Reflexion, A Spiritual Community

 In the 1960's, the Roman Catholic Church began a project of renovation  According to a friend of mine who is a priest, “Vatican II, opened windows to allow fresh air to enter the church” - in hindsight, we could say they missed a few dark corners (but perhaps the changes made then set in motion the way that the Roman Catholic Church handles those things today) • by the 1970's, the Evang...

Intro: Most of us, when reading Bible, will get lost on occasion When that happens, we can stop and ask two questions: - “Where am I?” and “What is going on here?” • “Where am I?” is the big picture question – it takes us to the central theme of book ◦ you look at the whole map, then locate a general area on it • “What is going on here?” is the here and now question ◦ if book were a wheel, "w...

Paul has been circling the same issue since chapter 8 Is it okay for Christians to eat food that has been devoted to an idol? – Paul has two answers, one rational and other relational • rational: idols have no meaning for us, so food is food • relational: some Christians are convinced that food presented to an idol is contaminated ◦ take their concerns seriously and don’t “offend” them ◦ at times...

Intro: Are you like me, when it comes to reading the Bible? I will come to a sentence and immediately my attention drops off – for instance: The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. These are their genealogies: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam . . . (the list goes on – 1 Chr. 1:28-31) - yes, it is still scripture, but it doesn’t interest me • that happens when I read th...

If you have ever read this chapter and felt frustrated, you’re not alone A few verses in it make good sense and are immediately helpful - but the rest is strange, confusing, or upsetting • this chapter is the reason some people give up on Paul • but you and I cannot give up on him ◦ his spiritual insight has been too helpful to walk away now - so we take a deep breath, cool our heals, and pray • w...

 Tracking how Paul was guiding these Christians to the mind of Christ - but when I came to this chapter, I felt disappointed • here, the subjects he addresses are so “unspiritual,” so this-worldly • a civil court, wrongdoers, and curbing sexual appetite - but then I noticed a revelation underneath the text • you know how a card might come with a sticker you have to peel off, ◦ and when you do, you...

 Paul is considered Christianity’s first and foremost theologian  What is not always recognized–and is an embarrassment to some pastors–, Paul was also a mystic - this was Albert Schweitzer's assessment in his work The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle Schweitzer, “. . . when all is said and done, Pauline personal religion is in its fundamental character mystical. . . . its own essential life lie...

I’m sure most of you know the history of my dad’s ministry The explosive growth of a small congregation into mega-church overnight - hippies poured into it from the streets, turning from drugs to Jesus • during that time of the “Jesus Movement,” several strange spin-offs appeared • cults and individuals who alleged they had been in Satanic cults - one young man gained notoriety for supposedly bein...

Is there a foreign country you’ve always wanted to visit?   Russia was never on my bucket list – it seemed dark and foreboding - a man I kept running into at conferences pressured me to visit orphanages in Russia • one morning I felt like God told me, “Do this” • so twenty years ago this summer, I made my first trip - a small part of my experience was what I expected • but there was a great deal m...

My wife, Barb, and I were told something lives in our home, Something bad – and invisible to humans - so a guy came to our home with a small electronic device • it could supposedly detect the invisible presence • we had to take his word for it -- I had no idea how his gizmo worked - this was not a "haunting," and the technician was not a psychic • we had water damage to our home and it h...

Wednesday night, this was the first verse we read in our Lexio Divina meeting Immediately I knew I would be reading it today, because of what had been on my mind - Jesus gave people what they needed • he gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf ◦ health to the lame and to the lepers ◦ he gave hope and forgiveness to the sinners • and to everyone, Jesus gave parables With many such parables he...

The Bible begins at the beginning – the story of creation It is important that we read this passage as a story and not as a scientific account (I do not have a problem with people trying to harmonize it with science, but that was not how Genesis was written nor how it was meant to be read) - stories have a plot, characters, setting and mood • in this story, the universe does not merely exist by it...

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 Intro: These verses come at end of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians

For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims trouble from Mount Zion. Warn the nations that he is coming; announce to Jerusalem, “Besiegers come from a distant land; they shout against the cities of Judah. Like keepers of a field are they against her all around, because she has rebelled against me, declares the LORD. Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your doom, and it is...

When I first started reading all the way through the Bible, I would dread coming to the Book of Job - it seemed like I always got more depressed reading it, or bad things would happen • but as I came to a better understanding of Job, I began to enjoy reading it • I see Job as the hero of all who suffer–innocently - Job stood up for himself – against his friends – against his culture • he even stoo...

Jesus is doing something rather dramatic in this passage Look at the verbs! He busies himself with the menial task of a slave - Jesus is teaching his disciple through a living parable • he’s not telling a story this time – not explaining a truth • he is acting out a lesson - in the Synoptic gospels, Jesus explains the difference of how hierarchy is ordered in his kingdom You know that those who ar...

e Arlington National Cemetery began as a solution to a problem - after the Civil War, cemeteries ran out of space for all the remains of dead soldiers • Arlington was offered for those who could not afford a proper burial anywhere else • it also provided space for the remains of more than 2000 unidentified soldiers - a friend who flew helicopters in Vietnam was nearly shot down when evacuating sol...

It’s not enough to give you the context, so–a brief explanation - Nehemiah had taken charge of a massive project, • rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and the spiritual renewal of the people • for the renewal to occur they had to break with their past ◦ so he arranges a day for this long prayer, which is a confession of Israel's sins ◦ it recounts a history of unfaithfulness - the prayer tells...

Intro: If you’re familiar the with gospels, what you see here instantly, This is a strange healing miracle - more attention is given to Jesus’ “method” than any prior healing • and, he has never before this instance included spitting ◦ we’re going to have to revisit these things in a moment • for now we are only interested in the fact, this man deaf ◦ and that most likely explains speech impedimen...

Paul will tell his story of this encounter two other times in the book of Acts And he will share a condensed version of it again with the Galatians • in 1 Corinthians he will argue, Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? (1 Cor. 9:1) • that was the day Jesus stopped Paul in his tracks and turned him around - but if not for his eyes, there would be no story • if you loo...

Years ago there was a billboard on PCH in Newport Beach On it, was printed a giant photo of an Orangutan’s face - the caption read, “Face it, you belong in the San Diego Zoo” • someone had climbed up there and with a spray can written between Face it– and–you belong ◦ a girl’s name–so it read, “Face it, Judy, you belong in the San Diego Zoo” • this is one of the ways we use face as a figure of spe...

Our lives would be radically different if we could see through God’s eyes! - nothing in the world would worry or frighten us • not one particle of beauty would escape our attention • every single human person on the planet would be beautiful ◦ and you would see that nothing in the universe is more valuable than yourself - this is what Jesus was trying to get his disciples to understand • he was se...

“. . . if we would pay more attention to those bodies as we live them from the inside, instead of thinking of them only as we see them from the outside, we would know more about ourselves than we now do.” “The body speaks clearly to those who know how to listen” “The multifaceted language of the body depicts a lifetime of joys, sorrows, and challenges, revealed in patterns of tension, movement, ge...