C3: Built (Part 1/5)

What does it mean to build a culture centered on Christ? Standing on freshly dried earth after the flood, Noah faced a remarkable opportunity few will ever experience – the chance to establish an entirely new cultural foundation. His first action reveals a profound truth about prioritizing God in our lives.The foundation of a Christ-centered culture isn't what we build for God, but what we lay down before Him. Before constructing shelter, organizing animals, or planting crops, Noah built an altar to the Lord. This seemingly counterintuitive decision reveals a principle that applies to every cultural context we participate in today – our homes, workplaces, relationships, and communities.Every culture has a central organizing principle – something functioning as the primary value around which everything else revolves. For many of us, our personal and communal cultures unconsciously form around comfort, control, success, or fear. But Noah's example offers a radically different approach. By establishing the altar first, he declared this new world belonged not to him but to God. The altar wasn't merely expressing gratitude; it was a deliberate transfer of ownership.Noah didn't offer God leftovers or damaged goods – he sacrificed some of every clean animal and bird, resources he needed for survival. His offering came from sacrifice, not convenience. Similarly, Christ-centered culture today requires giving God our best rather than our extras, prioritizing obedience even when inconvenient.What would happen if we intentionally built our lives around Christ rather than personal preferences or societal expectations? What if each day began with surrender rather than an assertion of control? Join us as we explore how to create environments where God's presence can transform not just individual lives but entire cultural systems.