Who is the greatest Greek who has ever lived? I’ll give you a hint, the word Great is in his name...
So the answer is Alexander the Great, if you didn’t know. He became the “great” by, well, killing a ton of people. He was a military beast. He marched from Greece to India and hit up Egypt on the way, conquering as he went.
The greatest Roman, Persian, or Viking was always measured by the military dominance you showed. Kingdoms were all about great military victories.
Jesus teaches us that His Kingdom is at hand, and His disciples take Him seriously. They take Him so seriously that they want to know who is going to be the Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Read Matthew 18:1-4
At this point Jesus does something interesting, He calls a child into the gathering. The disciples are expecting Jesus to march to Jerusalem and kick some Roman hinny. They are expecting Him to violently overthrow Rome. Jesus does something totally radical, he calls a child up in front of the disciples. “You want to be great in the Kingdom of God? Be like this child.”
If Jesus is the King of a real Kingdom, and His Kingdom calls for our allegiance, what does he mean to have child like faith?
How do we, as Christians, place more value on the “Alexander” type of greatness and not the “Jesus” kind of greatness?
How would we as Christians act if we followed Christ in the way of weakness (the child), and not the way of strength (the soldier)?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Morning Devotions: Day 1
Ok, lets start with an easy question (maybe)...Why did Jesus die?
Now, lets make this a bit tougher. Why was Jesus killed?
Do you see the difference in the questions. The first has to do with the reasons Jesus died, what those things mean to us. The second has to do with Jesus trial and the people who accused Jesus and sentenced him to die.
Read Luke 22:66-23:17
After reading that passage, look at your answer for the second question. Do they match? Probably not right? So why is this?
We often think of Jesus dieing for our sins. We think of His crucifixion as simply a means to get us in to heaven. Both of these things are true, but they only tell half of the story. Pilate and the crowds were not crying out, “This man needs to die for our sins, Crucify Him, CRUCIFY Him!” They were claiming Jesus committed an actual crime. A real crime that deserved the death penalty.
What was the crime? They said Jesus was making Himself out to be a King and opposing taxes. They claimed He was a revolutionary.
We have often thought of the charges brought against Jesus as fake, but these aren’t. Jesus did claim to be the Messiah. What does the Word Messiah make you think of?
When Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, people knew He was claiming to be a real king who was about to set up a real kingdom. He was starting a revolution unlike anything the world had ever seen. If Jesus did set up a real kingdom on this earth what would that mean for us?
Now, lets make this a bit tougher. Why was Jesus killed?
Do you see the difference in the questions. The first has to do with the reasons Jesus died, what those things mean to us. The second has to do with Jesus trial and the people who accused Jesus and sentenced him to die.
Read Luke 22:66-23:17
After reading that passage, look at your answer for the second question. Do they match? Probably not right? So why is this?
We often think of Jesus dieing for our sins. We think of His crucifixion as simply a means to get us in to heaven. Both of these things are true, but they only tell half of the story. Pilate and the crowds were not crying out, “This man needs to die for our sins, Crucify Him, CRUCIFY Him!” They were claiming Jesus committed an actual crime. A real crime that deserved the death penalty.
What was the crime? They said Jesus was making Himself out to be a King and opposing taxes. They claimed He was a revolutionary.
We have often thought of the charges brought against Jesus as fake, but these aren’t. Jesus did claim to be the Messiah. What does the Word Messiah make you think of?
When Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, people knew He was claiming to be a real king who was about to set up a real kingdom. He was starting a revolution unlike anything the world had ever seen. If Jesus did set up a real kingdom on this earth what would that mean for us?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Post Series: Morning Devotions
This summer I have been asked to speak at a camp for High School students from the PCA in Florida. Part of what I have been asked to do is write the morning devotionals to accompany my morning messages. I will be speaking 3 times and writing 5 devotionals.
I was looking for some help in tweaking these devotions and making them better.
My general theme is going to be "Living in the Radical Kingdom of Christ". I plan to emphasize the way Jesus calls us to follow Him and His kingdom that exist on this planet, but is completely "other-worldly". I want the kids to walk away seeing the Kingdom as a place to "Plot Kindness, Wage Peace, and Scheme Love". Then show them what that means in high school.
If you could do me the favor of reading these devotionals as I write them and giving me some feedback, I would really appreciate it.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
GravesEnd Podcast #2
Viva La Vida
I am such a consumer. I saw a commercial for a new Coldplay song and immediately downloaded the song to my phone. My guilt aside, this song is awesome. Here is a piece of the lyrics, enjoy.
I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand
I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know St. Peter will call my name
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand
I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know St. Peter will call my name
Sunday, May 11, 2008
GravesEnd Podcast
Tim from Sacrosanct Gospel and I have started a podcast we hope to produce biweekly. It's called the GravesEnd Podcast and the first episode is up.
Listen Here
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