Comments on: http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947 Sniffing out the work of God in the world... Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:30:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Royce Ogle http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15345 Royce Ogle Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:15:03 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15345 One of the most ignored truths of the Christian faith is that we who have been born from above have been made "partakers of the divine nature". Today, as I go to the market place, or to lunch, I go with divinity as a very real part of who I am. Therefore, the potential exists to expose someone to divine love. Walking in the Spirit is denying self and allowing Spirit to be in control. The Christ life is not a result of determination to "be", but rather the surrendered willingness "not to be". Grace and Peace, Royce Ogle One of the most ignored truths of the Christian faith is that we who have been born from above have been made “partakers of the divine nature”. Today, as I go to the market place, or to lunch, I go with divinity as a very real part of who I am.

Therefore, the potential exists to expose someone to divine love. Walking in the Spirit is denying self and allowing Spirit to be in control. The Christ life is not a result of determination to “be”, but rather the surrendered willingness “not to be”.

Grace and Peace,
Royce Ogle

]]> By: Mike http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15331 Mike Sun, 24 Sep 2006 12:58:03 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15331 May God's healing be on your congregation today, Bobbie. As you know, that church means more to me than can be expressed. I've been praying for your young minister this week as he's grieved with others who are grieving. May God’s healing be on your congregation today, Bobbie. As you know, that church means more to me than can be expressed. I’ve been praying for your young minister this week as he’s grieved with others who are grieving.

]]> By: Bobbie http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15329 Bobbie Sun, 24 Sep 2006 12:45:59 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15329 We will be praying Psalm 30 in our morning worship. Bruggeman quotes you provided will preface the prayer. Our church has been living the cost of Good Friday this week because of the tragic death of a beloved 25 year old young man. Woven in our sorrow were hints of Easter morning and today we will remember our disorientation and declare our hope for reorientation. Thank you for providing words that express our hearts. We will be praying Psalm 30 in our morning worship. Bruggeman quotes you provided will preface the prayer. Our church has been living the cost of Good Friday this week because of the tragic death of a beloved 25 year old young man. Woven in our sorrow were hints of Easter morning and today we will remember our disorientation and declare our hope for reorientation. Thank you for providing words that express our hearts.

]]> By: Richard http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15325 Richard Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:50:07 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15325 Steve Jr., Perhaps the problem IS "substitutionary penal atonement." Not the emphasis placed upon it, but the whole idea. That's radical, but my thinking on this has largely been shaped by Rene Girard's work. I think more people in the Churches of Christ need to be exposed to Girard. Best, Richard PS-For readers wanting a start on Girard start here: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-10-040-i Steve Jr.,
Perhaps the problem IS “substitutionary penal atonement.” Not the emphasis placed upon it, but the whole idea. That’s radical, but my thinking on this has largely been shaped by Rene Girard’s work. I think more people in the Churches of Christ need to be exposed to Girard.
Best,
Richard
PS-For readers wanting a start on Girard start here: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-10-040-i

]]> By: Leland http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15323 Leland Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:15:26 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15323 "We live in a society where we nearly have forgotten what humanness is about. And that is why the Bible must be taken seriously." We need to take the gospels seriously. The rest of the Bible seems to alienate us. Now back to waiting for Texas and Iowa State to resume play. “We live in a society where we nearly have forgotten what humanness is about. And that is why the Bible must be taken seriously.”

We need to take the gospels seriously. The rest of the Bible seems to alienate us.

Now back to waiting for Texas and Iowa State to resume play.

]]> By: Chris http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15322 Chris Sat, 23 Sep 2006 21:40:21 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15322 How about banning the word "post-modern" from our vocalubary? I think people have a hard time defining it anyway. How about banning the word “post-modern” from our vocalubary? I think people have a hard time defining it anyway.

]]> By: Steve Jr. http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15320 Steve Jr. Sat, 23 Sep 2006 19:59:44 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15320 It won't be long before "believer = wacko" throughout the entire Western world. It's already happened in Australia and the U.K., and the U.S. is not far behind. The Christendom Era -- a period beginning with Emperor Constantine in the early 300s AD in which Christian values and beliefs were assumed throughout much of the West -- has been dying a slow, painful death over the last half-century. This is not disputed, but it is frequently bemoaned, especially by church-types here in the States. With the reality of post-Christendom America upon us, the question becomes "what now?" How does this change (or restore) what ministry and mission looks like, especially on domestic soil? What is "good news" to a twentysomething in Massachusetts who was born into a non-Christian family and will grow up with no Christian faith whatsoever (after centuries where Westerners were "born Christian")? I think Brueggemann's assertion that the Way of Jesus can restore -- to a certain point -- our humanness is a clue to what the gospel looks like in post-everything America. It also has implications for what ministry and "church" look like. It won’t be long before “believer = wacko” throughout the entire Western world. It’s already happened in Australia and the U.K., and the U.S. is not far behind. The Christendom Era — a period beginning with Emperor Constantine in the early 300s AD in which Christian values and beliefs were assumed throughout much of the West — has been dying a slow, painful death over the last half-century. This is not disputed, but it is frequently bemoaned, especially by church-types here in the States.

