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“ Now you are the body of Christ and in dividually members of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

Last year, I wrote a curriculum for our 2nd-4th grade classes at our mid-week program at church called Hide N Seek.  The curriculum focused on who God is. As part of that curriculum, my friend Brittni Rhodes, made images to convey the truth about who God is.  I would like to start sharing these images weekly as a reminder of the good, great, and awesome God we have.  

This is a regular feature now that replaced "Playing on the Radio." This week, I am sharing a new hymn to me that was shared by a friend. The gospel is good news.  It reminds us what Christ has DONE for us.  As I share, I hope it will be an encouragement to you today.  Song today is: More About Jesus by Fort Pitt Farms

Here are some of my favorite tweets from the last few weeks.  This is one of the blessings of social media where we can hear the gospel from people all over the world. If you like the tweet, go and follow the person on Twitter. The Holy Spirit, who makes us into disciples, does so not by pushing us into our own works but by pushing us further into Christ works for us. @ryancouch True assurance rests solely in the faithfulness of God. It is not the quality of our faith, but the object of it, that saves and sustains us.  @Byronyawn   If justification is confused with regeneration or sanctification, then the door is open for the perversion of the gospel at its center. Justification is still the article of the standing or falling church. (John Murray) My only rest is found in the finished work of Jesus Christ. @Ryan_haskins The Christian vermin can be easily distracted from the Enemy’s primary cause simply by pursuing secondary causes. These don’t have to be bad causes-the most d

Life Giving Rhythms Daniel’s Rhythm Daniel 6:10-3 times a day he prays The presence of the living God is within them. My Rhythm Sabbath, Exercise, Meditation Rule of Life-when monks use the word “rule”,  they mean a trellis. This allows more light, growth. Our fruit bearing is something God does. See John 15, Philippians 2:12-13 Not a have to, but a get to. Sabbath allows me to work from rest. Centering Prayer It’s biblical and practical. God in My Everything Book Not a self created routine but Spirit directed You will have a rhythm by design or by default. My prayer is that you would know God in your everything (work, family, friends, play, service, church, etc.)

Cross Vision What is your mental conception of God? Not what is your theology, but what goes on in your head when you think about God How beautiful is your conception of God?  If your conception of God doesn’t seem too good to be true, your view might be too low. Love is not just a verb God does, but also a noun about who God is. Hebrews 1:1-3-The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation (character) of his being (essence) All Scripture points to Jesus-John 5:39 1 Corinthians 15-everything in Scripture points to Jesus’ cross centered ministry The Bible is divinely inspired. How does the cross reveal the definitive revelation of Jesus? On the surface, the cross is ugly but the cross is beautiful in its depth as we see it by faith God loves us as we are so we can become who He wants us to be.

We often forget.  We see throughout history the Israelites and the church forgetting. We need to be reminded often of who God is in Scripture, church history and in our lives and churches. The names of God are important because these names are not just what God does, it is who He is.  I hope this will encourage you as you are reminded of how good, great, and awesome our God is.   Rabbi Rabbi means teacher. 38   Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” (John 1:38) What it reminds me?  Jesus teaches us.  As a lifelong learner, I am excited to learn more about Jesus each and every day.  I love discovering how deep the gospel is.  I am thankful that Jesus reveals and teaches who He is. What a great God that wants His people to know Him.

Jesus reveals who God is. Love is not just what God does (verb). Love is also who He is-God is love. (noun). Jesus endorses the Old Testament. I believe in the inspiration of the entire Bible. Jesus says all Scripture is about Him. Luke 24 What is your mental conception of God? What I discovered: The violent portraits of God actually point to the cross. How does the cross become the definitive revelation of God? Surface of the cross is hideous, mirrors sin.  Depth of the cross is love of God, what God stepped into. The cross is not a one off event. Jesus is saving, atoning throughout not just at the cross. Where else do we find examples of portraits of God that we need to look beyond the surface? God is said to have done things that He merely allowed. Someone else actually did it and they attribute the act to God. The surface tells us what the people understand. What is their understanding? Their interpretive lens?

