here is a fixed version of last post

sorry I didn't catch that sooner. I will try and record the next teaching today, "the empire strikes back parts one and two"

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The radical gospel of Matthew's Jesus part 2 (the sequel)

Does Isaiah really say a virgin will be with child? Why doesn't Matthew interpret Isaiah like a Hebrew wood? What does God with us mean? and what it all means to us




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Things sometimes get complicated

So there is this couple that hangs out at the local park. Well, the truth is they live there. We sometimes will talk with them when we are there and they are usually friendly. Sometimes he is not so friendly however. I have figured out that it is usually when he has had a few too many that he becomes a bit nasty.

His wife, who we all call momma, appears to have had a stroke, as she struggles to speak clearly, and has limited use of her right side. But she is always happy, and eager to say hello and have a cup of coffee with us.

But this is the thing. I have just heard that sometimes when he is drunk he beats her up. Now my first reaction quite honestly is, "if I see him lay a hand on her, I am gonna bust his head" Luckily for me, I have learned that my first reaction is usually not the one Jesus would have :) But then I think, what would Jesus do in this situation? If we stopped the violence, and then just moved on, it would continue as soon as we leave. If we call the cops and get him arrested, then a lady is all alone, and from my understanding isn't interested in being in a shelter. We don't have a room to share with her, or them right now. What do you do?

This is why I think we need the church. But not the church in its steepled, stained glass hierarchy, but in its small, communal, waiting on the Lord together kind of manifestation. Where we can wrestle with difficult situations, and listen together for the still small voice. Would love for your community to pray for ours as we strive to figure these things out.

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a pipe I just made

The radical gospel of Matthew's Jesus part 2

Here is part 2, please post your questions or comments

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The radical gospel of Matthew's Jesus part 1

Matthew 1:1-17 the geneology.

Let me please apologize for a mistake in the recording, which I can't easily fix as I don't have an editing program and record these straight through

When I said that the name david equaled the number fourteen that wasn't exactly correct. If you take the numerical value of d v d and add them together they equal 14.

Anyways hope to stir up some discussion

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The radical gospel of Matthew's Jesus intro

This has been a long time goal of mine, and I discussed it with my community and we came to the decision that it would be a good thing for me to do this series. They did, (knowing my tendencies towards obsession) ask that I limit my internet time. So I am very happy to get into discussions, and arguments and the like however I will need to keep my time to one hour on Thursday night and one hour on Sunday night.

ok, now I know this might be a bit boring, but just listen to this, and I promise the actual bible studies will have a bit more bite :)

intro to matthew



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hello comrades

fight the power!!!

christmas message

Hope you had a great holidays. I am sharing a message like I usually do, but this one is maybe not as universal in its application as I usually try to be, please forgive me.

In a Christmas story that we don't really see on Christmas cards, or in cute Christmas cartoons we see the violent reality of our world. Herod (official title: King of the Jews) is approached by astrologers from Iraq (enough to make some American Christians a bit nervous) who say they are looking for the one born the king of the Jews. An interesting note is that all of Jerusalem hears about this, and the priests actually tell the astrologers and Herod where to find the Messiah. Yet these priests and holy men don't go themselves! The upper echelon of religious power is quite often more involved in upholding their power and approval with the state than seeking true worship. But these gentile, astrologers do go to worship.

This is not my point or message though.

What happens next is the bit rarely talked about. The astrologers betray Herod and do not reveal the location of the one born king of the Jews. And the one inserted as king of the Jews makes a shocking decision. He decided to kill every child up to two years old in the region of Jesus birth. This is called the murder of the holy innocents.

The king sees in Jesus not a cute little baby in a manger. The king sees a threat to the entire power structure of his world. If this child is the king of the Jews, then what does that make him? What will his future be? What will the future of his children be? And like most power, he feels it is in the best interest of Rome, and Jerusalem to take out this new born king.

I have a few points. The first is to dispel this idea that we see brilliantly lampooned in the legend of Ricky Bobby. The cute little 8 lb 7 ounce baby Jesus in the manger. The baby born all those years ago makes us feel warm and fuzzy as most babies do. We like the idea of God loving us, and a fragile, non threatening, non demanding baby being the image of God's love. But the king understood what we may not: This is no normal baby. This baby is dangerous, revolutionary, and will upset everything. Life as usual will not be possible. But rather than trying to kill the baby, we have a new tact, we try to keep him a baby. Just forget the rest. We in all reality take the baby who is non threatening, and skip straight to the cross, where though grown up, this baby now is dying and again not threatening. God now dies for all our sins, and we can be forgiven and go to heaven. Yet we forget all the stuff in the middle, hard stuff. Stuff that really makes our kingdom of me uncomfortable. Like love your enemies, you cannot serve God and money, and forgive those that sin against you.

My second point is this, power will do whatever it takes to stay in power. In this case even the priests were willing to team up with the secular authorities to eliminate the threat to their own little place of power. Jesus tells us of a new kingdom where the king is on the bottom, where power is meant to be shared not fought for, where those that are least empowered, are exalted.

And my last point...

whether you choose to accept Jesus as Lord, or a moral teacher, or a character in a morality tale, you must deal with the ugliness of mankind, as well as the beauty of the story. This narrative does not just speak of "spiritual truths" but deals with the very essence of who we are as people. The very best of humanity, and the very worst are all represented here. And if we do not see it all, I do not think we really see any of it.

peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind

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beware the wolves

they'll get ya