Jacob Wrestling God

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The discussion was more or less preceded by the following video:

Of Struggles and Comfort (Gina Phan)

Struggle and Comfort

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"I Have Called You Friends" (Thomas Low)

"I Have Called You My Friends"

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Belly Button vs The World (Peter Harrits)

Belly Button vs. The World!

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5Ps' of the Lord's Prayer

What follows is the 'structure' of the Lord's Prayer shared at a recent Adult Cathecism class. Assuming Jesus taught us to pray thus, it would reflect what God Himself 'looks for' in a prayer (content-wise, at least). I'll also assume the prayer should reflect a sense of priority, completeness and cogency. So here goes:

1. Praise - all due reverence and honour; without privileging any particular 'form' of worship / adoration / practice, it's pertinent that hallowing God's name is a supreme priority

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

2. Praxis - nothing here about believers 'going to heaven', rather it's about us 'bringing heaven down'

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven

3. Provision (both physical as well as spiritual) - it's worth reflecting on the possibility that forgiveness is a form of inter-dependent spiritual nourishment(!)...

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

4. Protection - temptation and evil (all personally- and relationally-destructive forms of anti-life) seem to encompass all we need to be wary of

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

5. Purpose - that which makes sense of and completes all the fore-going i.e. we pray all of this because ultimately it - everything - 'goes back' to He Who is the Source and Lord of it all

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. for ever and ever.

Amen

On Conversations

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Jesus as a Product?

(Written by Brett Borders)

In a world full of Snuggies, Bumpits and Nickelback, it’s easy to understand why many followers of Jesus are offended by the idea of him as a product. I understand. What could be more wrong than putting our savior in the same category as a shiny new iPad. Or a device that scrambles an egg inside its shell.

Here’s the thing, though: if you feel that way, it’s because you already know him. He’s transformed your life and the lives of your friends and family. The Holy Spirit has entered your life story. He’s opened your heart. Emptied you of your pride. And given you eternal life.

But for those who don’t know Jesus, he is just another product. One that sits there in the Great Spiritual Salad Bar along with Budda, Humanism, Materialism, Good Person-ism and a lot of other things. A recent stay at a Portland hotel confirmed this for me when, next to the list of cable TV channels and mini bar inventory sat a “spiritual menu” for guests. (“One $8 can of salted almonds and a Bhagavad Gita, please.”)

As a guy who’s spent almost 20 years in the ad business, I think this is good news. Because once we make the leap, once we get over the trivializing notion of Product Jesus, we can market him more effectively--by producing powerful, compelling branding and advertising for him and his church.

Some think good advertising is about manipulation and creating false desire. But it’s not. Americans are assaulted with more than 3,000 messages every day. Good advertising breaks through. It connects with people using laughter, tears and honesty in exchange for a few precious seconds of their time when they let down their guard to briefly consider what you’re selling.

Let’s not get hung up on the concept of Jesus as a commodity. Instead, let’s embrace it so we can leverage the craft of good advertising in order to make sure our message is the one people hear. Not one of the 3,000 that gets shut out. Our product is way too important to let that happen.