Nouwen

"It is hard for me to forgive someone who has really offended me, especially when it happens more than once. I begin to doubt the sincerity of the one who asks forgiveness for a second, third, or fourth time. But God does not keep count. God just waits for our return, without resentment or desire for revenge. "
- Henri Nouwen The Road to Daybreak

I was reading Shaun Groves blog and came upon this great quote from Henri Nouwen. If you haven't ever checked out Nouwen, get the Prodigal Son and In the Name of Jesus to start.

busy, poor, tired, etc

I thought Shaun Groves post on college students was interesting. Just like his post, I totally thought of myself as tired, busy and poor in college. Today, I look back and I wasted so much time, spent money on random things and took a nap a day. Now I realize that poor is not eating hot pockets, but working as a rickshaw driver in Bangladesh. And my view of tired and busy are very different now too. The stats in his post were pretty wild. This heightens how difficult the transition is from college to the "real world."

A Robust Gospel

My friend Matt sent me this article from Christianity Today by Scot McKnight. He has 8 points about a more Robust Gospel. Today I had the awesome opportunity to share the gospel with someone who visited the Gathering. It is always amazing to be reminded what good news the gospel is in its story, its forgiveness, its reconciliation, and its compelling vision for us and for all creation. The gospel is the power of God for those who are being saved!

Redemption Stories

I am excited about our new series at the Gathering on Sunday nights starting this week March 2nd. I am particularly excited about hearing testimonies of how God is redeeming people within our community. Here is the blurb for our redemption stories:

The longing for redemption and healing is one of the most common themes of movies, music, and art. Culture communicates about the brokenness of our world and the desire for redemption. The story of the Bible is that God Himself has come to rescue and renew the creation through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. When God’s story of redemption intersects with our stories – the entire course of our life is changed.

Quirky Movie Taste

With the oscars coming up, I figured I should write about a few movies that I have liked this year. I have a baby, so most of my movie watching is through Netflix, so I apologize if I am behind on the times. I have learned after my last blog on a movie (Lars and the Real Girl) that I have quirky movie taste. But recently I have found many others who like these films. Obviously, there are things that I don't like about these movies (disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer), but I am drawn to movies like these because they communicate so much about our culture and also are usually in some way redemptive.

1. Juno. They take a very serious subject and at times make light of it. But the writing is pretty hilarious and Ellen Page does an incredible job. There is so much to say about this movie. I think it communicates the longing for meaning and redemption and the many places we try to find it.

2. Once. This is a story told through music in Ireland. I wonder how many people who "used" to play the guitar picked it back up after this movie. Great story and well done.

3. Reign Over Me. I always like Don Cheadle. This was a movie that I didn't hear about until I rented it. I thought it was very a very compelling story about healing for both characters.

substitute

My friend was recently confirmed as a match for a bone marrow transplant. One of his co-workers struggled with the operation because my friend was not allowed to know what kind of person would be receiving the transplant. The uncertain co-worker said, “I would have a tough time sacrificing anything for an undeserving person.” This scenario exemplifies the radical and countercultural nature of the gospel. Jesus died a criminal’s death, but that wasn’t the worst of it. He bore the wrath of God and endured the depths of the relational separation that comes with sin, yet Jesus knew no sin. He experienced death and separation in our stead, though we did not deserve it. My friend’s blood saved this person and he will never know what her character was like. Jesus’ death on the Cross saved was the only thing that could save our lives from eternal separation from God. The truth of the gospel is that we were worse off than we ever thought, but now because of Jesus we are more accepted than we ever hoped to be. This was a great reminder to me that the message of the gospel is foolishness to our culture, yet the power of God for those are saved.

New Book

I read this interview with Tim Keller on Justin Taylor's blog (called Between Two Worlds) about his book coming out in early February. I am pretty excited about this book called Reason for God and have already pre-ordered it. Check out his interview at this post.