure or mech enters a space with another player's character or mech, a battle ensues. Each player gets a combat dial, where they secretly choose a value (from 0 to 7) of combat power (which cannot exceed their current total), then secretly may add combat cards (from 2 to 5) based on how many plastic figures (character+mech(s)) they have in that space. Totals are revealed, combat power is reduced on that track based on what the player spent [which doesn't count combat cards], and the winner kicks the loser back to their starting space, gaining any resources they had in the combat hex.

A word on stars: you can earn up to six, but there are more ways to earn them:

• Complete all 6 Upgrades
• Deploy all 4 Mechs
• Build all 4 Structures
• Enlist all 4 Recruits
• Have all 8 Workers on the board
• Complete 1 Objective Card (a secret mission on a card given at the start of the game)
• Win a Combat (up to 2)
• Reach 18 Popularity 
• Reach 16 Power

After one player earns six, the game ends and victory points are tallied (a coin total, which is obtained by summing categories (stars, territories controlled, resources held, and structure bonus tiles), each of which is multiplied by a value determined by your popularity level. The highest wins!

You can watch how to play here.

Review

This game is currently ranked 26 overall on BoardGameGeek, a tremendously high ranking that hints at its popularity and quality. And I see why: the asymmetric factions are fun, the mechanics are tight, the nuances (like the action pairing) are intriguing and highly replayable. The art and theme are cool. I enjoyed it overall.

As with other asymmetric games, this is complex. There's a lot going on, it takes a long time, and it was very hard for me to track my own actions and everyone else's given different faction and action boards. I could 'micro-strategize' (plot out the next 2-3 turns) well enough, but the bigger picture and larger strategy was lost on me. The varying action boards are intriguing but inherently give some faction/action board combinations an unfair advantage [in fact, some pairings have been banned by the game designers as a result]. Though they have banned the most egregious examples, I believe there can still be some competitive imbalance from the start due to this factor. A few more plays could change (or confirm) my opinion. 

Overall, I would recommend it, but for a serious gaming crowd.

Rating: A-

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be (Farley Mowat)

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be is a humorous memoir about a boy and his dog growing up in Dustbowl-era Saskatchewan (1930s).

Mutt is a unique dog. Bought for four cents off a boy trying to sell ducks, this unorthodox canine had an intriguing life in the Mowat household. His misadventures could infuriate the family (and the locals), but he would grow to be a tremendous (if quirky) hunting dog, much beloved by the boy and parents.

This book is a lot of fun. Mowat is a master of writing—the tales are amusing enough, but the delivery (his words and phrases are nigh-poetic) increases the enjoyment tenfold. It's more than humorous, though; it is a poignant look at a bygone era, when boyhood meant exploration and adventure, traipsing around with a dog (or an owl . . .) before modernity's technology and limitations. It also offered glimpses into the all-too-familiar (and often hilarious) relational dynamics between husband and wife, parent and son. Highly recommended.

Rating: A

God & Culture (Various)

God & Culture is a 1993 work by a number of notable theologians of the time, dedicated to honoring Carl F.H. Henry. It presents essays on a number of topics related to culture, including pluralism, eschatology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, history, economics, law, politics, literature, art, media, science, environmentalism, bioethics, leisure, and more.

Since this covers a wide range, I make no attempt to summarize it here. I recorded eight pages worth of notes for a class I am preparing . . . of those, I present a few highlights below as representative of themes throughout the book.

Culture is "a shared set of human activities and works that express ultimate beliefs and values." It matters because it is "the fruit of a theology or worldview." (Kevin Vanhoozer)

Pluralism is the expectation of our age, and open-mindedness with it. This pervades our culture. But note: "in the popular mind open-mindedness is no longer connected with a willingness to consider alternative views but with a dogmatic relativizing of all views." (D.A. Carson) People claim there is no objective truth, which is self-contradictory, as that is held up as an objective standard. We all operate with some truth in mind.