With the reality of post-Christendom America upon us, the question becomes “what now?” How does this change (or restore) what ministry and mission looks like, especially on domestic soil? What is “good news” to a twentysomething in Massachusetts who was born into a non-Christian family and will grow up with no Christian faith whatsoever (after centuries where Westerners were “born Christian”)?

I think Brueggemann’s assertion that the Way of Jesus can restore — to a certain point — our humanness is a clue to what the gospel looks like in post-everything America. It also has implications for what ministry and “church” look like.

]]> By: G'ampa C http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15319 G'ampa C Sat, 23 Sep 2006 18:53:44 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15319 RQ- Sometimes I wonder if Believer = wacko might be better than what we have in the "Bible Belt", where everyone is expected to have some kind of religion and everyone sort of takes it for granted. (Pardon my over-generalization to make a point) I think there are over 25 churches of my "denomination" within 10 miles of my house, but we don't ever really get together much and don't gain strength from each other. I have dear friends in Salvador, Brasil, who would gladly, I'm sure, drive a hundred miles just to meet with us (if we were that close). Sometimes I forget that the single most distinguishing trait for disciples of Jesus is our love for each other. It's not my doctrine, my giving, my differences from those around me, my teaching, my prayers... it's my love. That love should be, and can be, present in extreme suffering as well as religious indifference. That love is a light everyone is drawn toward, like a warm fire in a snow storm. And... I will pray that others will live out the joy you describe. RQ-
Sometimes I wonder if Believer = wacko might be better than what we have in the “Bible Belt”, where everyone is expected to have some kind of religion and everyone sort of takes it for granted. (Pardon my over-generalization to make a point) I think there are over 25 churches of my “denomination” within 10 miles of my house, but we don’t ever really get together much and don’t gain strength from each other. I have dear friends in Salvador, Brasil, who would gladly, I’m sure, drive a hundred miles just to meet with us (if we were that close). Sometimes I forget that the single most distinguishing trait for disciples of Jesus is our love for each other. It’s not my doctrine, my giving, my differences from those around me, my teaching, my prayers… it’s my love. That love should be, and can be, present in extreme suffering as well as religious indifference. That love is a light everyone is drawn toward, like a warm fire in a snow storm. And… I will pray that others will live out the joy you describe.

]]> By: RQ http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15318 RQ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 17:55:16 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15318 Christians in my part of the world are so desperate to prove that they are different. The cover their churches and even their services with imagery and sometimes even dress like they are living under Levitical law. I want to show that the way of Jesus is much more than rules; however, the religious climate i am now ministering in requires a constant evaluation of whether or not I am proclaiming the eternal promises of God today. Believer = wacko here in Brasil, and I try to live out the joy of grace in the reality of extreme suffereing. Pray that others will try to do the same. Christians in my part of the world are so desperate to prove that they are different. The cover their churches and even their services with imagery and sometimes even dress like they are living under Levitical law. I want to show that the way of Jesus is much more than rules; however, the religious climate i am now ministering in requires a constant evaluation of whether or not I am proclaiming the eternal promises of God today. Believer = wacko here in Brasil, and I try to live out the joy of grace in the reality of extreme suffereing. Pray that others will try to do the same.

]]> By: Mike http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15316 Mike Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:56:58 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15316 Thanks, Steve. Great note. BESIDE THE POINT: Interested in the Ryder Cup? Keep up with my buddy Grant's PGA.com blog from Ireland <a href="http://www.rydercup.com/2006/usa/blogmethis/">here</a>. Thanks, Steve. Great note.

BESIDE THE POINT: Interested in the Ryder Cup? Keep up with my buddy Grant’s PGA.com blog from Ireland here.

]]> By: Steve Jr. http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15315 Steve Jr. Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:03:51 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15315 Beyond substitutionary penal atonement, do Christians really believe -- or live like -- there's more to their faith? Do we believe that the Christian way of living is the very <i>best</i> way to live, or are we so hung up on eternity that we miss the <i>life</i> and opportunity to find our humanity that we can find <i>now</i>? I'm not ready to throw the baby (Jesus) out with the bathwater by saying that the substitutionary elements of the cross are not important -- they are. But the good news -- gospel -- for our generation might just be that they haven't known life until they've followed the way of Jesus, the very <i>best</i> way to live. (Brueggemann is a genius, by the way) Beyond substitutionary penal atonement, do Christians really believe — or live like — there’s more to their faith? Do we believe that the Christian way of living is the very best way to live, or are we so hung up on eternity that we miss the life and opportunity to find our humanity that we can find now?

I’m not ready to throw the baby (Jesus) out with the bathwater by saying that the substitutionary elements of the cross are not important — they are. But the good news — gospel — for our generation might just be that they haven’t known life until they’ve followed the way of Jesus, the very best way to live.

(Brueggemann is a genius, by the way)

]]> By: Beaner http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15313 Beaner Sat, 23 Sep 2006 15:04:40 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15313 "a people that lives always between the cost of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday" THAT's living in hope! Happy Saturday! “a people that lives always between the cost of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday” THAT’s living in hope! Happy Saturday!

]]> By: G'ampa C http://preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15311 G'ampa C Sat, 23 Sep 2006 14:18:35 +0000 http://www.preachermike.com/2006/09/23/947#comment-15311 ...from a society of slaves and orphans into adoption as children. It's a good system. …from a society of slaves and orphans into adoption as children. It’s a good system.

]]>