Tag Archive for 'thoughts'

Jesus’ Confident Arrest

Published on 7/17/2010 in Bible Study. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .
[4] Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” [5] They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. [6] When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. [7] So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” [8] Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”
(John 18:4-8 ESV)
Jesus is ready to go. He didn’t send Peter, James, and John to stall or slow down the army. He didn’t ask these questions to buy more time. He was ready to separate Himself from the 11 so that they could go free.
When Jesus says “I am He.” and all of the guys fall backward, I do too. That just blows me away. Some people use that verse to explain/justify being ‘slain in the Spirit’ I don’t even want to go there. It wasn’t the disciples, it was the army coming to kill Jesus. I don’t want to be grouped with them. This army wasn’t bowing down and worshiping, they were getting punked by the Lord of the Burning Bush and the power plant behind their heartbeat.
<added 7/17>
I was talking to Eric Youngblood last night and he said he thinks that Jesus just said “I Am” right there.
Think on that: <my narrative>
“Who are you seeking?” Jesus asked them over the sizzle of torches and the clanging of swords, shields and armor.
“Jesus of Nazareth” The commander of the legion shouted.
Jesus stepped forward, “The name [pause] is I Am.”
Nobody was sure if it was a strong wind, an earthquake, or a thunderclap that knocked the army backwards and onto their backs, but it was a full minute of confused, fowl-mouthed, scrambling before they had all gotten back up and approached Jesus again.
I wonder if any of the priest’s men thought about 2 Kings 1:10, when Elijah said, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down…” as they were getting knocked backward.
Jesus WANTS to reveal the fullness of the Father in ALL of His glory to all men. He gives these guys a chance to recognize who they are messing with.
Who do you want?
Jesus of Nazareth (just a man)
“I Am?” Jesus pronounces His title with the power veil up just a little bit, like pulling the curtain back just a tad to wake someone up that has slept in on a Saturday morning. In 2 Kings 1 the power veil was pulled up a little too far and the 50 soldiers were cooked.
Here is their chance to reconcile who this guy is. Who exactly are they messing with?
Whom do you want? What did you call me?
Jesus of Nazareth (still considering Him just a man)
“I am he.” Jesus fully veils the power of God and goes with them. They didn’t want to see it and so He didn’t force it on them. He could call down legions of angels for their destruction, or walk right through the crowd without getting touched, but that was not the Father’s plan that night, and Jesus knew it.

‘Church’ is cultural

Published on 3/27/2010 in Bible Study, Bookstore, Short Quotes and Urbia. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

I think there is so little detail about what CHURCH is in the Bible because how people worship God is as different as the cultures in which they live.

When a missionary goes into uncharted territory, they do not prop up their video screens and the powerpoint and start singing Tommy Walker songs. (That would be a great video. End with the Metrosexual worship leader falling on his face with a back full of poison darts and a child of the tribe coming across a Bible propping up the projector…)

I know of three people, specifically, that will not go to a church that has over 100 people in it because they have anxiety about large crowds. BUT they love to sit around with a few friends, play cards, and talk deep things about life. One of them, I know for certain, has a deep respect, love, and appreciation for Jesus. What if it were culturally acceptable for them to NOT “go” to church but were encouraged to draw near to God while they were playing poker?

I just started reading Organic Church, by Neil Cole (for the second time, never got through 1st time) and I’m intrigued at what church Jesus might build in Evansville from this sort of book. From what I gather so far, it’s a lot like what would happen if somebody took Perspectives and then applied it to their local neighborhood.

If you don’t know about Perspectives, you can check it out herehttp://www.perspectives.org/site/pp.aspx?c=eqLLI0OFKrF&b=2806295

and you can check out Organic Church herehttp://bit.ly/biJXwq

or listen to them talk about this stuff here http://www.cmaresources.org/audio/missional-movements-2010-mfrost-1

more to come.

No More Hollywood Sermons

Published on 11/18/2008 in Bible Study. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

Last weekend I taught 3 times at a Jr. high – Sr. High retreat. there were 5 nazarene churches, so there were about 50 kids and 50 leaders. It was a very good time.

