Intensive Gospel Study---Instructions

Hi, Ben-

Hope you are doing well.

The Strategic Planning team is doing an intentional reading of the gospels this summer, each person reading one gospel and taking notes. It is preparation work for materials that we are putting together for the congregation for later in the year. I wanted to invite you to participate in the reading this summer if you would be interested. If you are, let me know and I will get a packet of materials ready for you. Let me know which gospel you would prefer to read.

Thanks, Ben.

Grace,

Jayne

Thanks! I'd like to take John as I had a Senior Seminar on that one, so I already have a few notes on it.

See you soon,

Ben.

---so without further ado, I shall soon post all my Senior Seminar notes on John.

Hi, Ben-

Thanks for taking part in our Gospel reading this summer. I have left a packet for you at the church office reception window with your name on it that will explain how we want to go about reading the gospels together and also taking notes on what you are reading. Some folks have said that they prefer typing to writing so I am attaching an electronic version of the note sheets. The packet will have instructions on what you are asked to do. For the most part we are looking to see at what points the gospel speaks to you. We need these to be brief notes that respond to the questions for each chapter. Please do not write more than the size of the box. I will be incorporating these notes for 40 people. So less is more. I do not need an index of everything going on in a particular chapter. I am more looking for what is really standing out to you personally, because that will likely stand out to someone else. These responses will be used to help us develop a church wide curriculum for later this year.



Thanks again for you help. Let me know if you have any questions.

Grace,

Jayne

---I think I got too detailed, but that's always the nature of theological reflection.

Intensive Gospel Study: John---3rd Read-through

Third Reading

Passage What are you drawn to about this passage?
What invites you? Challenges you? How will you respond?
How does this passage speak to the church?

Reading Sheet: Extra
JOHN – Chapter ___ 1
What/who was important to Jesus?
God the Father, whom Jesus bears witness to and the scriptures and churches are suppose to
What needs did Jesus meet?
Jesus was incarnated to show us who God really is
What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?
To bear witness to God/Him
What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
The foundation of our faith: Jesus Himself
What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?
His closeness to God the Father, which demonstrates His divinity
How do followers respond to Jesus?
With faith from the heart, mind and soul
What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?
That Jesus is the Word Of God and to follow the Word Of God, we must follow Jesus’ example that we discern is authentic from our bible versions, but not to blindly observe, obey the letter or follow fallible translations or clerical opinions on what the Bible says as the Pharisees did
How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He selflessly became a self-sacrificial Lamb
What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church must practice selflessly the orthopraxis of self-sacrificial loving service
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John 1: 1-18---TOWARDS A TRINITARIAN INCARNATIONAL VIEW OF SCRIPTURE

If the bible is to be interpreted literally and says what it means---what separates the bible from any other book?
If the bible is to be interpreted literally and says what it means---what separates the bible from any other religious text, which claims to be the word of God and says what it means, when also interpreted literally?
If the bible is to be interpreted literally and says what it means---what role does the Holy Spirit and discernment play in biblical interpretation?
For if the bible is to be interpreted literally and says what it means then it is just one book among others and has no meaning other than literary meaning of the dry textbook kind.
For if the bible is to be interpreted literally and says what it means as a religious text then it is just one more religious text among others.
For if the bible is to be interpreted literally and says what it means then there is no use for the Holy Spirit and discernment in biblical interpretation.
A Trinitarian View: John 1:1-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. --- The Eternal God the Father eternally spoke Jesus the True and Actual Word Of God into Being via the Holy Spirit and has always existed as a Triunity even from the beginning.
Another Trinitarian View: John 1:1- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. --- God the Eternal Father eternally speaks to us through Jesus the True and Actual Word Of God via the Holy Spirit.
An Incarnational View: John 1:14- The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. --- God the Eternal Father, His Word and His Will for all humanity was incarnated in the person and work of Jesus via the Holy Spirit.
Another Incarnational View: John 1-14- The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. --- Because Christ was God, His Word and His Will for humanity incarnated via the Holy Spirit, scripture then being both a Divine and human product is symbolically an icon of Christ’s incarnation.

