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Hidden extra credit.I told you where I was in the pic. Can you find Denise? Post answer below or text to me with her circled. All guesses get credit, even if wrong.
Just for fun: Denise didn't even tell you she is "Chef Denise: on local TV "Great Day" with Kopi. You can see an episodes here
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Click this for Dave Wainscott's tatt story.
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Dave says: 1997 was a long time ago. So last millenium. The whole world and church has changed since then (anyone remember pay phones?). Tattoos have become much more mainstream. And I am not sure how my answer would differ today, but here's how I answered then:
Answer: Probably the best translation of Leviticus 19:28 is the NIV as you have quoted. Most of the purpose of all these OT laws were to call Israel to a life of holiness that was not conformed to the pagan practices around them and pure. note the emphasis on not mixing clothes, etc,. as a symbol of that unity of purpose). One of these practices was cutting or disfiguring (a rough equivalent of tattooing) your body as a way of atoning for the dead (a clearly pagan and I might note modern Mormon principle) getting the attention of whatever god you were praying to. A classic example of this is the prophets of Baal in I Kings 18:28. If a modern person has cut or tattooed themselves as a means of manipulating a deity *(including the Christian God) then that would indeed be sin. Since you are clearly not doing that, I would place a body piercing (clearly to me not the same as self-mutilation) and/or a tattoo under the area of freedom gives to each New Covenant believer to choose if they desire to participate or not. For some it might be sin, but the sin would be in the motive (to invoke a deity or to intentionally offend or blaspheme), not necessarily in the piercing or tattoo itself. Clearly, St Paul asks us, also, to be sensitive to not offending a brother or sister who does not sense the same liberty you do. So in some cases and places, discretion, or at least a lack of flaunting, would be appropriate. A note on tattoos: another reason they were forbidden in OT law is because it would be assumed in may case if a picture of a deity were involved, it would not be the God of Israel. So by extension, a modern tattoo picturing or naming a counterfeit god would likewise be dangerous and open demonic inroads.
And of course as you have noted so well, when is the last time you have heard anyone. even the most conservative Christian. claim that some of the mandates from this same chapter are directly applicable today: the beard (cutting your beard a certain way was also a pagan ritual of the day) and fruit regulations, for example. You have picked up on the two streams of OT law, which scholars often call "ceremonial law" and "moral law." As you have suggested, the 10 Commandments fall clearly under basic an intrinsic moral law, while the more ceremonially, or culturally-conditioned items (such as piercing, tattoo, fruit, beard) are not law that were ever meant to be lived out by people of another day and culture. or better yet, of a new Covenant. Didn't Jesus summarize even the 10 Commandments into the 2 Commands to love God and neighbor?
Of course many would suggest that this leaves an open door to ignore OT laws against homosexuality, for example. One cannot biblically make this case, as sexuality is fundamentally moral, or better yet, based on creation, as opposed to culture or tradition,. And besides, this behavior is clearly spoken against in the NT (1 Cor 6:9). Tattoos, piercing, fruit and beards are not.
1.I can't make a blanket statement about why people get tattoos or piercing. Some may do it just because they like the way they look; some to attract attention, some to fly in the face of tradition, some because they desire to witness to Christ. Maybe a large percentage of younger kids who do it, do it as an attempt to rebel or react against their parents generation, but I could never make a blanket judgment.
2.I don't see piercing as necessarily a form of mutilation generally speaking, though for some it may indeed be an intentional or unintentional way of doing the equivalent. Some may do it as a manifestation of low self-esteem or a self-hatred, but certainly not all.
3.I think God has a lot more important things to worry about or look down upon.
4.If an individual has a tattoo that is directly satanic or their conscience will not leave them alone after becoming enlightened or becoming a Christian, they have and should take steps to remove them. However, as this is not always possible , I can't believe God is not all that hung up on it. In a previous church, no one less than my associate pastor had tattoos he was sorry he had received. He was embarrassed by them,. and knew they might offend some Christians, but as they were not satanic, he did not feel pressure to have them removed at all costs. And let me state again, I have no intrinsic problem with tattoos in and of themselves, especially on persons such as yourself, whom I know and trust to follow the Spirit's guidelines for you as an individual. I wouldn't see the need to remove them unless you were so clearly convicted,. In itself, I'm guessing the tattoo is neutral, the way I read the Bible.
