Tag: Jesus

Obama, Jesus, War & Peace

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good. – Romans 12:20-21

I’ve been chewing on this idea of Obama winning the Nobel Prize for Peace since it was announced. It’s been interesting to read all the varied comments.

Especially when many conservatives were up in arms that he won it and then turned around and applauded his speech and his justification of war.

The Jesus Manifesto shares many of the thoughts that have been swirling around my head and I’ve yet to be able to put to paper – or keyboard.

So I encourage you to read his post and watch this video from Cornel West:

And consider this, did Jesus come to offer up a high-fetched dream that could never be lived up to? Or did he come as baby in a manger and the Prince of Peace to show us that living a life of love and non-violence could be achieved — and can be lived out — even in the face of the Empire?

Jesus loves the little children

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Why do we teach children – “Jesus loves the little children…” but then when they “grow up” we show them that Jesus doesn’t love them unless they fit certain requirements?

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Blessed are you…

tatuagem blessed

A modern telling of the B-attitudes.. 140 characters at a time:

Blessed are those who don’t have it all together.

Blessed are those who have run out of strength, ideas, will power, resolve, or energy.

Blessed are those who ache because of how severely out of whack the world is.

Blessed are those stumble, trip, and fall in the same place again and again.

Blessed are those who on a regular basis have a dark day in which despair seems to be a step behind them wherever they go.

Blessed are you, for God is with you, God is on your side, God meets you in that place.

The gospel is the counter-intuitive, joyous, exuberant news that Jesus has brought the unending, limitless, stunning love of God to even us.

via @realrobbell

Washing their feet

The story of Jesus washing the disciples feet doesn’t seem to fit into our modern western civilization.

We wear shoes or flip flops everywhere we go. And if our feet get dirty, there’s always a faucet nearby where we can wash them off and keep going.

But for some, that’s not always possible.

A mission team to Kenya found this out all to personally.
Continue reading Washing their feet

What is emergent? Trinitarian based values

what is emergent?

Read Part 3 :: What is emergent? Missional

From what I’ve seen of the emerging conversation, Trinitarian based values aren’t something that come up on a daily basis, but a number of folks are pointed to it as one of the great strengths of the movement. In fact, I can’t think of it being mentioned in any of the books I’ve read (I apologize to any authors that may have brought it up and I’ve overlooked it), and I don’t exactly recall it being brought up in any Bible classes in college (granted I didn’t make much higher than a C in any of them). But regardless of if it’s talked about, written about, or not — it still seems to be a strong point in the emerging conversations I’ve been a part of.

Perhaps Ian Mobsby (as quoted on Wikipedia) explains this idea best…

I suggest that perhaps the Emerging Church had found, or been led to a Trinitarian ecclesiology which had inspired a model, the values of which reflected God’s desire for what the emerging church should be. This is what Volf is talking about in After our Likeness. A Church whose values reflect the Trinitarian God. This development appears not to have been a consciously mediated action, but to have emerged out of the experience and practice of those involved in the projects. Is this a God-led re-imagining of the Church? I believe that it is.

Continue reading What is emergent? Trinitarian based values