---- Because Jesus is the Word Of God, we can trust scripture as long as scripture bears witness to Him--- for John 5:39 states: “Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me…”(American Standard Version)--- which makes it pretty clear that Jesus is the standard criterion for all valid biblical hermeneutics. Also, Fundamentalism/Bible Literalism is a social evil and a great sin, because it doesn’t start and proceed from Christ, but manmade inkblots and cultural biases and has been/is used to justify racism, class-ism, slavery, sexism, misogyny, bigotry, war, greed, terrorism, homophobia, genocide, crusades/jihads, fascism, anti-Semitism, totalitarianism,heterosexism, segregation, anti-intellectualism, barbarism, militarism, Capitalist Materialism, Imperialism, prejudice, thievery, rape, murder, pseudoscience, etc.---and all sorts of injustices and the list goes on. Yes, we should take the bible seriously, but not literally. (For further study---see http://www.newreformation.org/, http://www.christinyou.net/pages/Xnotbrel.html and Marcus Borg’s Reading the Bible Again For the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally). Or as this one article states: “…fundamentalism of any stripe is dangerous because it oversimplifies complex problems and because it facilitates "good" versus "evil" framing that cuts off dialog and thus tends to be profoundly anti-democratic, anti-intellectual, anti-rational -- and anti-scientific.” Fundamentalism is also dangerous for the reason that it impedes progress and good stewardship.

John 2:1-12---Jesus met people’s physical/spiritual needs by turning the ordinary, dull and mundane into the extraordinary when he turned water into wine---which was a marriage between the spiritual and physical realms. (We witness these type of miracles, everyday, when we find beauty in ordinary things. It is just like the theme of Charlotte’s Web, in which Wilbur finds beauty in a tiny spider and Charlotte found Wilbur an ordinary pig “some terrific radiant humble pig” and the human characters witnessed the extraordinary miracle of a spider’s web. () Or as Rev. Terry-Michael Newell in a Facebook note says: “For some folks, the pursuit of truth (or Truth, or absolute Truth) is seen as the highest, most honored of quests. But, I wonder, God may be saying, ‘that's none of your business.’ And God might go on to say, ‘The truth? That's my business. Why don't you all stick to finding beauty instead?’” () Perhaps then the church should spend more time concerning itself with beauty and spreading the beauty of Christ rather than poisoning wells with arrogance and self-righteous hypocrisy---for after all, the poet John Keats observed: “Beauty is Truth” and similarly, “Truth is Beauty.” ()

John 4:1-26---Reading Sheet: Extra
JOHN – Chapter ___4
What/who was important to Jesus?
Bridging all theological divides
What needs did Jesus meet?
Healing and salvation
What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?
To worship God in Spirit and Truth
What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Cultural and Theological Divisions: God is Lord of all
What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?
The scandal that Jesus was willing to fellowship with a Samaritan even though Judean Jews considered them heretics just like certain Christians treat others for not believing the way that they do (Jesus was willing to fellowship with others different than Him---we should, too)
How do followers respond to Jesus?
In Spirit and in Truth (Love and Beauty)
What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?
To avoid statements of Absolute Certainty such as: "my way of thinking is the only correct one, and if you don't interpret the (Bible) the same way I do, you're going to hell."---as if mere humans possess the perfect mind of God (Jesus calls us to be humble towards others in our dealings---regardless of whether or not their beliefs are orthodox, heterodox or non-existent [atheistic] about God---similarly Dan Kimball on pg. 184 of his book, They Like Jesus But Not The Church: Insights From Emerging Generations calls “The church…” to be “…respectful of other peoples’ beliefs and faiths”)
How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? Jesus challenged the cultural assumptions of His day about God---if He did so today, we would wake up and find that God is not a male, heterosexual, racist, black or white, American, sexist, homophobic bigot, Republican or Democrat or any other partisan label one wants to attach to the Eternal God of all (not a few as Calvinists claim)---but that God is beyond any petty manmade theological box or Book that we try to hold God captive in or that God defies all human comprehension (A god that we are comfortable with is not God but the Way Jesus lived is the Way God self-defined God’s Self)
What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? Relational theology is above doctrinal purity---in other words, God calls us to relationships with everyone not to parade our denominational doctrines around as if they are badges of honor---for God is a God of people and relationships not church doctrines and God is Lord of all regardless of their beliefs (We should always challenge what we think we know and assume about God)