Our culture (and all disciplines) are "shaped by shared assumptions and value commitments." (Robert Priest) Our work and approach to it reflects "a value-laden judgment that is how the world ought to be described." (Ian Smith) But because of our sinful natures, "What we want, heaven help us, is simultaneously to be perfectly ruled and perfectly free." (Philip Johnson) In recent centuries, we appeal to reason. But "If human reason aspires to be the judge of God’s statements, it makes itself the unevaluated evaluator—which is to say that it takes God’s place." (Philip Johnson) One key here is recognizing our assumptions (both individually and collectively held) and asking how they align to what we claim to be ultimately true. What are our presuppositions—unquestioned (and largely unprovable) truths that drive us?

As we examine culture, we need to sift it finely. It may be that we approve of one aspect "without endorsing all of it," or we might "disagree with part of it without devaluing it entirely." (Leland Ryken)

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As with any compilation, the entries varied. Some essays were outstanding; others only so-so. Some have stood up well; others felt dated (thirty years is a long time in terms of cultural change—society has changed a lot since then). But overall, this is a solid read and recommended.

Rating: A-

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Continuing the story from The Super Mario Bros. Movie . . .

Bowser Junior wants revenge—and he knows how to get it. Kidnapping Princess Rosalina, he intends to harness her power to destroy worlds. Can Peach, Mario, Luigi and crew stop him? 

Much like the first film, don't expect character development or much in the way of story or message (though Mario does show grace to his enemies on several occasions). Those (big) things aside, there were elements to enjoy. The animation is spectacular, the music is a well-done homage to classic video game fare, and there are plenty of nods to various Nintendo titles. If you are unfamiliar with the video games, I don't see you enjoying this. But if you are—even a few of them—you can find something to enjoy.

Rating: C+

Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game

Today's review is of the 2012 release, Legendary: a Marvel Deck Building Game. For 1-5 players, it takes 30-60 minutes.

Overview

You and your friends need to fight villains, rescue bystanders, and take down the mastermind before too many villains escape with bystanders. This is a semi-cooperative game: you'll either win as an individual (if you have the most points if the team collectively wins the scenario) or all lose.

Game play follows the typical flow of deckbuilding: after choosing a mastermind, scheme, and set of hero cards [shuffling all heroes together to form a hero deck], each person starts with the decks of 12 cards (basic resource or damage cards), draws 6, and play begins. On a turn, the active player:

- draws a card from the villain deck and adds it to the city, shifting existing cards down the row and/or doing any effects as stated (which may trigger scheme or mastermind effects)

- plays cards from their hand to damage/defeat villains or buy cards from HQ to add to their decks (all purchased cards go in the discard pile)

- discards unused cards

- replenishes the HQ by adding cards from the hero deck to it

- draws 6 cards (shuffling the discard pile to create a new deck if needed)

The game board; image from here

Play continues until the winning (or losing) conditions are met. Once that happens, if the players collectively have defeated the scenario, the one with the most points (gained by defeating villains and rescuing bystanders) wins. If the players lost the scenario . . . everyone lost.

Other things to note: 

Some cards from the villain deck will trigger mastermind or scheme effects. 

Villains can escape the city if they are shifted off the board and may take bystanders with them (you lose if 8 total bystanders leave in this way). 

Masterminds can be defeated by doing damage to them equal to or exceeding their stated value, but you have to defeat them four times to win the scenario. 

Buying cards from HQ is key to winning. These hero cards have different abilities, which could mean doing more damage or gaining more resources than the basic cards or having a special ability.

You can see a more in-depth overview here at Watch It Played.

Review

I enjoyed this one. The semi-cooperative aspect is fun. The customization/replayability are high (but that also means long setup/teardown times due to preparing decks). Like any deckbuilder, the HQ can get clogged with higher-cost cards (that happened to us), and the villains can be clumped disadvantageously (that also happened), meaning some turns are wasted. But that aside, the game was intuitive and interesting. Recommended.

Rating: A