Cardigan Sweater, Magnolia Tree, Brioche: The Overlooked Paths to Christ Scripture Offers My imagination of who God is was very limited. What do the Scriptures say about this? We bring an archival knowledge of God. Jesus used the ordinary to help us know who God is. Metaphors for God in the Scriptures God as a tailor-Genesis 3 People make clothes for those they love.  The clothing for Adam and Eve was an offering of love. Picture of God’s provision for us.  The expectation that we will grow (hems let out) Sensory Perception Details Both literally and metaphorically Smell-perceiving and omitting odor Soothing odor in OT (incense sacrifice) In Revelation, prayer of the saints are incense rising to God in golden bowls Shepherd Image we talk about often in the church, but we don’t have a personal experience with shepherding Picture that was handout out-What was a young girl doing as a shepherd? Exodus 2-young women shepherding Jesus as good Shepherd (s

What questions are rolling around after the session? Jesus grew up in rabbinical system that asked a lot of questions.  Why does he ask so many questions? That’s what rabbis do. I learned more about the passage by asking 100 questions than trying to have the answers. (Story of Abraham and Isaac) Chuvruta-Hebrew process of asking questions To Ask Great Questions You have to be curious You need Wisdom (Holy Spirit, Emotional IQ) You need Compassion You need Courage There are four levels of questions. Level 1-Simple Facts Level 2-Feelings, Emotions, Motivations Level 3-Desires, Passions Level 4-Vulnerability, Intimacy How to get better at asking questions: Preparation What type of question am I about to ask?  Motivation? Is it worth it to ask this question? What have you done this week that has made you feel alive? Tell me your story. Does this person want to be asked questions? Right time, Right place How can I ask this question in an unbiased

The Soul of Jesus’ Questions and the Questions of our Soul What is it about questions? Why are we so quick to give answers but slow to ask questions?   How do we ask questions that are timeless and also timely? What if following Jesus was not about having all the answers but instead about asking great questions? What other questions have changed the trajectory of your life? Great questions take us on a magnificent journey. Socrates-The Curious Questioner A good question provokes (gadflies) and brings new life (midwifes) into the world. He died because he asked questions. Questions-What Jesus utilizes in order to bring about transformation in people’s lives. Physical Field Trips (walking around) Imaginative Field Trips (storytelling) Mental Field Trips (asking questions) Jesus used questions brilliantly. Asking questions was central to the teaching of Jesus. There are approximately 980 questions in the New Testament. Jesus asked over 300 qu

For the rest of 2018, I will be sharing books I recommend because they are some of my favorites.  New Book Friday will resume in January. Enjoy!

The Magnificent Journey Early Christians called themselves people on the way. Journey-a good metaphor of the Christian life It is to be magnificent, epic. You can live in the available kingdom now not just in heaven. Robert Frost-The Road Not Taken-Metaphor as an act of surrender I am going to surrender the kingdom of Jim for the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33-Seek ye first the kingdom-center of Sermon on the Mount Matthew 7:13-14-Jesus is telling the truth, there is something about the human person who does not like to surrender We live in a world whose values are very different.  They are telling us to stay in control. The key to the Christian journey, wrote Dallas is the “surrender of a lesser, dying self for a greater eternal one.” Put simply, the yes of surrender is greater than the no of self-denial. What is gained is far greater than what is lost. Two Prayers of Surrender Wesley’s Covenant Prayer St. Ignatius of Loyola “Suscipe” Prayer

Today, I am attending The Apprentice Gathering at Friends University in Wichita.  During the day, I attended a workshop led by Mimi Keel. Below you will find notes from the workshop: John Westerhoff in “Will our Children Have Faith?” writes,  In the formation of children we do four things: We tell and retell God’s story until it becomes our own personal story We participate in the Eucharist and the liturgy We listen and talk to each other about our relationship with God We practice acts of ministry together Holistic-Relating to the whole, rather than dissection of the parts; whole is greater than the sum of its parts The Whole Child Multiple-Intelligence Theory Educational philosophy that is based on developing the whole child Creates environments for the whole child to explore Types of multiple intelligences-Bodily, Verbal, Musical, Naturalist, Interpersonal, Mathematical (Logical), Visual See Handout: Multiple Intelligences and Prayer Video-What int