John 10:1-21---Jesus is our True Shepherd---He is the Guide by which we should live our life. The Abingdon Bible Commentary of 1929 states that: “…Jesus declares himself to be the only Mediator of salvation and satisfaction for men.” And in this way too, Jesus is our Guide.

John 20:1-18---The Resurrection is what makes us Christian not a belief in a literal creation and Noah’s Ark nor does Mary, the bible and the church make us Christian but as Paul says in Romans 10:8-10: “8But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” And as I Corinthians 15:12-14 says: “The Resurrection of the Dead---
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (NIV) Similarly, Leonard Cohen says: “And you who were bewildered by a meaning;/Whose code was broken, crucifix uncrossed –” (Alexandra Leaving)* Also, the New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition says of the Resurrection that the Gospel of John: “…illustrate(s) some of the spiritual lessons to be learnt from the event.”

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*=

Intensive Gospel Study: John 21

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 21

What/who was important to Jesus?

His disciples/followers, which includes us

What needs did Jesus meet?

He provides our daily sustenance---both physical and spiritual

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To follow Him as in living by His example and meeting peoples’ needs, wherever they are

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
“Feeding the Sheep”

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

Jesus, once again, invites us to follow Him and His Way

How do followers respond to Jesus?
Most bible scholars believe that John 21 is an appendix to John, so that the second ending to John is verses 24-25, which state: “This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (RSV)

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

As above---here we find that “the disciple” is the ‘Beloved Disciple,’ who is unknown/never identified (but commonly thought to be John) bears witness to Jesus and that he is most likely the first author of John---and that the “we” in the verses are the church/believing Christians who affirm the disciple’s witness to Jesus and are called also to bear witness to Jesus---finally, the “I” in the verses is the second and final author/scribe or redactor of John, who edited the text together so that the Gospel of John could guide us into bearing witness to Jesus

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He showed us the Way to live and meet our needs by following Him

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church has been called to follow Jesus by bearing witness to Him and following His example and meeting peoples’ needs where they are

Intensive Gospel Study: John 20

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 20

What/who was important to Jesus?

Belief and resurrection

What needs did Jesus meet?

He brought belief to the forefront after He appeared in His “Risen” state---after the empty tomb had been discovered; He also conquered the power of sin, Satan and death by His resurrection or as I Corinthians 15:55 says: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (Webster's Bible Translation)

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To believe in Him through our faith or as Father Alfred McBride, O. Praem puts it in his The Divine Presence Of Jesus: Meditation And Commentary On The Gospel Of John: “…love is the real explanation of…faith. Love is the best road to faith.”---I agree, for if we love Jesus, we’ll have faith and belief in Him, because He first loved us

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Faith and doubt, belief and resurrection (As an aside: doubt was playfully alluded to in sexually charged language by the Metaphysical School of the arts: (http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/edoc/ia/eese/artic21/less3/html/a028.html and http://www.uni-erfurt.de/eestudies/eese/artic21/less3/14_2001.html)

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

That He transcended the boundaries of time and space and conquered Death so that we may live free from the fear of it

