Repentance Redefined
We spent the majority of our discussion time last Friday talking about the word repentance and the mental containers we have filled with definition for this word. Almost everyone's definitions related the word to an individual turning away from sin or turning away from a lifestyle that is in opposition to God's lifestyle.
Repentance, in the context of the usage of John the Baptist and of Jesus was always in the context of a national turning or a national realignment of priorities. In other words, it was a call to turning back in obedience to kingdom principles.
How does repentance as a process of realigning ones life to kingdom priorities differ from the traditional view of repentance as the prelude to a personal conversion experience? How might this fuller definition assist us in our spiritual conversations?
In Need of a New Approach
This past Friday we dove headfirst into the deep waters of our Christian lexicon. We looked at the potential need to re-lexicon some of the words and phrases we use in our attempts to communicate our faith. Several questions come to mind that I would enjoy reading your input.
We said that words really have no raw meanings, only the mental containers we create for them. Do you agree with that statement and how might you illustrate it?
When we use words like gospel, repentance, sin and salvation, do you think that Average Joe has a concept of what we mean by those words?
What do you think of my suggestion that we've reduced the message of salvation to a simple transaction where the result of the transaction is a seat at the heavenly 50 yard-line? How does a transactional model reflect the biblical model? What are the inherent dangers of viewing salvation through a transactional mindset?
Reply away!
Our Image of God
It was C.S. Lewis who said, "I don't want my image of God, I want God." We might all echo that sentiment but the reality is that each of us has concepts of God that are different then the God revealed in the Scriptures. Do you have a favorite image of God that has affected your faith journey in either a positive or negative way? How has it affected your journey?
Re-creating God
We spoke this past Friday about one of the destructive images we have created for God: the cop around the corner. This image was the dominate image of God that I inherited from my parents and church growing up. It created a tension in my life that took me nearly twenty-five year to balance with the image of God described in the Scriptures. What images of God were most powerful for you growing up? Where they positive ones or negative ones? Did they help or hinder your faith journey? In what ways?
Still Searching
Our study this week touched on the advantages of living together in community. To quote the Teacher, "
two people can acomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for hteir labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble." What is it that draws us to want to be together in community? What is it inside of us that often resists that urge to be a part of a community? How does community assist us in finding meaning in our lives? Can community also be a hindrance in our lives as well? If so, how?
A Life of Satisfaction
In this weeks blog, I would like us to consider the questions we ended our time with last Friday, namely, the difference between gratification and satisfaction. In what ways do are search for satisfaction get shortchanged by gratification? Does gratification cause us to stop short of true satisfaction? How can we avoid settling for gratification in place of satisfaction?
The Search Continues
Lee Atwater, known as a brutal, consummate political strategist and hardball Republican Nation Committe chair, became a Christ-follower before he died of brain cancer in 1991. Before he died, he said, "I acquired more wealth, power and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want, and still feel empty. It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambition and moral decay, can learn on my dime."
Spend some time reading the first 11 versus of Ecclesiastes 2. How do the words of Atwater reflect the thoughts of the Teacher? What can we learn from these two men about our search for satisfaction in earthy possessions?
