OK with the Earhart’s listing this blog on their website (www.theearharts.com) as a favorite link I had better get off my but(ler) and post something!
So here’s a thought…this Sunday I’m going to start a quick summer sermon series on 1 John. Inspired by conversations with Bob, Dottie and Deedra Bingham about encountering Jesus we’ll settle into all the great Christology in 1 John and how that theology (and the applications of loving one another) can only be experienced in the PERSON of Jesus.
That focus will be seen in each passage, as the theme verse sets the tone for the whole book, 1.3 “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
So start reading and posting, I will if you will!
Also, our church’s initial web page is up at www.windborn.org. We are hoping to have a supped up version soon with lots of good cyber community stuff.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Vote 2006
It is far to easy to get sucked into politics! There is something to the pull of possible institutional change to protect the lives of the unborn, promote social justice, stand up for marriage and taking care of the “least of these”. But our hope is not in government or governance.
When I read the papers today there are several back page articles about the religious right and how church people voted. One gets the idea that influencing government is the main focus of religious voters—and I hear no Christians correcting the line of thinking.
Jesus is our focus. Jesus is what is most important. Jesus is our hope. Jesus is our joy. Jesus is our main priority, the key thought on our minds, that main point of our conversation, the receiver of our devotion. Jesus is the direction of our energy because only Jesus can truly influence people—not government.
Why is this such a novel concept? Why is the religious right know by being anti-gay marriage and pro-life and not known by JESUS?!?
When I read the papers today there are several back page articles about the religious right and how church people voted. One gets the idea that influencing government is the main focus of religious voters—and I hear no Christians correcting the line of thinking.
Jesus is our focus. Jesus is what is most important. Jesus is our hope. Jesus is our joy. Jesus is our main priority, the key thought on our minds, that main point of our conversation, the receiver of our devotion. Jesus is the direction of our energy because only Jesus can truly influence people—not government.
Why is this such a novel concept? Why is the religious right know by being anti-gay marriage and pro-life and not known by JESUS?!?
Monday, July 10, 2006
Aim At Christ
I stole this right off Gary Friesen’s blog…but thought it had some good thoughts.
Friesen Fortnightly
Sunday July 9 2006
Paul's Bullseye
Dear Family & Friends,
It is always a privilege to speak at Imago Dei Community and today was no exception. We are going through Romans and my portion was 13:8-14. The Big Idea: We owe a debt of love right now to be the hands of feet of Jesus in Portland. Paul says to owe nobody nothin, but to love your neighbor. Such love fulfills all the commands toward our neighbor (8-10). It is urgent. For Paul says the night of this present age is well-spent and the day of Christ's coming gets nearer every day. So now is the time to wake up, and put on the armor of light. This eye on eternity will prepare us for today. (11-12). Finally, he urges us to act like the future day has broken into the present and put away drunkenness and sexual immorality. This process can best be described as putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (13-14). We get things backwards. Aim at Law and get guilt. Aim at today and it will pass away. Aim at purity and fall short. Paul gets the order right. Aim at Love and get the Law thrown in. Aim at Eternity and get the present thrown in. Aim at Christ and get purity thrown in.
Garry
Friesen Fortnightly
Sunday July 9 2006
Paul's Bullseye
Dear Family & Friends,
It is always a privilege to speak at Imago Dei Community and today was no exception. We are going through Romans and my portion was 13:8-14. The Big Idea: We owe a debt of love right now to be the hands of feet of Jesus in Portland. Paul says to owe nobody nothin, but to love your neighbor. Such love fulfills all the commands toward our neighbor (8-10). It is urgent. For Paul says the night of this present age is well-spent and the day of Christ's coming gets nearer every day. So now is the time to wake up, and put on the armor of light. This eye on eternity will prepare us for today. (11-12). Finally, he urges us to act like the future day has broken into the present and put away drunkenness and sexual immorality. This process can best be described as putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (13-14). We get things backwards. Aim at Law and get guilt. Aim at today and it will pass away. Aim at purity and fall short. Paul gets the order right. Aim at Love and get the Law thrown in. Aim at Eternity and get the present thrown in. Aim at Christ and get purity thrown in.
Garry
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Grace and Holiness
I know it has been a while…sorry. I have been thinking about this since Easter.
The following is from the Meet the Press that aired on Easter Sunday. It was a panel discussion on various topics that ranged from religious progressivism to why the political “right” seems to have a monopoly on religious perspective.
The panel was quite ecumenical and brilliant, save the dope from a “mega” church. It was sad to see the “evangelical” focus on feel-good-ism and not Jesus. But what else do we expect from American Protestant consumerism that assumes away Jesus to get butts in the pew!