How do followers respond to Jesus?
With faith and belief

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

Belief, which is not a mental assent to the changing winds of manmade propositional doctrines such as: the Church is the only way to salvation and the Pope is the infallible representative of Christ on earth (Roman Catholic Church’s thoughts), individual predestination (Calvinists’ thoughts), the bible is inerrant/without error [despite all the evidence of all the contradictions and conflicting manuscripts, which are all errant copies ad infinitum of the lost and never seen Original Autographs---so even to claim that the Original Autographs are inerrant is absurd, meaningless and impractical] (Fundamentalists’ thoughts), the Rapture is true, the Church was an accident, because Israel rejected God’s Kingdom, but God will hand the Kingdom back to them and reinstate the temple sacrifices in the “End Times” and Paul instead of Christ is the apostle to the so called “Church Age” so that the Sermon On The Mount and Christ’s other teachings are not timeless but time-bound to some relative and arbitrary time---past or future (Pre-millennial Dispensationalists’ thoughts), God wants you to be rich, healthy and prosperous (Prosperity Gospel Teachers’ thoughts) or the King James version is the only real bible on earth and corrects all Hebrew and Greek texts and English is God’s True language for all humanity [http://finalauthority48270.yuku.com/topic/1794/t/The-perfect-Word-in-English.html] (King James Onlyists’ thoughts)---but faith/trust in the person and work of Christ as Christianity again is about following Christ not subscribing to a set of doctrines about Jesus, which are all manmade whether orthodox or heterodox---doctrines come later as a byproduct of following Jesus and faith (and are only imperfect, incomplete and limited pointers and guides to Jesus)---so that Christian Apologetics are meaningless as John 20:29 clearly states: “Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’" (NIV) Or as Paul says: “We live by faith, not by sight.” (II Corinthians 5:7---NIV) or Hebrews 11:1---“[ By Faith ] Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (NIV)---so that apologetics are fruitless, because we are called to defend our beliefs by putting our faith and love in action not by bashing people over the head and indoctrinate them with our doctrinal idols (doxolatry) or bibliolatry which turns faith into a faith in manmade physical objects/idols instead of the unseen Risen and Living Christ, who is Lord of all

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? The first ending of John states: “[30] Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.
[31] But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31---NRSV)

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church and individuals have been called to defend their belief in Christ by putting our faith and love of Christ in action not by bashing people over the head and indoctrinating them with our different theories of denominational doctrines--- those doctrinal idols (doxolatry) that we build to wall people out {we can argue over which denomination’s doctrines are correct for an eternity---but unlived doctrines are meaningless} or with our various understandings and interpretations of the bible (bibliolatry) {we can quote scriptures [out of context] till we are blue in the face---but if we aren’t challenged by them, it’s all for naught} which turns faith into a faith in manmade physical objects/idols (Fundamentalist checklists to be checked off) instead of the unseen Risen and Living Christ, who is Lord of all---for faith is most authentic when it’s lived out---for as mentioned before Christianity is about following Christ not subscribing to a set of doctrines about Jesus, which are all manmade whether orthodox or heterodox---doctrines come later as a byproduct of following Jesus and faith (and are only imperfect, incomplete and limited pointers and guides to Jesus)---it could also be argued that orthopraxis leads to a type of orthodoxy

Intensive Gospel Study: John 19

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 19

What/who was important to Jesus?

Humanity

What needs did Jesus meet?

The world’s need for a savior

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

Indirectly to trust Him for salvation

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Justification and atonement

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

A transliteration of Jesus’ Hebrew name, which means “Jesus the Messiah.”---also, spells the tetragrammaton out in initials, which is God’s revealed name.
Another note:
---- Hebrew written, above the Cross. Yahshua HaNazarei v Melech HaYehudim: or Yahshua the Nazarene and King of the Jews. (INRI is the Latin initials of the Latin translation of this sign found, on some Roman Catholic crucifixes, as well as Jesus’ Cross).
Also, the full sign on the Cross may have looked similar to this:---so God’s Revealed Name and Truth were written on the Cross: Grace, Unconditional Love, Mercy, Justice and Forgiveness

How do followers respond to Jesus?
Trust in Christ’s atonement and nothing else, in order to be justified and declared righteous before God (Although, this is a Pauline reinterpretation of the event of the Cross---it is still true)

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

Trust in Christ’s atonement and nothing else, in order to be justified and declared righteous before God

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? Jesus atoned for the sins of the whole world and all people everywhere, in all times with an unlimited atonement (not a limited atonement as Calvinists claim), so that whoever trusts in Christ’s atonement and nothing else is justified and declared righteous before God

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church?
The church must pursue reconciliation of the lost through it’s theology of the Cross as per Luther's Theology Of The Cross as an example as all Christian theology is contingent upon the Cross

Intensive Gospel Study: John 18

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 18

What/who was important to Jesus?

