a glimpse towards Sunday 8.16.13

Some of the seemingly great people from my high school days never actually seemed as great after high school as they did when we were in high school.  Did you follow that?  When was the last time you actually went to your alma mater’s alumni banquet and saw familiar faces and what they ultimately became?  Chuck was a nuisance on the cross-country course, but now is a great thinker, writer, and music connoisseur.  Kimberly seemed out of touch with reality as a senior and a bit (or a lot) Pentecostal for my church upbringing.  Now I love her lasting faith and values.  I never really spent much time with Teri.  She seemed to always want to turn my girlfriend away from my polished advances.  She was also the Principal’s daughter.  Teri recently posted how she wished she lived closer to Atlanta to her my sermon.  Whaaaa?

I also remember those in the class of ’78 who managed their images incredibly well.  The top dawgs included cheerleaders, football players, homecoming attendants, and the flat out groovy kids (and I DID just say groovy).  I gravitated towards the like back then.  I wonder what that makes me?  Hmmm.  These days, this side of 50, I tend to see the deeper realities and authenticity from my high school drama.  Sometimes things and people aren’t always as they seem.  I wish I would have know that back in ’78.

Did you know the one hundred year war lasted… 116 years.  Panama hats are made in… Ecuador.   Russians celebrate the October revolution in… November.  Chinese gooseberries are from… New Zealand.   Camel’s hair brushes are made from… squirrel fur.  Weird.

See what I mean.  Sometimes some things are not always as they seem.

On Sunday, we’ll be looking at a passage of scripture that appears to paint Jesus in a very angry and uncharacteristic light.  Things within scripture and the Kingdom are often not as they appear.

Jesus, in Mark 11:12-14, get’s really ticked off at a fig tree.  The tree had leaves but no fruit.  Hmmm.  What’s up with this?  Immediately after this quirky little encounter with a stupid tree, Jesus walks into the cool space of the religious elite.  They look one way on the outside, but are rotting on the inside.  Sometimes some things and some people are not always as they seem.

How does this apply to us?  On Sunday, we’ll try to unpack and then apply this great text from the EPIC book of Mark.  Ever wonder if what you portray on the outside is copasetic with what’s really happening on the inside?   Jesus has a powerful way of sorting through it all with incredible, honest accuracy.

This Sunday, come as you really are.  Bring a friend, and have them come just the way they are too.  Check your pretense and image management at the doors.  This will be a great time of worship, study, and challenge.

BTW… King George the VI was actually named Albert.  He just wasn’t himself.  Sometimes people just aren’t as they seem either.  What about you?

See you on Sunday… 9 & 11 a.m.

Blessings,

(p.s . Check out this video for our spiritual gifts class by clicking HERE.  Check out out our women’s Fall study of Ruth class by clicking HERE.)

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