Mr. Russert asked Father Neuhaus if all people were welcome in the Catholic Church and his answer was beautiful—it was filled with Jesus. The following is an excerpt of his answer. At times it does not flow well (in a written forum because it was an oral discussion) but I hope you can get the since of his argument, especially the points I emphasis. It serves as a brilliant synthesis of grace and holiness:
REV. FATHER NEUHAUS: “Here comes everybody”; otherwise known as a holy mother church, and a very promiscuous mother indeed, who reaches out to everybody. And as our Lord said, you know, “He came not to be served, but to serve.” And the church is the embodiment of Christ, the body of Christ. Now at that same time, we are sinners who are forgiven sinners and called to be saints. And so there is a universal call to holiness and entering in to the church is not simply to be entertained and spiritually uplifted and to find little, you know, spiritual tricks that make you feel good. It is a call to follow Jesus, and that is a most demanding and challenging call. As he said to the disciples, “Take up your cross and follow me. In this people will know that you love me, that you obey my commandments. There is not greater love than this, than to lay down your life.”
The struggling with that, what does it mean to respond to the universal call to holiness? What does it mean to walk the way of the cross? And there, thank God, there are a great diversity of ways. You call them apostolates, careisms, whatever, and they don’t fit any left, right, liberal, conservative kind of template at all. I mean, what was Mother Theresa? A conservative, a liberal? It just doesn’t make any sense to, to talk in those terms. You’re talking about people who have been, in the words of the great John Paul the Great, who history will surely call John Paul the Great, and he said, you know, to all these in the World Youth Days—I was talking to an old man once in Poland who had known John Paul when he was still—before he was still a priest, and I said, “What is it that is this electrically charged relationship between John Paul and these hundreds of thousands and millions of young people that gather on these World Youth Days?” And he says, “Oh, it’s very simple.” He says, “Lolek”—that was his nickname—“Lolek has just been saying the same thing for all these years. He just finds a thousand different ways to say it.” And so I said, “Well what is that?” And he says, “Well, what he is saying to these young people is settle for nothing less than moral and spiritual greatness. That’s what God created you for, and don’t cheat yourself.”
And I think that’s right. And that’s the invitation of the Catholic Church. Here comes everybody. Wide open, great diversity, disagreements, arguments at times, but all joined by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ and responding to the universal call to holiness.
The following is from the Meet the Press that aired on Easter Sunday. It was a panel discussion on various topics that ranged from religious progressivism to why the political “right” seems to have a monopoly on religious perspective.
The panel was quite ecumenical and brilliant, save the dope from a “mega” church. It was sad to see the “evangelical” focus on feel-good-ism and not Jesus. But what else do we expect from American Protestant consumerism that assumes away Jesus to get butts in the pew!
Mr. Russert asked Father Neuhaus if all people were welcome in the Catholic Church and his answer was beautiful—it was filled with Jesus. The following is an excerpt of his answer. At times it does not flow well (in a written forum because it was an oral discussion) but I hope you can get the since of his argument, especially the points I emphasis. It serves as a brilliant synthesis of grace and holiness:
REV. FATHER NEUHAUS: “Here comes everybody”; otherwise known as a holy mother church, and a very promiscuous mother indeed, who reaches out to everybody. And as our Lord said, you know, “He came not to be served, but to serve.” And the church is the embodiment of Christ, the body of Christ. Now at that same time, we are sinners who are forgiven sinners and called to be saints. And so there is a universal call to holiness and entering in to the church is not simply to be entertained and spiritually uplifted and to find little, you know, spiritual tricks that make you feel good. It is a call to follow Jesus, and that is a most demanding and challenging call. As he said to the disciples, “Take up your cross and follow me. In this people will know that you love me, that you obey my commandments. There is not greater love than this, than to lay down your life.”
The struggling with that, what does it mean to respond to the universal call to holiness? What does it mean to walk the way of the cross? And there, thank God, there are a great diversity of ways. You call them apostolates, careisms, whatever, and they don’t fit any left, right, liberal, conservative kind of template at all. I mean, what was Mother Theresa? A conservative, a liberal? It just doesn’t make any sense to, to talk in those terms. You’re talking about people who have been, in the words of the great John Paul the Great, who history will surely call John Paul the Great, and he said, you know, to all these in the World Youth Days—I was talking to an old man once in Poland who had known John Paul when he was still—before he was still a priest, and I said, “What is it that is this electrically charged relationship between John Paul and these hundreds of thousands and millions of young people that gather on these World Youth Days?” And he says, “Oh, it’s very simple.” He says, “Lolek”—that was his nickname—“Lolek has just been saying the same thing for all these years. He just finds a thousand different ways to say it.” And so I said, “Well what is that?” And he says, “Well, what he is saying to these young people is settle for nothing less than moral and spiritual greatness. That’s what God created you for, and don’t cheat yourself.”
And I think that’s right. And that’s the invitation of the Catholic Church. Here comes everybody. Wide open, great diversity, disagreements, arguments at times, but all joined by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ and responding to the universal call to holiness.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
A Prayer for the Tired (from Isaiah 40)*
May your circumstances smooth out (vs. 3-5)
May you experience His holding you close (vs. 11)
May you look up at Him and see that He cares (vs. 26,27)
I pray not that you would soar above the situation, not that you would run through it but that would be able to “walk and not be faint” (vs. 28-31)
(* click on the title for a link to the passage—Isaiah 40)
May you experience His holding you close (vs. 11)
May you look up at Him and see that He cares (vs. 26,27)
I pray not that you would soar above the situation, not that you would run through it but that would be able to “walk and not be faint” (vs. 28-31)
(* click on the title for a link to the passage—Isaiah 40)
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