5.For some it may well be a generational thing; even the contemporary equivalent of something someone who grew up in the forties did that is now completely inoffensive in our current century and culture. But as this trend crosses generations, it is also bigger than that. link
==
-----------------------------------------
TIMELINES:Everyone has a life "timeline": you do and I do. Every Bible character does. Jesus did, which is one of the keynotes of Bib 314 (Read Kraybill p, 34, beginning with "Jesus had the chance, " and ending with "...Jesus rejected them all") Think about your life and some of the key moments, both highs and lows; tests and temptations. This is largely what we we mean by timelines; your life as a line or trajectory.
---
So here below are the questions I got circa 1997 on my "Ask Dave" web column....
Dear Dave:
So what I am wondering is why this one verse is taken as still holding true today, and then the rest of the verses aren't. Also, the devotional writer said that tattoos and body piercing were a form of personal mutilation. I personally disagree because I have a tattoo and a body piercing, and I would not say that I did either as a form of mutilation. What do you think? Have we just forgotten these verses cause we want to secularize God, or have these old testament laws changed, minus the 10 commandments of course.
I'd like to know your take on:
I'd like to know your take on:
- 1.Why do you think people get tattoos/body piercing?
- 2.Do you think that it's a form of mutilation?
- 3.Do you think that God looks down on this...why?
- 4.If yes to #3, what should people do who have already done this?
- 5. Do you think it's a generational thing...especially body piercing?
Dave says: 1997 was a long time ago. So last millenium. The whole world and church has changed since then (anyone remember pay phones?). Tattoos have become much more mainstream. And I am not sure how my answer would differ today, but here's how I answered then:
Answer: Probably the best translation of Leviticus 19:28 is the NIV as you have quoted. Most of the purpose of all these OT laws were to call Israel to a life of holiness that was not conformed to the pagan practices around them and pure. note the emphasis on not mixing clothes, etc,. as a symbol of that unity of purpose). One of these practices was cutting or disfiguring (a rough equivalent of tattooing) your body as a way of atoning for the dead (a clearly pagan and I might note modern Mormon principle) getting the attention of whatever god you were praying to. A classic example of this is the prophets of Baal in I Kings 18:28. If a modern person has cut or tattooed themselves as a means of manipulating a deity *(including the Christian God) then that would indeed be sin. Since you are clearly not doing that, I would place a body piercing (clearly to me not the same as self-mutilation) and/or a tattoo under the area of freedom gives to each New Covenant believer to choose if they desire to participate or not. For some it might be sin, but the sin would be in the motive (to invoke a deity or to intentionally offend or blaspheme), not necessarily in the piercing or tattoo itself. Clearly, St Paul asks us, also, to be sensitive to not offending a brother or sister who does not sense the same liberty you do. So in some cases and places, discretion, or at least a lack of flaunting, would be appropriate. A note on tattoos: another reason they were forbidden in OT law is because it would be assumed in may case if a picture of a deity were involved, it would not be the God of Israel. So by extension, a modern tattoo picturing or naming a counterfeit god would likewise be dangerous and open demonic inroads.
And of course as you have noted so well, when is the last time you have heard anyone. even the most conservative Christian. claim that some of the mandates from this same chapter are directly applicable today: the beard (cutting your beard a certain way was also a pagan ritual of the day) and fruit regulations, for example. You have picked up on the two streams of OT law, which scholars often call "ceremonial law" and "moral law." As you have suggested, the 10 Commandments fall clearly under basic an intrinsic moral law, while the more ceremonially, or culturally-conditioned items (such as piercing, tattoo, fruit, beard) are not law that were ever meant to be lived out by people of another day and culture. or better yet, of a new Covenant. Didn't Jesus summarize even the 10 Commandments into the 2 Commands to love God and neighbor?
Of course many would suggest that this leaves an open door to ignore OT laws against homosexuality, for example. One cannot biblically make this case, as sexuality is fundamentally moral, or better yet, based on creation, as opposed to culture or tradition,. And besides, this behavior is clearly spoken against in the NT (1 Cor 6:9). Tattoos, piercing, fruit and beards are not.
