Something is going to be the master of your life. You have the ability to decide. What will you be a slave to? You can choose to be a slave to sin. You can choose to be a slave to Christ. Only one will set you free. Freedom is found in submitting your life to Christ. When you are dead to sin, you will be alive in Christ. God is love. When we commit our lives to God, we are giving everything up for love. We all make this decision, but we need to make it consciously. How can we show the true love of Christ in our own lives?
Love is not an emotion. Love is an action. Love is a lifestyle. We have to show love through the way we live. There are people who are hungry living in the same town as you. There are people who do not have places to sleep in the same town you live in. There are people who don't have clean water. People who are raped, beaten, sold into slavery EVERYDAY. What are we doing to stop it?! What are we doing to cause change?
We have to learn to take initiative to help begin to solve the problems of our world. Where do we start!?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Research Proposal
The way the world thinks of love is different from the way in which Paul explains it. We need to understand both views before we can overcome the gap between society and scripture. As a class, we should study love from Paul's perspective and from our society's perspective. We should find the gap where these ideas of love fail to meet and search for a solution to bring them together. What can we do as a class to spark change at Huntingdon to bridge the gap between society and scripture? Our project should unite the student body in an understanding of true love and how we can share love everyday in everything we do.
I propose that we, as a class, use the things we learn and study about love to search for a solution to the gap between what society tells us love is and what Paul tells us love should be. Our solution should be shown in some form of visual presentation (whether it be a video, art, or each of us standing on corners shouting our message), we should present our message to our peers and let our impact be our evaluation of our project.
I propose that we, as a class, use the things we learn and study about love to search for a solution to the gap between what society tells us love is and what Paul tells us love should be. Our solution should be shown in some form of visual presentation (whether it be a video, art, or each of us standing on corners shouting our message), we should present our message to our peers and let our impact be our evaluation of our project.
The Greatest Commandment
There is only one relationship that is truly loving (unconditionally) and eternal. That is the relationship between God, our Father, and each of His children. Before the world was set into motion, He loved us. He gave us His love.
He tells us to love Him with all our heart, mind, and strength. Can we actually achieve this? What does it look like to love God with ALL of your heart, with ALL of you mind, or with ALL of your strength? It's so easy to keep reading the scripture here...love your neighbor as yourself...okay, but what happens to the first part?
We're so worried about defining "neighbor" like we've already achieved the first commandment. I know who God is and I'm struggling to fully comprehend what it means to love Him with everything that I am.
He tells us to love Him with all our heart, mind, and strength. Can we actually achieve this? What does it look like to love God with ALL of your heart, with ALL of you mind, or with ALL of your strength? It's so easy to keep reading the scripture here...love your neighbor as yourself...okay, but what happens to the first part?
We're so worried about defining "neighbor" like we've already achieved the first commandment. I know who God is and I'm struggling to fully comprehend what it means to love Him with everything that I am.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Foundations for Love
In order to be productive and effective in our faith, we are called to possess certain qualities, one of which is LOVE; however, before we are to have love we must have goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and brotherly kindness. So often, we jump straight into the idea of love, but maybe we should take a step back to the foundations of love that Second Peter talks about. If we want to show love and be examples of Christ's love, we should ALREADY be covering these other characteristics
2 Peter 1:3-9
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
2 Peter 1:3-9
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
What is love?
love…SEXUAL or LACK of love?
Passion, emotion, union
The Beatles:
All You Need Is Love-
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you
in time - It's easy.
Literature:
Love-noun/verb
Faith-verb
How can we change the way that people use words? offer love and live faith
Culture:
Aphrodite: goddess of love, physical
Who is our neighbor? Who should we love?
The oppressed? People who chose not to love us?
Love:
If all we can do is get close (to the true love that is Christ), is that enough?
Eros gets pulled into it…but it’s not the same thing. We mix the love languages
Without Christ's unconditional love all other kinds of love fail
Why do we find love to be so difficult?
