daddy4ms

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 Sh...

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 30...

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” Pra...