Today, I am headed to Wichita to attended The Apprentice Gathering at Friends University.  I have wanted to attend this conference for several years.  I first heard about the conference when we were using the book Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith for a Sunday School class.  James Bryan Smith is a professor at Friends and will be one of the speakers.  I look forward to these few days as we focus on the theme-Journey: Living Deep in the Kingdom. Check back over the next few days for quotes from speakers.

My Aunt Kay Jean suggested I start sharing a verse of the day.  I liked her suggestion but decided instead of a verse of the day, I would share a verse of the week.  Be reminded of who God is from His Word. Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2  And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3  And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4  And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5  And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6  The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. 7  Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8  and Jerusalem and Idumea

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Last year, I wrote a curriculum for our 2nd-4th grade classes at our mid-week program at church called Hide N Seek.  The curriculum focused on who God is. As part of that curriculum, my friend Brittni Rhodes, made images to convey the truth about who God is.  I would like to start sharing these images weekly as a reminder of the good, great, and awesome God we have.  

This is a regular feature now that replaced "Playing on the Radio." I will be sharing songs from my "Gospel Playlist" on my phone. The gospel is good news.  It reminds us what Christ has DONE for us.  As I share, I hope it will be an encouragement to you today.  Song today is: Amazing Grace by Il Divo

John 19:26-30 I love those three words “It Is Finished” Tetelestai is good news. These words stand in opposition to every other solution the world offers. Jesus says no striving allowed and no doing, but remember “it is finished” Every time I hear these words I am transported from the battlefield to the dance floor. When I hear these words (it is finished), life ceases to be about my striving and doing and instead on celebrating what has been DONE in Jesus Christ. Living in the finished work of Jesus Christ is appreciation and awe for what Jesus did for us on the cross. Thirst in the Scriptures is associated with spiritual dryness or absence of God.  Living in the finished work of Jesus is freedom that God is working in you as you rest in Him. This leads to dependence on God as he forms and works on us.  It includes fear, love and trust in God in all things. God is not in the punishing and atoning game with you because He has already has done that in

I am going to use religion in a negative way. There’s Jesus and then there’s religion. You are invited to sit. (Mary and Martha-Luke 10:38-42) We often think of church as being busy and working hard rather than sitting at the feet of Jesus. We need to hear the Master’s Voice You are invited to sell. (Rich Young Ruler-Luke 18:18-23) Jesus is saying why are you clinging to these things that can’t save you or make you happy or make you better. They were asking the wrong question—what must I DO to be saved? Jesus spoke Law to the Rich Young Ruler so he would see it was not about him but about Jesus. You are invited to hate your parents (Matthew 12:46-50; Luke 14:26) In the kingdom of God, it is a kingdom of priests. We are all on equal footing. It’s not about honoring your parents.  You are free to do what you need to do. Luther’s treatise on Christian liberty If something is standing between you and the good news of Jesus, you can hate it. Last Jedi-young people like

Have you ever thought about how grace and the ocean have a lot of similarities? Check out this post which was originally written following the Liberate Conferences 4 years ago.  I am sharing it again today because I have just been to the Here We Still Stand Conference in beautiful San Diego and definitely made a few trips to the beach while I was there. Be reminded of what Christ has DONE for you. Grace is like an ocean because: It is deep .  When we think we have understood its depths, there is always more and more. It is far reaching .  No matter what you have done in your past, God's grace can reach you. It is free . Isn't it amazing that you can go to the beach for free?  No admission fee. It draws you in .  Just like the undercurrent in the ocean, God draws us to Himself. It is rest . Listening to the waves is relaxing and peaceful. Living by grace is rest and freedom. It is unpredictable . You cannot predict the pattern of waves. Y

