tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20233197445272334212024-03-19T08:15:54.933-04:00Grace EmergesFollowing Christ in grace, compassion, equality & freedomGraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-33567701997331455822017-01-13T07:54:00.003-05:002017-01-13T07:54:44.035-05:00An Apology To Black Women: On Feminism, Meryl Streep, MMA & Jesus [repost]reposting this article from a friend... <h1 class="entry-title" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px;">
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An Apology To Black Women: On Feminism, Meryl Streep, MMA & Jesus</h1>
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<span class="date published time" style="background: url("images/icon-time.png") left top no-repeat; padding: 2px 0px 2px 21px;" title="2017-01-11T11:08:28+00:00">January 11, 2017</span> by <span class="author vcard"><span class="fn"><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jerseygirljesus/author/kconnelly/" rel="author" style="color: #666666;">Kerry Connelly</a></span></span> <span class="post-comments" style="background: url("images/icon-comments.png") left top no-repeat; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 2px 0px 2px 22px;"><a data-disqus-identifier="1476 http://admin.patheos.com/blogs/jerseygirljesus/?p=1476" href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jerseygirljesus/apology-black-women-feminism-meryl-streep-mma-jesus/#disqus_thread" style="color: #666666;">11 Comments</a></span></div>
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Hollywood, as an art form (stop laughing — it is an art form) has a job to do: to reflect life back to us and make us think. When Hollywood is at its best (I said stop laughing) it does this really well. I love movies. I love actors. I was an actor in my past life (STOP LAUGHING). There are a multitude of amazing pieces of cinematic art, regardless of your personal taste in film. I’ve had <em>Empire Of The Sun</em> on my mind a lot lately, and that is a perfect, if dated, example. My point is, when Hollywood is doing its art thing, if it makes us feel something and think a thought, it’s doing its job.</div>
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I agreed with a lot of what Meryl Streep said in her speech at the Golden Globes, obviously. If you’ve read pretty much anything I’ve written, you already know that. And I’ve already had the arguments on Facebook about whether it was appropriate for her to speak out at the awards (the short story: hell yes it was appropriate! Have a platform, use it for good! Not to mention, this is an awards night for actors. It’s their night. They get to do what they want.). This blog isn’t about that.</div>
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This post is about what was wrong with Meryl’s speech.</div>
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I got the tiniest hint at the very end, when she made a comment about martial arts not being “the arts”. Stay with me. I’m getting there.</div>
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As a martial artist myself, I felt this jab, and I didn’t like it. It’s not about arguing the semantics of whether she meant “fine arts” or not, whether you consider MMA an art or not (I do), or any of the other multitude of details you could argue about there. It’s not any of that.</div>
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It was the way she said it.</div>
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It was condescending and elitist. It wasn’t a gentle semantic argument; it was a put-down. And as she said it, I realized how completely out of touch she was with a huge community of people for whom martial arts is intricately important.</div>
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I’m one of those people. It changed my life. It’s as much a part of me as the color of my hair. I don’t own a school or compete and I’ve never had to use it in real life, but it’s a part of my identity and one I hold dear, at that.</div>
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What I didn’t realize at the time was how that (pun-intended) jab would open up my understanding of how black women have felt disenfranchised from white American feminism since, well, forever.</div>
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As I perused social media the day after the awards, my MMA friends were up in arms, arguing their views on what she said. There were the usual Trump supporters who were telling her to shut up. And there were a lot of people praising the talk. This group all had one thing in common: they were white. Mostly, they were white women. This might start getting uncomfortable for you. Stick with me.</div>
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As I started noticing the comments of my black friends, I saw something different. <em>Her feminism is not my feminism, </em>they said. <em>I don’t trust her,</em> they said. <em><a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandoli/people-are-upset-about-meryl-streeps-id-rather-be-a-rebel-th?utm_term=.fwV1ndA3j4#.mp8JeDMA9v" rel="external" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">Remember that Suffragette movie and those tee-shirts?</a></em></div>
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It’s not news to me that black women have felt disenfranchised from white feminism, but I’m still doing the work of learning why and what to do about it. Turns out, the answer is pretty easy to find. While it’s true that many suffragettes were also abolitionists, eventually the whole women’s rights movement took a decidedly anti-black woman stance.</div>
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In fact, for many suffragettes, abolition created a new kind of urgency, because the idea that a black man might have voting rights when white women didn’t was to them an abomination worthy of good lynching, or two. Or, maybe, a thousand. Check out the words of the first ever female senator, Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton:</div>
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<em>If it takes lynching to protect a woman’s dearest possession from drunken, ravening beasts, then I say lynch a thousand a week.</em></div>
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How utterly lovely. And she became our first female <em>lawmaker</em>. Next to her, Jeff Sessions is practically lovable like Kermit the Frog.</div>
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While white women have enjoyed the right to vote since 1920, black women were not permitted to fully exercise that right until the 1960’s. THE 1960’s PEOPLE.</div>
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Today, while white feminists talk a very nice talk about inclusiveness and many millennial women don’t want to call themselves feminists at all, black women are still making less than all of us. They fight battles we white women will never understand. They still must maneuver through days full of micro-agressions that white women will never endure.</div>
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(For the love of all that is good and holy can we PLEASE stop touching their hair? Don’t even ask to touch it. Don’t be stupid. Just leave. It. Alone.)</div>
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And when black women try to speak about the injustices they’ve endured by the white feminist movement, we white women do to <em>them</em> what we complain about <em>men</em> doing to <em>us</em>: we shut them down.</div>
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<em>Get over it. That was so long ago,</em> we say.</div>
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<em>Focus on the positive. We have to work together, </em>we tell them, ironically.</div>
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<em>Stop being so angry all the time, just be nice, </em>we instruct, as if saying that will automatically control emotions.</div>
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(I just LOVE it when someone tells me to relax, as if I had a button. I’ll show you a button, alright.)</div>
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Just like Meryl is with MMA, we white feminists are completely out of touch with black women’s experience, and it has this really bizarre effect on us: it makes us think we’re worthy of judging and advising how black women should act.</div>
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It’s as absurd as the idea of hiring Meryl to coach you for a cage fight. Meryl knows nothing about MMA, and so her condescension was completely out of line. So, too, is the condescension of white women to our black sisters when they are attempting to process and communicate their experience to us.</div>
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So what does this all have to do with Jesus? Well, I do believe that Jesus calls us to be socially active, but that’s not the reason I’m writing this. No.</div>
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I’m writing this because of Matthew 5:23-24(MSG).</div>
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This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.</div>
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White American Feminism owes an apology to black women, and I’m writing this blog post to get that party started.</div>
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I’m sorry. I apologize for every time you were silenced by a white woman who should have made room for you at the table and given you a microphone to embolden your voice. I’m sorry.</div>
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I’m sorry for every time you were shunned and quieted, forgotten and denied your rights as human beings by people who really should have known much better.</div>
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I’m sorry for every micro-aggression you’ve experienced. Every backward, “You’re really pretty for a black girl,” kind of comment; every time someone reached out to manhandle your hair as if they were entitled to do so, I’m sorry.</div>
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I’m sorry that you get left out of movies and television shows, and when you are included you are stereotyped.</div>
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I’m sorry for the incredible fear you feel for your sons. Your daughters, too, but right now, especially, your sons.</div>
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I’m sorry we haven’t made room for your issues, your voices, your brains, your smarts, your talents, your stories.</div>
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I promise to do better.</div>
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I humbly ask for your forgiveness.</div>
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And while I’m at it, here’s my chair, and here’s my microphone. Have at it.</div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-21750091143583973372017-01-10T22:21:00.000-05:002017-01-10T22:23:01.109-05:00My Comments on President Obama's Speech<br />
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What an amazing speech. He said what I've been feeling. That what makes America exemplary is our principles. He started with how our founding fathers took the bold step of creating a self-governing society based on principles such as equality and opportunity. He talked about how that was never easy, because we all have different ideas on how to accomplish it. But we are all citizens. It is our country, and our role and responsibility to lead it. He talked about progres<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">s, and how we still have so much work to do in areas like racial prejudice.</span></div>
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I especially liked how he described 4 challenges or threats to our democracy, and put the responsibility on us citizens to defend democracy against fear, corruption, and erosion of our ideals.</div>
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What a great man. I hope we can continue to follow him as a fellow citizen and leader in the days to come.</div>
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I copied the text to my blog at:</div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://graceemerges.blogspot.com/2017/01/amazing-farewell-speech-by-president.html">http://graceemerges.blogspot.com/2017/01/amazing-farewell-speech-by-president.html</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">and you can find the text and video on the New York Times page at: </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/10/us/politics/obama-farewell-address-speech.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/10/us/politics/obama-farewell-address-speech.html</a></span></span></div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-19183536604287073082017-01-10T22:17:00.002-05:002017-01-10T22:17:51.658-05:00Amazing Farewell Speech by President Obama<div class="story-body-text story-content" data-para-count="120" data-total-count="120" id="story-continues-1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.0625rem; line-height: 1.625rem; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 75px; max-width: none; width: 570px;">
<em style="font-size: 1.0625rem;">The following is the complete text of President Obama’s address as prepared for delivery, provided by the White House.</em></div>
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It’s good to be home. My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my turn to say thanks. Whether we’ve seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people – in living rooms and schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant outposts – are what have kept me honest, kept me inspired, and kept me going. Every day, I learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man.</div>
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I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties, still trying to figure out who I was; still searching for a purpose to my life. It was in neighborhoods not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss. This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it.</div>
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After eight years as your President, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea – our bold experiment in self-government.</div>
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It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.</div>
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It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.</div>
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This is the great gift our Founders gave us. The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, toil, and imagination – and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a greater good.</div>
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For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It’s what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande, pushed women to reach for the ballot, powered workers to organize. It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan – and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well.</div>
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So that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change, and make life better for those who follow.</div>
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Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard, contentious and sometimes bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.</div>
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If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history…if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, and take out the mastermind of 9/11…if I had told you that we would win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens – you might have said our sights were set a little too high.</div>
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But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. You answered people’s hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.</div>
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In ten days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected president to the next. I committed to President-Elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.</div>
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We have what we need to do so. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth. Our youth and drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention mean that the future should be ours.</div>
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But that potential will be realized only if our democracy works. Only if our politics reflects the decency of the our people. Only if all of us, regardless of our party affiliation or particular interest, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.</div>
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That’s what I want to focus on tonight – the state of our democracy.</div>
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Understand, democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders quarreled and compromised, and expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity – the idea that for all our outward differences, we are all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.</div>
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There have been moments throughout our history that threatened to rupture that solidarity. The beginning of this century has been one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic change and the specter of terrorism – these forces haven’t just tested our security and prosperity, but our democracy as well. And how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids, and create good jobs, and protect our homeland.</div>
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In other words, it will determine our future.</div>
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Our democracy won’t work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity. Today, the economy is growing again; wages, incomes, home values, and retirement accounts are rising again; poverty is falling again. The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as the stock market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a ten-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in fifty years. And if anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we’ve made to our health care system – that covers as many people at less cost – I will publicly support it.</div>
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That, after all, is why we serve – to make people’s lives better, not worse.</div>
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But for all the real progress we’ve made, we know it’s not enough. Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic principles. While the top one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families, in inner cities and rural counties, have been left behind – the laid-off factory worker; the waitress and health care worker who struggle to pay the bills – convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful – a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics.</div>
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There are no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree that our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocation won’t come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes many good, middle-class jobs obsolete.</div>
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And so we must forge a new social compact – to guarantee all our kids the education they need; to give workers the power to unionize for better wages; to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now and make more reforms to the tax code so corporations and individuals who reap the most from the new economy don’t avoid their obligations to the country that’s made their success possible. We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can’t be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don’t create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.</div>
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There’s a second threat to our democracy – one as old as our nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. For race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were ten, or twenty, or thirty years ago – you can see it not just in statistics, but in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.</div>
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But we’re not where we need to be. All of us have more work to do. After all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. If we decline to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we diminish the prospects of our own children – because those brown kids will represent a larger share of America’s workforce. And our economy doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women.</div>
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Going forward, we must uphold laws against discrimination – in hiring, in housing, in education and the criminal justice system. That’s what our Constitution and highest ideals require. But laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change. If our democracy is to work in this increasingly diverse nation, each one of us must try to heed the advice of one of the great characters in American fiction, Atticus Finch, who said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”</div>
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For blacks and other minorities, it means tying our own struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face – the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender American, and also the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change.</div>
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For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ‘60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; that when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our Founders promised.</div>
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For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, Italians, and Poles. America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; they embraced this nation’s creed, and it was strengthened.</div>
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So regardless of the station we occupy; we have to try harder; to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.</div>
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None of this is easy. For too many of us, it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods or college campuses or places of worship or our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. The rise of naked partisanship, increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste – all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable. And increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles that we accept only information, whether true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that’s out there.</div>
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This trend represents a third threat to our democracy. Politics is a battle of ideas; in the course of a healthy debate, we’ll prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts; without a willingness to admit new information, and concede that your opponent is making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, we’ll keep talking past each other, making common ground and compromise impossible.</div>
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Isn’t that part of what makes politics so dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on preschool for kids, but not when we’re cutting taxes for corporations? How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It’s not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts; it’s self-defeating. Because as my mother used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you.</div>
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Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we’ve halved our dependence on foreign oil, doubled our renewable energy, and led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet. But without bolder action, our children won’t have time to debate the existence of climate change; they’ll be busy dealing with its effects: environmental disasters, economic disruptions, and waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary.</div>
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Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations; it betrays the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our Founders.</div>
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It’s that spirit, born of the Enlightenment, that made us an economic powerhouse – the spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral; the spirit that that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket.</div>
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It’s that spirit – a faith in reason, and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might, that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression, and build a post-World War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power or national affiliations but on principles – the rule of law, human rights, freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, and an independent press.</div>
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That order is now being challenged – first by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets, open democracies, and civil society itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. It represents the fear of change; the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free thought; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what’s true and what’s right.</div>
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Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, and the intelligence officers, law enforcement, and diplomats who support them, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years; and although Boston and Orlando remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We’ve taken out tens of thousands of terrorists – including Osama bin Laden. The global coalition we’re leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders, and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed, and no one who threatens America will ever be safe. To all who serve, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your Commander-in-Chief.</div>
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But protecting our way of life requires more than our military. Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear. So just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are. That’s why, for the past eight years, I’ve worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firm legal footing. That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, and reform our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans. That’s why we cannot withdraw from global fights – to expand democracy, and human rights, women’s rights, and LGBT rights – no matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened.</div>
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So let’s be vigilant, but not afraid. ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight. Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world – unless we give up what we stand for, and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors.</div>
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Which brings me to my final point – our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted. All of us, regardless of party, should throw ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. When voting rates are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should make it easier, not harder, to vote. When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.</div>
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And all of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power swings.</div>
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Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power – with our participation, and the choices we make. Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.</div>
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In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken…to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth;” that we should preserve it with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one.</div>
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We weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character are turned off from public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are not just misguided, but somehow malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others; when we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt, and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them.</div>
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It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we’ve been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all our outward differences, we all share the same proud title: Citizen.</div>
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Ultimately, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there’s an election, not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try to talk with one in real life. If something needs fixing, lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. Show up. Dive in. Persevere. Sometimes you’ll win. Sometimes you’ll lose. Presuming a reservoir of goodness in others can be a risk, and there will be times when the process disappoints you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of this work, to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America – and in Americans – will be confirmed.</div>
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Mine sure has been. Over the course of these eight years, I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I’ve mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in Charleston church. I’ve seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch, and our wounded warriors walk again. I’ve seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I’ve seen the youngest of children remind us of our obligations to care for refugees, to work in peace, and above all to look out for each other.</div>
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That faith I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change – that faith has been rewarded in ways I couldn’t possibly have imagined. I hope yours has, too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home were there with us in 2004, in 2008, in 2012 – and maybe you still can’t believe we pulled this whole thing off.</div>
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You’re not the only ones. </div>
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Michelle – for the past twenty-five years, you’ve been not only my wife and mother of my children, but my best friend. You took on a role you didn’t ask for and made it your own with grace and grit and style and good humor. You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. And a new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. You’ve made me proud. You’ve made the country proud.</div>
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Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of circumstances, you have become two amazing young women, smart and beautiful, but more importantly, kind and thoughtful and full of passion. You wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I’ve done in my life, I’m most proud to be your dad.</div>
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To Joe Biden, the scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware’s favorite son: you were the first choice I made as a nominee, and the best. Not just because you have been a great Vice President, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother. We love you and Jill like family, and your friendship has been one of the great joys of our life.</div>
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To my remarkable staff: For eight years – and for some of you, a whole lot more – I’ve drawn from your energy, and tried to reflect back what you displayed every day: heart, and character, and idealism. I’ve watched you grow up, get married, have kids, and start incredible new journeys of your own. Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. The only thing that makes me prouder than all the good we’ve done is the thought of all the remarkable things you’ll achieve from here.</div>
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And to all of you out there – every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town and kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change – you are the best supporters and organizers anyone could hope for, and I will forever be grateful. Because yes, you changed the world.</div>
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That’s why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than I was when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans; it has inspired so many Americans – especially so many young people out there – to believe you can make a difference; to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves. This generation coming up – unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic – I’ve seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, just, inclusive America; you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark, something not to fear but to embrace, and you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe as a result that the future is in good hands.</div>
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My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my days that remain. For now, whether you’re young or young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President – the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago.</div>
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I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change – but in yours.</div>
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I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written:</div>
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Yes We Can.</div>
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Yes We Did.</div>
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Yes We Can.</div>
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Thank you. God bless you. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.</div>
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<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/10/us/politics/obama-farewell-address-speech.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Video and text at New York Times</a></div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-40063828610403684412016-12-13T08:12:00.001-05:002016-12-13T08:12:12.532-05:00Practice Worship<p dir="ltr">Practice Worship.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Take a browse through Luke 2 and you will find that shepherds in the field, a priest named Simeon, and a prophet named Anna all worshipped God in very different ways. But when each came in contact with Jesus they praised God for the amazing things they had seen. They all had hearts that were prepared to hear the good news of great joy, that Messiah had arrived. They were all open, available, ready. For all of these individuals, worship had prepared them. Their hearts were ready. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Whether your worship is at a kitchen table, in an open field, your living room or in a grand hall, it is practice. It is practice for hearing God. It is having a heart that ready. It is finding the joy in the unseen, peaceful, powerful light that lives inside us all. It is practicing seeing that light and hearing that voice that rises above our other needs and wants, and the busy scene that captures our external senses. Worship is just practice.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Throughout the ages, monks, emperors, priests, politicians and kings; peasants, factory workers, farmers and bankers; villagers, college students and scholars; have each found that worship can happen any way possible under the sun. There is no right tradition, but there is right worship. As Jesus called it to the woman at the well, worship in spirit and truth is what God seeks. A spirit of worship and hearing the truth. It is a state of the heart. It is the life we lead. </p>
<p dir="ltr">And when you see the good things that God is doing, you will be, like the shepherds, rejoicing and praising God.</p>
GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-89436553948793443252016-12-09T08:04:00.001-05:002016-12-09T08:04:12.744-05:00Listen. Practice.<p dir="ltr">We need to practice the fine art of listening, if we want any relationship to survive. It is also the greatest spiritual discipline.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Following means listening.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Wisdom means hearing the truth.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Alert, diligent, paying attention happens when we open our senses.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Compassion means relevant kindness, appropriate to the need.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Loving means a conversation.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Community means dialog.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Our Faith is in our Father who is not silent or dispassionate about us. Instead he constantly calls out to us, by our individual names, in our moment of context. Guiding. Loving. Revealing. Speaking truth. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Our most important role is to relate and respond to what is revealed in these quiet moments. Most often God, truth, learning, is revealed in the words of other people. We all have so much to learn from each other.</p>
<p dir="ltr">God is calling. We must continually practice listening or we will miss it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Dear Father, today I ask for open ears and alert eyes. I pray that by paying attention I will learn and grow, and when the time comes to succeed or fail at loving today, that my senses will have prepared me to succeed. Amen.<br>
</p>
GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-85540161130467987622016-12-01T05:21:00.000-05:002016-12-01T05:21:39.133-05:00Practice EmmanuelThe story of Emmanuel, or God <i>with us</i>, is recorded in history and in the hearts and lives of all mankind. The ever-present God created each one of us in his image. God's spirit and passion was placed in us. His light that ignites stars is found in the glimmer of our eyes. His relentless encouragement of his children is echoed in the words and actions of human parents of any age. God's creative energy gene was passed on as a dominant character trait. His spiritual nature, wholeness in the trinity, and perfect holiness, were passed on to mankind in the form of our spiritual yearning, our social conscience, our inquisitive mind, and our illogical sacrificial love for other beings. <br />
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And then came Jesus. <br />
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Emmanuel.<br />
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The Incarnation.<br />
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The passion and person of God packaged in one life of 33-year extent. <br />
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And oh, what we learned from that God-person. We learned that he fully represented God in nature, deed and mission. <br />
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We learned from a great assembly of angels, singing to shepherds, that the infinite Glory of God had arrived for one mission: PEACE. Peace between God and man. Peace lived out in tranformed hearts. Peace in the form of the ultimate king and the infinite kingdom, a king and kingdom which do not rule by force but by the power of freedom and free will in a peaceful revolution of kindness and fairness of a kind never before seen in the history of man. No wonder that it was announced as good news -- wonderful joyous news! Glory of God, and PEACE, juxtaposed, in the birth of a child. <br />
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No wonder we are giddy with celebration every December! We celebrate the arrival not of God's rule but of his peace on earth.<br />
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Jesus asks one thing of us. <b><i>Follow. </i></b>Practice Emmanuel. In fact the power of Jesus to transform the world is not found in heaven where he reigns on a throne, or in the Glory of God announced by angels, or in history where we celebrate him being born in a barn with our traditions and songs. The power of Jesus is only found in following. Practicing Emmanuel. God with us, meaning God continuing to live in us and demonstrated in us. God with us in spirit. The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christ. We are the peace. We are the good news. We are the ones that represent God's nature in human form in this world today. We are the light. We are Emmanuel. God is <i>with us</i>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-FS8pGtP6_tELXNE_MOqLWazPCmgcSd62ro-ahhm_IWSsVHtMLd0ASX-PKVe9i2we6hL37KCbOnuHB33gEaoVbqG88D7-_JYIN4QOAMZG419sJlVSsZqsgG1OhP0Lc5CN02kR2aF6KnP/s1600/emmanuel-e1418498693717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-FS8pGtP6_tELXNE_MOqLWazPCmgcSd62ro-ahhm_IWSsVHtMLd0ASX-PKVe9i2we6hL37KCbOnuHB33gEaoVbqG88D7-_JYIN4QOAMZG419sJlVSsZqsgG1OhP0Lc5CN02kR2aF6KnP/s320/emmanuel-e1418498693717.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="color: #783f04;"><span class="text Luke-2-8" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">8 </span>Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night.</span> <span class="text Luke-2-9" id="en-CEB-24974" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">9 </span>The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span class="text Luke-2-10" id="en-CEB-24975" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">10 </span>The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people.</span> <span class="text Luke-2-11" id="en-CEB-24976" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">11 </span>Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord.</span> <span class="text Luke-2-12" id="en-CEB-24977" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">12 </span>This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.”</span> <span class="text Luke-2-13" id="en-CEB-24978" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">13 </span>Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said,</span> <span class="text Luke-2-14" id="en-CEB-24979" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">14 </span>“Glory to God in heaven, and on earth <b>peace</b> among those whom he favors.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><span class="text Luke-2-15" id="en-CEB-24980" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">15 </span>When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.”</span> [Luke 2]</span></div>
GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-48105969433831210232016-11-15T06:55:00.001-05:002016-11-15T06:55:54.009-05:00Practice Grace<p dir="ltr">It takes practice, so we'd better get started! </p>
GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-17950913280724479692016-11-12T09:32:00.001-05:002016-11-12T09:32:07.894-05:00Letter from Kelly<p dir="ltr">Thank you Kelly Dahlman-Oeth for permission to repost your article on my blog.... Brad<br><br></p>
<p dir="ltr">It took longer than I thought, and it's much too long for a single facebook post, but...</p>
<p dir="ltr">Dear white, male, heterosexual, U.S. born or naturalized, self-identified Christians, </p>
<p dir="ltr">I am a white, college educated, heterosexual, married, father-of-four, U. S. born and raised, ordained and appointed United Methodist, male, Christian. I place “Christian” at the end as the noun, as it is what I hold as most important. It is what I strive most to govern all that I do and say. The sum of the other descriptors add up to my being one among the majority group (i.e. I have almost all of the power and privilege anyone can have.) </p>
<p dir="ltr">It’s important for me to you know who I am as much of what I write here is about how I intend to use that power and privilege. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I understand that many of you have been struggling for some time during the slow recovery of our economy. While my family has had to make some adjustments to our budget, we have not experienced the hardships that many of you and others have. </p>
<p dir="ltr">As a pastor, I have worked with and tried to help hundreds of others (white and non-white) who have lost their employment, income and housing. Indeed in the past four years, the church that I led assisted over 150 households (individuals and families) move from living in their vehicles in our parking into housing. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I also know that many of you (63% of white men) recently cast a vote for president-elect Donald Trump. I do not presume to know all the reasons that you cast that vote. I do know from polls, interviews and conversations that I’ve had, that many of you cast your ballot as a protest vote against “politics as usual” and with the hope that radical change and the promises of Donald Trump and other republicans will improve your financial, employment, housing, health and overall situation. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It is certainly my hope and desire that our elected officials and all of us will work together to improve the lives of everyone in our great country. While that is my hope, I do not have much confidence that president-elect Trump, the new congress and all of us in the white male majority share that goal. Let me explain why, as I also try to explain why I how (and why) I will be using my power and privilege. </p>
<p dir="ltr">While I will certainly continue to help white men and women who struggle, I now have a much greater Christian mandate to stand with, advocate for and protect non-white men. Why? First and foremost, because Jesus was absolutely 100% clear that the ethics of the Kingdom of God command us to care for the poor, marginalized, oppressed, victimized, and vulnerable without regard to race, nationality, gender, or even faith.</p>
<p dir="ltr">You may be inclined to tell me that you separate your faith from your U.S. citizenship. However, I cannot find any support for that in the gospel. Indeed, the words of Jesus and much in the New Testament epistles, clearly state that Christian disciples are ‘resident aliens’ here on earth and our citizenship and allegiance belong singularly to the Kingdom of God. In other words, as I stated in my opening sentence, we are Christians, everything else is an adjective describing some secondary characteristic (see Paul’s point that we are “neither male nor female…”) </p>
<p dir="ltr">So, any argument that “politics do not belong in church” is completely unbiblical. Certainly, our earthly partisan republican and democrat politics cannot come close to representing the wholeness of Jesus’ politics. However, the very singular claim that “Jesus is Lord” is the most political statement we can make. </p>
<p dir="ltr">My claim that Jesus is Lord, brings me back to why I must now do all that I can, to stand with, advocate for and protect non-white men. </p>
<p dir="ltr">After January 28th, we will be living in the geographic boundaries governed by a man (and a congress that he has tried to bully into his image.) Donald Trump’s campaign has been overtly pro-white. While we could claim that a pro-white stance is not anti-everyone else, no one can deny the countless racist, misogynistic, anti-Mexican, anti-Muslim, anti-Jewish, xenophobic, journalist bashing, statements that Donald Trump made over the course of the last 19 months in the debates, dozens of rallies and interviews. The video and audio is now a matter of historic public record.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I've heard and read countless Trump supporters and voters say "I care more about what she did, than what he said." That's fine. We no longer need to worry about Hillary Clinton getting into office, and despite two FBI reviews, leading Republicans of the House Oversight Committee seem determined to continue to investigate her until they find something to convict and imprison her.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Therefore, we can, and must, now focus all our attention on the reality of what president-elect Donald Trump has said. In part, because he has already fueled animosity toward minorities and normalized hate speech in our country. <br>
Should you choose to question that claim, a friend recently told me about a meeting they attended in the days leading up to the recent presidential election.  Elected officials and others had gathered to address concerns in their respective communities. At some point in the meeting, one of the elected officials referred to Hillary Clinton as a “that c*nt.” Hopefully, that is as shocking and alarming to most of you as it is to me. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I find it very difficult not to lay blame at the feet of Mr. Trump, given his own words, his pattern of adultery, divorce and remarriage and the recent stream of accusers. Indeed, I find it incredibly difficult to believe that he is not a sexual predator.</p>
<p dir="ltr">To be clear, my shock is not a prudish response about crass language. My shock and alarm is that this white elected official felt comfortable to openly reduce, demean and dehumanize a woman by referring to her as a profane reference of her genitalia. </p>
<p dir="ltr">If anyone still thinks that Donald Trump’s hate speech was “just talk” and we should all just ignore it and “join together” and “give him a chance,” I must say, “Stop!” Hate speech spreads, and the more normalized and acceptable it becomes the more hate crimes will occur. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Perhaps you’ve heard about the fliers that were posted on the campus of Texas State University after Donald Trump’s election stating: “Now that our man TRUMP is elected and republicans own both the senate and the house — time to organize tar & feather VIGILANTE SQUADS and go arrest & torture those deviant university leaders spouting off all this Diversity Garbage…" </p>
<p dir="ltr">Maybe you’ve read about the white middle school children in Michigan that began chanting “build the wall” while their latino classmates cried. The list of similar behaviors is growing after only one day. </p>
<p dir="ltr">These are the next step toward putting hate speech into action. Once we reach the tipping point where the majority group in power is willing to rationalize such language and eventually violent acts, the reasonably civil democracy that we have lived in will be lost. </p>
<p dir="ltr">So, if you want to “wait and see” while you give Donald Trump and his congress “a chance”, so be it. However, if you are truly interested in "coming together to make our country great" as many of you have said to me, especially those of you who claim that Jesus is Lord, I invite to join me. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Because I claim Jesus as Lord, I am compelled by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to stand with and speak up for and act for justice alongside those in minority groups who are now justifiably terrified. First, I invite you to join me and repeating what I have from many of them: "unless you are one of the vulnerable minorities speaking to your vulnerable minority group (female, black, latino, LGBTQ+, undocumented, Muslim, etc.) you do not have any credibility telling them 'to calm down', 'stop overreacting,' 'let's give him a chance', 'let's wait and see,' or anything else that tries to silence them or stop them from advocating for themselves. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I know that leading up to the recent election, many of you felt that you were the overlooked minority. It turns out, we weren’t and aren’t; we white folks still make up over 70% of the voting population, and clearly we are well represented in government. However, there are millions who are and have been for most of U.S. history an overlooked and underrepresented minority. While some of them were making some progress, and perhaps feeling a bit safer, the scales of justice and equality have once again been weighted toward us and against them. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I am compelled to put a human face on these “minority groups” about whom I’ve written. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I fear for my 18-year old daughters as they make their way through college in a culture where sexual assault is rampant and female victims often feel too intimidated to come forward in part because we are relatively dismissive of their claims of rape and sexual assault.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I have many very dear friends who have been in same-gender relationships some for 20 years or more. They have raised amazing children, who are amazing young adults. None of these friends have an agenda to push on others other than the earnest desire to be given the same rights and treatment as other mature, consenting married couples. </p>
<p dir="ltr">My black friends and dear members from congregations I’ve served who are in biracial marriages or have mixed race families have all shared experiences of being pulled over by police more than once for practically no reason. They were completely respectful and did not experience any escalating tension or violence. I have great respect for our law enforcement and I grieve for every family who loses an officer in the line of duty, but I must say, n all my years as an adult driving in Atlanta, Chicago, and the Seattle area, I have never been pulled over unless I was speeding or violated some other traffic law, and whether I received ticket or not, I was always treated with the utmost respect. I firmly believe we have a significant racial bias in this country that has seeped into our law enforcement, likely in unconscious ways, but not always. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I have friends who have been in this country illegally for over 15 years. They have children that were born here. They are the hardest working people I have ever met. I do not know any white people, including my own family, who would do the work that they do: hard labor, long hours, low wages with no benefits. They do not accept handouts or seek any government assistance (in part because any encounter with the government terrifies them.) They love this country and its people. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I know a few young adults who are transgender. I’ll tell you up front, I still don't quite get it, but they are always very loving and patient with me as I ask questions that must be stupid at best, and shamefully embarrassing at worst. They are incredibly dear souls who live in fear that any day someone will discover that they are transgendered and they will be humiliated, beaten, raped or killed. A fear that is obviously quite justified if you read the news. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I am very close to a young man whose family immigrated from Egypt. He was born here in the U.S. He and his family are Muslim. Sometimes when he has worn the traditional checkered scarf called a Kufiya, people have told him to “be careful” and in one instance yelled some slur from a car. He is one of the most respectful young men I’ve met. </p>
<p dir="ltr">These folks and others I know and love are rightfully concerned by what Donald Trump has said about them. What he has said he plans to do will have a profound impact on them. Perhaps more importantly, they and I am terrified by the fever pitch of hatred that Donald Trump has stirred in our country. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I know that there have been one or two incidents of violence against Trump supporters. This is equally wrong, but no less a result of what is being birthed by the hatred and division of Mr. Trump’s words.  </p>
<p dir="ltr">However, I have very little concern for my safety or yours. We have about as much privilege and status as anyone can get in America as straight, white, heterosexual, married, educated, employed, housed, financially stable, male Christians.</p>
<p dir="ltr">With all that privilege and power, and above all else, because Jesus is Lord, we bear tremendous responsibility to do everything we can to keep all vulnerable people from harm and to protect their rights to fair and equal treatment. I know that some of you have struggled financially and may have suffered much greater loss than I. I certainly have not experienced loss of privilege, safety or power resulting from a granting of equal rights or protections to these minority groups. So far, even the white men I’ve met have been unable to tell me exactly how they have suffered directly from rights and just treatment granted to minority groups (e.g. “I was denied housing in a predominantly black neighborhood,” “ I was not allowed to be at my wife’s bedside because lesbians have been granted that right,” “I have been put on a “watch list” because I am a Christian,” “I have been mocked and beaten by a group of transgendered people because I’m straight and I walked into the wrong bar”…)  </p>
<p dir="ltr">Brothers, there is no denying that our government is a mess, white and black, gay and straight, citizens and undocumented, Muslim and Christian have all been struggling for some time. I won’t argue that we need to seriously overhaul our government and rid it of corruption. But, we have now elected a man whose words and actions are antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ. The seeds planted by his openly hostile remarks, intentions and plans are already springing up like weeds. </p>
<p dir="ltr">He has also shown how irrational, unpredictable, and undisciplined he can be. He has shown a pattern of retaliation against anyone who has opposed him (most recently Lindsay Graham as expressed the morning after the election by Omarosa Manigault.) </p>
<p dir="ltr">You and I may hold different political views based on our understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus, but I trust that we agree that Donald Trump’s vile speech and recent growing racist, anti-Muslim, white supremacy behaviors are antithetical to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.  While some white nationalist may try to hijack our faith, I know that you are NOT racist, Mexican-hating, anti-Muslim, gay bashing, woman haters.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So, I pray that you will join me in challenging president-elect Trump about his hostile speech and threats. Christian brothers, please join me in using your position of power and privilege to confront the growing threat of hate speech and violence against our sisters and non-white brothers and sisters. </p>
<p dir="ltr">If you truly want to join together to make “America Great Again,” I pray you’ll join me in demanding that this man stand up and apologize publicly for each and every hateful comment he’s made about women, blacks, Mexicans, Jews, Muslims, GLBTQ+ folks, journalists, etc. Then demand that he fulfill his promise to bring law and order back by first deploying as many as necessary to find, arrest and rehabilitate every individual and hate group member responsible for the growing rash of behaviors that we are seeing.</p>
<p dir="ltr">If you do that and we see Donald Trump carry those things out and continue to work for every person in this great nation for the next four years, I will make you a promise. I'll vote that man into office for a second term. </p>
<p dir="ltr">If you are not able or willing to join me, please consider this one last request. Do not ask my vulnerable brothers and sisters to “calm down” or “wait and see.” They do not need us diminishing their concerns. They do not have luxury of waiting for something to happen.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I will continue to offer compassion to all who come to me in need regardless of the characteristics that make them who they are. But it is now time for me to give even greater attention to bring the full weight of my privilege and power to protect those who now even more vulnerable than before.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Filled with the love of Christ, your brother, <br>
Kelly Dahlman-Oeth</p>
GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-80193160343321397122016-11-11T14:35:00.001-05:002016-11-11T18:29:10.066-05:00Love is Our Resistance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I love this song by Muse. Definitely feeling it right now... Actually it's not very hopeful, about running away from the thought police and stuff. But the point is that when we are afraid, we resist fear with Love.</div>
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Love is our Resistance:<br>
to Fear<br>
to Hate<br>
to Reversing Progress</blockquote>
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No matter who you are, or who you voted for. You are safe with me.</div>
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Love is our Resistance. </blockquote>
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Out of love I will resist marginalizing any souls in this country. Equal means Equal. </div>
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<a href="http://www.medline.com/media/catalog/sku/mdt/MDT223025Z_HRE01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://www.medline.com/media/catalog/sku/mdt/MDT223025Z_HRE01.JPG" width="200"></a></div>
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If you don't treat people in that manner, I will resist you. But peacefully and with love. We need to all make this world, and this country, a better place. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TPE9uSFFxrI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TPE9uSFFxrI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<div style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #616161; font-family: Roboto, arial, "Noto Sans Japanese", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; padding-bottom: 10px;">
Is our secret safe tonight?<br>
And are we out of sight?<br>
Or will our world come tumbling down?</div>
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Will they find our hiding place?<br>
Is this our last embrace?<br>
Or will the walls start caving in?</div>
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But it should've been right<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
Let our hearts ignite<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
Are we digging a hole?<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
This is outta control</div>
<div style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #616161; font-family: Roboto, arial, "Noto Sans Japanese", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; padding-bottom: 10px;">
It could never last<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
Must erase it fast<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
But it could've been right<br>
(It could be wrong, could be)</div>
<div style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #616161; font-family: Roboto, arial, "Noto Sans Japanese", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; padding-bottom: 10px;">
Love is our resistance<br>
They keep us apart and they won't stop breaking us down<br>
And hold me, our lips must always be sealed</div>
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If we live our life in fear<br>
I'll wait a thousand years<br>
Just to see you smile again</div>
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Quell your prayers for love and peace<br>
You'll wake the thought police<br>
We can hide the truth inside</div>
<div style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #616161; font-family: Roboto, arial, "Noto Sans Japanese", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; padding-bottom: 10px;">
But it should've been right<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
Let our hearts ignite<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
Are we digging a hole?<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
This is outta control</div>
<div style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #616161; font-family: Roboto, arial, "Noto Sans Japanese", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; padding-bottom: 10px;">
It could never last<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
Must erase it fast<br>
(It could be wrong, could be wrong)<br>
But it could've been right<br>
(It could be wrong, could be)</div>
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Love is our resistance!<br>
They keep us apart and won't stop breaking us down<br>
And hold me, our lips must always be sealed</div>
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The night has reached its end<br>
We can't pretend<br>
We must run<br>
We must run<br>
It's time to run</div>
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Take us away from here<br>
Protect us from further harm<br>
Resistance!</div>
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<br>GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-7832550273852184432016-11-11T08:00:00.000-05:002016-11-11T08:00:02.524-05:00Roadmap for the )open( churchby Brad Duncan<br />
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<h2>
What is Possible? Introducing the )open( church</h2>
This post wraps up my series "Welcome to the )open( church" by summarizing the roadmap of how we can get there. <br />
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The full presentation of this material is now available as a PDF file which you can open here:<br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2iJhgMYQHpUUmxweDhQMEVKdWc" target="_blank">Welcome to the )open( church - PDF Format</a></li>
</ul>
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The )open( church is a grassroots movement that will work to organize this new model, mode, message and mission. What will it look like? It will look like love acted out. It will look like the kingdom of God!<br />
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the )open( church<br />
<ul>
<li>Be the kingdom of God, love acted out</li>
<li>A church about people & loving God</li>
<li>A grassroots movement that shares grace with one another and the world</li>
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Love Acted Out</h3>
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In order to transform our way of thinking about the church we need to imagine what's possible if we start with love, and act it out. </div>
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<ul>
<li>We have to let go of ourselves, our comfort, and the ways that church directly benefits "me", and we need to think of loving others. </li>
<li>We need to live for love, and embrace the life that comes from unselfish motives and compassion for others. We need to live courageously and generously. </li>
<li>Next, we need to listen first and talk later. We need to practice our active listening skills. We need to reassure people that they can share their ideas and be accepted and listened to, no matter what ideas they have. We need to be a church that listens, if we want genuine sharing to lead to stronger community. This will put acceptance and tolerance into practice.</li>
<li>Only in this way can we learn from one another. We need to be humble and willing to learn, and committed to learning through practice! There are many people around us that can teach us something. Can we pay attention and grow as people, growing spiritually, by learning from one another?</li>
<li>Next we will find the joy in living life together. We will laugh! We will celebrate! </li>
<li>Naturally in this environment, we will have people to lean on when we need it. When people love one another they can lean on one another. Pain for one is pain for all. We will naturally know how to help each other, if the relationships are strong and we are more aware of the need.</li>
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<h3>
Be the Kingdom of God</h3>
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This diagram summarizes the key ways that the )open( church can respond to it's challenges and embrace it's identity as the kingdom of God. This new model for church, leading to a new mode of operating, a new mission and a new message, will be a new grassroots movement to change the church, allowing it to transform to meet the needs of future generations.</div>
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<h3>
Roadmap for the )open( church</h3>
A grassroots movement starts with a blueprint. Using social media, we will work to get the word out about the new model, and invite local churches and groups to start discussing it. Meanwhile, we will work to launch new online resources which will bring the )open( church to life and help people all over the world find out about this movement. <br />
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-59367810173085355232016-11-04T08:00:00.000-04:002016-11-04T08:00:26.939-04:00Responding to the challenges<br />
by Brad Duncan<br />
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How can the church respond to the challenges facing it? I am proposing not only a change of heart, but a change of many other things too, as a way of directly responding to the challenges we are facing.<br />
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These posts are excerpts from a full-length article and presentation. For more information or the full documents, please email me at GraceEmerges@gmail.com</div>
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Our Response</h2>
Can we create respond to these challenges with a will to change the church? Can we create something new, a grassroots movement that will get people involved in the kingdom of God? Something new, but something that doesn’t have to compete with the current system?<div>
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What I am proposing with the )open( church is a blueprint for a grassroots movement that can help the church grow, reach outsiders, and transform the heart of the church. What I am proposing is a new model for creating intentional community that people inside and outside of today's churches can join. </div>
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Let me describe how the church can respond to the challenges it is facing by embracing this new model. </div>
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<li>What I am referring to as a <b>model </b>is a way of thinking, a concept of what we want the church to represent. </li>
<li>Secondly, in order to put that model into action we need a new <b>mode </b>of operating. We have to do some things differently in order to act according to the new model. </li>
<li>The new model will also lead to a new <b>message</b>, one which will be more relevant and appealing to the world, meeting the world’s skepticism and hesitation with the good news of grace and love. </li>
<li>Finally, with the new model we must embrace a new <b>mission</b>. This mission must put into action the message of love. We must act with love and demonstrate God’s grace, to one another, and to everyone. </li>
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With these changes the church will LEAD the world in how to treat people and how to bring positive transformative change to the world. It will be a contagious transformation! </div>
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<b><i>We change ourselves first, so we can change things for others. </i></b></blockquote>
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As Paul says in Ephesians 5, we need to watch what God does as he pours out his extravagant love for all people, and we just need to do the same!</div>
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A New Model</h3>
The new model is simply to create a church that is more about people. We follow the lead of Jesus to put our desire to love and serve God into action to love people. We expand our notion of worship and pleasing God to the notion that God wants to build an amazing kingdom where his children worship him in spirit and in truth, by joining each other in community. This new model will transform our hearts and open our eyes to the people around us. We will want to be in closer community.</div>
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A New Mode</h3>
We put this into motion by de-emphasizing the weekly worship service, in order to apply more time and resources toward intentionally building community. We still enjoy worship, music and gatherings, but we recognize that it is just the starting point of our calling. We get our own hearts in order, and then we look around and see how we can participate in the lives of others. This will require planning, creativity, and a new way of generating the budget, to name a few of the aspects of changing our mode of operating. However, if people want the church to change, they can make it happen. A grassroots movement that calls for more community will lead to positive changes. </div>
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A New Message</h3>
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As the church, we need to start by listening to each other, and accepting each other wherever we may be in our journey. This includes both embracing the long-time church-goers and outsiders. With an attitude of Unconditional Welcome, we embrace all people. We listen. We share. </div>
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<b><i>The only rule is grace </i></b>– which translates into good listening, acceptance of each other, and tolerance for one another. </div>
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As we listen actively to one another, we need to break the silence and start discussing how the church will tackle its challenges. How will it respond to social change, and to social needs? What does it mean to love people in today’s generation? When will we be ready to speak up against injustice, and speak up for the little guy? How will our ideals and passions translate into a voice for positive change?</div>
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A New Mission</h3>
Finally, we need to act. The needed actions will be clear and obvious. Like the Good Samaritan, when we encounter the one needing our help, we simply help him. We open our eyes, our hearts and our arms to others, and God will reveal to us who is in reach of our love and assistance. The only limitation is our willingness and availability. If we fix that, we will be ready to embrace a new mission that brings positive change. <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i>This is the kingdom of God, …, acted out!</i></b></blockquote>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-89076992378151358102016-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:002016-10-28T08:00:13.153-04:00The world needs the church<br />
by Brad Duncan<br />
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What are the challenges for the church today? We desperately need a change of heart to meet the needs all around us. Those in our church community, those in our own cities and country, and around the world. <br />
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These posts are excerpts from a full-length article and presentation. For more information or the full documents, please email me at GraceEmerges@gmail.com</div>
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Challenges, cont'd</h2>
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The World Needs the Church</h4>
You’ll notice that I’m an optimist when I talk about the positive changes that society is making, such as recognizing that prejudices are wrong and equality is right.<div>
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On the other hand, I’m also a realist when it comes to recognizing the pain that many people are in, and the pain that people cause each other. </div>
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I can’t honestly say they are getting worse than they used to be, because they were bad before, but racial tensions are a serious reality today. The recent expression by NFL football players to sit or kneel during the singing of the national anthem, is a cry out against racial profiling by police against black men, and more broadly against the continued repression of people of color in today’s society.</div>
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Globally, racial and ethnic tensions and religious prejudices set the stage for much of the violence and terrorism that we see in the world. Add to that the economic disparately and desperation that lead people to cry out against an unfair world, where some people have everything and others have nothing. </div>
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If we want to end the violence and bring any semblance of good news to the world we cannot defend the status quo, but need to seriously face the inequity that fuels the anger. Surely the best way to fight terrorism and violence is by tackling it at the source. We need to create peace. As the church we have a message of peace, fairness and love that would go much further to improve the world than simply isolating ourselves from the pain of others. We need to demonstrate that we care. We need to take action.</div>
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There are many, many other areas and ways where people are in great need, and the church can show the way of love to help with that need. I’ve written about many of these on my blog, and you can find numerous examples by simply going to CNN or Time magazine. </div>
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The question for us is how the church will respond. </div>
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<b><i>What is our responsibility here?</i></b> </blockquote>
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If we are the carriers of the good news from God, the transforming love of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit, then what do we do with those gifts? How do we share them and use them the way God intends? <br /><br />What we need is one thing: heart transformation. </div>
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We can change. </div>
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We can care. </div>
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We can bring all of our gifts to bear on the needs of the world.</div>
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In summary the challenges facing the church might seem to outweigh even the power and will of God to redeem it. Can the church respond positively to these challenges, even if it means serious heart transformation will be required? Can we re-frame our purpose to more intentionally create communities of people that care about one another and live to bring love and kindness to one another? From within that place of strength, can we teach one another how to change our world? Can we glorify God through the lives we lead, both inside and outside the church walls? Can we change the tide of people leaving the church, and actually draw people into community so that the church can grow again? </div>
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Can we be the kingdom of God? The growing, thriving kingdom, that shows God's love to the world? Let's carefully consider our response...</div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-73926794086142737422016-10-27T05:05:00.004-04:002016-10-27T05:07:57.076-04:00We are set apart, but what does it mean?by Brad Duncan, http://GraceEmerges.blogspot.com<br />
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Jesus followers are called to be “set apart” from the world. Can we think about what this means? And what it doesn’t mean?</div>
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We should be exceptional! We should be excellent in all we do. We should take the high road. We should require pure motives for our actions. We place selfish gain secondary to the greater good. We should see the good in people. We should offer grace and forgiveness when it is clearly not deserved. But we should have exceptionally clear values, and stand up against any kind of mistreatment of people. We should be globally minded – the world needs Jesus, and we should be eager to help provide hope to all nations.</div>
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What it doesn’t mean? “Set apart” doesn’t mean stuck up, doesn’t mean isolated and separate. Doesn’t mean better than. Pride is ugly, not exceptional. </div>
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Doesn’t mean we protect our own interests. We should tear down the walls that divide people and nations from each other. In order to care we have to let our guard down and be vulnerable. Not being weak, but trusting God and taking risks. Doesn't mean we have no healthy boundaries; it means we are confident enough to engage across the aisle, across the road, across town, and across borders.</div>
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Doesn’t mean we keep our hands clean and our boots dry – to be the hands and feet of Jesus we’re going to need to get into the thick of it. We can’t keep silent or spend too much time in the closet or in our own enclaves. We will be too passionate to keep it to ourselves.</div>
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We are called to a higher standard! But that higher standard includes exceptional humility, compassion and love, so it can’t mean we think we are special. That would be a double standard. We are called to be perfect! But we are human and flawed, so we should be perfect in admitting that and trusting God to bring about all that is Good in us and in others.</div>
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We must seek greatness while elevating others above ourselves.</div>
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Being human is complicated! But Jesus did it – let’s just follow his example.</div>
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Comments? Questions?</div>
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<h4>
Jesus says: </h4>
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<b><i>So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last. </i></b></blockquote>
Matthew 20:16, in the parable about God's view of fairness. Maybe we should read that one again.<br />
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-22647219346105817912016-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:002016-10-21T08:00:10.604-04:00Failure to connect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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by Brad Duncan<br />
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What are the challenges for the church today? One of the biggest challenges is connecting people together in meaningful ways, to create genuine community. This article continues the discussion.<br />
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These posts are excerpts from a full-length article and presentation. For more information or the full documents, please email me at GraceEmerges@gmail.com</div>
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<h2>
Challenges, cont'd</h2>
<h4>
Overdependence on Worship Tradition</h4>
Probably we all recognize that Jesus didn’t come to create church services. Yet, we have too much dependence on our worship traditions if we think that those traditions will bring transformative change to the world. They are merely a tradition, a preference, something we like, something that has worked to bring people together on the past. We do need to come together and organize ourselves, share ideas, sing songs together, get our kids to play and learn together, and spend time with one another. On the other hand, the time we spend looking toward the front of an auditorium and listening to a well-planned program of worship, is not the most effective way to build communities and share life with one another. The other stuff, where we spend time with people, is where the real love happens.<br />
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What responsibilities and functions do we assign to the weekly worship service? Do we expect it to change the world? Do we expect it to shine a bright light that glorifies God so people will come to him and receive grace? For the people that are present, do we expect it to meet everyone’s individual needs? Will singing about God and talking about God be enough to heal wounds and transform hearts? Certainly it can be a part of the plan to meet people’s needs, but it’s not enough. People need people. For this, people need to look at each other and listen to each other.<br />