1.I can't make a blanket statement about why people get tattoos or piercing. Some may do it just because they like the way they look; some to attract attention, some to fly in the face of tradition, some because they desire to witness to Christ. Maybe a large percentage of younger kids who do it, do it as an attempt to rebel or react against their parents generation, but I could never make a blanket judgment.
2.I don't see piercing as necessarily a form of mutilation generally speaking, though for some it may indeed be an intentional or unintentional way of doing the equivalent. Some may do it as a manifestation of low self-esteem or a self-hatred, but certainly not all.
3.I think God has a lot more important things to worry about or look down upon.
4.If an individual has a tattoo that is directly satanic or their conscience will not leave them alone after becoming enlightened or becoming a Christian, they have and should take steps to remove them. However, as this is not always possible , I can't believe God is not all that hung up on it. In a previous church, no one less than my associate pastor had tattoos he was sorry he had received. He was embarrassed by them,. and knew they might offend some Christians, but as they were not satanic, he did not feel pressure to have them removed at all costs. And let me state again, I have no intrinsic problem with tattoos in and of themselves, especially on persons such as yourself, whom I know and trust to follow the Spirit's guidelines for you as an individual. I wouldn't see the need to remove them unless you were so clearly convicted,. In itself, I'm guessing the tattoo is neutral, the way I read the Bible.
5.For some it may well be a generational thing; even the contemporary equivalent of something someone who grew up in the forties did that is now completely inoffensive in our current century and culture. But as this trend crosses generations, it is also bigger than that. link
-----------------------------------------
Headsup One of the best ways to PRACTICE interpreting a text is by doing in class something you do all the time:
Interpreting the text of a song/music video..especially when you can "Venn it" with two versions.
Notes from previous cohorts on the 2 versions of the song:
Songs as text: SLEEP LIKE A BABY
..
Sleep Like a Baby version 1
Morning, your toast
Your tea and sugar
Read about the politician’s lover
Go through the day
Like a knife through butter
Why don’t you
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Your eyes as red as Christmas
Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns
like someone else’s suicide
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Dreams
It’s a dirty business, dreaming
Where there is silence and not screaming
Where there’s no daylight
There’s no healing, no no
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is
When the church is where the war is
Where no one can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Like a bird, your dreams take flight
Like St. Francis covered in light
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Interpreting the text of a song/music video..especially when you can "Venn it" with two versions.
Notes from previous cohorts on the 2 versions of the song:
- Songs as text: SLEEP LIKE A BABY
..
Sleep Like a Baby version 1
Morning, your toast
Your tea and sugar
Read about the politician’s lover
Go through the day
Like a knife through butter
Why don’t you
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Your eyes as red as Christmas
Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Dreams
It’s a dirty business, dreaming
Where there is silence and not screaming
Where there’s no daylight
There’s no healing, no no
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is
When the church is where the war is
Where no one can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Like a bird, your dreams take flight
Like St. Francis covered in light
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Your tea and sugar
Read about the politician’s lover
Go through the day
Like a knife through butter
Why don’t you
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Your eyes as red as Christmas
Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Dreams
It’s a dirty business, dreaming
Where there is silence and not screaming
Where there’s no daylight
There’s no healing, no no
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is
When the church is where the war is
Where no one can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Like a bird, your dreams take flight
Like St. Francis covered in light
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
"Sleep Like A Baby ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE VERSION
In the morning when you wake up
You won’t have much
But you’ll have enough
When you are weakest
I’ll be strong enough for you
Dreams
Yeah, the ones where you are fearless
Can’t break what’s broken
You are tearless
Steal back your innocence
That’s what they stole from you
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Not everything can be so black and white
There are demons in the broad daylight
But you can sleep like a baby tonight
Stop
Where you stand right now
Just stop
Don’t think or look down at the drop
The people staring from the street
Don’t know what you’ve got
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
No, not everything can be so black and white
There are demons in the broad daylight
But you can sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is
When home is where the war is
Where nobody can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Not everything can be so black and so white
There are demons in the broad daylight
You’ve got to sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Where you stand
Where you fall is where I kneel
To take your heart back to where you can feel
Like a child, a child
But you’ll have enough
When you are weakest
I’ll be strong enough for you
Dreams
Yeah, the ones where you are fearless
Can’t break what’s broken
You are tearless
Steal back your innocence
That’s what they stole from you
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Not everything can be so black and white
There are demons in the broad daylight
But you can sleep like a baby tonight
Stop
Where you stand right now
Just stop
Don’t think or look down at the drop
The people staring from the street
Don’t know what you’ve got
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
No, not everything can be so black and white
There are demons in the broad daylight
But you can sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is
When home is where the war is
Where nobody can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Not everything can be so black and so white
There are demons in the broad daylight
You’ve got to sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Where you stand
Where you fall is where I kneel
To take your heart back to where you can feel
Like a child, a child
--------------------
TIMELINES:Everyone has a life "timeline": you do and I do. Every Bible character does. Jesus did, which is one of the keynotes of Bib 314 (Read Kraybill p, 34, beginning with "Jesus had the chance, " and ending with "...Jesus rejected them all") Think about your life and some of the key moments, both highs and lows; tests and temptations. This is largely what we we mean by timelines; your life as a line or trajectory.