From Heidelberg Back To Wittenberg Two different texts but a single goal: Faith in Christ alone The Small Catechism is Luther’s own exercise in the theology of the cross Polemical and pastoral Keeping Christians in the Word of the Cross Remain in simplicity and in old doctrine you have received. Luther’s Path to the Catechism The German service needs a plain and simple, fair square catechism. Catechism means the instruction in which the heathen who want to be Christians are taught and guided in what they should believe, know and do and leave undone.   3 Parts-10 Commandments, Creed, Lord’s Prayer Events Leading to the Catechsim Controversy on the place of the law in Christian life The Law remains until it finds its end in Christ For Luther’s Preface to the Small Catechism Set out to address the deplorable situation that he discovered as visiting people Sources Flowing into the Catechism Luther’s catechetical sermons (as early as 1516, by 1522 i

Theology of the Cross-Romans 4:25-Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins and raised for your justification 1517-beginning of Reformation-95 theses nailed by Martin Luther 1518 was much more important for Luther-3 crucial events Heidelberg Disputation One of the most important moments of theological history Nobody did the negative better than Luther I am going to teach you by paradox-it puts side by side-opposites 3 objections from those in audience to Luther were free will, good works, law of God You do not have free will after the Fall Your good works are sinful The Law of God will not advance you along the way in this life, also it is hindering you Resolutions You cannot love the cross. More than that, you are offended by the cross.  How do you become a theologian of the cross?  The merits of Christ must be something positive—the office of the keys God humbles you by submitting to the priest 1st Trial-as a heretic of the church

Opened with a story about George Foreman-he had to be brought to defeat and failure to reevaluate success, his world had been turned upside down What was important was not him, but the One that had made him. The best gift we can receive is failure. There is a God who loves to create out of nothing.  And He continues to create out of nothing in us. God continues to turn the world upside down through the theology of the cross. The way God works is not the way we expect Him to work. God’s answer to the basic human questions of life are always the opposite of what we expect. In our minds, our God is too glorious to be born in a manger, to hang out with sinners, to die on the cross.   “Our Life As The Church That We Need To Give Up” Numbers-we often think about big. The big is all around us. We want big churches. What is beneath all of this?  What we are actually going for is pride, social status, safety, security We want options and we want to be associated with

Culture and the counter cultural cross Our crisis today is not that we are losing religion but we are more religious than ever. religion is the justifying story of your life. religion is your preferred guilt management system. religion is about “enoughness” We have never been more pious. Thesis 2 and 3 from Heidelberg Disputation No matter how close we get, we never arrive at enough.  Fresh targets have become our focus of enoughness (food, exercise, work, parenting, politics, romance) Seculosity-religiosity that is directed horizontally rather than vertically.  We have created a million different religions to secure our righteousness. They maintain all the demand. These things are not bad, but they cannot bear the weight of making us righteous. Theology of Glory-It’s up to you.  Performanicism.  The Good Place—our attempts to secure righteousness actually go backwards because of our motives Real love does not recoil at weakness, it is where it begins. Real love i

Luke 2:22-35 The Comfort of the Cross To Simeon-your going to see the ONE who will bring comfort to Israel before he died Isaiah 51:3-What we have without God’s comfort is desert, wastelands, with God it will become like Eden Isaiah 61-We need comfort, we need to know our sins are forgiven, we need good news, we need freedom and release When you think of Jesus, do you think about him as a consolation, a comfort, a relief? Do our neighbors think of Jesus as one who bring comfort and relief or as one who is a second Moses? What does the church think about Jesus? We are addicted to the thought of the progress.  There is no progress.  There is Jesus and there is us. Is what I need just a little boost in my desire to do good works? Telling your children that they need to do better.  There is only one cure for this virus—you can’t do enough for it—you can only die to it.   Where does our vindication come from? If we die with Him, we will also live him.  The th