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Worship is a great thing! Jesus told the woman at the well that he came to bring true worship. “Someday soon,” he said, “true worshippers will worship God in spirit and in truth!” He came to show people that worship is not in a traditional location or system, but it is a way of life. Jesus taught so much about loving one another, that it is clear this way life was meant to be lived in relationship with one another.<br />
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This is the beautiful gift we can give God. Growing into the loving community that God wants to see. This is true worship. In order to find true worship, and worship God in spirit and in truth, we have to leave the traditional mountain. We have to find Jesus by the well. We have to love God through the life we live, in relationship with others.<br />
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<h3>
Failure to Connect</h3>
Even as I write this I feel the painful realization that people often don't want to connect and share their lives with one another. Churches will agree that community is their goal, but they may not see how they can accomplish it. They keep worship and individual spirituality as a focus, and they encourage community, but they fail to focus on community as a primary goal, so it becomes relegated to more of a desirable side effect.<br />
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Why? <br />
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The reasons I hear are related to pleasing God and serving God. People feel that the church must continue its activities because God wants it that way. They point to the Bible, and they point to theology. <br />
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Easy enough to fix! What if God wants something else? When we study the words of Jesus and other church pioneers in the Bible we see a different goal than pleasing God through attending church services. <br />
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Will we then change to do the new thing God is wanting? What if God wants us to leave the traditional mountain and go on a new journey with him? We can innovate to create community more intentionally. To do this, we can reduce our dependence on traditional worship. Those traditions can still be there, but they serve us, instead of us serving them. Instead we can recognize that God loves it when we simply love one another. Let’s do that as our primary focus!<br />
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Another reason I observe for the lack of focus on community is the budget. Churches have limited resources. You can count the church’s resources as being all the talent of Its members, the money it raises, and the time that people have available to use for one purpose or the other. The church uses a startlingly high fraction of its resources for normal operations, keeping the lights on, paying the staff, and running the programs. It takes time and money to organize more events, and in fact church services are a fairly cost-efficient way of meeting everyone’s needs at the same time. It is also important to bring all the people together so you can talk about budgets and ask for money. During a worship service you can also efficiently advertise other events or projects of the church and offer sign-up lists! <br />
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Do we realize that we go to church services for such practical reasons? And yet as a result we use perhaps 90% of our resources on keeping things moving the way they are. We only free up about 10% of our resources to spend on projects that help people outside the church. Like a tithe paid to the world, the church gives a small portion of what it makes for God’s work. In terms of time resources, the ratio may be better. When church-goers participate in events planned by the church, what percent of that time is spent sharing God’s love inside the bounds of the church, rather than outside the church? Is it 80%, perhaps 70% ? What percent of time and resources should be spent on loving one another, compared to keeping the church running? <br />
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What would we like these ratios to be? What if we could find a way to operate where less is needed for overhead? What if we could operate using only 10% of our incoming resources, and the other 90% could be used for loving people, shared equally between church-goers and the needs of those outside the church: in our communities, in our country, and around the world. <br />
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<b><i>What about these #s?</i></b><br />
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<li>10%: Overhead for operations</li>
<li>45%: Helping one another</li>
<li>45%: Helping our community and the world</li>
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In addition to streamlining our operational budget and reducing expenses, the church could reach this ratio for operational expenses by expanding its reach to many new faces! But do it without building more buildings or expanding staff hiring. If we do it right, we can grow using a new approach, without cutting budgets – just by not growing them in the same proportions we use today! <br />
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This notion of expansion requires a more grassroots approach. More work done by volunteers, and less by staff. The role of staff is to prepare us, and provide an opportunity for us to organize and grow. As church-goers we need to reduce our mindset that the staff should perform the work of God for us – instead of hiring them to do the work of the church, we should hire them only to administrate the organizing of the church, so that we can all do its work. Help us learn by doing! For instance, a sermon on the Good Samaritan, about how we should love our neighbor, should be short and to the point to make sure we are all on the same page. Then, we should spend a larger fraction of time learning about loving our neighbor by actually doing it! Perhaps some face-to-face discussions, perhaps a project outside the church, perhaps an event where people setup booths to show ideas for changing their communities. Certainly if all we do is listen to a great sermon, with a challenge to “go and do it” at the end, we are missing a huge opportunity. We are already sitting with a number of other people that could make it happen. What if we put it into practice right away, helping each other, and then organizing more activities for outside the church? <br />
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If we operate this way, then church services will be just one of the many events offered in the church. There will be many more. And they won’t cost money for the church budget. We church-goers can organize them ourselves and expand the scope of influence of the church. In the process we can learn and grow! This is how I want to teach my kids about God. I want to organize with other Christians to do things bigger than I can do myself.<br />
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-97437653255576592016-10-17T18:56:00.000-04:002016-10-17T19:04:32.096-04:00Oh Church, Where Are You Now?<br />
Thank you<b><i> Cameron Webb </i></b>for being a guest contributor this time.<br />
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Sometimes in the dark of night I think a lot.<br />
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There's a lot to think about at the moment, watching a lot of ugly things going on. Many of which are being ignored or out right condoned by many branches of Christianity.<br />
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It has often seemed to me that the Church, by in large, has invested many attributes and concepts found throughout the Bible, into that magnificent future envisioned for their souls after death...<br />
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It is the place where the last shall be first, where the meek finally inherit the earth. Where there will be no East nor West, male nor female, and so forth, for all shall at last be one.<br />
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Where there shall be no more poor or suffering.<br />
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Where all these obscure parables and ancient symbologies shall be manifest as the "Kingdom of God" and they shall then inherit it and inhabit it.<br />
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Meanwhile, as we all too often turn our gaze on this beatific vision, all around us the meek are abused, the poor go hungry, the servant is down trodden, the alien among us rejected. <br />
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Male and female are not one, but splintered, divided, hierarchically stratified, institutionally dominated, and abused.<br />
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And all of this appears to be accepted and tolerable, because the great Kingdom is waiting for us on the other side.<br />
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This could not be more wrong.<br />
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The Kingdom of Heaven is within us.</div>
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All of these concepts are not meant to be future attributes of a tantalizing afterlife.</div>
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They are CURRENT MANDATES.<br />
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Let me say that again:<br />
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These are current mandates.</blockquote>
When Jesus took the despised menial role of washing the disciples' feet, and proclaimed that the first shall be last, he didn't mean that there was a reward for oppressed servitude in some distant eternity. <br />
He meant that the transformative power of service was meant to create revolutionary change here and now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVxgEbwFW5ylj0QB0H9_3xKHTEmp8fqr-egAJ-85JzTwoJblbzYVMHLbM_Tl7_Ll7wxUiojQphDfi62w4FV09VmCE5ahe72eaRT0wYG52Dp-hembIKzZ41SLgi-O2mlXayJlq1mNzhU2g/s1600/012-USA-New-York-Subway-Graffiti-Elderly-Woman-Homeless-Poverty-1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVxgEbwFW5ylj0QB0H9_3xKHTEmp8fqr-egAJ-85JzTwoJblbzYVMHLbM_Tl7_Ll7wxUiojQphDfi62w4FV09VmCE5ahe72eaRT0wYG52Dp-hembIKzZ41SLgi-O2mlXayJlq1mNzhU2g/s320/012-USA-New-York-Subway-Graffiti-Elderly-Woman-Homeless-Poverty-1986.jpg" width="320" /></a>In the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are not meant to reconcile with the despised outsider in the afterlife, but instead we are to stand in the face of all disapproval and rigid tradition and bind up wounds and care for one another in our need. Right NOW.</div>
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I recently visited an older women's Bible study group in a large and privileged church. And I watched them wrestling, powerless, with what could be done because of the neglect and lack of care of widows in the organization. Somehow, in this church, the idea of genuine religion meaning caring for orphans and widows in their distress (distinctly commanded in the book of James) has gone completely over the side. Real suffering, both emotional and financial is going on in that church, completely ignored. It tore my heart.</div>
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A lot of things are tearing my heart right now.<br />
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Many churches, absorbed in a far flung future afterlife and high holy ideals, ignore the life they should be living in the now. I suspect they ignore it because it's convenient. They ignore it because doing so won't upset their privilege and power structures. They ignore it because they can twist the words and life of Jesus to serve their own purposes. They ignore it because they can wield current power. And in doing so, they neglect and destroy the very message they seek to impart. </div>
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They ignore suffering, pain, poverty, and institutional hatred. They often create that suffering.</div>
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And then they do not understand when they are confronted as hypocrites.<br />
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In the now was where Jesus' life was lived. His life, his example, his call to live the earthly mandate of love and service is where transformation lies.<br />
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Those who have "come to the cross" must walk back down the hill into the daily life they still must live.<br />
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And they are called to LIVE as he lived. <br />
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Passionately involved.<br />
Loving unconditionally.<br />
Serving unreservedly.<br />
Boldly subversive.<br />
Engaged rather than disengaged.<br />
Resisting hatred, prejudice, poverty, pain, and suffering.<br />
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This is the mandate your saviour gave you, oh Church.<br />
Where are you now?</div>
GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-68108611016153487262016-10-14T08:00:00.000-04:002016-10-14T08:00:10.048-04:00Challenges for the churchby Brad Duncan<br />
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What are the challenges for the church today? What forces are driving the church? How should we respond to these forces and challenges? This article continues the discussion.<br />
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These posts are excerpts from a full-length article and presentation. For more information or the full documents, please email me at GraceEmerges@gmail.com</div>
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<h2>
Drivers</h2>
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Let me start by briefly describing the primary forces and
factors driving the church today.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The church is at the middle of a myriad of forces. If you think about God’s work and all that God is trying to do in the world to save it and bring healing, God wants the church to be the center of the solution. <br />
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People need God, and they need the church. They need the church to organize, mobilize, and exemplify the message and work of God. God works through people. He always has, and he always will as long as we are on this Earth! <br />
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On the other hand the church is at a particular place in its history, driven by its own traditions, its own story and expectations of its members. You can also call it inertia – the church is moving in a certain direction for historical reasons, and changing that direction may require a large force to make it move a different direction! <br />
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One such force is the power of changing ideas. As society starts to recognize many of the mistakes and inequities in our traditional way of thinking, and as we start to open up to new ways of thinking, the church feels the pressure to tackle these ideas and consider how they should affect the church. <br />
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I know very well that everyone has their own perspective on various social issues, and I am not assuming everyone agrees with me on controversial questions. However, I think we can all see that society is changing, trying to do a better job of bringing the concept that All People are Created Equal into reality. Where our old laws and societal structures created systematic inequity, we are working to fix that. We as a country are trying to bring better opportunities for ALL KIDS in the education system, better health care for ALL PEOPLE, better access to the same services. </div>
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<b><i>We don’t want only the rich, only the white, only the men, or only the heterosexual, to be treated fairly. </i></b></blockquote>
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That wouldn’t be fairness at all! That’s called elitism and prejudice. Today’s understanding of such inequity is that it’s morally wrong! </div>
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This is one example of progress in society that will affect the church. The church has to adapt and change, responding to these forces, or it will lose relevance and become out of touch with the people it is trying to reach. </div>
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In one or two generations, as the mindset of these new generations drifts further from the traditional mindset, will the church adapt? Or become ancient history? The faster the times change, the faster the church must respond.<br />
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As a church we need to respond to these forces, and MOVE where motion is required. Let me explain further by addressing the various challenges the church is facing today and then describing how we can respond to them.<br />
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<h2>
Challenges</h2>
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I don't have room in one article to cover all the challenges, so I'll break it into several posts.</div>
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<h3>
The Mass Exodus</h3>
The church is feeling it – people are leaving. You can find more about this global trend all over the blogosphere so I won’t give the supporting details here. But it seems the church is losing its influence due to sheer numbers of people it is reaching. <br />
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This trend is not isolated to the church. People are spending less at retail businesses in favor of the convenience and selection of online shopping. Companies that depend on the old market forces to sell products are being blindsided by this new reality. Essentially a store in the mall has to compete with the cheapest prices anywhere on the internet. When I go to a store and see a price on an item I think about buying, I often check its price on my Amazon app on my smartphone. I know you all do it! If the price is cheaper and I can wait a few days, the item arrives at my doorstep in 3 days with free shipping! <br />
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Everywhere in the business world, companies are feeling the massive weight of technology change. If they don’t adapt and leverage what new technology can offer to change their business and reach a new audience, they will quickly stop having customers. We have seen many retail chains go out of business. I’ll never again get to shop at a Blockbuster Video, Circuit City, CompUSA, or Borders books. I actually feel sad about that. But there will be more retail chains that go the way of memory. Will it be Macy’s, Sears, Target?<br />
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<b><i>Will I even be able to go to stores or malls in the future? </i></b></blockquote>
The tech industry is feeling the same crunch. Due to a crowded competitive landscape, companies that embrace the leading edge also risk going out of business due to competitors, through investing in the wrong technology, through mistakes in manufacturing (like smartphones catching on fire, for example!), or by not understanding consumers well enough. Companies that lead the industry, like Apple, also have to lead through numerous transformative changes. They have to keep leading, and not depend on products that worked in the past.<br />
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Can the church also respond to this reality?</div>
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The kingdom of God has to adapt to the times and world it is trying to reach. </div>
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We must innovate, and we must embrace change. Fortunately, God can see over the horizon and understand what changes are needed. With God guiding us we can navigate these changes and find a new model that will work for future generations. The model that worked in the past may not work as well in the future.<br />
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In particular, what about worship services offered by churches? Do people still want to go to them? Will they continue to go in the future?</div>
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<h3>
New Ideas in Old Wineskins</h3>
Jesus told a rather cryptic story about how you can’t pour new wine into old wineskins. Apparently when you do that they leak, or worse, burst open! Since we don’t use leather wine bottles these days this example is foreign to us. But it’s interesting. It’s true that when you try to adapt to change, the old system may not be able to take it. This is maybe the #1 challenge for the church. The changes it needs to make may unravel it.</div>
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In order to resist the painful breaks that will occur as the
church tries to adapt, some people will build walls to protect the old
ways. <br />
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Without even meaning to, these walls create a more country-club-like atmosphere. Without intentionally excluding anyone, the church can become a refuge for similar-thinking people trying to protect what they think is right from the tide of changing ideas around them. <br />
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As a case in point, from what I’ve experienced, many churches are responding to social issues with silent neutrality. They think that by avoiding the hard stuff they can stay out of the controversy and continue business as usual. Like in my examples of education and medicine above, some churches seem content to stick to the traditional way of operating, while knowing that it can’t reach many people that don’t fit into this system. <br />
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But here we have a clear example in Jesus. He came to change things. He was willing to break a few wineskins and tear down many walls in order to let people know what God wanted to bring in the world. <br />
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Take a close look at Luke 4, and the passages in Isaiah that Jesus was referencing. Do you see how Jesus was trying to bring about positive but disruptive changes to society and to religion?</div>
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If you gather all the changes Jesus was trying to bring from these passages in Isaiah you get a huge list!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQU8KF8N294uxS-WlwRF8xsv65-7oB-QoyAQQocPDU44ZzVgVNyqyNR0A4UjtiVEt0vqgjcNP3ubrEtR11ZWoM-WWwDD04nVHm3G46A8op66uzcHDCweCcyFLOQYGF7tN0lC2RZFolFHg/s1600/Slide8.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQU8KF8N294uxS-WlwRF8xsv65-7oB-QoyAQQocPDU44ZzVgVNyqyNR0A4UjtiVEt0vqgjcNP3ubrEtR11ZWoM-WWwDD04nVHm3G46A8op66uzcHDCweCcyFLOQYGF7tN0lC2RZFolFHg/s640/Slide8.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I don’t read anywhere in the story of Jesus about how he tried to maintain the old system because he was worried that people would be upset, or that families would not have a place to feel comfortable, or that budgets would struggle. </div>
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He had limited time on this Earth and he didn’t mince words. </div>
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He said “Today this prophecy is fulfilled! The time is now upon you and these changes are happening, whether you like it or not!” I’m paraphrasing the conversation recorded in Luke 4. </div>
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Jesus was referring to all the prophecies in the old testament about what he had come to do. To do God’s work, he had to bring disruptive change.</div>
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Are we too locked into our current way of thinking to allow this type of disruptive change to take hold today? If so, this inertia, or unwillingness to move, may be our biggest challenge to overcome.</div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-83251269050821381022016-10-07T22:44:00.003-04:002016-10-07T22:44:46.892-04:00Who is this guy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVO_4ud0NFVuGVfPU5c9odmBHfjR-1odw24OT72_3pf448Tds5GbShcS4AE0Jc-dwKBVYLk74fRfCLIkII6vP3h_3wWvUeBLOLwUfucjyXoMCjcRHT2AO0N6Q30WRhSgYx5Zpd5x9Brhi/s1600/Cassidy-What-sort-of-man-is-Donald-Trump-1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVO_4ud0NFVuGVfPU5c9odmBHfjR-1odw24OT72_3pf448Tds5GbShcS4AE0Jc-dwKBVYLk74fRfCLIkII6vP3h_3wWvUeBLOLwUfucjyXoMCjcRHT2AO0N6Q30WRhSgYx5Zpd5x9Brhi/s400/Cassidy-What-sort-of-man-is-Donald-Trump-1200.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Based on his words, this guy is a wormy apple</span></span></div>
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Luke 6:43-45<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">43-45 </span>“You don’t get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.</span></div>
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Luke 6:24-26<div class="poetry" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 2.6em; position: relative;">
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<span class="text Luke-6-24" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Luke-6-24" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">What you have is all you’ll ever get.</span></span></div>
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<div class="poetry top-1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 2.6em; position: relative;">
<div class="line" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
<span class="text Luke-6-25" id="en-MSG-10763" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">25 </span>And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Luke-6-25" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">Your <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">self </i>will not satisfy you for long.</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="text Luke-6-25" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Luke-6-25" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-6-26" id="en-MSG-10764" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">26 </span>“There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;">Luke 6:39-40</span></div>
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<span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">39-40 </span>He quoted a proverb: “‘Can a blind man guide a blind man?’ Wouldn’t they both end up in the ditch? An apprentice doesn’t lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.</div>
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--Jesus</div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-91175566914091397002016-10-07T08:26:00.002-04:002016-10-07T08:26:55.273-04:00Welcome to the )open(church!by Brad Duncan<br /><br />Hi! My name is Brad, and I’m trying to change the face of Christianity. <br /><br />Like me, most Christians want to change the world. We want to share God’s love. We want to share the transforming and contagious power of grace and freedom, which comes from knowing God and opening up to the good things that God wants to bring to us. <br /><br />The message of Jesus was that the kingdom of God has arrived on Earth to bring God’s love to mankind. It arrived when Jesus came to Earth, but it didn’t leave! It remained here as the church. Jesus continues to work through us, bringing good things to the world. <br /><br />Most Christians are signed up to be a part of this great work that God is doing. We believe the church is the continuing work of Jesus, with ongoing guidance and help from the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />However, unlike me, many Christians are pretty happy with the job the global Christian church is doing. If I take a survey of Christians I will find a strong sentiment that they don’t want to change the church very much or lose what they have built. They wouldn’t want it to change, and are concerned about the declines in church attendance in our country. There is a well-known drift away from church these days, toward individual spirituality but away from Christian community. But the world needs the church, and we need each other. <br /><br />I want to start the ball rolling – and start a discussion of how the church could change. Let me start with a bit of background about myself, and then let me take you through a description of what I see as the major challenges the church is facing today. After that I want to propose how we can respond to those challenges. If we respond with a willingness for significant transformation of what we are doing as the church, together we can change the face of Christianity.<br /><br /><h2>
How my heart changed</h2>
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Schools</h3>
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Let’s start with me. I have a unique perspective on how new ways of thinking are needed. I have two special-needs kids. Both are highly intelligent kids, and the adults in their lives always tell me how brilliant and refreshing they are to talk to. <div>
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However, they don’t fit into the usual cookie-cutter educational system. </div>
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They both have their quirks and challenges that make it virtually impossible for them to perform under demand in a large classroom setting. They can't take tests, deliver reams of homework, and even get along socially without major changes to the approach to education compared to the majority of kids. From what I’ve heard about 80% of kids nationally fit well into the standard educational approach, while the rest, well, they struggle for one reason or another that could be remedied using a more individualized approach. <br /><br />Fortunately my family moved to Massachusetts 10 years ago (my boys are now 18 and 13), which is possibly the most progressive state for education in the US. Though they struggled many times, the system was able to adapt to them. My older son was sent to a small private school, paid for by our town, and now he is about to graduate as a well-adjusted and happy teenager who knows what he wants to do with his life. I could not be prouder! <div>
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My younger son has an IEP in the public school. That stands for Individualized Education Plan. He gets a number of services and individualized attention in the school, but he gets to stay with his friends and participate in the mainstream to the fullest extent possible. For him, it is a good fit and he is doing well. On the other hand sometimes we have to remind the teachers of the accommodations listed in the IEP – so they don’t expect the same production on demand of work that other kids can do. He will simply shut down if pushed like that. </div>
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Both kids showed me that you have to find the individual creative ability in each child and unlock it, for them to succeed. You can’t depend on the old tried and true system to meet their needs. Many of the kids in our country that don’t fall into the 80% mainstream are struggling. States are cutting education budgets, and class sizes are increasing – all fall outs from the recent recession. Nationwide, we need to increase our attention and resources for education. Other states should follow the example of Massachusetts in my opinion. <br /><br /><h3>
Medicine</h3>
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There’s more. My wife has a super-rare disease. It doesn’t even have a name yet and so is described in 6 long words. Doctors couldn’t explain why she had a stroke 5 years ago that landed her in a wheel chair. Numerous tests and 12 neurologists later, we finally found out what was going on. A specialist in medical genetics suggested that she have a skin biopsy to measure her nerve count, and she was found to have less than 1% of the usual count of small-fiber nerves. This is probably happening due to an overactive immune system which is destroying the nerves. This affects pretty much every system in her body. Fortunately, with this nerve biopsy test result she was able to get into one of the few clinics that treats this disease, which happens to be in Boston near where I live. </div>
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Again I thank God for the progressive thinking in Massachusetts! The treatment is mostly new and not fully accepted by medical practices. But it is really helping! With the help of IVIG treatment (immune globulin infusions), my wife’s disease is stable and not progressing. The nerve counts are staying about the same but she can keep fighting the disease and holding ground against it getting worse. It was a hard adjustment to live with chronic disease, but I thank God for “stable” every day! However the usual medical establishment failed to help my wife. Only the most leading edge, new approach, had anything to offer. <br /><br /><h3>
Technology</h3>
Then, there’s my work experience. In my job I work to bring transformative technology to the automotive industry. I work for a software company that helps the world design cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks. Convincing manufacturing companies to switch their process to use new software is always a challenge. They have an entrenched process that involves building hundreds of prototype vehicles by hand and testing them in labs, on test tracks and on the road. The software I helped to design can change all of that, and companies can use a computer-driven process to design the vehicle much better and much cheaper! It’s exciting! It requires a new way of thinking, and willingness to let go of a more hands-on, but less effective, process. It requires trusting a virtual process where the car or truck exists in software long before it is driven on the road. <br /><br /></div>
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The Church?</h3>
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Maybe because of these factors in my own life, or maybe because of some root inclination in my own spirit, I have always questioned the church. In fact, I feel that all of us are both qualified for and tasked with questioning the church. As we know and understand, WE are the church, and WE need to get this right.</div>
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Definitely my questioning intensified in the last 5-10 years, and I started blogging and participating in the broad online movement to make Christianity more progressive. <br /><br />It starts with “why”? <br /><br />Why is the church designed and operated the way it is today? What is its mission, and is it accomplishing that mission? <br /><br />After multiple times of working through these questions, I have improved my own understanding of the forces and issues facing the church today, and further, how I believe that we can respond to these issues. <br /><br />We can’t sit still – if we see ourselves in the mirror and find that we need to change something, the only right answer is to embrace positive change. In Christianity we call this repentance! It simply means that we are willing to change our thoughts and actions, in response to what God is saying. With a humble attitude of repentance, the church too can change. WE can change. </div>
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More coming soon!...</div>
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These posts are excerpts from a full-length article and presentation. For more information or the full documents, please email me at GraceEmerges@gmail.com</div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-57282346844165780972016-06-03T07:00:00.000-04:002016-06-03T07:00:53.235-04:00Open the Church -- Part 3B<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Facing the questions that will shape the church in the 21st century</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>by Brad Duncan</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 26.6667px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outreach - Part B</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can the church change the world through its actions?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Discussion</span></h2>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I doubt that many people will disagree with me at this point in the discussion. We all strive to be better, not only through personal improvement that only we can see, but also through our behavior and actions that are visible to others. I think of Mother Theresa - known for her faithfulness to the poorest people, known for her wisdom and her complete focus on generosity. No one can fault her. We would all like to see Christianity take this approach and be the face of Jesus in the world. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-69ce9c1f-d993-42bf-3884-7cb136085978" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, where the discussion needs to happen is in the practical arena. How do we answer this question in practical terms, as the local church? How do we individually contribute to this greater cause? How do local churches partner together on a global level, for such causes that require a large concerted effort, e.g., how do we support disaster relief or tackle humanitarian crises? On a more local scale, how do local churches partner together in our cities to tackle big problems related to poverty and addiction? How do we take action against social injustice rather than merely spectate? How do we set our goals as a local church so that our community maintains an outward focus and achieves what I am talking about here? How do we apply the Great Commandment in the 21st century? How do we build our church around this concept, so that everything we do will lead to achieving it to the greatest extent possible?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who and How</span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I feel that the discussion happens for us much like it did for for the legal expert in Luke 10. Taking up the conversation from where we left off after the Great Commandment: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">29 But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” [Luke 10, CEB]</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus says “Just do it! You know what to do. Love, man” . And the legal expert says “Sure, I know that (who doesn’t!). But it’s complicated. How do it I do it? Who should I love more than I am already? I’m a pretty good guy and have lots of love in my heart, so this Great Commandment thing doesn’t really challenge me to do anything different at all. So is that really all? Is there something more you would recommend Jesus? How about this question - tell me who is this </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">neighbor </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">person that you want me to love. Let’s start there. Who should I love?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And who is my neighbor?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s the question, isn’t it? The church needs to face this question. Like the legal expert, the church wants to prove that it is right. It is busy doing all the right things. It’s identity as the body of Christ and the kingdom of God is tied up in loving God and others, and it is moving in the right direction. Therefore, change is not needed. Change, which is so uncomfortable and painful, can be avoided if we are already proven to be right. So, we also ask this question, perhaps in the same tone the legal expert is using (a tone that is more defensive than truly inquisitive): </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus, and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is my neighbor, exactly?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus answers this question with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), a tale that cuts to the heart of us as Christians, because in this story the devout followers of God fail miserably to reach out to a man injured and suffering on the road because he was robbed. Two devout Jewish people see the man as they are walking on the road, and Jesus says that they pass by on the other side. They don’t act, because they don’t even look at the man. They just attend to their business. The third person to see the man is the Samaritan of the parable’s headline, an outsider in Israel. Not only is the Samaritan outside of the religious elite caste, but he is outside of the religious system altogether. He takes the right action. Jesus said “he was moved with compassion,” so he helps the injured man fully. He tends to his wounds, and he takes him to an inn where he can be cared for. He pays the man’s bill and pays the innkeeper a day’s wages to make sure the man is cared for. He even says that he will return to check on the man and pay for any additional costs. In truth, this Samaritan gives the injured man what he needs. To do any less would have left him without proper care. In this story, Jesus asks the legal expert, “Which one of these three people treated the injured man like a neighbor?” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">37 Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” [Luke 10, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The truth is self-evident. When you look at the face of the injured man who will die without care, you know that he is your neighbor. Like us, he is a child of God. If we allow compassion to move us, we will know what to do. On the other hand, if we “pass by on the other side”, we are failing to look, to care, and to act. The answer is painful and uncomfortable, because we know that we more often identify with the first two devout followers of God in this story, than with the outsider who was moved to compassion. Without trying to oversimplify my answer to this question, I would say that Jesus pointed out the key issue: if we are moved to compassion, we will know what to do. We will make better choices. We will know who our neighbor is, but more importantly, we will know how to help when the time comes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the church is one of the three people in this story, I hope that we will take the minority position and be the one more likely to offer a hand of assistance to the one in need. When compassion is our primary response, we will know who are neighbors are. We will seek ways to help. We can use our creative efforts and available resources to do something that truly meets the need. When moved to compassion, we can take the inconvenient and uncomfortable path of offering a hand to help. We must go out of our way to do this, leaving behind our previous plans, and taking urgent action that is needed. This answers both the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In practical terms, we start with compassion. We open our eyes to the person that is on the road right in front of us, we assess the need (instead of walking by on the other side) and we take the next logical step based on the need at hand, even if it is inconvenient, costly or uncomfortable for us. It’s not really that hard, if we accept the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">personal cost to us </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that a heart of compassion may bring. God can do the rest; he can bring us into those situations, show us the need, and help us understand the best way to help. We can also learn from others who know how to help people. In this case, the Samaritan knew how to tend to wounds. Well, if we don’t know how to properly tend to someone’s wounds, we can seek the help of doctors and nurses. If we don’t have a way to provide shelter to the man in our own home, we can help by paying the innkeeper. It may require a creative solution, but the point is that God will help us find that solution and will help us with the hard parts of taking actions which may be challenging to us. God can enlist the help of others, but only if we take the first step that may be available only to us at that time. Just like the Samaritan, if the church is moved to compassion, and seeks God for help to put our compassion into action, God will use that. God will help us. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God will reveal both the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- who is my neighbor?, and how do I help?. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We know God’s heart, and we know that God is eager to find a way to help the injured man on the road, and will use the available people and resources to provide that help. We just need to be available, and to have a heart of compassion.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the other passages I mentioned above, 1 John 4, James 2, and Matthew 25, the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are also described. In 1 John 1, John talks about how we treat each other inside the community. He talks about how our love for one another in the body of Christ, suggested by his use of uses of the phrase our “brother and sister”. He says that the church was failing to provide a loving nurturing environment to it’s own people. John is saying you can’t continue to operate like this, talking about faith and worshiping God, and yet neglecting the pain and needs of people you are with, your very brothers and sisters. But John doesn’t exclude outsiders from this discussion. In 1 John 5, John explains why we should love all of God’s children:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 1-3 Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-begotten. If we love the One who conceives the child, we’ll surely love the child who was conceived. The reality test on whether or not we love God’s children is this: Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome. [1 John, MSG]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We must remember that each of us is God’s child. We love God, and by association we love God’s children. Here, John is talking about all fellow Christ-followers, whether they are in our community or not. We have something in common and we should always reach out to help our brothers and sisters. How can we neglect them and say we are loving God? Don’t we have to start on our home front and go good where we are, before we can attempt to do good somewhere else? John is saying that as the community of Christ we should emphasize loving one another. Like everything I described in Chapter 2, we should open our eyes to the people around us and create genuine community, rather than focus only inward or upward in spiritual or religious activities. We should Love God by Loving People.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This brings up a good point: we should never neglect our own family, or our own community, out of a duty to help strangers and show compassion to meet the needs evident in the world. To do so would be hypocrisy. Our love for God shows in our love for others, period. We love where we have the opportunity, and certainly that opportunity starts at home. The opportunity continues in our relationships with others and in community with fellow believers. We should act on that opportunity and provide a safe, nurturing, loving environment for our families, friends and community. As I pointed out before, when we do this, then as a group we can set our focus on compassion and look to outsiders. We can see that our compassion must not remain inwardly focused but should also be able to see the injured man on the road, the man who is not in our family or community, but needs our help. From the position of strength, having our needs met in community, we will be able to use our resources to help the outsider.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">James also mentions the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He singles out orphans and widows in James 1, and helping them in their difficulties. In James 2 he talks about our friend, our brother or sister, who we run across and obviously needs clothing and food. The need is evident, the person is someone we claim to care about, and the solution is obvious -- give them clothing and something to eat! The widow or orphan has no livelihood and needs to depend on those with more resources to help them. James indicates that the person that we are already very aware of in obvious need, is in fact </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">our neighbor </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that Jesus was referring to. The course of action is obvious: care for them. Do it for Jesus, do it out of our love for God.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Matthew 25, Jesus also describes the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as being self-evident: Jesus says that in life we run across people that are in need. He uses the imagery of saying that each of those people is Jesus himself reaching out to us. The obvious implication is that if we love God, we will see the face of God in each person in need, and we will naturally be moved to compassion. Jesus will receive that compassion as being Love for God, not only Love for Others. The </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are both described: </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was hungry and you fed me,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was homeless and you gave me a room,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was shivering and you gave me clothes,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was sick and you stopped to visit,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was in prison and you came to me.’ [Matthew 15:34-36, MSG]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are not only our family members, those in our community, or even necessarily believers. In Jesus’ parable, he is already talking to believers who are facing Jesus to describe what they did with the opportunities they were given. He is not necessarily saying that the needy people that wear the face of Jesus are believers, instead he implies that they were strangers, outsiders, just people in need. If he was talking about how we treat one another in community, he would have used words like “one another” or “brothers and sisters”. Instead, he suggests that the face of Jesus is EVERYWHERE, on the streets, in prisons, in hospitals. Everywhere that someone is in need, the face of Jesus can be seen. Like the injured man on the road in Luke 10, we need to open our eyes to the need right in front of us, and instead of passing by on the other side, we need to let our hearts be moved to compassion. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can the church take up this challenge in the 21st century? The first answer is that God will help us. He will show us both the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We just need to be available and have a heart that is easily moved to compassion. We need to start with community, loving those close to us, and then by extension we will be able and available to help outsiders.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In summary, who are our neighbors?</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our own families</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our local church community</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our global church community</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The person in great need that we have an opportunity to help because they are right in front of us</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People that categorically have no means to support themselves</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People with basic human needs that are not met, such as food, shelter and clothing</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People that are lonely, sick or in pain, needing human companionship and encouragement</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People that have no one to notice them or visit them</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All the children of God, who wear the face of Jesus</span></div>
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</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What kind of help do Jesus, John and James call for?</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give people in the kingdom of God love and encouragement rather than judgment or petty competition</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you see a person in need, meet the need the person has</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Provide for people with no means to support themselves</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give generously to those with basic human needs</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Provide love and companionship to the sick and lonely</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deliberately consider loving others as an act of loving and worshipping God, in other words, you may provide love to others with no other gain or reward for yourself other than knowing that God will receive this love as true worship.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collective Action</span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do we move from generality to specifics, in order to define our mission and sub-missions as the local church? We need to somehow operationalize the teachings of Jesus in order to put love into practice. As the local church, perhaps there are ways we can also align with other local churches and with churches globally to make a difference through our cooperative efforts. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You may be feeling that the mandate Jesus made to love others is a nice goal, but nearly impossible to do. We feel that we can’t make much of a difference, given the overwhelming need around us and around the world. Like the legal expert in Luke 10, we ask “And who is my neighbor?” more out of desperation and an attempt to prove we are already doing the best we can. How we can we possibly do more? How can we make any difference in this world full of need and pain? As a local church, perhaps all we can do is ask for a bit more of everyone? More money, more time? More ministries? Perhaps we can rearrange our priorities a bit and do a better job? </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My feeling on this question is that we have a great resource available to us that we are blind to. We pass by those in need without seeing them. But we also fail to see our true wealth that could be used to help them, a great resource that God has provided to bring good things to the world. What is this great resource?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Call it </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">collective action.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Actually, like the Samaritan who was equipped to help the hurting man, we have a great resource at our disposal. If the people of God apply all of their best resources and creativity to simply help those that they can see right in front of them, this is a vast resource, 2 billion Christians strong, or about one fourth of the world’s population! If we organize our network of Jesus-followers for this purpose, we are unstoppable. Can you imagine an </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unstoppable force for compassion</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? In our vast group of Jesus followers, we have doctors, engineers, politicians, leaders, teachers, every capability needed to change the face of poverty in this world. When these Christians need money to fund these activities, we are talking about 25% of the world’s income! If these Christians applied a tithe of 10% of this income to helping others, we are talking about a collective action fund of 2.5% of the world’s global income. Do we really think that we can’t accomplish very much with that amount of resource?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My feeling is that a complete realignment of our priorities, and our beliefs about worshipping God in spirit and in truth, will transform the face of Christianity. We will move from inward and upward focus, to outward focus. Instead of funding the preservation of our way of life, we will be able to create a network for action to change the way of life of those in the world around us. So first, we decide to “Just do it”. Then we gather our resources and organize ourselves. Then we activate this network to start accomplishing things that cannot be done by individuals alone. Then we start making a difference! As we show this face of compassion to the world, the world will appreciate our focus and mission and will even align to help us accomplish these goals. We can partner with groups from other religions, with civic groups and governments, with nonprofits and businesses. The church can get into the business of generosity, and take it seriously as our primary mission. We need to be the example of how to care. Is this happening right now? Does the church have the reputation as leading the way in how to creatively change the world? I can certainly think of some Christian organizations that are doing this, but I can also see that in general we are falling behind and not leading the way. Who is working to end poverty, improve education or provide medical care? Is it the church? Or is it someone else? We need to mobilize for collective action as the body of Christ, applying our common mission and collective resources.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t want to stop short in this call to collective action. I also don’t want to limit the range of possibilities. What are some things we can do, if we had the funding and the people with skills to take action? Here are twelve areas I would like to see collective action taken by the church, and of course there are many other areas you may think of as you read my suggestions.</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sharing Network</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the early church, which shared everything and supported each other as the gospel spread from city to city radially out from Jerusalem, we can mobilize our own communities to meet one another’s needs. One idea I have is that we could create an online social network for local churches, to give members access to easy sharing with each other. Think of Facebook on steroids, but managed and administered in local church communities! Not just for sharing of ideas and photos, we could mobilize to support one another in material ways. People could post things that they need, people could post ways that they could offer to help. People could post utility bills for others in the church to pay if they felt so inclined. There could be a free tutoring network. There could be a list of people that need people to visit them, or are sick, in a nursing home, or in prison and need support from the community. People could post many resources online in this network to help others, teach others, and support one another: resources like how-to videos, messages of encouragement, insights into the Bible, and lessons on various topics. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of the church activities would be coordinated through a central social calendar, and all members could access this calendar and add things to it that they want to share with the group. All of these listings would also support links and search capabilities to connect them easily and make them easy to find. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comments, discussion and postings will be fully supported across the network, but would be safe and secure through moderation and oversight by volunteers in the local church. This oversight would also work hard to prevent abuse of the network by people that may not have good intentions -- their social networking privileges could be easily limited or revoked if it appears they are abusing it. We could make sure that people know each other in person before being able to access certain social features. Inappropriate or abusive comments would never be posted because comments would require moderator approval or approval of the person who posted the original story. Basically, we have the technology to help people in the community fully share with one another without huge overhead. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me, the Open Church would be largely defined by this social network, and the online community would replace many of the functions performed today by the institutional “brick and mortar” infrastructure. </span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community Relationships</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Enabled by a social sharing network, people will connect to one another and have many more opportunities to work together and communicate with one another. However, we should never rely on remote/online connections to replace human connections. Church events should focus on developing these relationships through nurturing, encouraging, leading, and teaching. Church events should be organized to invest in people and relationships. Weekly Bible study groups, youth groups, kids groups, group activities, and volunteer activities would be organized to connect people together and to do things together. Worship services would be fun gatherings with music, celebration and sharing of ideas, perhaps with food and kid’s games happening in the background. Community action projects would focus first on nurturing the people participating, not just on getting to work. We would permeate every activity of the church with the mission and culture of community. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also need to think about new people. They will be able to connect to what’s happening online, but they need to come to events to meet people and really get connected. What kind of events do we have where people can feel comfortable coming to check out what we do without being put on the spot? Our worship services and social activities should be design with the new person in mind, to be fun, unassuming, welcoming, and to provide clear information about who we are and what we are all about.</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Companionship Outreach</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also enabled by the social sharing network, we should be able to identify people that do not have easy access to the community. As Jesus said, “I was sick and you stopped to visit. I was in prison and you came to me.” Without intruding on anyone’s privacy, it would be possible for people to agree to be listed as being available to visit at their homes, in hospitals, in nursing homes, in prisons, etc. We should intentionally extend our community outward to those that cannot come to us. We should mobilize to provide the simple comfort of companionship to those that clearly need it and are willing to receive it. We can offer spiritual comfort, praying with them, offer smiles and a listening ear. Anyone can do it! We can all smile and listen, and yet imagine the huge difference that makes in someone’s life when they are lonely or sick, and life is not going well for them. Imagine the huge difference that could make eventually to the community when people in the community are properly cared for, not only on a physical but also emotional level. A community that thrives brings a great benefit to everyone. As we help one another in their times of need, some day that help turns back toward us, when we are in need.</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Education Fund, Schools and Universities</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the greatest needs in our local communities is to ensure a future for our children, youth and young adults. What if as a group, we simply took the job of funding their futures on ourselves? We could provide a range of support options for providing education and gainful employment for our future adults. One idea is to have a scholarship fund that focuses on providing low-cost or even free college education in strategic areas that support community and global economic development. Areas like education, civil engineering, developing economies, medicine, social services and humanitarian specialties could have the largest allotment of scholarship funding available, and the purpose of this fund would be to impact the wellbeing of future generations. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We could also offer church-organized education programs that focus on spiritual growth and humanitarian areas, teaching people about God and about the world they live in and how to work together to make a difference. What about opening a university with free tuition? What about foreign exchange programs? We could sponsor our kids to learn about foreign cultures and become skilled in areas critical for the church to reach all the corners of the world.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our education goal as a global network of local churches could be to provide education and gainful employment to any future adults that need it. The level of support should match the need, and our kids need to have greater opportunities. The job market and economy today is challenging and competitive perhaps more than it’s ever been, and education is so expensive that it is not necessarily a good decision to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt to get an education that may not lead to a good job. But if the church could offer a subsidized or even free alternative, many of our kids would take advantage of it. We could have an opportunity to make a priceless investment in future generations, simply by launching a young adult on a new career. How can we afford </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to do this? At a minimum all it would take is a scholarship fund. Greater impact could be made by launching our own free or low-cost education programs and universities.</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parenthood Ministry</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The church fails miserably at helping pregnant teenagers, young families and single parents. This is a class of people like “widows and orphans” who have a clear lack of means to care for their own needs and the needs of their babies. We should surround these families with all the support and care they need. Those of us that are not in that situation certainly have some ability to support and encourage young parents. Can we offer to provide free babysitting so that young parents don’t have to pay for expensive child care that consumes their meager paychecks? Can we use our sharing network to provide for all the baby’s needs, so that feeding and clothing a baby is not a burden to this young family? If the church could step up and provide this type of support, then adoption and abortion would be necessary less often. The best way to “choose life” is to support and nurture young families at their point of crisis. Instead of passing around shame and judgement, can’t we pass around the vital acceptance and support that these young families need?</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Addiction Ministry</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am aware that many drug and alcohol recovery programs have roots in or are sponsored by religious organizations. We as the church should take even more ownership of caring for those ensnared by addiction. Certainly the level of help that addicts need requires the leadership and participation of professional counselors, and we need to partner with these people and organizations to provide the best chance possible for addicts to be able to fight their addiction, embrace recovery, and (when applicable) save their families from the destruction caused by substance abuse and other addictions. Drug and alcohol use in teenagers is such a huge and relevant problem, that there is a huge need for addiction recovery supports in every community. For example, recent statistics report that about 10% of teens have used illegal drugs at least once in the last year. Teens and families facing the destruction and potential loss of life from illegal drugs are everywhere, in every town and in rural areas, across every social class. The local church is best equipped to reach out and provide a safe place for nurturing, supporting and encouraging these families. Certainly this fits well into the category of reaching out to those in the greatest need who are right in front of us, those that are rejected by society, and those that have obvious need for support.</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Survivor Ministry</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another huge and pervasive area of need is domestic abuse. Again with the help of professional counselors and organizations equipped to handle the serious emotional and practical needs of women, men and children that are currently in abusive relationships or family situations or are recovering from abuse, the church can reach out to offer a network of support, encouragement, shelter, food, and counseling. Domestic abuse is everywhere. If you had X-ray vision, you could see it in the houses near you. Individuals trying to break free from these situations need somewhere to turn where they will be safe. I’ve been a part of churches that offer weekly recovery support groups (with trained volunteers and professional counselors), and churches also support safe houses for abused women and other ministries. We need to get creative and reach out to be a part of the solution for those that are abused in our communities.</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poverty & Community Economic Development</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In order to proactively address poverty in local communities, the church can be an active participant and even take a lead role in finding solutions. Ministries that meet people’s basic needs like food, clothing and shelter are vital to address immediate needs. To help create longer-term solutions, the church should create or partner with organizations to revitalize local communities. Supporting businesses, improving education, creating more nurturing communities, creating common spaces, revitalizing the arts, embracing diversity and community character and culture are all ways to address some sources of structural poverty in our communities. We have to make it real and make it local, find out what our own community needs to thrive and apply initiative to make our own communities better equipped to provide for all those that live there. Again, the church should be on the front lines, making a significant investment in ending extreme poverty, and offering a network of support and compassion for the “least of these” in our own towns.</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Widows and Orphans</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether in our own cities or in other countries where the need is much greater, the church can make a huge difference by building and running an orphanage for homeless children, for instance, or other type of institutions that meets basic needs (e.g., schools, clinics). When the church is working in developing countries, employing local people to help one another also provides a source of gainful employment, education, and a growing network of home-grown supports for those in the greatest poverty. I’ve been part of a church that built an orphanage in Kenya and created their own child sponsorship program so that those in the church can provide monthly support for a child. The church works with the local staff and provides support and oversight, and now they are building a school as part of the orphanage. No local church can address global poverty. But any church of sufficient size can build a single orphanage! This is the type of approach we need to take as the church -- take ownership of the future by doing something that provides real help to those in need. </span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Human Justice</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The church is starting to wake up to it’s role to help fight injustice. The main two ways that we can make a difference is through spreading awareness and partnering with nonprofits that are on the ground taking action to help those that are unjustly treated by others in our own communities and around the world. Speaking up as a voice for change is something we can all do, and helps spread awareness of these issues so that public opinion can change and more people can join these causes and support them through volunteering or donations. Some example areas where organizations are working are:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Fair Trade Movement</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: organizations are working to promote fair working conditions and worker pay to produce products that we use, across the entire supply chain, and in ways that are sustainable for the communities that produce these products and sustainable for the environment these communities are situated in. Because many products like chocolate or coffee have raw ingredients that come from impoverished parts of the world where exploitation of the lower class is common, these countries are known to suffer from corruption and unethical treatment of workers. Child slavery and child labor are not uncommon, and are tracked by various organizations as shown in the image below. As consumers we have a vote in what products are ethical to buy and which ones are not. We should be a strong voice for ethical treatment of workers and sustainable business practices, and as consumers, governments and businesses will listen to us! If we are silent and keep buying these products, our silence will also speak loudly -- it will say it’s fine with us if our products are produced on the backs of child slaves as long we don’t know about it!</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="215" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Ta9Mhv03pmNPTi2Awp-heKbMjfK96Vzkd923UG0IeK7bnxIktyXvUmDLDQAyp2cwSVIfDZeez3o7TRMoFkNrsZnjrLfzJZmmMUbWD1uVrdwX3jYOyhV2QMuRUrsC0FUKIS6xP6SO" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="382" /></span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Human Trafficking</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Human slavery and the sex trade is a lucrative business for organized crime, in conjunction with the drug trade. Many people may not be aware of how prevalent this problem is in all countries. Indentured servitude is still very common. Often through false promises of being able to pay off their fare for passage to a different country, they are placed in harsh work environment with little pay where they can never pay off what they owe. The sex trade is also a huge problem, and often girls and young women are forced to become addicted to drugs as a means of controlling them so they can be used for prostitution. While I am no expert on this problem, I do know that organizations that are fighting human trafficking of all types need our help. They work on the humanitarian front, working with governments and law enforcement to fight the slavery and the sex trade and rescue people out of it. They provide supports like safe houses and counseling, and resources for getting people on their feet when they are rescued.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Equality & The New Civil Rights Movement</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The church has a huge influence in the acceptance or rejection of discrimination in society. Often, policies that have allowed and continue to allow racism, sexism, and other prejudices to continue are in some ways endorsed by religious institutions which represent a more conservative side of public opinion. Issues like the current debates about immigration, pay inequity for women, marriage equality for gays, hate crimes and racial profiling, anti-semitic and anti-muslim sentiment show that as a society we are not yet able to embrace equality as a fundamental concept. The biggest thing the church can do to help with this is to embrace all people as being God’s children, equal in the eyes of God. We should offer acceptance for all and assistance for the oppressed and underrepresented, out of our love for Christ. We should fight discrimination wherever it may be found. If we share this message, we will help show the policy-makers that religion can provide moral leadership about proper treatment of all people. We should promote equality in our country’s policies and around the world. We should advocate peace and social justice. The church can also provide diversity training, make sure our own policies provide equal rights to all, and support organizations that are working in these areas. I’ll cover more about the theology and the Bible’s teaching about equality and social justice in a later chapter.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many of the other areas I’m listing in this chapter are also considered human justice work, such as education, poverty, teenage pregnancy, abuse, and community development.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change the Face of Global Poverty</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many organizations are working to change the face of poverty in the 21st century. In areas where water, medical care, basic education, crops and livestock, are not readily available these organizations see an opportunity to make a huge difference by establishing at least a basic level of infrastructure in these areas. Where can we NOT reach if we make it our goal to bring this basic infrastructure everywhere? We have to do this, no matter how long it takes.</span></div>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Environmental Action</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have found the church (historically) to be the last place to hear about taking care of the environment. My opinion is that the church, especially the evangelical side of Christianity, does not have much concern about the future of our planet, perhaps because we feel we will be leaving it soon anyway and the world will end. It’s not a very positive message to share with the world, is it, if we say we just don’t care because it will all be over soon!? People have thought the world would end for thousands of years, but there is no Bible justification to say that our time on this Earth is limited to a few thousand years after Christ. In fact, it offers very little to tell us what God has planned for this Earth. Rather, the growing organic kingdom may need much more time than that to do it’s work, and continue its transformation of this planet into the very kingdom that God has intended. In my vision of the future of this world, the church helps to end global poverty and becomes the leader rather than the follower in fighting injustice in every community and around the world.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this broader view of the future, taking care of the Earth we live in as the vessel holding God’s kingdom should get much more attention. As a church we should also be concerned about pollution of the atmosphere through carbon emissions, for instance. We can all work to make a difference, and it’s time for the church to pay attention and get on board. We should add our voice to others in the community that are working to change policies and to roll up our sleeves and improve our environment.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summary</span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In summary, we need to intentionally create a mission for our local church that will help it meet needs that are right in front of us. Answering the question “Who is my neighbor?,” we need to take action as a group to apply our available time, effort and talent to make a difference both for others in the community and in the world around us. At the same time, this will accomplish the growth of our spiritual nature, develop the compassion blooming in our hearts, nurture true community relationships, and improve our message, credibility and reputation in the world around us.. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="288"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #3c78d8; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twelve Missions for the Open Church</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sharing in the Community</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Relationships in the Community</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Companionship Outreach</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Education Fund</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parenthood Outreach</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Addiction Outreach</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Survivor Outreach</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community Poverty & Economic Development</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Orphanages, Schools & Clinics</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Human Justice Awareness</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Global Poverty Awareness</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Environmental Action</span></div>