Click here and see some samples of the timelines of FPU students in blended classes. You will get a chance to draw and talk through yours while we are online together. This is always one of the most moving and key lessons of the course. It's often a life-changer and what students remember years later. Often they wind up leading timeline retreats and workshops in their eventual schools, hospitals and churches. Watch this short video of Trucker Frank. He doesn't use the language of "timeline" or draw his, he just tells his story.
Now you're ready to "show and tell:" your story/timeline.
==
r
Timelines:
here are yours from tonight:
Other classes:
It has been hugely productive,
revelatory, and (even) fun to, as part of a class that several others and I teach, have students plot out (on the whiteboard) their timeline.
As Pastor/Trucker Franks suggests below, sometimes it's "more about the journey than the destination."
=
If you are on Facebook, you can see a collection of timelines by dozens of classes, retreats, etc by clicking here or below
Here's part of why we do these:
As Pastor/Trucker Franks suggests below, sometimes it's "more about the journey than the destination." See also "What if Torah/ מלכות השמים, is more 'journey than 'doctrine'?"
We then take time to interweave/intertext our personal timelines with the timeline/trajectory of Jesus' life in Matthew's gospel (the thrust of the class).
CORE MESSAGE?
- What's the core message of Jesus?
in Jesus, in large part, the “age to come” has come. The Future has visited the present.
any Jews of Jesus' day (and actually, the Greeks) thought of the Kingdom of God as largely a future identity/reality/location.
So when Jesus, in Matthew 4:17 announces that he, as King, is ALREADY bringing in the Kingdom,
So when Jesus, in Matthew 4:17 announces that he, as King, is ALREADY bringing in the Kingdom,
this not only subverted expectations, but sounded crazy....and like he was claiming to bring the future into the present.
The Jews talked often about "this age" (earth/now) and "the age to come." (heaven/future).
"Age to come" was used in a way that it was virtually synonymous with "The Kingdom."
Scripture suggests that:
The "age to come" (the Kingdom)
has in large part already come (from the future/heaven)
into "this age"
(in the present/on the earth
by means of the earthy ministry of Jesus: King of the Kingdom.
Thus, Hebrews 6:4-8 offers that disciples ("tamidim") of Jesus have
"already (in this age) tasted the powers of the age to come."
In Jesus, in large part, the age to come has come.
The Future has visited the present,
The Jews talked often about "this age" (earth/now) and "the age to come." (heaven/future).
"Age to come" was used in a way that it was virtually synonymous with "The Kingdom."
Scripture suggests that:
The "age to come" (the Kingdom)
has in large part already come (from the future/heaven)
into "this age"
(in the present/on the earth
by means of the earthy ministry of Jesus: King of the Kingdom.
Thus, Hebrews 6:4-8 offers that disciples ("tamidim") of Jesus have
"already (in this age) tasted the powers of the age to come."
In Jesus, in large part, the age to come has come.
The Future has visited the present,
Here are some articles that may help:
- =
- ----------------
Trucker Frank: The Kingdom of God is like a truck driver.
We asked
- Thesis of video?
- What did it say is the Kingdom?
- How is this his timeline?
- Journey or destination?
-----------------------
ONE GREAT PERSON?
ONE GREAT PERSON>My Dack Rambo story? Click here to read all about it, and for the sequel click:
" I Deny the Resurrection and I am not straight."