Why have people lost belief in love?
What can we be doing to show love, to give love?
Biblical Love:
Romans 13:8 submit to authority…can we live in a word of love? When authority prevents you from getting/giving love
Matthew 5: love your enemies. Loving those who love you is easy
We have to be intentional about loving others, especially our enemies
1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
love…SEXUAL or LACK of love?
Passion, emotion, union
The Beatles:
All You Need Is Love-
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you
in time - It's easy.
Literature:
Love-noun/verb
Faith-verb
How can we change the way that people use words? offer love and live faith
Culture:
Aphrodite: goddess of love, physical
Who is our neighbor? Who should we love?
The oppressed? People who chose not to love us?
Love:
If all we can do is get close (to the true love that is Christ), is that enough?
Eros gets pulled into it…but it’s not the same thing. We mix the love languages
Without Christ's unconditional love all other kinds of love fail
Why do we find love to be so difficult?
Why have people lost belief in love?
What can we be doing to show love, to give love?
Biblical Love:
Romans 13:8 submit to authority…can we live in a word of love? When authority prevents you from getting/giving love
Matthew 5: love your enemies. Loving those who love you is easy
We have to be intentional about loving others, especially our enemies
1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Love: God, You, Others
There is no greater commandment than to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; however the second is also of most importance, to love your neighbor as yourself.
So, we, as Christians are called to love God first, with every fiber of our beings. Without His love, we couldn't possibly love anything else in the world.
We are then to love ourselves. We have to love ourselves as children of God before we can love others. We experience His love in order to have the ability to share His love with others.
We should love others as brothers and sisters in God's creation because we are all children of God. He loves each one of us individually and equally.
So, we, as Christians are called to love God first, with every fiber of our beings. Without His love, we couldn't possibly love anything else in the world.
We are then to love ourselves. We have to love ourselves as children of God before we can love others. We experience His love in order to have the ability to share His love with others.
We should love others as brothers and sisters in God's creation because we are all children of God. He loves each one of us individually and equally.
Love in the Message of Paul
Love is a gift. The greatest gift of all. God's love is boundless.
Perfect love is Christ. There is none other.
"In Jesus we love God and are loved by God. Jesus is love itself, and as love incarnate dwells among men as God's concrete human appeal for us."
"The love of Jesus calls for reciprocity: We know that in everything God works with those who love Him, whom He has called in accordance with His purpose, to bring about what is good."
Love motivated suffering. Jesus' free acceptance of suffering assures us of His love.
Christ's love is the ultimate motive for Christian life. Paul's assurance of God's love rests on 3 facts: 1. God sent His own son as an act of love 2. God's love is poured into our hearts and becomes the decisive reality of our existence 3. God's love is revealed in Jesus' life, eternal love, and death
John J. Navone
Perfect love is Christ. There is none other.
"In Jesus we love God and are loved by God. Jesus is love itself, and as love incarnate dwells among men as God's concrete human appeal for us."
"The love of Jesus calls for reciprocity: We know that in everything God works with those who love Him, whom He has called in accordance with His purpose, to bring about what is good."
Love motivated suffering. Jesus' free acceptance of suffering assures us of His love.
Christ's love is the ultimate motive for Christian life. Paul's assurance of God's love rests on 3 facts: 1. God sent His own son as an act of love 2. God's love is poured into our hearts and becomes the decisive reality of our existence 3. God's love is revealed in Jesus' life, eternal love, and death
John J. Navone
All You Need Is Love
Love expresses itself in various ways; however these ways do not conflict with each other...there are simply different forms.
Libido, or the desire for union physically, is sexual union.
Eros is the desire for union with the world, culture and knowledge.
Philia strives for union between people.
Agape is the greatest because it is not self-centered. It accepts, does not exclude, and fails to make preference. Only through agape are the other forms of love seen without evil desires.
