Once, when Jesus brought his disciples into Samaritan territory, he challenged their age-old prejudice. He told them, “Open your eyes,” so they would be able to see a great spiritual harvest among these loathed people. Later, when framing the socio-geographical extent of their mission, he included Samaria along with Jerusalem, Judea, and the ends of …
How Wide Is Your Welcome? (Part 2 of 2)
In Part 1 I noted how the twelve, like us, had a hard time accepting people outside their own spiritual circle. “Those other so-called Christians might believe in Jesus but they believe a little different than us. They don't worship enough, or maybe too much. They don’t evangelize the way we do or pray in …
How Wide Is Your Welcome? (Part 1 of 2)
46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who …
Outer Circle Christians (Part 2 of 6)
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:2 Jesus’ welcome was way too wide for the spiritual experts of his time. They didn’t like the people he welcomed, how they looked, where they were from, or how they worshipped. The Pharisees, Judaism’s self-appointed Inner Circle in Jesus’ day, weren’t interested in reaching Outer …
The Missional, Merciful, Worshipful Christian (Part 3 of 4)
[If you haven't seen Parts 1 & 2 I hope you'll take a quick look at them for context. These posts are a cursory glance at Luke 10 and three key components to a balanced walk with Jesus. I introduced it in Part 1 and talked about being "missional" in Part 2. Based on the Good Samaritan …
Continue reading "The Missional, Merciful, Worshipful Christian (Part 3 of 4)"
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