(uh, better click that title and get the context!)
MATTHEW 18
The primary purpose of this lesson is to complement your "Who is Great?" questionnaire and essay with a Three Worlds study of Matthew 18, treating it in large part as answers (better yet, "responses" or "counter-proposals") to the question the disciples pose to Jesus: "Who is the greatest?" As usual, we expect his "answer" to be "upside-down" and countercultural.\Video of class discussion and more:
- What did you hear or learn?
- How does using "Three Worlds" theory help interpret this passage?
- Thoughts on the Dack Rambo story?
- How is Jesus defining "greatness"?
- Respond to the provocative challenge of considering an unrepentant person who has offended you as in any way "great". Interact with the story of Dave's son, and add a personal story if one comes to mind.
- Students often find this discussion of Matthew 18 connects to themes or characters in Philemon. Any connections you see?
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Hidden extra credit.
Remember this "Heat is On" video? You may actually spot someone familiar. Why/how might Jesus consider Ken...squeaky shoes and annoying boss traits.. "great" according to Matthew 18?
Notice the pastor in that video quoted a Matthew 18 text. You are allowed to criticize how he used it. Did he use it out of
context? Did he use the Three Worlds well?
Reread Matthew 18:18-20 and decide if he was reading that text in context.
Post comments below.
Post comments below.
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we applied some "Three Worlds" theory to Matthew 18 and the topic of "Who is great?"
Related outtakes:
Of LITERARY WORLD note:
- -
=
Page 19 of Syllabus,Matthew 18 Outline
(by Greg Camp/Laura Roberts):
1 Question #1: Who is Greatest?
2-17 Responses (each are counter proposals):
2-10 Response #1: Children
2-4 Counter Proposal: Accept children
5-9 Threat: If cause scandal
10 Show of force: Angels protect
12-14 Response #2: Sheep
(Who is temporarily greater?)
12-14 Counter Proposal: Search for the 1 of 100 who is lost
15-17 Response #3: Brother who sins (counter proposal)
15a Hypothetical situation: If sin
15-17 Answer: Attempt to get brother to be reconciled
17b If fail: Put him out and start over
18-20 Statement: What you bind or loose
21-22 Question #2: How far do we go in forgiveness?
23-35 Response #1: Parable of the forgiving king/unforgiving servant
----------------Read verses 15-17 and then ask yourself:
"What did it mean in their historical world to treat people like
"tax collectors and sinners?"
"What did it mean in their historical world to treat people like
Two answers
1)Don't allow them in your bounded set.
2)How did Jesus treat tax collectors and sinners? In a centered set way. Tony Jones writes:
but because anyone, including Trucker Frank, can speak freely in this church, my seminary-trained eyes were opened to find a truth in the Bible that had previously eluded me.”...That truth emerged in a discussion of Matthew 18's "treat the unrepentant brother like a tax collector or sinner.":"And how did Jesus treat tax collectors and pagans?" Frank asked aloud, pausing, "as of for a punchline he'd been waiting all his life to deliver,"....., "He welcomed them!""
=
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhy/how might Jesus consider Ken...squeaky shoes and annoying boss traits. "great" according to Matthew 18?
ReplyDeleteI think the only part of his traits that were well is that he agreed to compromise and listened to the kid as he voiced his concerns. Ken listened to the voiced concerns of the kid and therefore he was regained. God says is you approach your brother and he listens to your concerns which were voiced then God will find favor upon them. If they both agree here on Earth, then God will do for them in Heaven as well. It appears that the conflict was addressed and handled appropriately. Ken does need to work on his anger and how he deals with conflict. His boss traits are good because he did the will of God which was listening to the voice of concern, making peace, and Ken forgave the kid and the kid forgave Ken. The kid continued to forgive Ken despite his outbursts. They forgave each other just as Jesus instructed them to, 70x7 times while reaching compromise and peace conflict resolution. (Infinitely).
Did he use it out of context?