Love transcends "the alternative between legal absolutism and ethical relativism." Only love is sensitive to each of them individually. Love is based on unchanging eternal principle, concern for another.
There is no true definition for love because "there is no higher principle by which it could be defined." "It is life in its actual unity."
"This is the meaning of ethics: to express the ways in which loe embodies itself and life is maintained and saved."
Ethics in the Thought os Paul Tillich by Elliot Shaw
Libido, or the desire for union physically, is sexual union.
Eros is the desire for union with the world, culture and knowledge.
Philia strives for union between people.
Agape is the greatest because it is not self-centered. It accepts, does not exclude, and fails to make preference. Only through agape are the other forms of love seen without evil desires.
Love transcends "the alternative between legal absolutism and ethical relativism." Only love is sensitive to each of them individually. Love is based on unchanging eternal principle, concern for another.
There is no true definition for love because "there is no higher principle by which it could be defined." "It is life in its actual unity."
"This is the meaning of ethics: to express the ways in which loe embodies itself and life is maintained and saved."
Ethics in the Thought os Paul Tillich by Elliot Shaw
On Loving Strangers
"In no fewer than 36 times does the Hebrew Bible command the love of strangers"
"A human community that does not welcome others and their otherness does not image the mystery of God"
The age that we live in has been called an age of migration. It is said that one in 35 people actually lives as a migrant. If we are called to love strangers, should we not then be loving each of them as if they were all Christ? Hebrews 13:2 reminds us that we should never fail to give hospitality to others because in doing so we have come encountered with angels.
Encountering the Mystery of God in the Face of Migrants: Miguel H. Diaz
"A human community that does not welcome others and their otherness does not image the mystery of God"
The age that we live in has been called an age of migration. It is said that one in 35 people actually lives as a migrant. If we are called to love strangers, should we not then be loving each of them as if they were all Christ? Hebrews 13:2 reminds us that we should never fail to give hospitality to others because in doing so we have come encountered with angels.
Encountering the Mystery of God in the Face of Migrants: Miguel H. Diaz
The Amen Corner
Paul's understanding of humanity was based on his own understanding of Christ's humanity. When Saul became Paul, LOVE was the change; Christ's love. (2 Cor. 5:17) Because of his change (the old being dead and the new alive) Christ is his model for humanity and how he should love others. He was no longer about "self-interest and self-promotion" but about "self-emptying" and becoming obedient,even to the extent of death.
Love "is letting be" not necessarily union. It is not uniting, but enabling. The greatest love is costly because it can only be accomplished by spending everything one has for another.
(Nathan D. Mitchell)
Love "is letting be" not necessarily union. It is not uniting, but enabling. The greatest love is costly because it can only be accomplished by spending everything one has for another.
(Nathan D. Mitchell)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
class notes 1/14
What is worth knowing?
What about his life?
Approach to reconciling people on the margins?
Margins:
Poor/poverty
Structure of the church/focus on people on the outside
Church:
-margins/boundaries
-Purpose
-organization
-reason
-people
-content
-love/God (connection)
-religion/lifestyle/worship
-morals/virtues (striving for)
-connecting with people
-Prayer (connecting everything, most important in Paul’s letters, understated)
-spirituality?! Religion?! Meditation?!
-innocence of children…perspectives? Shaped? Humility? Knowing your place?
-competition
-family (connection) (not even blood ; church, friends, etc.)
-views on religion, spirituality, others
Gal. 1:13….Act’s road to Damascus experience, God revealing His son to Paul
Problems you want to face? Things you want to overcome?
-connecting with the oppressed, praying, loving, living
-How should we do this? Through love.
LOVE: what is worth knowing about love?
Read about love: 5 articles on love (by next Tuesday)
EBSCO Host: ATLA Religion search: love
Google: love
-children
-family
-morals
-connecting with people
-purpose of loving
-competition in love
-shaping love
-psychology of love
-love as a lifestyle
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