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1. God created men and women in His image, and on the 6th day he said it was very good.

         We are ALL human and should see each other as such and as equals (Gen 1:27).

         God is also a creative God, so he made us diverse. Heaven will be a place filled from every nation, tribe, people and language (Rev 7:9).

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2. But sin entered the world, and mankind developed pride, "I am better than you."

         Men and women looked at certain people groups and said, "You are not equal to us." Discrimination can be based on skin color, language, race, ethnicity, gender, faith, etc. (Biblical example of man's discrimination and systemic racism, Acts 10:9-16, Acts 15:1-19

         God's warning not to call certain people unclean when God has made them clean, which helped Peter to later speak against the Judaizers requiring Gentiles to be circumcised like Jewish Christians, to be qualified into faith)

         Historical and current example: US Declaration of Independence says "All men are created equal." But depends on how you define/translate "men". Racism: Black slaves were viewed as less of a man (3/5), in the US Constitution. Plus women and children were not included in Declaration of Independence.

         Personal Story: Systemic racism exists today still, like for example in the form of redlining.  

3. Breaking down the wedge of Model Minority Myth

        4 Ways used by dominant culture to maintain power and privilege: exploitation, extermination, demonization, and assimilation.

                  Assimilation is Cultural and Ethnic erasure. Adapting to dominant culture has benefits, but there's a dark side, like "self-hatred." The moment we try to be someone we are not, we are telling God and our ancestors, "You made a mistake." But God tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

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‍Big Idea: God is anti-racist, so we should be too, by loving our "neighbors", no matter what their color, because ALL are created in his image, fearfully and wonderfully made.  

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Applications for racial justice (from Bryan Stevenson, "Just Mercy"): proximate, change the narrative, keep the hope, do things that will be uncomfortable.