JR. Forasteros - March 31, 2013
Easter 2013
Through the Resurrection, God calls us to join God in restoring the world. Jesus' resurrection is proof of God's faithfulness to bring life even in the face of death. When we live in the power of Jesus' resurrection, we can step confidently into the calling God has on our lives. We can step out in faith, take the big risk, jump with both feet into God's mission!
From Series: "Already/Not Yet"
Jesus' resurrection wasn't the end of the story; it was the beginning of God's new creation. The Resurrection is God's first step toward reclaiming creation, and we get to be a part of it. By choosing to follow Jesus, we leave the old reality dominated by sin and death and step into God's kingdom, where we find life. This new life has already begun. And yet we're also still waiting, because God's kingdom has not yet come in full. How do we live in the tension between the Already and the Not Yet? This series explores who God calls the Church to be, and how the Holy Spirit enables us to join in God's mission in the space between the Resurrection and the Second Coming. We're not just waiting around for God to show up. God is already here and working, so we're joining in!
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
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Get Rich QuickSeptember 5, 2010 |
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Camel for Sale!September 12, 2010 |
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Best Church Ever!September 19, 2010 |
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ChurchJanuary 2, 2011 |
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TrinityJanuary 9, 2011 |
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Anyone else ever have awkward family reunions? Growing up, my dad’s family got together every Thanksgiving at my grandpa’s church. We’d feast around 11 am, all my grandpa’s brothers and sisters and their descendants – usually some 150 of us. Sometime in the afternoon, a pickup football game would start outside and run basically until it was time for dinner around 5.
By the time I was in college, the reunion had shrunk (as reunions tend to). But my aunts and uncles and cousins all still gathered. And though the football game was a lot smaller, we still played. By the time I was in college, my little brother wasn’t so little anymore. He was a three-sport athlete in high school, including football. And it’s possible I was feeling a little self-conscious playing against him during this particular football game.
So when I tackled him to stop a touchdown one play, it’s possible I might have celebrated a little too hard.
My dad (who was also on the other team), told me to calm down, and when I refused, he decided to teach me a lesson on the next play. But he missed the tackle, I scored on him, and I doubled down on the trash talk and bad sportsmanship.
It was one of those moments when everyone could feel the tone of the game shift. It wasn’t about family having fun anymore. Suddenly, it was about two big egos both trying to be the biggest man on the field.
Needless to say, the game dissolved pretty quickly after that, and dinner was way more awkward than usual. At least for me.
That moment was emblematic for my dad and me because the real problem was how stubborn we both are. And it’s not just him and me. My brother is the same way, and so is my father’s father. In fact, if you look back through our family tree, it’s pretty clear there’s some kind of gene for hard-headedness that runs in the men in my family. And it’s caused plenty of problems a lot more severe than just a ruined football game.
Let’s talk about the sins we inherit from our families. The deep patterns of pain and brokenness we sometimes can’t even see because they just look normal to us.
