Goodbye blog…
May 26, 2009
What in the Wordle?
May 25, 2009
Sunday I showed the wordle for the book of Luke– People loved the idea so much I’ve gotten 5 different texts asking me what the “program” is that does that.
Lucky for you it’s free and online. Click HERE to make your very own wordle.
Coming out of the great discussion on Sunday here are some questions to roll around in your brain and with your MC:
- How can we declare and demonstrate the gospel among the people that society and organized religion has written off or deemed untouchable?
- What are the things that I hold onto rather than recklessly following Jesus?
- How will the amazing grace shown by Jesus propel us to act in grateful joy this week?
Are you Jubilating?
May 19, 2009
Yup. We just made up a new word. “Jubilating.” It is the active practice of living out the Jubilee that Jesus came to fulfill. Confused? Let me explain.
Jesus’ sermon in Nazareth in Luke 4 holds the key to the entire book of Luke because in it he lays out His mission. It is also the key to understanding our mission.
First, you have to see that Jesus is not just randomly quoting some Old Testament passage. Jesus is pulling out an entire Old Testament theme of Jubilee (Lev 25, Isaiah 61). The Jubilee was to happen once every 49 years. It was marked by radical liberation and freedom for the people of God.
Second, and this is HUGE. The Jubilee brought spritual, economic and social liberation. All three! So when Jesus says the ultimate Jubilee has occurred with His arrival, he is saying His mission is to bring liberation: spiritual, social and economic. There is a holistic nature to Jesus’ mission.
Third, the religious people oppose Jesus, violently.
Implications for Us
1. Is there a holistic nature to my mission? (Spirtual, Social, Economic) If not, why not?
2. In what ways can you tend to be one of the religious people who oppose Jesus’ mission?
3. If you are not living your life and being an agent of freedom amongst people in your context who are poor, oppressed, or marginalized, you will have a growing sense of uneasiness and disconnect as you proceed through Luke.
Luke 5 Learning Guide
May 18, 2009
Luke_05 learning guide (pdf) This will print pretty from a pc or mac
Luke_05 learning guide (doc) This won’t be as pretty on your pc, but will let you type some thoughts into the document. Mac users… once again the investment pays off- the formatting sticks and you can type into the learning guide.
Lies We Believe
May 11, 2009
John the Baptist called out those who were claiming to be God’s people to repent and start living like it. He put some of the lies they were believing on blast and then gave them practical ways to work out the fruit of their repentance. (Repentance: Because you are believing the gospel you stop believing lies and orient your life around the truth of the gospel.)
Here are the six lies we named on Sunday that are creeping into the practices of our missional communities. Over the next couple of days we will break down what the fruit of repentance from these lies might look like.
We will get to the mission/serving after we nail down the family.
MC Multiplication is bad.
I’m already living as God intended because I’m a part of Missio Dei Communities.
I’ll only accept people in my missional community after they prove they accept me.
“Missional” is a lifestyle not an event.
My job gets in the way of following Christ.
Which lie(s) are you believing? How do you see them playing out in your MC?
Repentance Questions
May 11, 2009
A few people have e-mailed me and asked for the questions I had on the powerpoint yesterday. Here are some of the questions that I reflect on as I probe for areas of my life I need to repent and believe the gospel in:
1. What are the lies I am believing? At the heart of all sin issues is a failure to believe the gospel. We choose to believe a lie about God and we worship a lesser god (an idol.) These lies need to be identified replaced with truth.
2. How does the gospel destroy that lie? The gospel annihilates the lies that we believe, sometimes it takes a little time to process through this- other times it’s pretty obvious. Don’t be afraid to lean into your community to sort through this.
3. How do I live out the gospel’s implications in this area of my life? When we repent and believe the gospel then this news should change our life. How does the gospel move you to act in ways that declare and demonstrate the gospel?
4. Rinse and Repeat. I know this isn’t a question, but repentance is a continual process as we repeatedly turn from failing idols to the mercy of our gracious God.
Learning Guide: Luke 4
May 11, 2009
Prayer Weekend
May 5, 2009
Biblically and historically, the one non-negotiable, universal ingredient in times of spiritual renewal is corporate, prevailing, intensive and kingdom-centered prayer. -Tim Keller-
May 8th-10th we’ll be praying in Tim’s garage again. Sign up on this blog for the time slots. The hope is to have those days covered with continuous, kingdom focused, gospel saturated prayer. Prayer isn’t something to add onto your busy week, but needs to be the heartbeat of all that we do. Prayer is absolutely essential in living out the mission of God in it we declare both our dependence on God and our faith in Him to do what he has said. (You might not have noticed it yet but Prayer is a serious theme throughout Luke/Acts.)
What are some of the things that you want us all to be praying together about? Things for your life? For our church? For this city? For the world?
Learning Guide: Luke 3
May 4, 2009
Feast!
April 29, 2009
My friend Jim never asks how my quiet times are going, how my devotional life is, etc. He just says, “What have you been feasting on lately? Tell me about it!”
I had a Thanksgiving-style feast early this morning on Luke 2. There is so much there. There is so much gospel! I’ve been stuffed all day.
Now, all day I have had phone convos, Facebook conversations, and emails from Christians who are starving themselves of the gospel. It is breaking my heart to see people wilting away when the meal their hearts are longing for is right there in front of their face.
Feast! Missio Dei, feast! Please, listen, read, memorize, meditate. Find the gospel your soul needs right there popping out of your bible.
What are you feasting on? Tell me about it!