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<br />GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-77886662146457227872016-05-27T07:00:00.000-04:002016-05-28T08:10:04.668-04:00Open the Church -- Part 3A<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Facing the questions that will shape the church in the 21st century</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>by Brad Duncan</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 26.6667px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outreach - Part A</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can the church change the world through its actions?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">In Chapter 2, I described the church as a dynamic, healthy, intentional community that arises when people who follow Jesus come together to become the kingdom of God. This kingdom continues the work of Jesus on this Earth. This community and kingdom has potential to do great things, things that define us, give us opportunity to grow and thrive, and have a great impact on the world around us. This naturally leads us to questions about our goals. What great things should we do? How should our amazing potential be directed? How can we best follow Jesus in the 21st century, not only as individuals but through partnerships with others? What’s next after Community? What does it lead to?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">In short, this chapter attempts to answer this question:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">How can the church change the world through its actions?</span></h1>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s clear that this question is also vital to the question in the previous chapter, and cannot be separated from it. Our success as a community depends on an outward focus, a posture of welcome to all people, and a clear mission to be generous. We share what we have been given with others and are spiritually generous, offering forgiveness and acceptance. Think of the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, the Great Commandment, and the Great Commission: our community is defined by a mission to love and share. If we attempted to define a community that just takes care of it’s own, provides a comfortable space, and protects those inside from the world outside as a safe haven for Christians, we see that the mission to love and share would wither on the vine. Like Jesus taught, the nature of God inside us is revealed through action. As the local church and as the global kingdom of God, what do </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">our actions </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">say about us? What do our actions reveal about what is in our hearts? How does our community look from an outside lens? The actions that people see should represent what is happening on the inside. The God-nature that lives inside the church, the community and kingdom of God on Earth, must naturally show itself through its actions.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Viewed from within, this is also the nature of healthy community. It’s true that if we do nothing useful, we will wither. On the other hand, we learn, grow and thrive through putting into practice what we believe. We learn from others in the community that have more experience. We learn by cooperating with others. We find value through teamwork. We find ourselves appreciated for our good ideas and contributions, our bright smiles and ready hands. We make friends, we challenge each other, we build trust, we embrace relationships. We connect. Where connections would have seemed forced and awkward if all we do is meet and greet each other, when we work together, these connections form naturally and with little effort. Even the most socially awkward person will make friends with people if they are having fun together doing something useful. As humans we have a strong need to be useful. Community gives us that. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">In this way, the phrase “practicing our religion” takes on a particular meaning:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Practicing our religion, means putting what we believe into practice.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is the cure for religious institutionalism. This is the sign of true transformation. This is the thriving kingdom, with God’s nature within and God’s generosity demonstrated to those outside. The church is seen and heard through its actions. God is seen and heard as well.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">With this understanding of the implications, we need to carefully ask the question in this chapter. What fruit? What actions? How do we demonstrate generosity? How do we have the greatest impact? How do we put what we believe into practice?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">How can the church change the world through its actions?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">I don’t think my answer will surprise you. Jesus taught us to:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Love God by Loving Others</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">As I discussed in the previous chapter, this was the key message of the sermon on the mount in Luke 6 and so many of Jesus’ other teachings. It is inconsistent to claim to love God but not represent the love of God. When Jesus said “follow me”, this is what he meant: love God by loving others, as I will teach you and show you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">What we call the Great Commandment was already understood by the Jewish audience. In Luke 10 we have this conversation:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">25 A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">26 Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">27 He responded, “</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” [Luke 10, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jesus simply affirmed what the man said as being the correct understanding of the law of God. No matter how you break down the laws and history of the Old Testament, you come up with this primary interpretation of the “Law”. It’s no law at all -- it’s not even a commandment -- it’s a truth that transcends our need to understand and evaluate what’s right and wrong in thought and action -- it simply talks about a concept called Love that we are to embrace and our right thoughts and actions will follow. It essentially says “</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Love wins</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">”. Where laws and commandments fail, love wins. Jesus says that if you do this you will live. Life is found where love wins. Follow your heart, follow God’s heart, follow me. You will find life, and life is all about love. Through his teaching on compassion and the kingdom way vs. the selfish way, Jesus taught that love for God must be revealed through love for others. We take on God’s nature, sharing generously with others as God does. Jesus said:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">6 Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. [Luke 6, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">In his first letter to the churches, John also states this principle:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. 8 The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him. 10 This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins. [1 John 4, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">He fully explains how love for others and love for God are the same thing, starting in 1 John 3, and continuing through 1 John 5. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">James also tackles this concept in his discussion of “faith” vs. “works”. This famous passage, below, is clearly trying to explain that we must put our faith into action, we must show our love for God by loving others:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">14 My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it? Claiming to have faith can’t save anyone, can it? 15 Imagine a brother or sister who is naked and never has enough food to eat. 16 What if one of you said, “Go in peace! Stay warm! Have a nice meal!”? What good is it if you don’t actually give them what their body needs? 17 In the same way, faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity. [James 2, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">If we continue to keep our religion separate from community, with only a small overlap where we put them into action together, then we will continue to separate faith and works. We believe one thing, and do another. Occasionally these two things come together. If we separate our love for God from our love for others, then we work hard to satisfy both sides. We work to please God through our individual spirituality and through our religious activities, while we work hard to love others through our own efforts. Apparently James saw this as a dilemma that early Christians were facing: faith was embraced as an end in itself, leading to a closer relationship with God. Actions of love and kindness were seen as competing for attention with faith. But what James, John, and Jesus all were trying to explain is the convergence of the two. Faith and works are NOT in tension. They only work when they are the same thing. Love for God </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">is</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Loving Others. Faith </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">is </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Works. We cannot separate them. Or if we do separate them, we are leaving God behind and creating our own kingdom. God’s heart is not in it. God’s heart is compassion for others. If we love that heart, we will have that heart.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jesus and James also defined “true religion” as compassion and a kind heart. In James 1, James says:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">27 True devotion, the kind that is pure and faultless before God the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their difficulties and to keep the world from contaminating us. [James 1, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">And in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells the famous parable of the sheep and the goats, where he explains that what Jesus will value in your life is your generosity:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">40 “Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’ [Matthew 25, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read the full passage if you are not familiar with this parable. Clearly the point is that we should not have two separate concepts for spirituality and generosity, for faith and works, for loving God and loving people. These concepts only work when they converge. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Spirituality is generosity, faith is works, and loving God is loving people. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">This doesn’t mean that we fail to love God, or that we fail to purify our hearts. Rather, it means that we become fully transformed by our encounter with God who purifies our hearts. This transformation is visible on the outside, revealed as the fruits we produce. Sin is selfishness and the opposite of God’s nature, whereas our righteousness and our true worship is heart transformation. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">The transformation I am describing applies exactly the same for the church as for the individual.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">As we become the kingdom of God, we act like it! Our heart must be transformed as a community. It should show in our mission, our actions, our message, and even our reputation. The kingdom of God should represent all that is good in the world, and the world should at least be able to acknowledge this goodness, even if they don’t agree with our beliefs. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, I want to provide one more thought-provoking example. We have the opportunity to hear a 1-on-1 conversation that Jesus has with a Samaritan woman in John 4. After some discussion, Jesus tells her that the Messiah will reveal the true nature of worship:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you and your people will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You and your people worship what you don’t know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—and is here!—when </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">. The Father looks for those who worship him this way.24 God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one who is called the Christ. When he comes, he will teach everything to us.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">26 Jesus said to her, “I Am—the one who speaks with you.” [John 4, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Interesting, the role of the Messiah was already of understood by the woman, before she knew it was Jesus -- the role to “teach everything to us.” And Jesus stated what he would teach: how to worship God in spirit and in truth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Isn’t this what we really want? Isn’t this our heart’s desire? As a church isn’t this our core mission? We expect Jesus to teach us everything about how to worship God in </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">spirit </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">and in </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">truth</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">. How to be spiritually insightful, accurate in our understanding of God, wise in our sensing of spiritual things that we cannot see or touch. And we want to know the truth, accurate in our understanding of life, and our role in it. If we shine the light of Jesus on our lives and on the world around us, we will see the truth. If we allow the Holy Spirit to take charge in our spirits, we will sense spiritual truth and spiritual life. We will be the fulfillment of Jesus’ claim in John 4, that he would change things so that people would worship God in spirit and in truth. He’s talking about us, when we are the ones that put Jesus’ words into action! He says that the Father is seeking people who will worship him in this way. Will we respond?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">People worship God in spirit and in truth, by putting into action the teachings of Jesus.</span></div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-36450100852990798932016-05-20T07:00:00.000-04:002016-05-20T07:00:42.008-04:00Open the Church -- Part 2E<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">)open(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">the church</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Facing the questions that will shape the church in the 21st century</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>by Brad Duncan</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 26.6667px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community, Part E </span></h1>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c8c883b2-38aa-3910-07bf-c5682ebb9f79" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can the church be a community instead of a religious institution?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kingdom Wins!</span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What happens when we love our enemies? Sometimes it means that our enemies will continue to oppose us, and sometimes they will win. The plot thickens and surges toward disaster. Jesus warned that his posture of humility and peace would cost him dearly, in several places in Luke such as 18:31-34:</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-fdbe9f64-45c5-4e6a-88df-00ef57cabe4e" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and said, “Look, we’re going up to Jerusalem, and everything written about the Human One by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. He will be ridiculed, mistreated, and spit on. 33 After torturing him, they will kill him. On the third day, he will rise up.” 34 But the Twelve understood none of these words. The meaning of this message was hidden from them and they didn’t grasp what he was saying. [CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The parable of the tenant farmers who kill their master’s son, Luke 20:9-19, poignantly describes the cost of letting your enemies win. Jesus will allow himself to be killed by those that oppose him in the current religious establishment. Instead of vanquishing them or forcing them to acknowledge that he is the son of God, he will allow them to defeat him and make a public mockery of him as he is put to death. However, like in this parable, God will win in the end, but only after this costly sacrifice.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we follow the crucifixion story which rapidly unfolds starting in Luke 22, Jesus as the king of God’s kingdom is revealed in new ways through the crucifixion and resurrection. During the passover meal with his disciples, Jesus twice refers to the imminent coming of the God’s kingdom in Luke 22:16 and 18. In the debate that surfaces during that meal about who will be great in the kingdom, Jesus starts to convey that the disciples will soon see a larger view of the kingdom:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">28 “You are the ones who have continued with me in my trials. 29 And I confer royal power on you just as my Father granted royal power to me.30 Thus you will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones overseeing the twelve tribes of Israel. [Luke 22, CEB],</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and in 22:35-37 Jesus tells the disciples to be prepared for action because everything is about to happen:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">35 Jesus said to them, “When I sent you out without a wallet, bag, or sandals, you didn’t lack anything, did you?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They said, “Nothing.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">36 Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a wallet must take it, and likewise a bag. And those who don’t own a sword must sell their clothes and buy one. 37 I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in relation to me: And he was counted among criminals. Indeed, what’s written about me is nearing completion.” [CEB]</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can sense that the kingdom is on the verge of breaking out! </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Jesus was arrested, accused and taunted, what was he accused of? What was his crime? The crime that Jesus was crucified for was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">being a king</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! A humble king that did not resist, but a king of a mighty kingdom prophesied to arise from the people of Israel, the kingly descendent of David. Jesus did not deny that he was God’s son, the prophesied king and messiah. And for that, he was killed. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was killed for the kingdom.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This story includes the questioning in front of Pilate, the Roman governor:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 The whole assembly got up and led Jesus to Pilate and 2 began to accuse him. They said, “We have found this man misleading our people, opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar, and claiming that he is the Christ, a king.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus replied, “That’s what you say.” [Luke 23, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was similarly accused before Herod, the Jewish king, in Luke 23:6-12. He didn’t deny the truth.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When he was crucified, the accusation was plainly stated on the sign posted on the cross:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">36 The soldiers also mocked him. They came up to him, offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you really are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 Above his head was a notice of the formal charge against him. It read “This is the king of the Jews.” [Luke 23, CEB].</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What we see in the crucifixion is that those that opposed Jesus sought their own kingdom, and killed Jesus because he asserted that God’s kingdom had arrived and that Jesus was God’s son, the king of that kingdom. In view of the teachings of Jesus, the crucifixion was the fulfillment of God’s kingdom on Earth. It represented that for God’s kingdom to come, its enemies would have to initially win a victory and make their own selfish claim to rule. By doing so, Jesus would allow God to win a huge spiritual victory and demonstrate his will to rule on Earth. “Love your enemies” was demonstrated on the cross.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even one of the other men being crucified could see that Jesus was a king, and he asked Jesus to remember him:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">39 One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus insulted him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">40 Responding, the other criminal spoke harshly to him, “Don’t you fear God, seeing that you’ve also been sentenced to die? 41 We are rightly condemned, for we are receiving the appropriate sentence for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">43 Jesus replied, “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.” [Luke 23, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the death of Jesus, one of the religious leaders named Joseph from Arimathea, who was a good man but also a member of the Jewish council, was described as waiting for God’s kingdom:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">51 He hadn’t agreed with the plan and actions of the council. He was from the Jewish city of Arimathea and eagerly anticipated God’s kingdom. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Taking it down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid it in a tomb carved out of the rock, in which no one had ever been buried. [Luke 23, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clearly, those that were paying attention perceived that Jesus was the king, and the kingdom was at hand. The religious leaders were threatened by this and fought to have Jesus killed. Others could see God working in this tragedy, and somehow saw by the humility of Jesus that he truly was the son of God and was inheriting God’s true kingdom.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like in so many of Jesus teachings, victory required humility. Resurrection follows crucifixion! When the women visited Jesus’ tomb they found out that he wasn’t there! Angels appeared and reminded them that Jesus had predicted his resurrection:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He isn’t here, but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Human One must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words. [from Luke 24:5-8, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book of Luke also records an appearance of Jesus to two disciples who were traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus joins them and listens to their interpretation of the events that just unfolded. They are not aware that Jesus has risen from the dead. Jesus hides his identity from them and teaches them:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wasn’t it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then he interpreted for them the things written about himself in all the scriptures, starting with Moses and going through all the Prophets. [from Luke 24:26-27, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus knew that such an ultimate victory required suffering and sacrifice, as described in the scriptures and prophets. The cycle of </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Incarnation -- Death -- Resurrection </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is played out in many ways in the lives of believers and in the path of the kingdom:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We discover God calling us -- we respond by humbling ourselves and allowing our selfishness to die -- God elevates us again as his children with new life in the kingdom</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We model this cycle through baptism -- going into the water is symbolic of death of sin and selfishness -- rising from the water is symbolic of life and transformation</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We follow the teachings of Christ to love others sacrificially, replacing selfishness with the true joy that comes from showing compassion</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The coin, the sheep, or the son that is lost -- is initially with it’s owner/shepherd/father -- seeks it’s own gain and is lost in the darkness -- and by the searching of the finder of the lost things it is brought to light with great celebration</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We enter into a relationship with God through Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Spirit -- but we must die to ourselves daily to avoid living according to our own selfish human nature -- and by doing so we let God reign in our lives, bringing transformation, discovery of truth, and joyful partnership with God in community with other believers</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We seek to build the kingdom of God, continuing the work of Jesus as the continued incarnation of God on this Earth -- but we must continually fight against human tendencies to build the kingdom for ourselves like the tower of Babel from Genesis 11 or the rich farmer or rich rulers from the parables of Jesus -- we must sacrificially let go of these human kingdoms and let God raise his true kingdom in his own way and time, ultimately winning the victory of bringing God’s will to fruition on Earth.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end the kingdom wins! But only through our willingness and humility for God’s kingdom to take precedence over our own kingdom. We must follow the model of Jesus who placed God’s kingdom and ultimate victory over his own comfort and short-term gain.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus repeats this explanation to the disciples in Luke 24:36-49, and clearly states how the kingdom will ultimately win, through the witness of the disciples and the power that God will provide to them to carry out his mission:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">44 Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law from Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. 46 He said to them,“This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 Look, I’m sending to you what my Father promised, but you are to stay in the city until you have been furnished with heavenly power.” [Luke 24, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We call this passage the Great Commission, and it is the foundation of our mission statement as the church, the community and kingdom of God. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community and Kingdom</span></h2>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I just took you on a walk with Jesus through the gospel of Luke. In the story of Jesus we see what he was saying and doing during his 3 years of ministry in Israel. From start to finish he taught about the kingdom. But he clearly was commissioning his followers to actually BE that kingdom. His teachings were not so much of an individual nature, like how people should behave in solitude or purely in relationship to God. Because his teachings were about love, humility and unselfishness, they established how human nature should be transformed to allow people to work together unselfishly in community with one another and with God. I think this is clear -- what is love without the context of community? -- you need someone to love or love has no opportunity to show. So, given everything I described about Jesus’ teachings and the kingdom, what does community look like? </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will summarize the key positive characteristics of a thriving community:</span></div>
<h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overview of Community Characteristics</span></h3>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="421"></col><col width="202"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #4a86e8; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characteristics of Community</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #4a86e8; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">References</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brings good news to the poor</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 4:18-21, 6:20,21</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liberates the oppressed</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 4:18-21</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grows organically through participation</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 5:10, 10:2, 13:18-21</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brings transformation of our hearts and lives, love for God and others leading to right actions</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 5:31-32, 10:27, 11:42</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Offers love to our enemies and blessings to those that curse us</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 6:27, 35</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Treats people right</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 6:31</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Has unconditional compassion and generosity</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 6:36, 10:29-37. 11:41,42</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Offers acceptance and forgiveness</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 6:37,38. 11:4</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Admits our faults with tolerance toward the faults of others</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 6:41,42</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Produces good things out of a good heart</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 6:43-45</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Practices the teachings of Jesus, humbly letting these teachings take root in our hearts, we become his family</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 6:47-48, 8:15, 8:21</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shares the light of truth</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 8:16,17</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unselfish, but has treasure in heaven, spiritual riches</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 12:15-21, 34, 18:22, 21:1-4</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dependent on God’s provision</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 12:22-33</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ready for action, alert</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 12:35-38, 21:36</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Humble before God and people, not dependent on looking religious</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 14:11, 18:9-14, 17, 20:45-47</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Helps God find the lost things</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 15</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faithful with our resources</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 16:10-12</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can you imagine the type of community we will have if we simply follow Jesus together and put these teachings into practice? Aren’t these characteristics the foundation of healthy relationships? Wouldn’t they lead us to treat one another in the best possible way so we can support one another, have grace for one another, handle conflicts with forgiveness and kindness, and be generous to one another using whatever resources we have? By doing this, our riches and reward will be in the thriving kingdom we are participating in, in our own spiritual growth as we depend on God and put his teachings into practice, and eventually as our reward in heaven. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus came be bring a revolution, a revolution of kindness, a revolution of God’s kingdom showing up on Earth. Where and when does God’s kingdom show up? When people put the teachings of Jesus into action, they literally let God’s kingdom come. The people they reach, starting in community with one another, and shining as a bright light to our neighbors, are the ones who receive the good things that God wants to provide in his kingdom. It is no understatement to say that God’s plan is to bring good things to the world through US. We are the continued incarnation of God on Earth. We carry the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We are God’s kingdom. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In order to be this kingdom, we need to let go of the trappings of selfish isolationism, the temptation to build kingdoms of our own pride and riches, and by doing so, let God’s kingdom come.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do we become a community instead of a religious institution?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By following Jesus.</span></div>
GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-90630904104532312942016-05-13T07:00:00.000-04:002016-05-13T08:31:22.490-04:00Open the Church -- Part 2D<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">)open(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">the church</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Facing the questions that will shape the church in the 21st century</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>by Brad Duncan</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 26.6667px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community, Part D</span></h1>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c8c883b2-38aa-3910-07bf-c5682ebb9f79" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can the church be a community instead of a religious institution?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kingdom Way -- Parables and Insights</span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Continuing now in the book of Luke, we find ourselves in chapter 12 where Jesus is teaching the disciples more in-depth insights using illustrations and parables. Bible scholars usually point out that many of Jesus’ parables are simple stories with a twist. They establish a normal context, situation or character that can be easily understood, and then they have a plot twist, an unexpected turn, that is intended to teach something in a memorable way. Also keep in mind that Jesus taught by speaking rather than writing -- for his followers to remember his teachings he had to use speaking styles that would facilitate easy memorization, such as stories and parallel construction (like in the Beatitudes). Sometimes Jesus explained the parable. Sometimes he left it as an unexplained metaphor for us to ponder on our own. As I read the teachings of Jesus in the second half of Luke, I find more guidance about the kingdom.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6b68897a-45c1-8558-c58f-b0732c0c79a1" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfish Way vs. Kingdom Way</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus tells a parable of a rich man, a farm owner, that was doing well with his crops. When his crops filled up his barn, he had to decide what to do with the surplus. What were his options? </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One option -- he could sell a few of the crops to get enough money to build a bigger barn to hold all of his grain for longer-term storage. This way he could feed himself and his family for the long run. This is the option Jesus says he takes. In fact Jesus offers us the man’s decision logic, saying that the man sees the benefit of keeping the food as being able to say to himself: “Take it easy! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Other options would be to sell all the crops and perhaps invest the money in something else, or to share the crops freely with others -- options where the man would not take it easy, but keep working with what he is given in the foreseeable future instead of being lazy. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus keeps it simple in this parable -- he simply poses the question, when you have plenty or even surplus, as sometimes happens, what do you do with it? What do we naturally do as humans? And his answer is equally simple -- we hoard. If you give a person an easy way forward for themselves, where they have to do less work and can just take it easy, there’s a good chance the person will take it. It’s human nature! Jesus is describing our human nature to take the past of least resistance and to naturally protect ourselves and our own interests.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the “twist”, Jesus includes God in this story. After this happens, God enters the story and says to the man: </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“‘Fool, tonight you will die. Now who will get the things you have prepared for yourself?’,” from Luke 12:20, CEB.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And Jesus follows up:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">21 This is the way it will be for those who hoard things for themselves and aren’t rich toward God.” [Luke 12, CEB].</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus is talking about one thing -- our selfish human nature is not thinking about what God wants. We are given free will, so we are able to make selfish choices. We are able to focus on ourselves. But when we do, who but ourselves will benefit? When we view wealth as being simply more for us, more stuff, more money in the bank, larger assets, newer furnishings, better technology, more enjoyment -- the list goes on and on if we think about our consumeristic and materialistic tendencies -- we miss out on true riches. Jesus is talking about an inward, selfish focus that ignores God. If the rich farmer had paused when he asked the question, “What will I do?”, and instead asked God “Wait a minute. God, what should I do?”, the answer would have been different. He could have answered the question out of a different place in his heart, one that was more humble and open to God, and not from the place of self preservation and laziness. If the man would have asked God this question, no doubt God would have blessed the man in some way -- making his life even richer, and giving him true bounty in his heart and spirit, leading to more action, rather than less. What would God suggest in this situation? Jesus doesn’t tell us, but we know that God would transform the man’s heart, changing greed to compassion, and changing lazy selfishness to action. Jesus states this point at the beginning of the story: </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15 Then Jesus said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourself against all kinds of greed. After all, one’s life isn’t determined by one’s possessions, even when someone is very wealthy.” [Luke 12, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus teaches that the selfish way and the kingdom way are diametrically opposed:</span></div>
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 624px;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfish Way</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kingdom Way</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Greed, Self-preservation, Laziness, Path of Least Resistance, Pride in our Possessions, Thinking only of Ourselves</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Generosity, Consideration for Others, Action, Willingness to Sacrifice, Spiritual Riches, Thinking of Others </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God is calling us to participate in the kingdom, and it will require that we let go of selfishness and all the things it can accomplish for us. We need to open our eyes to the bigger picture of what God wants to achieve. We need to let him into the story.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a church, we need to re-assess our wealth and all we’ve been given. Are we simply hoarding it, preserving it for a later day? Or are we doing something positive and active with it? Are we taking the path of least resistance, or are we willing to take action, even sacrificially? Are we proud of what we’ve accumulated or are our riches stored away as spiritual gain? When we think of others more than ourselves, the whole picture starts to fall into place. What if the rich man in this parable is the church? Then what is Jesus saying to us? We need to ask God what to do with our wealth.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus follows up this thought in 12:22-34, by reiterating to the disciples more about the “kingdom way” vs. the “selfish way”. I suggest you read the passage yourself, and then refer to the following table for a summary:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 624px;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfish Way</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kingdom Way</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Worry about life, health, food, clothing</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trusting God with what we need </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chasing after what we need, like all the kingdoms of the world do</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Desire God’s kingdom and these things will be given to you as well</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be afraid that we won’t get what we need</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be confident, because your Father delights in giving you the kingdom</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep your possessions, preserve them for the future</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sell your possessions and give to those in need</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Store your wealth on Earth through physical things</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Store your wealth in spiritual things: “a treasure in heaven that never runs out. No thief comes near there, and no moth destroys.”</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfish heart</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unselfish heart: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be too.”</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If Jesus is talking to the disciples as the future church, what is he instructing us to do 2000 years later? He says to let go of what we have, and transfer our wealth into spiritual things. Give up our manmade accomplishments, our institutions and establishments, our hard-earned success. Be willing to put it all on the line to follow God in the kingdom. Seek first what God wants in the kingdom, and we will find true wealth. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like Jesus, we in the kingdom are the incarnation -- the presence of God on Earth in human form. After being transformed by repentance, this is our true nature and role. The way of the kingdom that Jesus is describing is how we will be transformed, and how we will continue to represent God on Earth. We should do what Jesus did and what he taught.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 12:35-48, and again in 12: 54-59, Jesus emphasises the sense of urgency about the kingdom. If you are lazy, you might miss it! If you are going to act, you need to do it now! Opportunities don’t come around many times. If we are unselfish and ready for action, we can participate in the kingdom. If we are lazy and self-absorbed, we will miss it! The opportunity will come knocking and we will be asleep! It will go elsewhere. In other words, inaction can be a form of selfish preservation. Unselfishness requires action. Can we see the times and properly interpret them? Do we see the opportunity in front of us, or are we ignoring it?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus again takes up the concept of changing our hearts and lives, in the face of uncertainty. We have no idea what calamity will come our way, but if we change our hearts and lives, we are ready for it. If we die tomorrow, we took advantage of every opportunity instead of waiting for it to come someday. If we always “wait to next year” we are fooling ourselves, taking the path of least resistance today and saving action for another day. Skipping ahead to the parable of the fig tree in Luke 21:29-36, and lesson to of being prepared Luke 22:35-38, Jesus reiterates this sense of urgency. The book of Luke certainly calls out how significant this topic was to Jesus as he taught his disciples how to combat selfishness and the path of least resistance in order to join the work of the kingdom. Jesus knew the urgency of the present times and what was soon to come for his disciples. They could not afford the time to relax in comfort, but needed to remain alert and ready for action. This table summarizes these teachings:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 624px;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfish Way</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kingdom Way</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not ready</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ready for action </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not paying attention</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keeping watch</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Asleep</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alert</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not seeing the signs</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Observant of the world around us</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Missing out on the kingdom</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Participating in God’s kingdom</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take action “next year”</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take action today</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 13:18,19, Jesus gives us the beautiful illustration of the kingdom of God as a giant tree enjoyed by all, that springs up from a tiny seed:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">18 Jesus asked, “What is God’s kingdom like? To what can I compare it?19 It’s like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in a garden. It grew and developed into a tree and the birds in the sky nested in its branches.” [Luke 13, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He also uses an illustration of how yeast can be the truth of God’s word and spread through the whole loaf. This is in contrast to the yeast of the elitism mentioned in 12:1. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20 Again he said, “To what can I compare God’s kingdom? 21 It’s like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through the whole.” [Luke 13, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus gives us the idea that the kingdom, even though built fundamentally on humility, will be a dominant force, growing until the whole world is made into a better place. The word of God does not go out in vain, but does it’s work and brings transformation. From humble beginnings a great and powerful kingdom will grow. From the revolution of heart and mind, Jesus will bring about the very kingdom of God on Earth. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Jesus warns in the passages of Luke 13 -- will we be a part of this kingdom or are we going to miss it? Jesus talks of both aspects of the kingdom in 13:22-30, that it will be expansive, and that many people will miss out:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Expansive: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People will come from east and west, north and south, and sit down to eat in God’s kingdom. Look! Those who are last will be first and those who are first will be last. [13:29,30 CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But people will miss out: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There will be weeping and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s kingdom, but you yourselves will be thrown out. [13:28, CEB]</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which people will we be, the ones who miss out or the ones that would go to great lengths to join the kingdom? In Luke 13:31-35, Jesus laments those that will reject him and the kingdom. Those of his own people, his own country, who he most wants to reach, will be the ones to miss out. Even worse, they are the ones who will most oppose the kingdom, trying to bring it crashing down by killing its king, like they did to the prophets of previous times. Jesus so longs to gather those people to himself -- he loves them dearly -- but instead his heart is broken by their rejection of him. Jesus is not vindictive when we miss out on the kingdom. He wants nothing more than for us to see the truth and to change our hearts. Giving us free will, we must accept or reject. When we accept, we can go to any lengths, and give up anything, to join the kingdom. Jesus will gather us together like a hen gathers her chicks But when we reject him, Jesus allows us to oppose the kingdom, knowing that by remaining humble and peaceful, the kingdom will flourish -- those of us that oppose it will simply miss out on what God is doing! We lose, but God still wins.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moving on to Luke 14, Jesus just continues to re-iterate how the kingdom of God will grow through humility and kindness. In 14:7-21, Jesus takes advantage of a situation he is observing where people are coming to a dinner, and as they enter they selfishly seek the best seats for themselves, close to the front to be near their host and near the action. You can imagine the “bad” seats being in the back of the room, behind a pole or a curtain, where the guests can barely hear the toasts and speeches happening up front. Jesus illustrates that human nature normally operates like this, seeking the good seats, but the kingdom is a new way of thinking, a revolution that comes from humility. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In contrast to the normal human behavior in such a dinner, those in the kingdom would do things differently:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Guests would take the inferior seats, out of humble acknowledgment that they are not the most important people there</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hosts will honor the more humble guests, offering them better positions</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hosts will invite the people that are closest to them, but will also gather more and more guests from the surrounding community. The more that those close to us reject us, the more we reach out to the community around us, using evil for good, and leveraging rejection as an opportunity.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, in Luke 13:25-34, Jesus urges us to count the cost of living unselfishly. Are we truly willing to follow Jesus on this revolutionary path? It may mean giving up everything of our own in order to truly see what God is doing. As a church are willing to do that? Can we leave it all behind, if we need to, in order to see what new thing will happen? If we count the cost as being too high, and hold on to what we have, we will be left with our own kingdom. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kings in our own castles.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The rich farmer </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">alone </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with his new barns. But the kingdom of God will have moved on to greater possibilities. We should carefully count the cost, both of participating, and of not participating. We have free will and can choose how we use our time on this Earth. Which kingdom will we build?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Similar to “loving your enemies”, placing ourselves in a position of humility allows those that oppose us to jump ahead and take the better spot. We deliberately allow them to win, due to our lack of resistance. But doing so does something amazing in the kingdom. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It allows God to win</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It allows God to work and bring the greater victory, which is in part our own heart transformation, but which is also the joy he gets to have by elevating us to a better position. God brings the good things, every perfect gift, so that’s why we can afford to love our enemies, give away our coat to the thief, or take the inferior seats at the banquet. This way we earn nothing by seeking our own selfish gain, and God wins everything by being the source of all good gifts.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Finder of the Lost Things </span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 15, the kingdom is described as 3 stories of an important lost thing or person being found, in an image of people changing their hearts and lives, which is the very heart of the kingdom message. This happens after Jesus is accused of associating with sinners. Jesus uses this word to illustrate the kingdom: is not his goal for these sinners to find transformation in the kingdom? Each story has elements of:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">selfishness (walking my own way), </span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a state of being lost</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a point of crisis of needing to be found</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">one who seeks and finds, searching for that which is lost</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">repentance (the change of heart and mind)</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the rejoicing when the finder succeeds and the sinner repents</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the joy is not only in the one that finds, but also in the one that is found and in the angels in heaven. This joy of angels is interesting in that indicates that the kingdom on Earth where lost things are found, is the objective of God in heaven.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As is happening at the beginning of this Luke 15 when Jesus is accused - The kingdom is opposed by the religious elite, here modeled as the “good” son who doesn’t understand the grace he’s been enjoying all this time. It leaves the question in the mind of the listener - maybe the “good” son is also lost, but isn’t willing to have the same change of heart.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can also view these stories with the “sinner” not being an individual</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if the people of God are lost, following selfish ways, lured by comfort and short-sighted thinking like the prodigal son? The seeker of lost things is searching for them, to gather them into the true kingdom of transformation, into true community not only with each other (the other coins, the other sheep, the other son) but also with God (the Father, the finder). The angels are cheering in the background as the people of God change their hearts and minds.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In another role change in this story, what if we are the seekers of the lost things?</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus transfers this role of seeker to us, and we are the fishers in search of the catch. The light shining in the world. We expand the kingdom through our message and mission. The angels cheer when our message is heard and brings transformation.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We find other parables and stories in Luke 16-21 with a very similar theme regarding riches and generosity.. </span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 16 we find the parable of the shrewd manager. What lesson does Jesus say it teaches? Be faithful with what you have been given, every opportunity. Use it all for God. The twist here is a significant irony, in that Jesus says what the shrewd/dishonest man did gives us insight in how to react to wealth, money and our own resources. He turns society expectations on its head, similar to love your enemies, and giving your coat to the robber. The Pharisees obviously understood that this parable was directed at them. They knew that Jesus was criticizing their love for money. Jesus then tells them the story of a poor beggar named Lazarus and a certain rich man. The wealth of the rich man did him no good in death, but Lazarus found his wealth in heaven.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 18, Jesus meets a rich man and tells him to go and sell everything (Luke 18:18-29). </span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 19, Jesus meets Zaccheus, a very rich tax collector who had a change of heart about how he had mistreated people (Luke 19:1-10).</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 19:11-28, the parable of the rich ruler who entrusted his servants with money. Jesus taught about how we should invest our time and resources, not knowing the time when the master will appear,</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus notices a poor widow in Luke 21:1-4. She gives everything she has, demonstrating true generosity compared to the rich people throwing in their offerings.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These passages are summarized in the following table:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 624px;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfish Way</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kingdom Way</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wealth on Earth</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Riches in heaven </span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love money</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use our resources responsibly and sacrificially for spiritual gain</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ignore pain of others</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Compassion for the needy</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No gain in the kingdom</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Earning true wealth in the kingdom</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Impossible to see God when seeing only Earthly wealth</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God makes the impossible possible - God can bring faith and good works in any situation, so never give up hope even though it is very difficult for people to see God when they have no humility. Maybe they will be humbled!</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exploit others for personal gain</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Repay everyone we have wronged, many times over. View wealth from a spiritual perspective.</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No investment in the future - path of least resistance - fear of loss.</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Invest our resources for the greatest possible return</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Response to the shortness of time is to do nothing</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Response to the shortness of time is to do everything possible with what we’ve been given</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No participation in the kingdom</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Helps to advance the kingdom</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give offerings that are of little consequence</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the widow, we give it all!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 17:1-10, Jesus continues describing how the kingdom way differs from the kingdom way:</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 624px;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfish Way</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kingdom Way</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lead others to follow you in sin and selfishness</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prevent others from sin, warn them, forgive them</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allow others to go on their way</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change people’s hearts and lives</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Require special praise for our actions</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Face our responsibility with humility</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No gratitude for God’s grace</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gratitude -- count the gifts!</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God’s gifts are ignored, don’t lead to life change</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God’s gifts are appreciated - leading to faith and life change</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next, in Luke 18:9-17, Jesus tells a beautiful story about how a proud religious man thought he was pleasing God by looking down on a humble man. But God hates arrogance and values the humility that the tax collector was showing. This story encapsulates how we must approach God in the kingdom. We cannot see God while seeing others as lower than us. Skipping to Luke 20:45-47, Jesus condemns the legal experts overtly for acting exactly like this. And in Luke 22:24-30, Jesus faces the temptation in his disciples to seek their own greatness.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; width: 624px;"><colgroup><col width="*"></col><col width="*"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfish Way</span></div>
</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kingdom Way</span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See God when we look down on others, because we misunderstand that God is impressed by our righteousness. </span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">See God when we humble ourselves</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our only reward is in our own heads. We view ourselves as beautiful, but God sees only our ugly attitude.</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our reward is true participation in the kingdom, where God forgives and transforms us into something of beauty</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Try to impress God with our achievements</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Come to God as a child, humble and having no credentials</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Show off our religious status, such as by wearing long robes, being honored publicly, taking the places of honor in social functions, and by saying long prayers, all the while cheating widows out of their homes!</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reject religious status, looking any different than anyone else. Blend in publicly, take lower positions socially, do not show off our understanding of God to make ourselves look better or smarter. Show our understanding of God through compassion! Treat others right.</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seek our own greatness in the kingdom</span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seek nothing for ourselves. Seek to serve. There is no place for greatness of individuals in the kingdom of God. True reward is waiting in heaven and through spiritual gain - so it’s simply a matter of perspective and patience rather than seeking our own gain</span></div>
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<h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Transforming Human Nature</span></h4>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clearly there is a lot of teaching and information to unpack in Luke 12 through 18 and the similar passages in Luke 19-22. What amazes me is that Jesus focused so much teaching on these concepts that contrasted selfish human nature with a transformed nature. In the book of Luke, relatively little of his teaching was about anything else! He saw examples around him of selfish and self-righteous people, and he called them out and used them as examples. He told stories about how selfish people would act. He also saw examples of humility and poverty around him. He had so much compassion for those around him which were oppressed and needing hope. His teachings were in response to what he saw around him. He told the selfish and self-righteous to change their hearts and minds, and to join the kingdom way of behaving, as Jesus taught from the beginning of his ministry in the sermon on the mount. In the same way, he was teaching the oppressed, poor and humble people around him that they would inherit the kingdom, in spite of their poverty, through the faith and hope that were growing within them. Jesus taught both theory and practical application, using many examples and illustrations, references to what he saw around him, and clear instructions to his disciples about how to act. It reminds me of how hard we work as parents to teach our children how to act. We use every way possible to make it clear to them, instructing them, using examples that we see, using situations that we go through, and offering them insights about deeper concepts like humility bringing greater gain than pride. Isn’t it hard for our children to learn these concepts that go so much against basic human nature? Jesus taught that a kingdom would arise from such concepts. The world could be transformed by this type of change in basic human nature, away from selfishness and toward compassion. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Jesus said in the Lord’s Prayer:</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘Father, uphold the holiness of your name.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bring in your kingdom.’ [from Luke 11:2, CEB],</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">his prayer was that the Father would bring in his kingdom, a place where his will and his way were to be found on Earth. This requires heart transformation to spread like a giant tree from a little seed, from one person to the next in an organic, even contagious spread of kindness to the world.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we take this teaching seriously as the church? If so we need to tear down our silos filled with grain and re-invest all of our time, energy and wealth into acts of true heart change -- acts of compassion and unselfishness. Instead of creating a kingdom where we look good and righteousness, we need to create a kingdom where we are humbled, giving away the best seats at the banquet so that God’s ways can prevail over our own ways. Instead of taking the lazy path of least resistance, protecting what is ours, we need to let it go and give it up, using our time and resources as if time is short and the urgency is great! The selfish way leads to inaction with lots of good excuses. The kingdom way is willing to lose and fail, so that God can win, because only by giving up our own selfish motivations can we join God’s greater plan for us and for how we will impact the world around us. When we join this plan, we will be very glad that we did! We will rejoice with the angels that we are seeing God’s hand at work in our time. Don’t we long to see the world change? Don’t we long to end hunger and poverty, to fight injustice in society, to bring water, education and medical care to every corner of the Earth, and to bring hope to the oppressed? This is what the kingdom is all about. Instead of being spectators we can join the revolution to bring good things to the world. Can we tear up our church charters and constitutions and re-write them to take on this mission? </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need to open the church. We need to open our hearts and minds to the greater truth that the kingdom way is not the easy way, not the way of self preservation and isolation. Like the widow, we must give it all. We must open the church, and let all the grain spill out. It is the way of the kingdom, and it is the only way for God to invade the world we live in. This is the way for us to answer the question posed in this chapter -- </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how can we be a community instead of a religious institution? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-- only by humbly letting go of everything that we have been holding back for ourselves, sacrificing it on the cross, and letting God bring new life into it in his own way and his own time. The religious institution is our stored up wealth. The community and kingdom of God is what waits on other side when we can give up that stored wealth and choose a path of kindness, unselfishness, action and compassion. Let’s put into practice the Kingdom Way described in the book of Luke, as a group of Jesus-followers longing to continue the work of God’s kingdom.</span></div>
GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-54423905213056831362016-05-06T07:00:00.000-04:002016-05-06T07:00:14.483-04:00Open the Church -- Part 2C<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">)open(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">the church</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Facing the questions that will shape the church in the 21st century</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>by Brad Duncan</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 26.6667px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community, Part C</span></h1>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can the church be a community instead of a religious institution?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kingdom Opposed</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The mission of Jesus in Luke 1-10 was to set the course to change the world. However, like every good story, there is a conflict. There is a villain; there is a tension that builds to a climax. Such a revolution of kingdom and community did not go unopposed. The current establishment naturally resisted the message of Jesus which brought them to an equal or lower station than the poor, oppressed common man, as we saw in Luke 6:24-26 and will see again in Luke 11. As a sign that Jesus was on the right track, and as if confirming that the religious establishment cared more about their own power than about their mission to be God’s people, the group of pious elite people set their faces to evil and became obsessed with bringing a violent end to the ministry of Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we follow this story in Luke 11-24, Jesus continues his ministry and adds more in-depth teaching. Meanwhile the sinister side of the religious establishment begins to show, leading to a final showdown in Luke 22 that Jesus seems to lose. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will cover many of the teachings of Jesus in other chapters below, but for now I will stay on a linear path to discuss how Jesus taught about kingdom and community, in opposition to the established religious practices. So checking back on the original question of this chapter, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can the church be a community instead of a religious institution?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have discussed how Jesus modeled for us a community that would grow into the peaceful and humble kingdom of God. A community that thrives and expands, sharing contagious kindness and compassion with the world. But, as the kingdom grows, we face this question yet again -- how can the kingdom thrive without becoming something else? The dark side of success is that we can become the very thing we sought to avoid. So how do we avoid falling into the pitfalls of becoming a religious institution? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we seek to understand this from the gospel of Luke, first we notice from the beginning that John the Baptist and then Jesus fought the religious status quo, in order to start something new. The revolutionary teaching of the kingdom would indeed supersede the current religious system.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, possibly more importantly, Jesus also fought the current system because he wanted to teach us how to CONTINUE fighting against this tendency, and wanted to teach us how to avoid the same pitfalls. When you consider the teachings of Jesus along with the drama unfolding, you can see the pattern jump out -- Jesus was teaching us how to become a kingdom and community INSTEAD OF becoming another religious institution. As we all search our hearts on this - which one have we become? Let’s get back to the story in Luke 11…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We start with a beautiful moment. Jesus speaks to the disciples in an intimate setting, teaching them how to talk to their Father in simplicity and sincerity:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 Jesus told them, “When you pray, say:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘Father, uphold the holiness of your name.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bring in your kingdom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 Give us the bread we need for today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 Forgive us our sins,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for we also forgive everyone who has wronged us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And don’t lead us into temptation.’” [Luke 11, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We see the key elements of the peaceful kingdom in this simple prayer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All authority and respect goes to God, the king of this kingdom</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The kingdom is here among us, the work of God on Earth</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God is our provision, our daily source of both physical well-being and spiritual renewal and protection</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that provision from our generous God, we can carry generosity to others, being generous of spirit with grace for the failings of others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or to sum up the prayer in a single sentence:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God you are God, and we are just humans who need you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus reinforces the point about God providing for his children in the illustrations of 11:5-13, including these famous verses that teach us to ask God for what we need:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9 And I tell you: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 Everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. To everyone who knocks, the door is opened. [Luke 11, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus teaches us that in order to understand generosity, we just need to look at how God treats us. This will be our model for our own transformation of heart. It will also remind us to always ask God for what we need so that he can demonstrate over and over again his love for us, and help us build his kingdom on Earth. In general, Jesus teaches that “right behavior” is “God behavior”. When we act like God we will be doing what’s right. Jesus also taught us about God’s nature of kindness and generosity towards his enemies, giving to anyone who asks, God’s hospitality to open the door to anyone who knocks. It was vital that Jesus teach us about God’s nature, since he was asking us to imitate that nature. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are to adopt the God-nature that we see Jesus teaching and demonstrating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next, in 11:14-26, Jesus faces a controversy about whether he comes from God or the devil, since he seems to talk to demons and command them what to do. In this passage I find a startlingly clear statement of how Jesus sees the kingdom of God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20 But if I throw out demons by the power of God, then God’s kingdom has already overtaken you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are secure. 22 But as soon as a stronger one attacks and overpowers him, the stronger one takes away the armor he had trusted and divides the stolen goods. [Luke 11, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you see how this is true? If Jesus came to take the world by force, setting forth a new spiritual order - the kingdom would be OPPOSITE in nature to what Jesus taught, namely peace and compassion. He couldn’t have it both ways. Even with all the authority in the universe to rule over mankind, Jesus could not teach us about love and compassion by overthrowing the power structure on Earth by force. He could only do it through a different way -- first of all a revolution of thought, taking a humble role rather than a powerful one, and eventually by offering himself sacrificially. Jesus didn’t want to be the strong man that took over the world, setting it up to defend against every other strong opposing force. He wanted to be the source of a grassroots, heart-level, change in the world that could not be squelched by ANY force of man or spirit. We can call this the Peaceable Kingdom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moving to Luke 11:27-36, the passage reiterates the teachings of the sermon on the mount, in response to what those in the crowds were saying. Jesus again challenges the crowds to actually listen and be transformed by what he is teaching. When the Old-Testament prophet Jonah went to Nineveh, even though they were evil the people listened to Jonah’s warning and turned their hearts to God. Jesus is so much greater than Jonah (and as we know, Jonah had many character flaws), but many in the crowds of Israel are not interested in turning their hearts to God! They are more interested in arguing about the devil and claiming that Jesus is one! As Jesus teaches this, the tension grows, and Jesus doesn’t do anything to avoid it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the next scene, Jesus is invited to dinner at the home of one of the religious elite. Even though it seems like a setup for Jesus to be questioned, I tend to think that it was a sincerely hospitable invitation. Some of the religious had a hunger to hear Jesus and to understand his message, but just like the parable of the seeds and soils, they had many obstacles competing with true understanding. In 11:37-39, the Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner is astonished because Jesus doesn’t follow the ritual hand purification process (by the way, this doesn’t mean that Jesus hands were dirty - the purification ritual was an additional requirement than just showing up to dinner without dirt on your hands or clothing). Jesus doesn’t need to be ritually purified. In fact, he is probably making a statement that he opposes the notion of such a ritual bringing any purification value. He responds to the Pharisee accordingly:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">39 The Lord said to him, “Now, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and platter, but your insides are stuffed with greed and wickedness.40 Foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside also make the inside? 41 Therefore, give to those in need from the core of who you are and you will be clean all over. [Luke 11, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Again, Jesus states the concept that purity is heart transformation leading to generosity; this is being like God, who is also generous. What the Pharisees were doing is wrong; they are showing off their outward purity, while protecting their lack of compassion and their evil intentions which fill their hearts. If they could let go of the need to show off their purity on the outside, then they could truly transform the wickedness in their hearts into kindness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus doesn’t stop there. Perhaps incensed by the Pharisee’s notion of purity, he lists more “woes” similar to Luke 6, and applies them directly to the Pharisees. Then the “legal experts” get offended and he lists several woes for them as well. The exchange is also reminiscent of John the Baptist’s message in Luke 3:7-9.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Jesus points out truth after truth in 11:37-53, the religious elite that were present at the dinner just became more and more inflamed, and in the end decided to plot against Jesus. Doesn’t this show even more how true Jesus’ statements were? When Jesus shined a light on their corruption, they could have, should have, responded with some level of humility, acknowledging that their hearts were not aligned with God’s. That was their opportunity to change. I believe that Jesus confronted them so directly for exactly this reason. Their last chance to change would be to hear the truth about their hearts, and respond with some willingness to correct the problem. Isn’t that how Jesus, how God’s word and the voice of the Holy Spirit work on our hearts at times? When we see the truth, do we respond with humility and willingness to change? Those of us that already recognize our spiritual poverty are more likely to submit to the truth. Those of us that have lost our humility will only become more resistant when the truth is exposed. Jesus gave these spiritual leaders every chance to change, and they chose the way of opposition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I review these truths that Jesus showed in Luke 11, what do they say about the pitfalls facing us? What are the problems with growing too religious, too organized, too institutional? Keep in mind that none of these things are wrong in themselves -- I am extremely grateful for the freedom to organize and practice religion in the United States, and I am not recommending that we abandon that freedom. But what are the pitfalls of putting power, piousness, or pride before people? Of putting the human institution before God’s will? Jesus describes them poignantly here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and garden herbs of all kinds, while neglecting justice and love for God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others [from 11:42, CEB].</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You love the most prominent seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces [from 11:43,CEB].</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You are like unmarked graves, and people walk on them without recognizing it [from 11:44, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You load people down with impossible burdens and you refuse to lift a single finger to help them [from 11:46, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You built memorials to the prophets, whom your ancestors killed [from 11:47, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">48 In this way, you testify that you approve of your ancestors’ deeds. They killed the prophets, and you build memorials!49 Therefore, God’s wisdom has said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them and they will harass and kill some of them.’ 50 As a result, this generation will be charged with the murder of all the prophets since the beginning of time. 51 This includes the murder of every prophet—from Abel to Zechariah—who was killed between the altar and the holy place. Yes, I’m telling you, this generation will be charged with it. [Luke 11, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You snatched away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter yourselves, and you stood in the way of those who were entering [from 11:52, CEB].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are all elements of corruption that were happening in the context of service to God. Jesus was incensed! When dealing with this type of sin, Jesus assertively pointed out every error they were making and brought it directly to a point of crisis. Jesus’ anger was tangible on this subject -- because it represented the corruption of the perfect law of God, which Jesus repeatedly affirmed to uphold, into a law of oppression of God’s children. To make it worse, they were carrying out this oppression in God’s name, claiming it was under the authority and grace of God that there were doing it. If someone is picking on your children, and claiming that you told them to do it, what would your reaction be? I think Jesus controlled himself quite well given the intensity of the offense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we look at these poignant truths about the errors of the Pharisees and legal experts, do we see any similarity with things we do in our own religious practices?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we take pride in our piousness, seeing ourselves as better than others or any other group? Do we excuse elitism out of pride for our way of doing things? Does our religion create a social hierarchy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we foster greed in our hearts while hypocritically speaking of love and compassion? Do we allow selfishness to corrupt our religion?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we hold on to unkind intentions toward those that could join us as brothers and sisters? Do we protect our religion by looking down on outsiders?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we show hypocrisy in how we give to God? Meticulous in how we offer our sacrifices, but grossly overlooking giving to those in need?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we love things that show off our wealth and social standing, or love to pat each other on the back and congratulate each other’s accomplishments? In this way reinforcing that the social system rewards those that show their outward righteousness, regardless of what fruit they produce?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are our contributions meaningless and worthless to the world around us, like unmarked graves that people walk on? Or do we make a contribution that outside people would admire, regardless of their beliefs?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we burden others with our own understanding of how to appear pleasing to God? Do we show off outwardly, criticizing others when they step out of line or when they make a fool of themselves? Do we make it all too easy for people to stumble socially or religiously so that others will see them and laugh at their clumsiness? How hard is it to get approval in our religion? How easy is it to say or do the wrong thing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we establish rules, laws and systems that stop people from doing things, but establish no system to help them in the situation they have found themselves in, the situation that made them need to break the rules in the first place? Like the bread thief in Les Miserables or a pregnant teenager in today’s time, do we stop at the rules? What about offering a hand to help? Does our religion promote helping or criticizing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we memorialize our crimes, honoring the atrocities of the past? Do we praise our forefathers and in a sense approve of how previous generations treated people that were different or of lower station? Do we celebrate wars of Protestant vs. Catholic, or Christian vs. Muslim? Do we honor the genocidal atrocities of colonialism with holidays and statues? Do we ignore how our forefathers claimed in the name of God that they were right to enslave others and discriminate against women and people of other ethnicities or ideologies? We need to repent of these actions; do we have too much pride in what we’ve built to openly acknowledge its many failings?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we STOP KNOWLEDGE by teaching lies and distractions, so that the truth about our own corruption remains hidden away? When it comes to our religion, it’s history, and its current policies, do we cover over the mistakes we’ve made and our continued challenges in treating people equally? Or do we face the truth with open eyes and then enable progress fixing them for the future?