Jesus Creed Discussionhttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.comSun, 22 Nov 2009 20:17:21 GMTWeek 13 - Love God's Peoplehttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-13---love-gods-peopleWed, 18 Feb 2009 21:18:23 GMTRedwood ParkIt can be very easy for us to simply state that we love Jesus but don't love the church, but McKnight reminds us:

"Instead of despising the church because of its weaknesses, perhaps we should learn to love the church because it welcomes the weak and offers healing over time by simply gathering around Jesus" (pg. 68).

McKnight also reminds us that a way to love God's people is to get involved:

"We are not given gifts to hoard for ourselves or so our pantry will be filled for every possible emergency. We are gifted by God--and here we are back again to the Jesus Creed's second element of loving our neighbor as ourselves--'for the common good'" (pgs. 68-69).

All of you are doing an amazing job of loving the church by participating in the church, but it can be easy to get disallusioned by the imperfect-ness of the church. We need to remember that the church was never meant to be a haven for perfect people but a place for cracked eikons (images of God) to be made whole. What are some ways that God has provided for you to love His people?

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-13---love-gods-peopleWeek 11 - Loving the Face in the Mirrorhttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-11---loving-the-face-in-the-mirrorSun, 01 Feb 2009 00:19:30 GMTRedwood Parkas yourself" (Mark 12:31). So the first step in learning to love others is learning to love yourself. That can be hard sometimes!

Scot McKnight reminds us of three ways we need to love ourselves. First, we need to love ourselves for who we are: eikons, or images, of God. We were created to be a reflection of God, which means we are special. Second, we need to love ourselves by forgiving ourselves. God extends us forgiveness when we ask for it, no matter what we may have done. We need to extend ourselves that same forgiveness once we have been forgiven by God. That isn't always easy, but we need to allow God to help us do that. Lastly, we need to love ourselves by doing. "This proper self-love both flows from God and flows back into God. True self-love, then, is to know ourselves as God knows us and to treat ourselves as God treats us. True self-love, as Jesus teaches us, leads to love of others" (pg. 57).

Take some time to read Psalm 139 as suggested by McKnight. What are some things in there that jump out at you about how much God loves you and how you should love yourself?

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-11---loving-the-face-in-the-mirrorWeek 10 - Promised Lovehttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-10---promised-loveSat, 31 Jan 2009 23:59:57 GMTRedwood ParkIn this reading, Scot McKnight reminds us that God promises to be there for us, and God takes that promise seriously. God is so serious about that promise that he makes a covenant with Abraham that He will always be there. In Abraham's day, a covenant was legally binding to death. If someone broke a covenant they made with another person, that someone could be put to death. God made that kind of promise to Abraham and to us. God is putting himself on the line and says that if our relationship is broken with him, it's not because he's backed away. He's there for us, no matter what, waiting for us.

In God's call for us to love him and then love others, we are called to have that same neverending love for the people around us. That isn't something we can do on our own, though. We need to rely on God to love others through us.

Sometimes it's easy to see God as being "way up there." What are some ways that God has shown his love to prove that his is right here with you? How has God used you to show that kind of love to others?

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-10---promised-loveWeek 9 - God "On Call"http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-9---god-on-callThu, 15 Jan 2009 07:33:58 GMTRedwood ParkIsn't nice to know that God is full of mercy towards us? I never really had made the correlation that God's mercy frees us up from all the hang ups we have in order to fully love God and fully love others. I like how McKnight puts it: "God's mercy lurks in your shadows, too." God is waiting for us to face him and accept his mercy.

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-9---god-on-callWeek 8 - Looking for Godhttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-8---looking-for-godThu, 15 Jan 2009 07:24:09 GMTRedwood ParkThere seems to be a little skeptic in all of us when encountered with God's love. We want to know it's real, so we look for God to show up and prove his love to us. McKnight points out that God shows up in other people like he did with Moses and Sarah in Genesis 18. Sometimes God shows up in disguise like he did in the book of Luke with the men on the road to Emmaus. And he most definitely shows up at the Communion table in what the elements of bread and wine represent.

Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to find God in the amazing and the extraordinary that we forget that God, many times, chooses to show up in very ordinary ways.

"The God of the Bible shows up in ordinary ways, daily, in ordinary things for ordinary people" (page 41).

God shows us how much he loves us by showing up and touching our lives making ordinary things extraordinary.

What are some "ordinary" ways that God has shown up in your life to show his love for you? How do we not miss when God shows up?

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-8---looking-for-godWeek 7 - Midnight Mary's Lovehttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-7---midnight-marys-loveThu, 15 Jan 2009 07:05:26 GMTRedwood ParkMcKnight uses the story of the prodigal son in order to remind us of the kind of love God has for us. It is a love that takes a risk by giving of itself to people who have the freedom to reject it. It is a love that eagerly awaits the return of his cracked image-bearers to himself. It is a love that celebrates greatly when we submit our lives to him to be made whole again - whole image-bearers.

What goes through your mind as you think of the love God has for you?

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-7---midnight-marys-loveWeek 6 - Eikons of Lovehttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-6---eikons-of-loveWed, 17 Dec 2008 20:15:57 GMTRedwood Park

As I read this week's entry (Day 6), I was reminded that we all need to just stop sometimes... stop the event planning, stop the diriving from one activity to the next, stop doing... and reevaluate all that we are doing. Are we being true to ourselves and who God created us to be?

"So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

If we are created in his image, or eikon (pronounced eye-con) as Scot McKight likes to say, then we are created to love--love God and love others. Since we are "cracked eikons," though due to the Fall, we need God to "fix" us so we can once again love Him, love ourselves, love others and love creation as we were meant to.

What does it mean to you that you are created in God's image... an eikon? Have any stories of times you have had to slow down and rediscover God's call to love Him and love others?

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-6---eikons-of-loveWeek 5 - The Divine Dancehttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-5---the-divine-danceWed, 17 Dec 2008 19:31:01 GMTRedwood ParkWhat a beautiful picture of the Trinity as a divine dance between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each one indwells the other, making them one. As you read Scot McKnight's description of this divine dance and the invitation for us to enter into that dance so we can truly love God and love others, what were some thoughts you had?

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-5---the-divine-danceWeek 4 - Facing God Todayhttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-4---facing-god-todayWed, 17 Dec 2008 19:27:40 GMTRedwood ParkWhat does the statement, "You have no idea about love until you look in the face of God," mean in relation to what Scot McKnight writes about?

]]>http://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-4---facing-god-todayWeek 3 - Loving Othershttp://redwoodpark.publishpath.com/week-3---loving-othersWed, 03 Dec 2008 03:20:05 GMTRedwood ParkWell, this week we are looking at the second part of the Jesus Creed, "Love your neighbour as yourself." This means more than just meeting the needs of those you may like or who may be in your community. This means reaching out to everyone regardless of who they are. Jesus challenges us to put aside our prejudices and preferences and tells us to meet the needs of whoever God may place in our lives.

What were your thoughts as you read Day 3? Do you have some stories where God challenged you to "love your neighbour?"

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