He is Fun (March 12, 2023)
Jesus is fun. It’s not like he used to be fun and now he’s not fun. He’s fun. He is not stiff and stodgy, he’s not judgmental even though he’s the only one who can be. He speaks of his own fun nature when he says, ‘my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ He loves you and he gets you. He did everything he possibly could to lighten the load for you and pave the way for you to enjoy his joy. But its still your choice.
He is Generous (March 19, 2023)
As far as the Master of Generosity is concerned, as far as it matters to the one who can protect, heal, rewrite, and forgive, He wants to give lavishly of his unending generosity. This is who Jesus was and and what Jesus taught. If you’ve been given the impression that He’s exclusive, He’s inclusive. If you’ve been given the impression that He’s judgmental, He’s forgiving. If you’ve been given the impression that He’s burdensome, He actually wants to lighten your load. He has prepared a table for you in the presence of all that is ugly in this world, and there’s plenty of room for you.
Jesus Disagrees (March 26, 2023)
People who are not followers of Jesus and not disciples are not drawn to be such by disagreeing to the point of disrespect. When I choose first to be curious about who they are and why they believe what they believe, when I first am interested in building a relationship before building a case, then I stay on target with leading them to Jesus. Jesus is still with us to the very end of the age, but when I just want to be right, Jesus never gets to be part of the story.
Jesus is God (April 2, 2023)
We can hear incredible teaching by Jesus and read about the incredible selflessness of Jesus. We can begin to see and understand how approachable and fun Jesus was, how amazingly generous he was with his time, compassion, and empathy, and be amazed by his incredible focus and mission. Yet we cannot miss the most important reality of who Jesus is. Jesus is God. The reason that it matters to human history that he was among us, that he lived sinlessly, and that he died on the cross is because he is God.
Jesus is fun, and Jesus is generous, and Jesus is compassionate, and Jesus is merciful, and Jesus is focused, but make no mistake; Jesus is God.
Jesus is Victorious (Easter Sunday | April 2, 2023)
We have temptation, we have shame, we have loneliness that wants to derail us and keep us from crossing the finish line. But Jesus finished the race so you could finish the race. You don’t have to be derailed by temptations, even temptations you’ve given into. You don’t have to stop running because shame seems so heavy that your legs don’t want to run anymore. That shame has been discarded by the cross. And the silence that wants to convince you that you are not worthy and that there’s no love for you; you are about to turn the corner and see the finish line.