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">52 “How terrible for you legal experts! You snatched away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter yourselves, and you stood in the way of those who were entering.” [Luke 11, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At this point I would like to try to answer some of these questions I listed above, and I apologize at the great difficulty I will have in speaking to a general audience when each of your backgrounds will be so different. So, please regard these comments as being an evaluation of “my” church history - the broad evangelical (Protestant) Bible-based churches of the United States, and the Christian movements in our American and European history which led us to the modern-day church. This modern church is a large, multi-faceted establishment with organized hierarchical denominations as well as a large non-denominational membership of independent churches. I have been a part of the modern-day church establishment my whole life (and I’m in my 40’s). Its history is my history. Clearly, there are many types of Christians with very different histories. You can use my analysis to consider your own situation which may be quite different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Due to moving many times in my life, I’ve been a member of several evangelical denominations, as well as several non-denominational churches including new church plants and large established churches. The culture represented in today’s non-denominational evangelical churches is fairly well-defined and common around the country, with differing levels of conservatism, and mostly a disdain for fundamentalism. Christians in these churches believe in the Bible and in treating people well, and they participate in their church in order to honor God with their worship and join with others in community. So, what’s wrong with all of that? I want to say “Nothing!”, but when I evaluate the points made by Jesus above, I see that there are issues we need to address, which I will discuss in five broad categories:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protectionism [Luke 6: 24-26, 11:38-41, 11:43, 12:13-21, 11:39-41]</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Selfishness and greed takes many forms. It is human nature to want to protect ourselves, our families and our communities, but Jesus saw it necessary to critique our self-centered perspective when it comes to the kingdom of God. In Luke 6:24-26 and 11:43, Jesus warned about comfort, riches and good reputations (not in themselves being bad things) often being in opposition to the kingdom of God. They create complacency, pride in our situation and resistance to taking risks that may be crucial for kingdom progress. He warned about overly isolating and protecting ourselves, hiding our bright light, which should shine to show the world God’s grace, under a bucket where no one can see it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He recognized that our tendencies toward self-preservation would undermine everything the kingdom stood for! The kingdom is to be an outwardly expanding source of positive change in the world. A light on a hill. Any behavior which keeps that light to ourselves goes counter to the purpose of that light, which is to brighten dark places. What if Jesus had followed this tendency? What if he had stayed home and trained a few close friends? The light would have never reached to you and me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beyond this type of complacency and isolationism, Jesus fought outright greed, selfishness and corruption of the heart, as in 11:39-41. If we make decisions based on our own comfort or protection, we risk becoming greedy enough to make shady decisions that we justify based on protecting the status quo. In the name of preservation of all that is good, corruption of our soul can take place. Selfishness and greed are the human condition, but it has no place in the kingdom of God. God loves humans, humanity and even human nature -- he’s the one that created it. But for God to bring his kingdom -- the place where God reigns on Earth -- our own selfishness and greed must give way to God’s will. It’s God’s kingdom and he is the king! It’s our kingdom to belong to, but not to rule! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But interestingly, God </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">does </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">let us rule our kingdoms - if we choose not to hand over the control to him. Due to free will and God’s grace for us, he lets us establish our own kingdoms any time we want, to rule in selfishness and greed or as we see fit. How often has God acted to topple the corrupt establishment because of this? Not many times. Throughout our history, God simply lets us proceed to build our institutions and selfishly protect them. God worked through people regardless of this, through genuine kindness and selflessness in his children from every generation. But, we see in history how often these institutions mistreated people both inside and out, in the name of and in contrast to, the God they claimed to serve. God allowed it. God worked through his people, regardless of the ill intentions of some others who were busy protecting their own kingdoms. But God always has a bigger picture in mind than we can fathom. Freedom is a part of this bigger picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what symptoms of the selfish complaceny Jesus described do I see in the modern church? In today’s church I see an immobilizing isolationism. The church positions itself as a silent observer of the outside world, a spectator to what happens in our communities, our country, and the needs around the world. We partition some of our resources, and efforts, for outreach, which I discuss in the next chapter. We also generally assign some resources, such as staff members time, volunteer time and contributions to missionaries, to care for members of the church and support other projects in the community and abroad. We also at times see our expanding global mission as being to build more churches similar to ourselves, more places where the light can shine around the world; but for that to be effective we must correctly model to those new churches what they should be doing to continue the work of the kingdom of God. We don’t need to build more isolated kingdoms. That won’t change the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The problem is, sometimes we as a church do not see our role as being a light in all the dark places; instead, we tend to see our role as preservers of the light, the place where God is worshipped and where God can be found in the world. Come in our doors on a Sunday morning, and the light will be seen. We protect that role as the highest priority, and often the outward focus takes a back seat. In the notion of “tithe” which means “a tenth”, it seems the church tithes its resources to give about 10% to the community. What happens to the other 90%? It keeps the lights on. It maintains the status quo. It offers a light shining to glorify God, in a well-controlled container made of walls. Inside our walls, we can laugh or cry at the happenings outside, but we are not taught to go out and face the inequity in the world and be a loud voice. No, instead, we teach that: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the church is to be separate from the world, so as not to be corrupted by it; </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we are not of this world, instead we belong to a heavenly world; </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we should focus upward, meaning reflecting on heaven, and inward, meaning reflecting on our own spiritual station. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also teach love and are encouraged to look around us in our own church, encouraging and caring for one another, and to look for our neighbors in need -- this is on the right track but even this can lead us to remain too isolated, if our view of our “neighbors” never extends beyond those present with us in the church, in our families, or in our inner social circles. Jesus had expanding circles of influence from his closest disciples, to his larger group of disciples, to the crowds of believers, and then to the crowds of seekers that surrounded him. He also had a perspective of how to influence the entire nation of Israel and planned his ministry around the country. And though he was focused on his home country, through Israel he was also granted access to influential leaders in the Roman world. Through the seed he planted in his disciples, his message would soon reach the entire known world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unlike Jesus, our circles of influence are limited by the walls around us. I believe we are content and comfortable with these walls, to the point that we are afraid of losing them. We prefer the status quo rather than embracing change, because we like the way things are and don’t want to lose the comfort that we currently enjoy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the happy, content people that Jesus warned in Luke 6, we need to look at such comfort in the status quo as a dangerous source of temptation:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">24 But how terrible for you who are rich,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because you have already received your comfort.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">25 How terrible for you who have plenty now,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because you will be hungry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How terrible for you who laugh now,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because you will mourn and weep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">26 How terrible for you when all speak well of you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">27 “But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. [Luke 6, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please use these verses from Luke 6 as a solemn reminder that we need to pro-actively address these issues, owning up to our own comfort, and changing our posture toward other people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What should we do about these symptoms? We need to open our eyes to the world around us, open our arms to embrace others and to embrace change, and open our doors to let the light out. Our church does not need the walls we’ve built. In fact the walls do more harm than good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How could we correct this? What should we do then? Perhaps we should just </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">continue as we are</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: we might respond that the overhead of maintaining status quo, the huge 90% portion of our resources, is all worth it to keep the lights on and provide the inwardly focused support of our community through the established infrastructure. We might point to the 10% portion of outreach as being the “light” that we share outside our walls, as an effective way to sustain the influence of the church in world. We might say that overall this is a good balance, and that it has worked for generations and will continue to work for generations to come. In this sense, we argue that the end justifies the means. And that the “means”, the status quo we carry on with, is doing a lot of good, such as giving the community a comfortable place to call home, so we should not reduce the portion of effort required to maintain it. But, as Jesus pointed out many times, the kingdom of God is not to be contained. It is not designed to be gently protected under a bucket from one generation to the next. It is not just a family, protected inside it’s home. It is a force to change the world!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or we can </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">propose solutions</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. What if we inverted the portions? What if we allocated a maximum of 10% to keeping the lights on and maintaining our structure, so that our community would have a place to call home. This would leave 90% of our effort and resources allocated to activities outside of the wall. What could we do with that type of investment and that type of focus? Like Jesus’ disciples we would see the world change before our eyes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To do this, we need to be a church without walls. A church without limits. A community that grows by the actions we take together, not just by association of coming together in the same room. We need to OPEN the church. We need to open ourselves to what God wants to do in the world around us, and we need to apply our resources (time and money) in the direction of our hearts. Yes, we need a new vision and mission for the church, and I will attempt to create a practical, complete, picture of how that vision could look in this book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second category of concern for Jesus was elitism. He saw that religious infrastructure degenerated into power structure. He looked around and saw pride and oppression. The common person around him looked at Jesus with eyes hungry for acceptance, looking for rescue from a society that continually pushed him or her down. This society was the Jewish religious state, governed loosely by Rome through a network of governors who sought to maintain order and had Roman garrisons at hand. The religious elite included a class called “scribes”, because education to read and write was only available for a very few people in the wealthier classes in those days. This education was used as a form of elitism -- those that could read and write maintained themselves in situations of power over the lower classes. As Jesus clearly described: “How terrible for you legal experts too! You load people down with impossible burdens and you refuse to lift a single finger to help them” [from 11:46, CEB]. The legal experts used their power to place restrictive burdens on worshippers, barriers to being accepted by God, and oppressed them with impossible requirements, making themselves look better. When you read the narrative of Jesus reacting to the money-changers and treatment of the poor in the temple (see Matthew 21:12-17), you see that Jesus fought the unjust treatment of worshippers, who were required to exchange their money, replace their sacrifices with more unblemished ones and probably buy other supplies they needed, on the temple grounds at inflated rates. It was a scam akin to charging $6 for popcorn at the movie theater, but even worse, legally requiring people to do it in order to retain proper standing in the religious community. Jesus showed that elitism leads to oppression, and he fought that oppression, throwing the money-changers out of the temple..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elitism also leads to pride and showing off. Jesus hated pride. He saw it as a set of blinders that caused a person not to see anything but their own greatness. He told the Pharisees, “You love the most prominent seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces” [11:43, CEB]. They loved themselves, and they loved it when others admired them. In contrast, Jesus praised the humble, the child-like, the impoverished and people of low station. In their hungry eyes he could see a certain openness, an ability to see the kingdom, a humility that led to teachability. In the eyes of the commoner Jesus saw the potential for greatness, and great love. In the haughty eyes of the religious elite, Jesus simply saw blind self-promotion and love for self. This selfishness was maintained through power. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elitism is any power structure that keeps the social order by elevating certain classes and oppressing others</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Power can come in the form of real advantages like education, abilities, or money; or arbitrary social categorizations like ethnicity, gender or your family name. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elitism is a disease</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It corrupts the kingdom with ill intentions. Jesus warned it to be like bad yeast in the bread, which could corrupt the whole loaf [e.g., Luke 12:1]. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is the cure for elitism? The cure is a painful one. It requires </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">letting go </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of privilege, and elevating the commoner to equal status. We are all the same. If we can put this truth into practice, we will have to give up all the ways we hold onto our own power. If we see inequity between us and anyone else, we will see ways that the system and our social norms enable us to remain comfortable at the expense of others that do not enjoy that comfort. As difficult as it is for humans to see their own pride, humans have an even harder time seeing elitism. We believe in FAIRNESS, but we don’t see the inequity that proves that fairness has not been achieved. We (many of us in the church) are the rich, the privileged class, the highly educated. How can we understand the power that gives us over others that have less than we do? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the modern church, elitism in the kingdom is even more subtle and harder to see than in society as a whole. I am sure that when Jesus called out the elitism of the Pharisees as “yeast”, they completely scoffed at the idea, perhaps thinking of themselves as the most humble and gracious of God’s children. When we do things in the name of God, we have such trouble seeing our power over others. What does this power base look like in the church? It looks like social hierarchy, educated Bible-speak, and religious rightness. We show who’s-who in the church by honoring people that look a certain way, speak a certain way, and act religious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also honor the rich and those of high social standing, a fact that James criticized in James 2:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 My brothers and sisters, when you show favoritism you deny the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has been resurrected in glory.2 Imagine two people coming into your meeting. One has a gold ring and fine clothes, while the other is poor, dressed in filthy rags. 3 Then suppose that you were to take special notice of the one wearing fine clothes, saying, “Here’s an excellent place. Sit here.” But to the poor person you say, “Stand over there”; or, “Here, sit at my feet.” 4 Wouldn’t you have shown favoritism among yourselves and become evil-minded judges?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 My dear brothers and sisters, listen! Hasn’t God chosen those who are poor by worldly standards to be rich in terms of faith? Hasn’t God chosen the poor as heirs of the kingdom he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 You do well when you really fulfill the royal law found in scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself. 9 But when you show favoritism, you are committing a sin.... 12 In every way, then, speak and act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom. [excerpts from James 2:1-12, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We may be blind to this in our church, but look for proof that I’m wrong -- look for proof that James’s criticism is not equally valid today. What poor person or person of low social class is a prominent leader in the church? How many more men are in influential positions than women? What about other minorities -- does the church make extra effort to bring them into positions of equal or greater responsibility than the majority group? What about education -- do those at the top speak the most eloquently and with the most Bible knowledge or general educational status? Ask your church leaders to show you the church’s Equal Opportunity policy for people attending the church, and for hiring staff. Is there one? Does it proactively invite people of all types to join the church or to apply for a job there? What proof does the church offer that it invites all people equally, without discrimination?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I must admit that I am all of these things - a privileged, well-educated, white male with a long history in the church and an upper-middle station in the economic pecking order of society. I am the elite compared to many others in the city I live in (Boston, MA). But it never felt that way. I never saw it or saw myself as feeling any greater than anyone else -- but I looked down on others that didn’t look right, talk right, smell right, or have everything together… I didn’t make extra effort to walk in the shoes of the unwed mother who could barely make ends meet, much less keep her children in control. I didn’t have any respect for the outspoken man with the funny hair that just didn’t seem to fit in. I didn’t see the kingdom of God as made of these people of lower social standing. I saw the kingdom as a clean and proper place, where these other people would struggle to fit in; they would need to either assimilate or else leave out of frustration. How many nameless faces contain eyes hungry for acceptance, wishing for someone to notice them? How many of these nameless faces tried to gain acceptance in the church but found none, and didn’t stick around to face the rejection. Did we mind when they didn’t come back? How many of these people are Jesus longing to reach out to, but there is no one available to extend a hand to them? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Church people - we are blind to these masses!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We don’t know their names and we don’t see their faces. We don’t mind if they stay home. We are too focused on looking up the social ladder, seeing only those with more power and privilege than us. We compare ourselves to those we respect, and we see our own shortcomings. Jesus looked the OTHER way on the social ladder. He looked down it and found eyes of humility looking back at him. If you are looking for a revival of the church, look THE OTHER WAY. Look for the humble and I have no doubt you will find them. The price is steep. As many authors have written, it’s a slippery slope when you start accepting people the way they are. If you start doing this, your heart will never be the same, and it may never stop breaking. Can you dare to open your eyes to these people, and then open your heart to love them?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What am I recommending? A church without walls. But this time I speak of walls in our own hearts and minds that lead us to not see the world around us. We must open ourselves up, and slide down the slippery slope of accepting people of humble station. We must establish equality, and topple privilege. We must end elitism in God’s kingdom. We must let it go. We must open the church.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pride in the Past [Luke 11:47-51]</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 11:47, Jesus launches into an aside about how the religious establishment honors past prophets by building statues. I’m sure that this critique seems a bit foreign to us at first, and it may be difficult to understand how this relates to us today. But step back and look again at what Jesus is saying we should do with respect to our past, to the history that brought us here. As I mentioned above, many atrocities were committed through the years, in the name of God and Christ, meaning, by Christians and the Christian establishment. At the time, this behavior may have been considered normal or acceptable. But in time we as a society have learned that behavior which oppresses people that are different than us is wrong and should be outlawed; behaviors like genocide, religious persecution, slavery, oppression and repression of women, and ethnic discrimination, all of which the church openly condoned or actively participated in through the various events in our history; we now fully realize that these behaviors were wrong and they are even illegal in the United States, with peoples’ rights protected by our laws and constitution. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is our attitude toward those atrocities? We know from history that the Jewish people had similar atrocities in their past. I think the simple question Jesus raises is this: do we repent? Do we acknowledge that mistakes made in the past were wrong, even egregious? Do we admit that this behavior, carried out in the name of God, was entirely mistaken and we would now behave oppositely? Repentance doesn’t mean to live in a state of regret about the past, or in fear of reprisal; repentance simply means to turn the right way, admit that we were wrong, and make a commitment to positive change. When Jesus saw the way that the religious institution memorialized the past, he was mortified, and saw fit to set them straight in his list of “woes”. Jesus is saying - you do not repent of these wrong-doings! You are proud of them! Woe to you, who honor your history to the point of being blind to your past mistakes. Instead, repent of them and lead the way toward a better future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am calling for the church to admit all the things that we have done wrong and take a posture of humility and repentance. It’s the right thing to do. We can be extremely grateful for our heritage, the church that brought the knowledge of Christ to the current generation, and yet still be humble about our past failures and repent of them. We should commit to proper treatment of all people, regardless of their background and regardless of any categorization you can think of. We should promote equality and justice inside the church, and then fight inequity and injustice in the world around us. Sins I listed above -- genocide, religious persecution, slavery, oppression and repression of women, and ethnic discrimination -- are still happening today in the world in staggering numbers. In a growing global population of more than 7 billion people, there is more than enough opportunity for oppression by those that commit evil acts, and there are more slaves today in the world than at any time in human history. Does the church acknowledge this? Does the church take a stand? In order to do so, we need to acknowledge and repent of our past mistakes, when we endorsed slavery and discrimination in the name of God (in America not that long ago). We need to make clear statements that the church does NOT support this type of behavior in any form. Think of the Fair Trade movement, in which companies are able to certify that their products are made ethically across the entire supply chain, meaning that no slaves or unethical business practices are allowed. The dictionary defines fair trade as:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a movement whose goal is to help producers in developing countries to get a fair price for their products so as to reduce poverty, provide for the ethical treatment of workers and farmers, and promote environmentally sustainable practices [Merriam Webster]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The church should be fully behind this movement, as an example and statement that the church stands behind fair treatment of people around the world and is actively working to make a positive difference. We should be willing to pay more for products that adhere to this. What is stopping our churches from taking this kind of simple action? I hope the answer is “nothing”, or could be in the future. The mission of the open church expands to the oppressed children in third world countries who farm cocoa beans, sugar cane or coffee, or who work in sweatshops to manufacture clothing, or who are trafficked to our own country and forced to work in the sex trade, or work without proper wages in the corner shop right under our noses. We are the church! We stand for something. We stand for God’s view of humanity. We do not stand for injustice. What will we do? Can we open the church to face our past with repentance and our future with determination?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not Enough Focus on Community, Generosity, Justice and Love [Luke 11:41,42, 44, 12:1-3]</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus contrasts the selfishness and pride I discussed above with generosity, justice and love. See such passages as Luke 6:9, 6:27-38 and 10:25-37. In Luke 11:41-42 talks about neglecting both justice and love for God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">41 Therefore, give to those in need from the core of who you are and you will be clean all over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">42 “How terrible for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and garden herbs of all kinds, while neglecting justice and love for God. … [from Luke 11, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus connects in many instances our love for God to our love for others. Jesus sees it as a clear consequence -- if you love God, you will show justice and have compassion. If you neglect justice, you also neglect your love for God. Even if you do every last bit of some commandments, in the name of pleasing God, if you neglect people you are not loving God but neglecting him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also have this commandment. We should love God by showing justice and compassion. Sometimes we get our priorities backwards. We think we should love God, first, by doing every last bit of some commandments (which I won’t list right now). Then, we should love others. We may honestly think that by focusing mainly inward on our spiritual connection to God that we will then be empowered in the future to love others all the better. While this is certainly true that our relationship with God will enable love for others, why do we use our time together in community largely for inner reflection? I see most of our traditional activities in the church as isolating. We are encouraged to close our eyes in prayer, search our hearts introspectively, sing a song upward to God, focus on God and be mindful of his presence. I fully endorse individual spirituality, but I am wondering why we utilize our time together almost solely for these individual practices? In the teaching and Bible-reading portions of a church service, we are also pointed inward -- learning, thinking, reminding ourselves of God’s word. Even though we are doing it together with other believers, the actions we take could also be done in front of a television or in a concert hall. They don’t really require the presence of other people, except for the encouragement that may be had by hearing other voices nearby as people pray or sing. Some portion of our time in community (maybe 10%) is spent on social connections such as shaking hands, chatting and catching up, or enjoying a coffee or meal together. In terms of priorities, we place God first, at 90% allocation of all time and effort, and we place other people second, at 10% allocation. What if we reversed this? What if we changed our priorities, due to a better understanding of what Jesus taught? What if we understood that we love God BY loving other people? Would we set aside just 10% of our time and effort during our community gatherings, to make sure our hearts are in the right place, and then spend the other 90% of the time loving each other, or taking constructive action together? In the process of teaching and learning, could we spend this time more interactively? Wrestling with a Bible passage or new concept through more discussion and sharing? How can we undo the organizational limitations we have placed ourselves in, which isolate us as individuals and limit our community interactions? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need to lower the priority on loving God through individual action, and increase the priority on loving God through interaction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is one of the key ideas of community. In our modern structure, we have defined community as a gathering together for a common purpose, but that common purpose is very introspective. I challenge us to open our eyes and look around us. Do you see that the same bright light of Christ that shines in you, also shines in all of the many people around you, singing to God together? Like many small candle flames in an otherwise unlit room, the expanse of the room is filled with bright dancing light due to the many individual lights. We can appreciate what God is doing in each person, and truly come together, as a much brighter light when we combine our strength. I realize that this is a similar view to how other people think about the body of Christ, but I am suggesting that much more </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sharing </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">caring </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are more needed, in order to capture the potential strength of coming together and joining our spirits with one another. If we let go of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">structure </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of church - we will be left with </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">one another</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and then we can turn our eyes outward from our own spirits to look around at those around us. We can ask what we are ready and equipped to do to love our neighbors, and then get to the beneficial work of doing that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will follow this theme in other chapters as I talk about the potential of what we can do together to make a difference in our community in the areas of compassion and justice -- through outreach and a positive message to share with the world outside of our community. But change starts within. As we strengthen each other and engage in true community, we help and encourage one another through sharing our common experiences and love for God. Through cooperative action, such as performing acts of services in the community, we grow even closer as a team, as a community, through the partnership of working together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We do a better job of teaching our children to be compassionate, when we work as a group to show compassion. We do a better job of putting into quick practice, what we learned in our Bible study. We bring Bible concepts to life through action. What I am suggesting looks like a thriving growing community. By focusing more on people than we do currently, we can fulfil our calling to be the community and kingdom of God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lack of Exploration of Knowledge [Luke 11:52, 11:14-20, 27-36]</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is Jesus referring to when he says the legal experts are stealing knowledge, in 11:52?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">52 “How terrible for you legal experts! You snatched away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter yourselves, and you stood in the way of those who were entering.” [Luke 11, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus also follows a similar theme in 11:14-20 and 27-36, claiming that the religious elite are making false arguments, or deliberately ignoring truth when presented to them, also ways they are stealing knowledge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus is saying that the system of religious power and oppression does not allow people to learn the right concepts about God. For instance, by oppressing people in the name of God, the religious leaders teach believers that God is oppressive. The number one way that we hide knowledge of the truth about God, is by acting in a way that is counter to God’s nature, and then claiming we are doing it out of obedience to God. In this way, the misinformation propagates from those of high power to those of low standing, and from generation to generation, maintaining the power structure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we look at the core question of this chapter -- </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how do we be a community instead of a religious institution </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-- it helps to ask </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">why </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we have this tendency to develop into a religious institution and miss out on community. Here I will follow the question of “why” through several stages:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have a tendency to miss out on community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because we want to use our time and effort on something else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are doing it out of obedience to God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because we think God wants us to do this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because that is how we understand God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because that is what we were taught.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because that is how we teach others (and our own children) to understand God, so naturally we were taught that ourselves when we were young or new in the church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because we think it’s right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because we think Jesus taught that or the Bible says it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end, our structure, our decisions and our way of thinking are determined by knowledge -- our understanding of the truth. If we think it’s the right thing to do to neglect community, we will continue to do so and teach others to do the same. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But what if we look at Jesus’ words and we start to understand that truth is not what we thought it was? What if we look again, and we see the commandment to “Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself” in a more active sense, where we must engage in loving our neighbor in order to love God better. What if we start to understand that God wants that interaction, as a result of personal growth. What if we understand that God wants worship and discipleship to expand beyond personal spirituality into shared spirituality with our community. What if we describe obedience as being an active participant instead of a spectator? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we can better understand God, what God is asking, and what Jesus taught, we can change the way we think and therefore change the way we act.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isn’t this called repentance? Changing the way we think and act? If we find ourselves building a religious institution instead of the community and kingdom of God, we need to repent. We need to change it, starting with how we think, and leading to a major change in how we act. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What will happen if we do this? If you follow the “why” questions above, you see that if we change our fundamental understanding of what Jesus and the Bible teach, it will feed upward through each question, and change the outcome. We will act as a community because we believe that’s what God is calling us to do, and we will teach this understanding of God and God’s will to those around us and to our children. If we change what we think, the rest of the structure will also change, because we will want it to! You might think that the church is too large, too monolithic, too established, to be changed by simple ideas. But the church is in effect a democracy! Just follow the money trail. It is structured the way we want it to be, the way we believe it should be. We organize ourselves, write our founding documents, appoint leaders and hire staff members in order to achieve what we believe the church should be. We build it like we see it. We are what we think. We invest our money in what we like. Fundamentally, if we change what we think, we will change what we are, and put our money where it matters. Repentance leads to transformation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need to open the church. We need to change the way we think about our calling from God, by opening our minds and hearts to what Jesus taught about our true purpose and mission as the community and kingdom of God. In this new understanding, if we can change our own hearts and minds, we can change the church, and change the world!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the other hand, if we in the name of God, structure our religion so that knowledge is not explored in our community, deeper truths are not sought, and understanding of God’s word does not grow, then we, like the Pharisees, are snatching away the keys to learning, keeping it all for ourselves. We need to take a more humble position -- a position that says God will reveal truth to people, irrespective of how great or simple that person is. God is active and dynamic, and can still do new things even 2000 years after the Bible was written. Lest we forget, Jesus </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is still alive </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">today! When we read the Gospels, doesn’t it feel like Jesus is talking to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">us</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? What is he saying? Is he saying “good work, just carry on?” Or does some of his teaching wake up something new in our spirits, making us rethink our inner motivations, our inner purpose, and challenging our actions? If Jesus’ words are saying something new to you, they can lead to a new understanding, which can lead to transformation of everything else. We should all seek knowledge. We should also listen to knowledge, wherever, and from whomever it may come. We should encourage and facilitate the exploration of knowledge, by taking a position of humility in our own hearts that will allow us to hear the truth from others. Sharing and discussing truth is one way for us to dig deeper into what God is saying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The church should open it’s door to knowledge. We should explore what it means to be God’s kingdom in the 21st century. As the world changes, and our understanding grows, maybe God will want to do something new and amazing, instead of protecting the status quo in the kingdom. If we open our eyes, what will God show us?</span></div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-51213870302980527532016-05-05T20:33:00.000-04:002016-05-05T20:47:03.475-04:00Sound of Silence - Speak Up! Speak Out!<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIiBnxvHrxB-Y3hWLqE6_gsZqY3bT5NLtNrKCeaTitJudmD9LA_G75noz3fCY_GYSSQPXNLSvT4uDgUhOoYT5VKbT82YyoScxXm0zXYc5whedyYPLKeglzku0hV13OVTQgBF9UaJc46-q/s1600/012-USA-New-York-Subway-Graffiti-Elderly-Woman-Homeless-Poverty-1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMN5908223RW22HR753uJLF8albcqeo82MWqef3udAqGQ9z8_D4rkI_h6jJ9l1FXrJm_qxfEnFqgTaD8e9hX8EFKBuGNZg68OxElLvizotHXDh2QsESDea7GbnEIrK4H7MXL-zZqW8nHI/s1600/012-USA-New-York-Subway-Graffiti-Elderly-Woman-Homeless-Poverty-1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMN5908223RW22HR753uJLF8albcqeo82MWqef3udAqGQ9z8_D4rkI_h6jJ9l1FXrJm_qxfEnFqgTaD8e9hX8EFKBuGNZg68OxElLvizotHXDh2QsESDea7GbnEIrK4H7MXL-zZqW8nHI/s400/012-USA-New-York-Subway-Graffiti-Elderly-Woman-Homeless-Poverty-1986.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<blockquote>
Hello darkness, my old friend<br />
I've come to talk with you again<br />
Because a vision softly creeping<br />
