1. Tefillah, Teshuvah, Tzedakah
Pictures from Hebrew hieroglyphics are used like a comic strip, to illuminate the word.
Tefillah/Prayer: turn the head, in order to face the one, who can bear the burden. Teshuvah/Repentance: change your thinking. Tzedakah: Righteousness revealed; to be generous. The desire of your heart opens the door to humility.
2. Being a Peacemaker
Peacemakers and Escalation...
Our hero of the faith was a rebellious, spoilt brat, who wanted his own way, in every single way. This was a man that was sleeping with prostitutes on his wedding night, because he got depressed, because his best man stole his wife.
From what started out as a joke no-one understood, a fascinating cycle of violence ensues, based on: because you did this, I now have a right to do that. I merely did to them, what they did to me. This way of living will always bring death.
3. Demonstrating God's Power
Remarkable similarities between the Corinthian Gods of Mithra, Adonis, Addis, Horus, and the Gospel story of Jesus Christ.
Paul's strategy changed in Corinth, instead of making fine-sounding arguments that Jesus was the Christ, as he did with the Jews, he demonstrated what Jesus' life looked like, by living it out. That gave him the credibility to announce that the kingdom of God was at hand.
Cookie-cutter evangelism doesn't work. Demonstrating the Power of God, within the Disposition of Messiah, gives us the Credibility to speak life into any situation.
4. Being a Good Neighbor
Luke 12:13 is the only time that Jesus' actually proclaims: God is going to kill you. It's not any of the sins you would think. It's not adultery, fornication, burning your children in fire, idolatry. Its greed!
Jesus is not impressed by what kind of car you drive, house you live in, or anything you possess; but with how much compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding-in-love, character is present in your homes.
5. Form versus Function
Greek people, people with white skin that come from Europe, and they find their origins in a really big, powerful church in Europe, that has big buildings with apostles names named after them - we see form.
We always see form. We were trained to see form, we think in form, everything about us is form.Hebrew people see function. To study our Bible more effectively, we should be people who are training ourselves to see function, not form.
6. The Worries of this Life, & the Deceitfulness of Wealth
Jesus says: the worries of this life will keep the word of God from taking root in your life. It's something that chokes your life out. The other one is the deceitfulness of wealth, which is a lie that says: if I had this I would be happy.
Do you have one day in seven, that is unlike any other? If you do, how is it different? Who are the most important people to you? What are you called to be? Is that getting your attention first?