Im learning that I dont have to have a big finish when I teach. The big finish, the big closing statement, the final conclusion, is how movies end, not necessarily how you finish preaching the Gospel. Stand up comedians tell their second best joke first, and their best joke last, so that you leave the people laughing. Why? so that they will remember you, and a lot of times people project their very last feeling onto the whole night. In the American Church we have become so accustomed to a sermon being an entertaining/emotional event, that many preachers now have their sermon follow the same flow that a hollywood movie follows:

1. Attention grabbing opening
2. Background explanation of the opening and then transition
3. Slow build up to pre-impact statements
4. Settle down into seriousness after pre-impact statement
5. Build or interesting twist from seriousness into whopper final point
6. Climactic call to action or passionate point of sermon
7. Slow and steady cool-down into next part of the church service
(rinse and repeat steps 3-5 as time allows)

I hope this doesnt look too cynical, but it was just this past weekend that I realized that this is the sub-concious formula I thought that all sermons had to follow. As I look over the Gospels, Jesus never taught this way at all; I think its because He TAUGHT.

Im done.

Im not going back to that.

If your point is excitement or entertainment, or membership retention, those steps are fine, but from now on Im going to teach. Im not sure what it looks like, but it sure feels good to be free from the idea that I have to finish strong.

Talking about Money

Published on 9/22/2008 in Bible Study, Bookstore and Short Quotes. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

I did a bad thing by starting off my quiet time reading The ABCs of Financial Freedom this morning. It is a book on Christian Stewardship. It immediately put me into a critical mode when I read a few quotes:

You and I should do some Christ-centered vision casting of our own and start thinking about what we could do if we were totally debt free…

Here are just a few suggestions to help you get started:

[there is a list of 10, but here are the whoppers-ds]

6. You could finally have that dream vacation
7. You could fix things up around you house or even get a new one.
8. You could get some new furniture or a new vehicle.
9. You cold surprise people with secret acts of kindness and generosity
10. YOU COULD DO ALMOST ANYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE. (emphasis mine)

Im not even going to comment on that. I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

All of that said, my church is about to have a few weeks of messages on financial stewardship. When I heard that we were going to be talking about money (its ok to say MONEY, it really is) I was interested. In light of the current economic state of the world, we need to really focus on our earning, spending, and buying with the Life of Jesus in us. There are a lot of people that need help unlearning the habits of the world and learning how to use their money for the Kingdom of God. Now more than ever is a time to speak up for the poor and use our overflow to wisely help them instead of blowing it on the new furniture we need or our dream vacation.

I think the hardest thing for me during this coming series will be to keep MY focus on Jesus, and not keep harping on all of the stuff I see wrong. But that focus is terribly important, because if I lose that focus, I will have done the same thing as the people that make finances and resources (money) the focus.

I can already tell that this is going to be hard.

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Luke 16:13

Disturbing Church

Published on 5/26/2008 in Family Life and Short Quotes. 5 Comments Tags: , , .

During the most important part of the church service, the background music played is an anthem to their country. Pictures of their military are shown, some even with guns in hand, while the congregation meditates on the Eucharist-the body and blood of Jesus who said “blessed are the peacemakers.” At the end, the men’s choir who is usually brought in to sing the most stirring and powerful songs about the saving power of the Gospel puts words to the same song played earlier, singing about God’s favor for the country and the men that fought in bloody wars to keep it ‘free’. The final moments of the song were punctuated with video of huge guns being shot off and cheers from the congregation.

This is not a tale from some state-controlled church in a third world military dictatorship. This is from my church in Indiana, and to all of my non-american friends I say I am so sorry.

(5)

Receiving Foreign Aid…

Published on 5/21/2008 in Short Quotes. Closed Tags: , , .

In thinking about Burma and China rejecting foreign aid for their disasters, I just wonder what New Orleans would have thought if a lot of Iranians would have shown up to help them after hurricane Catrina.

If someone was so addicted…

Published on 5/14/2008 in Urbia. Closed Tags: , .

If someone was so addicted to a substance that they changed their monthly budget-even their food-to pay for that substance, wouldn’t you want them to withdraw from it, rather than try to make the substance cheaper? That is what I think about gasoline. listen

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