Left its seeds while I was sleeping<br />
And the vision that was planted in my brain<br />
Still remains within the sound of silence<br />
<br />
In restless dreams I walked alone<br />
Narrow streets of cobblestone<br />
'Neath the halo of a street lamp<br />
I turned my collar to the cold and damp<br />
<br />
When my eyes were stabbed<br />
By the flash of a neon light<br />
That split the night<br />
And touched the sound of silence<br />
<br />
And in the naked light I saw<br />
Ten thousand people, maybe more<br />
People talking without speaking<br />
People hearing without listening<br />
<br />
People writing songs<br />
That voices never share<br />
And no one dare<br />
Disturb the sound of silence<br />
<br />
"Fools, " said I, "you do not know<br />
Silence like a cancer grows<br />
Hear my words that I might teach you<br />
Take my arms that I might reach you."<br />
But my words like silent raindrops fell<br />
And echoed in the wells of silence<br />
<br />
And the people bowed and prayed<br />
To the neon God they made<br />
And the sign flashed out its warning<br />
And the words that it was forming<br />
<br />
And the sign said,<br />
"The words of the prophets<br />
Are written on the subway walls<br />
And tenement halls."<br />
And whispered in the sound of silence</blockquote>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023319744527233421.post-74443407194884098692016-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:002016-04-29T07:00:16.807-04:00Open the Church -- Part 2B<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">)open(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">the church</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Facing the questions that will shape the church in the 21st century</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>by Brad Duncan</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vHpuqdtnSGJPvU2SzPwsAxXgl1DoiTr_Kkl6aXUfq6mvpphPYTNr1wXo3W07hPJIVgspMCIkhSGUAZrd2U_3_WiAtj5H2OHMIDorLK0xgtVpRulgkDpKBiXdTyqhD8wZQNewBu4fakTP/s1600/197736_142568869158742_142554612493501_278429_3982054_n.jpg" /></a></div>
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<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 26.6667px; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community, Part B</span></h1>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c8c883b2-38aa-3910-07bf-c5682ebb9f79" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can the church be a community instead of a religious institution?</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 21.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Walk with Jesus</span></h2>
<h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kingdom Begins</span></h3>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next, I would like to dig deeper into what Jesus taught us about community and the kingdom, by taking a tour through the gospel of Luke.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-6d4b7f25-4597-5e1b-258b-420911a292d2" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve often looked at the modern church and the Bible and wondered why Jesus didn’t make a more clear blueprint for how the church should be shaped. Why didn’t he start his ministry with saying, “look, this is the reason why I am here. I have come to change things around here, and here’s what it’s going to look like. First, some of the old stuff has to go. Secondly, I will teach you a new way, and here it is…” Then, he would lay out the structure of the church, how we should worship, what we should believe, HOW we should grow in maturity, numerical size, geographical spread, and time-tested endurance to keep growing for all time. When I looked at the church around me, I saw something that was vaguely similar to what Jesus was talking about, but also remarkably similar to what Jesus came to change, namely a religious institution. Then when I looked back and learned a bit more about the church history, I realized that the church had changed and morphed from age to age through all different shapes, priorities, obvious flaws and mistakes, to eventually bring the gospel and the Christian tradition to my doorstep. In awe, I once again wondered, what did Jesus really intend? Wouldn’t it be nice if he just set it all straight from the beginning? </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, what if Jesus DID do that? Let’s take a look. Focusing on passages that discuss the kingdom of God and how we should treat each other in community, I found some significant clues...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first clue about the kingdom that would come from the birth of Jesus, was in the message of the angel to Mary about her coming child:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">32 He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. 33 He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom. [Luke 1, CEB]</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Mary’s song, she is in awe that God is bestowing such great honor on one so lowly in the eyes of society. She sees this as a pattern of how God, and her coming child, will invert the order of society</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">51 He has shown strength with his arm.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">52 He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and lifted up the lowly.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">53 He has filled the hungry with good things</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and sent the rich away empty-handed. [Luke 1, CEB]</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus is Emanuel, God with us, the incarnation, God as a man. This will reveal God in new ways and change mankind forever.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 3:3-14, John prepares the way for Jesus. He says that God will set things right, and straighten things out, and all humanity will see God’s salvation. Then he tells the pious religious folks that they are on the wrong track, because they don’t actually do anything good -- their hearts are in the wrong place, as revealed by their actions (as a tree, they produce no fruit). What was John’s solution to this? He said to share with one another and treat one another justly, and that by turning around their own hearts and actions (repentance), they would be prepared for God’s kingdom.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 3:15-18, John describes what he foresees that Jesus will do, using the imagery of separating wheat and chaff -- knowing people’s hearts, Jesus will find the truth about people, and set things right. He will build a kingdom based on true believers whose actions match their words.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John gave these messages while baptizing people, which was a visible, outward sign of earnest repentance of the heart, people turning away from selfishness and pious religiosity, and authentically turning to God, with their actions of love for others showing their love for God. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11 He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.” [Luke 3, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, prior to the launch of his public ministry, Jesus shows what kind of king he will be. </span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first temptation is to be a king of material things, creating bread with his power. A significant temptation after fasting for 40 days. His response is that he is a king with higher priorities than his own physical well-being -- implying the higher priority of both spiritual things and of unselfish actions.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second temptation is to be a dominant spiritual king. As if countering Jesus’ call to higher priorities, the devil says he should use his spiritual power to reign over all. Jesus rejects this kind of power, and says that God is already in heaven ruling, being worshipped and served - humanity doesn’t need to be ruled by Jesus to any greater extent. Jesus indicates that even though he is there to start a new kingdom, it is of a different nature than that -- he will not exert his rule over humans, but instead will point them to God and create a different type of kingdom on Earth.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The third temptation is to then depend on God and angelic powers to elevate Jesus while on Earth. Above human limitations and pains, he could be the most powerful human alive! Jesus says he’s simply not interested in that - it’s a vain attempt to test God - here he is fully admitting who is he, by the way (God) - and that God is not interested in dominating man in any way! </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The devil follows a pretty clear thought progression that he thinks Jesus is there to reign and rule - and Jesus says, it’s true I am God but I’m not here for that. My kingdom will be of a different nature, and will point people to God rather than force God on them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 4:18-21, Jesus first recorded words in his ministry are the reading of this passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 and 58:6. Jesus announces the nature of his plans and of the kingdom he will build. People are extremely shocked and angry, because these claims also announce the deity of Christ and his authority to do these things. For us, it is a clear statement of Jesus’ mission on Earth:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because the Lord has anointed me.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to proclaim release to the prisoners </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and recovery of sight to the blind, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to liberate the oppressed, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20 He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. 21 He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.” [Luke 4, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As declared consistently so far in the gospel of Luke, Jesus will turn things around and set them straight, not through domination, but through delivering God’s kindness to those that need it most! God has arrived!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When those that hear him react angrily and violently, Jesus retorts in Luke 4:23-27, explaining that even when God shows up delivering kindness, his own people will reject him, while lowly outsiders will be more likely to accept him. In this way, God’s kindness will turn the world upside down, because of people’s arrogance and refusal to accept God, not due to a lack of trying by God to reach out to his own people. Actually, Jesus gave the message first to his closest group - those in his own home town. Imagine his pain when they reject him offhand, because they know him as Joseph’s son. Ironically, those that are farthest away will be the ones that will most easily accept what God has to offer. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus showed this to be true in the next town he visited, Capernaum. Jesus was accepted there and started doing amazing things, showing his God-nature by healing and casting out demons, and teaching people about God. They wanted him to stay and keep doing those things, but Jesus said he had to move on -- and he stated very clearly what he was doing and planning to do, similar to the quotation from Isaiah above:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">43 But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s kingdom in other cities too, for this is why I was sent.” [Luke 4, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The kingdom! Jesus wasn’t just teaching about something intangible, about God in heaven and angels and how people should worship, but rather he was delivering good news, something was happening. A new kingdom is being established that changes the previous order. It is a kingdom where God’s kindness is spread onto mankind, and where God’s kindness calls people to repent and show that same kindness to others. This is the reason Jesus was sent.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On a side note, why did Jesus shush the demons when he cast them out in Capernaum and elsewhere? The more obvious reasons are that he wasn’t ready for everyone to clearly know who he was, or that it is bad marketing to be praised by demons, but the less obvious reason goes back to the temptation in the wilderness: the devil and demons had the wrong understanding of the mission of Jesus. They saw him as a dominating, threatening power. This was not the message Jesus wanted people to hear, and it was the furthest thing from the truth. When they started to exclaim their fear of his power, Jesus simply silenced them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus did not continue operating his ministry as a solo teacher and healer. As recorded starting in Luke 5, very early on Jesus started to establish his ministry as a community of disciples that he could invest in, teaching them both the concepts and practices that would drive the kingdom forward in generations to come. When he met Peter out on a lake in a boat, in Luke 5:1-11, first he caused Peter to catch a miraculous catch of fish. Then he called him to follow him, saying “Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be fishing for people.” [from Luke 5:10, CEB]. Clearly Jesus’ focus in calling Peter was about building a community - gathering people together in large numbers for some greater purpose. He would need help to do that. Jesus didn’t say, “you will watch while I gather a large number of people around me”. Instead he indicated that Peter, and others like him that followed Jesus, would be gathering people in great numbers into the kingdom some day. Sooner rather than later, in fact. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 5:27-32, Jesus calls Levi to follow him as well. In the events that follow, Levi left his old life and immediately started following Jesus. He first invited Jesus to dinner in his home (actually, a “great banquet”) and invited all of his friends. Apparently the pious religious folks did not approve of the guest list, and grumbled that Jesus was eating with the wrong crowd, those commonly viewed as sinners and cheaters in Jewish society. Jesus heard this grumbling and in his response, he gives us a glimpse into the purpose of his ministry while answering them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">31 Jesus answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 32 I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.” [Luke 5, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did Jesus come to bring the kingdom of God in a forceful way, or using a show of power to bring all people to accept God and serve him? No. Instead, Jesus indicates that he came to call ordinary people that need God (metaphor of sick people that need a doctor) to turn their lives around and start walking in alignment with God’s way of doing things. As we will learn in the teachings and parables later in Luke - this way of doing things was to be a revolution in society, an upheaval where kindness and peace would replace selfishness and power.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus indicated this upheaval, this bringing of something new, in his cryptic parable about the wineskins:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">36 Then he told them a parable. “No one tears a patch from a new garment to patch an old garment. Otherwise, the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t match the old garment. 37 Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins. If they did, the new wine would burst the wineskins, the wine would spill, and the wineskins would be ruined.38 Instead, new wine must be put into new wineskins. 39 No one who drinks a well-aged wine wants new wine, but says, ‘The well-aged wine is better.’” [Luke 5, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus would bring something new, but it’s true that people may not want it at first. But it will only get better with age, and in time it will replace the old system with a new one. Jesus points out a valuable truth here: it is not possible to just bring change to an old system that will not support it. Sometimes, you have to pour your energy into creating something new, because trying to pour that same energy into transforming something old will just cause it to break down. This is why Jesus invested his energy not in the current “righteous” establishment, but in the lower class common man, the socially less influential and less appealing. The religious establishment would not be able to accept Jesus’ new way of doing things - it would have destroyed it. Rather than wreck everything, Jesus would rather build something new, and let time take its course.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 6:6-11, an example of this is described. Jesus is eager to show compassion and heal a man (with the withered hand) on the Sabbath, but the religious establishment is furious when Jesus does it, claiming that it is not legal. Clearly Jesus way of doing things would break a few wineskins!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the end of Luke 6:16, Jesus has gathered all 12 disciples into his inner circle. He also has gathered a larger crowd of people outside of this inner circle, that are also following him, perhaps sporadically, and helping to spread his popularity around the region. To his disciples and to this larger group, Jesus starts teaching about his new way, in what is the greatest sermon ever recorded: the sermon on the mount. It will be hard to do it justice in the short space of this chapter, so I encourage you to study it in more depth on your own. Also, read Matthew’s recording of the sermon starting in Matthew 5, which is much longer. Here is a brief walk through this sermon as recorded in Luke, and what it means for the community and kingdom of God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke’s version of the “Beatitudes” in 6:20-26 is the only version that lists both blessings and woes (Matthew has more blessings in Matthew 5:3-11, suggesting that Jesus used this teaching illustration perhaps many times, sometimes with a more expanded list). </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">20 Jesus raised his eyes to his disciples and said:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Happy are you who are poor,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because God’s kingdom is yours.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">21 Happy are you who hunger now,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because you will be satisfied.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy are you who weep now,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because you will laugh.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">22 Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and condemn your name as evil because of the Human One. 23 Rejoice when that happens! Leap for joy because you have a great reward in heaven. Their ancestors did the same things to the prophets. [Luke 6, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus opens his sermon with the kingdom. The kingdom is not about God reigning down on humanity in his sovereignty. It’s not about gathering the strong into an overwhelming force. It’s not about winning, or conquering, or showcasing anyone’s power. It’s about providing something TO people to meet their every need. The kingdom is not just made up of people, it is FOR the people. It will bring them together. It will feed and nourish them. It will replace their utter poverty with wealth beyond words. Their relief will be so pre-eminent that they will truly be satisfied, they will even be laughing! What word did Jesus use to describe those that will belong to the kingdom? “Happy!”. Other translations use the word “Blessed” - which means being made happy by abundance, in this case abundance of God’s gifts lavished on us. Such is the extent of the blessing, that even if we have to lose it all -- when people hate and reject us, even are about to kill us -- we will STILL be happy we have this abundant blessing and we will rejoice that we have lived in the kingdom even at the cost of our lives. How could Jesus make it any more clear? The kingdom is the best thing that will EVER happen to humanity. Those that can embrace it will find new joy and meaning in their lives.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As if in answer to my question about how Jesus could make it even more clear, he puts this happiness into direct contrast with the misery that will be felt by some. Unfortunately, this happiness will not be received by all people. For instance:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">26 How terrible for you when all speak well of you.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets. [Luke 6, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those that are happy by other means, by their own wealth, comfort, joys of life, and good reputations, will most likely miss out on the kingdom. It will be terrible for them. Other translations use the phrase “Woe to you…” or “There’s trouble ahead…”. Just as Mary’s song described, and as John the Baptist indicated, Jesus will bring terrible upheaval that many will not be able to accept. If they seek happiness in their own comfort, and oppose this kingdom that will transform the world, they will receive nothing of the happiness Jesus is talking about. As Jesus expounds in his sermon, selfishness leads to corruption and misery, whereas kindness leads to peace and joy. With this illustration of poverty vs. wealth, of happiness vs. misery, Jesus sets the stage to describe the contrast between God’s way and man’s way. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke then records the primary teaching which explains how God’s way is different than man’s way:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">27 “But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus explains this teaching more fully in Luke 6:29-36. Man’s way is to hate enemies. Defeat them, or at a minimum disregard them. Quite the opposite, God’s way is to love enemies. I call this the Revolution of Kindness. It sums up the revolutionary nature of Jesus’ message and how he is changing people’s understanding of God. Just as God loves people that are opposed to him, who may even hate him, we should love those people. We should try to reach them with love and kindness, recognizing their true value as humans and value to God. As God’s children, humanity is God’s passion, from the greatest, best regarded person to the “other”, to the least person, to the most hated. Since society is structured in an opposite way -- structured to honor the greatest while rejecting others -- God’s way will be in full opposition to man’s way of dealing with things. Thus the teaching to “love enemies”. It’s a paradox, isn’t it? For once an enemy is loved, they are no longer our enemy by our definition. Perhaps by their own definition they remain an enemy, but in our eyes, and in God’s eyes, they are a brother or sister. This is why we should never hate them or mistreat them. If our Father can be compassionate to all, so should we. In this context, Jesus provides the so-called golden rule: “31 Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.” [Luke 6, CEB].</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus continues to create a strong parallel between how God treats people, and how people should treat one another. In doing so, Jesus banishes an age-old religious practice: acting in judgment:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">37 “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wow! Not only are we to treat enemies with kindness, we are to abolish the righteous, judgmental attitudes that create division between us and those that are different than us. The notion of “enemies” is just one such categorization, but we use many other categorizations in society as well. When we judge people, it means that we determine that God doesn’t approve of them. But Jesus says, in contrast, that God doesn’t approve of judgment. It’s not okay as humans to decide which other humans are good enough for God’s company or good enough for ours. If we want God to accept us the way we are, it is hypocritical to require that other people meet our criteria for acceptance. This doesn’t mean that people are not flawed and don’t make mistakes that need to be corrected. When people make mistakes we should forgive them, as God does. If we give this acceptance to others, we will receive acceptance back in ample portion, from God and from others. Jesus speaks broadly, across all categories of people, and all categories of generosity. We should be generous to all in our love, our acceptance, our forgiveness, our gifts and our compassion. The revolution begins with us - as we open our hearts to generosity for all. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also want to provide this passage in The Message translation, which beautifully conveys what Jesus was trying to say:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">35-36 “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">37-38 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” [Luke 6, MSG]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Enemies may oppose the kingdom of God. The posture of humility lets the enemy remain opposed, and perhaps even win because of our lack of opposition. But when we let our enemies win, somehow the kingdom wins in the end. It wins because we let go of control of the fight, and God is able to do something amazing to bring about positive transformation, winning in the end. “Love your enemies” is the story of the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is also a view of our selfish nature being transformed into love, then being opposed by enemies who may appear to win over us, and God winning in the end through a greater plan unfolding.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The illustrations Jesus uses in 6:39-42 further explain why it doesn’t make sense for humans to judge each other. They are simply not in a proper position to judge one another, so it should not be our job. The Message translates these illustrations into contemporary examples:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">39-40 He quoted a proverb: “‘Can a blind man guide a blind man?’ Wouldn’t they both end up in the ditch? An apprentice doesn’t lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">41-42 “It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. [Luke 6, MSG]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We cannot base community on correction. One of the main problematic tendencies we face in Christianity is that we feel the need to define our group identity by correctness, and to enforce that group identity through correction. There are good ways to teach and encourage each other, to help everyone grow in their faith, but we have to avoid the arrogance that leads us to judge others. As Jesus points out, if we forget our own spiritual blindness, and only see blindness in everyone else, we are only fooling ourselves. We must humble ourselves in order to teach or lead. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do we do about this? We return to the teachings of Jesus in a more radical, revolutionary way -- we abolish judgement and make kindness the new standard. As we teach others to follow Jesus, embracing compassion, selflessness, peace, grace, acceptance and joy, we must in humility also extend acceptance of others to the maximum limits, allowing God to be the only one qualified to judge. If we are going to teach what Jesus taught, can’t we teach “Judge Not!” as one of our most fundamental principles?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next, in 6:43-45, Jesus continues his method of speaking using contrasts. Like John the Baptist in Luke 3:8, Jesus uses the image of a plant producing fruit. What kind of fruit will we produce? Surely the best indicator of what is in our heart will be the good or bad things that we do? The actions we do matter - they affect the world to produce either good or negative consequences. Which way will it go with us? If we are judgmental in our hearts, our actions will show it. Pride will show. So will selfishness. The way we treat others will suffer as a direct consequence of our lack of love for others. No amount of “correctness” in being pious, religious folks that are trying to please God can make up for treating others without love and compassion. Isn’t this the key point of the sermon on the mount?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus adds emphasis to his teaching at the end of the sermon, in Luke 6:46-49, using an illustration of what will happen if people pay attention to his words, or if they don’t. It’s a good reminder for us as well. Why do we follow Jesus? Why do we care about his words? Is this just a smart way to live? In these verses, Jesus says we really need to live like this - we need to build our lives around this teaching of kindness. If we don’t, everything we build will wash away, useless to resist the inevitable storms. But his revolutionary teachings will lead to lasting effects, a kingdom that will never fall! If Jesus is truly king of this kingdom, we must follow him and listen to his decrees to love enemies, abolish judging, and produce good fruits that come from love and compassion.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do what I say? 47 I’ll show what it’s like when someone comes to me, hears my words, and puts them into practice. 48 It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built. 49 But those who don’t put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed.” [Luke 6, CEB]</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you study Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount, you can expand this teaching into more topics and aspects of life. I encourage you to challenge yourself to embrace what Jesus taught in these passages - they will revolutionize your life!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Continuing in Luke 7, Jesus’ ministry continues as what appears to be an equal mix of teaching and doing. He illustrates compassion and demonstrates his God-nature by healing people. In the examples of the Centurion’s dying servant and the widow’s dead son, he not only shows compassion, but he teaches that God’s heart extends to all facets of society, even the Roman outsider and the lowliest widow. He commends the Centurion’s faith - the faith of a gentile (non-Jewish person), as being stronger than any faith he has seen from his Jewish followers! For the widow, the loss of her son was most likely going to be the loss of everything and every hope she had. Jesus amazes everyone by going beyond healing, raising the dead man during the funeral procession! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">16 Awestruck, everyone praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region. [Luke 7, CEB]</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A similar passage with two more miracles is recorded in 8:40-56, and these miracles are just examples of numerous healings. The miracles Jesus performed served to dramatically reinforce his teachings, giving him both credibility in speaking for his Father, and serving as examples of the very compassion he was teaching. In 7:18-23, Jesus confirms this by informing John the Baptist’s disciples that Jesus’ actions prove who he is and reinforce his message; he is the redeemer foretold by John. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then in 7:24-30, he teaches the crowds around him that John the Baptist was a great prophet and that his message was true. Indeed, God was bringing salvation, and it is time to set things right, starting with our own hearts and actions. Those in the crowd that were baptized by John were encouraged by this, while those that rejected John were also rejecting Jesus. Jesus makes an interesting statement about the kingdom in this context - he says:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 28 I tell you that no greater human being has ever been born than John. Yet whoever is least in God’s kingdom is greater than he. [Luke 7, CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The great thing that God is doing…, establishing the kingdom, is still to come! Nothing prior to it can compare, but the story of the relationship between God and man, the story of Israel and the prophets, was leading up to something greater, God’s new kingdom.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then, seeming to address his words to those that rejected John and himself, in 7:31-35, Jesus describes the hypocrisy of these critics - nothing can make them happy. Whatever Jesus, or John, says they will criticize and say that they do not speak the truth. But, Jesus says that truth will be revealed as such in the end. Truth is self-proving.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus continues his ministry, “proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom” [from Luke 8:1, CEB], and uses more parables for teaching. In the parable of the soils, 8:4-16, Jesus uses a metaphor of seeds and soil to illustrate four different dispositions of those that hear God. In all situations of life, God is calling. God is the one that is active and communicating. In Jesus ministry, God is sending his good news, the long awaited salvation of humanity, the establishment of God’s kingdom on Earth. No matter your disposition toward hearing this news, God’s message is the same. However, only one of the four dispositions actually allows the good news to to produce the fruit of life change. The choice and response is the responsibility of the listener, the receiver of good news. In this illustration, Jesus promises both that those that listen will be transformed by the positive power of God’s good news, AND that those that reject this good news would have the full power and freedom to do so. The kingdom would not be one of powerful domination, but of freedom and peace. Do we realize what a privilege it is to be able to make this choice? To hear the transforming word of God, and then be given completely free reign in our choice of what to do with it? Love for us, it seems, leads God to hand out his word freely with no strings attached. The kingdom is defined by this love, and by peace and freedom to respond in love. When the good news takes root in us, we produce good things, by our own choice to let it grow and bloom. This is what we should do! Take the simple action of receiving the seed and making sure to nurture it so good things will come of it. We are the owners of the good news with 2000 years of heritage and history as Christians. What are we, personally, doing with this great blessing, this great seed of transformation? Are we letting it grow, or just die in the ground? We have the responsibility for its safekeeping and caretaking. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God may be the farmer, but we are ground. Or to mix the metaphor a bit as Paul said in [REF], one person planted but another person harvested. What will we do with the blessing we have been given?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then in 8:16-18, Jesus explains that the light (meaning, I think, both the light of truth, and the spreading influence of the kingdom), will reveal itself in ways that cannot be hidden. If God is going to all of this trouble, bringing his own Son to Earth to share this message, you’d better expect that his message will not be covered over and buried. It will be broadcast into the darkness, dispelling it. Think of John 1:5 </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The light shines in the darkness,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.” [CEB]</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God will bring the salvation he promised, through this revolution he started with Jesus. Jesus came to change everything, to set things straight, and to spread the seed of God’s transforming word. Nothing will be able to extinguish it. And yet, when the light is shining in us, we still have that choice. Do we cover it, or do we let it shine? And when it comes to truth, do we accept it and let it grow within us? Or do we fight it with our own false truths? If we do this, as Jesus says, we will lose. What truth we think we have will be taken away, or will be shown to be false. But those that embrace the truth, will see MORE truth [see v.18]. The expression I like to use is this: “You can’t unsee things.” Once you see truth, you can’t ever believe the lies again. The more you accept what Jesus teaches, the more the truth will unfold to you through the pages of scripture and through the response in your own heart, spirit, and actions.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reiterating this through the illustration of family, Jesus says “My mother and brothers are those who listen to God’s word and do it” [Luke 8:21, CEB]. Those that accept the truth are my closest family, in fact they form a family: the community and kingdom of God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 9, Jesus takes the next step of expanding the kingdom, by sending out his disciples for a designated period with his message (again called the “good news” of “God’s kingdom” in Luke 9:1 and 9:6, CEB) and his ministry of healing. The expanded story is in Matthew 10. In Luke 9:10-11 the disciples have already returned back to Jesus, and Jesus continued the same ministry to large crowds of people, while also withdrawing to more private locations with his disciples so that he could teach them. In this short expanse of verses you see a dynamic that would set the stage for generations to come: </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Message & Teaching</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Jesus defines the message, bringing good news to us, showing us the truth about God, teaching us so that we learn and grow. Jesus not only taught these principles like a wise teacher, but he also corrected the disciples on many occasions, showing them the difference between right and wrong ways of thinking (see 9:46-50). Teaching involves wrestling with concepts and obtaining a higher level of understanding through addressing the deeper issues. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Action & Behavior</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Jesus teaches us how to act and live, how to bring good fruit as a result of the truth that we have learned about God. This fruit shows God’s kindness, forgiveness and love for humanity. Jesus also taught the disciples how to handle difficult situations and taught them about sacrifice, foretelling his own death to them in 9:22.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mission & Community</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Jesus passes on this responsibility of teaching about truth and action to us, so that the kingdom can grow organically as a giant living thing, all led by God. Jesus thrives on community and teaches community. Through the dynamic of teaching, learning, and working together, he brings his disciples together as a true family. They partner together for a common purpose with a common heart for God. This makes them a vibrant, powerful community. Due the message and mission of this community, they are not focused on themselves but outwardly on how they can spread the kingdom to the world around them.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clearly, this can be seen as the mandate for the church. If we just continue this dynamic, the church will simply be the kingdom of God that Jesus was talking about. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 10, Jesus reiterates this model of kingdom growth, expanding the mission to a larger group of disciples. Due to the success of his ministry, not only are the crowds growing, but the group of committed disciples is also expanding, with the original twelve remaining as the inner circle. Seventy-two others are commissioned to travels in groups of two and spread the message of the kingdom. Jesus tells them these famous words:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest. Go! Be warned, though, that I’m sending you out as lambs among wolves. … Whenever you enter a city and its people welcome you, eat what they set before you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘God’s kingdom has come upon you.’ [from Luke 10:2-9, CEB].</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus uses the metaphor of a harvest and workers. I love the image of a harvest, because it expands on the concept of fruit. The harvest is the fruit of future followers. The message of the kingdom transforms people at the heart level, leading to changed actions and a growing community. Just as Jesus told Peter, “From now on, you will be fishing for people” in Luke 5:10, Jesus now tells the expanded group of disciples that they will be workers in the harvest - the expanding kingdom of God. Jesus teaches people to have such a heart for others, that they will take action to share compassionately with others around them. In other words, the harvest is the kingdom. It is us! It is the result of the ministry expansion in Luke 9 and 10 and beyond, the growth of the early church, the expansion of the church to the known world, and then the development and continued expansion of that church through the generations. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 10:17-24, Jesus is thrilled with the outcome as the seventy-two also return and report on what happened. Jesus is filled with joy, praises God and declares (in my words) “It’s working!!!!”. Many generations have wanted to see this kind of work of God and waited for it to happen. Now, it’s finally happening [see 10:24]!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Luke 1-10, we see that Jesus saw his mission to be the establishment of a new kingdom, a kingdom of people in community that love God and one another. A kingdom and community of people that represent God’s will and decision to act on Earth, that carry his message. A community that expands organically by sharing God’s good news, the good news of compassion and kindness, the good news that leads to contagious transformation of people’s hearts toward treating each other with generosity. A kingdom of peace, and yet a kingdom of revolution, as this kindness would bring total upheaval to the unfair, unequal treatment of others in the current social and religious system. Jesus taught us to be free and equal! Jesus taught us to take responsibility over our community and make it a better place.</span></div>
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GraceEmergeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11958580545720947207noreply@blogger.com0