The Way of Jesus

Kingdom, Power, and Glory: Citizens & Aliens

Download 07_"Kingdom_Power_Glory".mp3

It was interesting preparing this message since the current events right now is the heated discussion of "illegal" immigrants.  Although I did not refer to this current debate, there really isn't anyway you can pray the Lord's Prayer and not be challenged by the fact that God is Father to the aliens among us and part of our identity as members of the international community of God means we are aliens ourselves.  Since this doxology was strongly political for the early church, I will say that the church today needs to be a strong advocate for immigrants.  We must wrestle with how we can put God's heart for the marginalized in society on display...It is how we sanctify His name ("hallow"-show his name to be good).

"The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:34).

http://go.sojo.net/campaign/immigration   Use this link to easily contact our senators to promote compassion in immigration reform.

Deliver Us: Dont' become the evil you hate

Download 06_"Deliver_Us".mp3

Father, Deliver us from evil.

Certainly this past Sunday's message raises 100 more questions than it answered.  So if you found yourself asking yourself, but what about...?  You are not alone.  I think every generation needs to wrestle with the reality that Jesus' message has a political reality--a reality that is not embodied well on the terms set up by the "left" or "right."  This has been a subject that I have been wrestling with for quite sometime now and I am happy to bring you into the struggle.  How do we truly live out the way of Jesus in a world full of ambiguity, hate, beauty, evil, hope, and despair?

My hope from this message is that we will wrestle with the songs that our world sings and begin to hear Jesus' song being played underneath the noise of the world. Once we help each other pick it out, I think we will become very adept at singing the New Song.

As We Forgive: Unpacking for Life

Download 05_"As_We_Forgive".mp3

This teaching begins with a dramatic monologue with the stage covered with luggage. The reality of people's pain was visceral for me in preparing for this week. I was not looking forward to it at all. I found the morning both deeply moving and insufficient...It really is a life of unpacking, not just a sermon on unpacking. The image of baggage is played out beautifully in a short film called luggage. It is a nooma DVD by Rob Bell. These films make for great small group discussions. That said, those of you who dropped your bags that Sunday...strong work!

Daily Bread: Personal Delivery

Download 04_"Daily_Bread".mp3

I am most excited about what will come from this teaching. Already I have had amazing conversations with a lot of you about what God is stirring in you in regards to practically meeting needs. Feel free to dream, act, and share your thoughts and ideas.

Kingdom Come: Heaven on Earth

Download 03_"Kingdom_Come".mp3

This reality of God wanting to come here has changed everything for me. It makes the Christian life "gut level compelling." If the Christian life is like playing Texas hold-um, then I am "all in".

Our Father: Wearing your Dad's clothes

Download 02_"Our_Father".mp3

I am wearing an extra large sports coat during most of this message.  Aside from looking 10 years old, I love the image.

Living in the Prayer of Jesus: Message Downloads

To download sermons:  Right click on the link below and select "save as".  Save file in your music folder.  Listen to the message by opening the saved file from your computer's audio player or from an mp3 player.

Download 01_tuning.mp3

This message was first inspired by a teaching conference with Rob Bell that I attended a couple years ago with my brother-in-law, David Morrow.  It rocked my perspective then and I have been exploring this ever since.