Yes, absolutely he used the text out of context. He literally meant that he had to confront him regarding his shoes and throw the Bible @ him. Matthew does not literally mean that this kid has to literally confront this wacko and tell him “Go and sin no more!”. That would probably make the situation worse, as you can see in the reaction. The kid approaches Ken and Ken appears irritated and bothered that he was approached. The kid appears devastated and unsure of how to state his point regarding the heat. He is frustrated and yes, he did need to address the issue and handled the conflict well. Ken’s response was not what the kid expected and was actually surprised how well he reacted and how he agrees to compromise until he broke the promise and flipped out by throwing a chair. Appears that Ken is a violent person and doesn’t handle his frustration well. Although, a compromise was made, and Ken appeared to be a peacemaker, if he continues to fake the peace and be a peace breaker then the kid will have to address it with the Pastor and so forth.
Did he use the Three Worlds well?
Yes and no. Yes, because the advice he gave was a little ironic yet had some truth, he basically told him politely that he needed to adapt to his wishes and there needed to be a compromise. No because it was not meant in a literal context, what the kid did was absolutely out of the norm, well versed and handled with care, genuine concern, and as the Bible would tell him to do so, alone and handled it well.
Good News Videos: In the first video: love the name badge, Dave, King Dave, technically we are all Kings and Queens/Princes/Princesses because our Father is the King of Kings. :D The sign in the video reminded me of a staircase or the backwards (upside down) sleeping Zzzzz sign. Second video: enjoyed that the writer addressed all the people in the church and how our faith is tested and questioned. YESSSSS, church isn’t a bldg., holiday tradition, or assembly of people who say nice things, WE are the church! We are the EKKLESIA, BSN-CoHort 49! Gospel and Kingdom of God shows us Jesus plan and how mercy and forgiveness are so much more important. This was a confirmation for me, because I often have so much mercy for others, esp my family, or those that have hurt me the most. Love the pic of the toolbelt, I use this metaphor often when teaching my children. I always tell them to store their tools in their toolbelts, and when they are needed, they will have them; the tools Jesus has given us are stored away and used when we need them, in some instances, like seeking mercy and forgiveness. However, I do not feel Jesus wants us to be a doormat either. We shouldn’t be walked all over by others despite showing mercy and grace. These videos confirmed the Good News and the reason Jesus came to Earth to share this good news and joy with everyone so that we may carry out his legacy.
ReplyDeleteThird and fourth videos: My favorite people, those form the Bible project. I was first introduced to them during Camp Keola, by Pastora Asia. This messenger running to the castle reminded me of Paul Revere in a sense as he carried the good news and positive message to Jerusalem giving warning to God’s people. The greatest person is the weakest and you respond to evil when you love your enemies, forgive them, and seek peace. This is so difficult to do because it is so much easier not to live Upside Down, and live right side up! Jesus showed us his humbleness and forgave us despite us destroying all of the world full of sin. His sacrifices on the cross gives us liberty and the opportunity to be forgiven. Jesus conquered our sins with his life and his death. He defeated death through his love. This is so inspirational and uplifting! Reminds us that our sacrifices of doing good will not go unnoted by God. However, with that being said he also doesn’t expect us to do this while expecting something in return. God is becoming King through the good news that Jesus brought to the Earth he rescued his people from pagan acts and beliefs. Jesus is the rightful son and Lord who called the nations into order when he arrived to serve the people. Jesus didn’t come to serve but on the contrary to be served and give to everyone. He led his people and encouraged them to, to lead the path of righteousness. Again, they confirmed that Jesus God News is the main idea.
Consider millstones, and post at bottom of this page (or text Dave) about how that helps interpret the use of "millstone. Matthew 18 in a “historical world” way. What helps me interpret the use of millstone is the re-occurrence of the word ONE. Jesus would sacrifice everyone for ONE person, because one person is just as valuable as everyONE. Jesus would leave all of his sheep to search for the ONE that has gone astray. Jesus seeks the lonely, saddest, broken, messed up, baddiest, worst sheep, and attempts to herd them back, lead them back to his teachings, wills, ways, and to his Kingdom. Jesus seeks the subversive folks in the bounded set. Jesus is not worried about that people who was walking in his ways, he is worried about those that are lost and need to be found. The church is not the building, we are the church and where there are 2-3 gathered in Jesus name, he will be present. Jesus seeks those that are lost, even if it is just ONE, one child, one person, one soul. So, in other words a millstone is anyone, and everyone who fits into the category of going astray; Jesus will seek one until he finds one and attempt to lead you back to the pack of the centered and bounded set.