Truth

What needs did Jesus meet?

Jesus willingly allows Himself to be arrested so that God’s Will could be fulfilled

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To bear witness to Jesus, who is the Truth and to listen for His voice

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
What/who the Truth is

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

That He is the Truth and “Jesus answered, ‘My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.’"---John 18:36 (RSV)

How do followers respond to Jesus?
By bearing witness to Jesus, who is the Truth and listening out for His voice in all things

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

We are to bear witness to Jesus, who is the Truth and to listen for His voice in all things

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He bears witness to God’s self-disclosure of the Truth in Himself

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church must bear witness to Jesus, in all things and to discern His voice in all things

Intensive Gospel Study: John 17

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 17

What/who was important to Jesus?

Prayer

What needs did Jesus meet?

He prayed for the disciples and all believers

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

That all believers may be one

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
The mission of the church to be one in love

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?
That Jesus always prays, even though Jesus is God incarnate and that salvation is predestined through Christ, because God the Father loved Him from the foundation of the world

How do followers respond to Jesus?
They are to be one in love

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

Pray always and strive to be one in love

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He prayed for all of us

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The mission of the church is to be one in love, so that the Gospel is demonstrated---so that the world may believe

Intensive Gospel Study: John 16

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 16

What/who was important to Jesus?

The work of the Holy Spirit

What needs did Jesus meet?

Conviction and all truth

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To believe in Him

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Conviction of sin

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

How only the Holy Spirit can convict us of personal sins, despite what Fundamentalists think

How do followers respond to Jesus?
We are to let the Holy Spirit guide us

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

To let the Holy Spirit do the Holy Spirit’s job of convicting people instead of ourselves (standing on the street yelling about the 10 commandments ala the style of Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Todd Friel or any other “turn or burn” adherents is not going to convict anyone except for the hypocrisy of the church---for it is not our place to convict people of sin but the Holy Spirit’s)

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He sent us the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and guide us into all truth

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? Once again, to stand in the unconditional loving service of God and others, the church must first stop acting as if it or bible translations are the Holy Spirit---as if any human, human cultural biases and arrogant assumptions or human institution can convict anyone of sin or be a guide to all truth (however, the Holy Spirit uses scripture to convict us personally of our own sins)

Intensive Gospel Study: John 15

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 15

What/who was important to Jesus?

Abiding Faith, Love And Bearing The Fruits Of The Spirit

What needs did Jesus meet?

He perfected love and joy through the self-giving of self-sacrificial service

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

Once again Jesus makes clear that the Calvinist doctrine of once saved always saved is false by requiring that believers continually abide in Him through faith or they will perish and lose their salvation just as Arminianism rightfully states (also, there is no such thing as false converts nor that those who reject Christ were never really Christians to begin with---those are erroraneous Calvinist inventions); or as John Wesley says: “Branches that ‘abide not’ are cast forth and burned (John 15: 6)…and One who has been baptized into the church can fall away. One who has served splendidly, as a branch of the true vine can be cut off (John 15: 1-6).” {pgs. 270 and 273 of Thomas C. Oden’s John Wesley’s Scriptural Christianity: A Plain Exposition Of His Teaching On Christian Doctrine and I’d recommend Roger E. Olson’s Arminian Theology: Myths And Realities for a more in-depth study on this subject}; Jesus, also, requires us again to love one another and to bear fruits of the Spirit

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Abiding Faith and the Fruits thereof---especially perfected love and joy

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

He, once again, makes clear that the essence of the Gospel is unconditional love

How do followers respond to Jesus?
Abide in faith and produce Fruits worthy thereof---especially perfected love and joy

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

Abide in our faith and produce Fruits worthy thereof---especially perfected love and joy

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He perfected love and joy through the self-giving of self-sacrificial service

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? God loves us unconditionally without exception, so too should the church love unconditionally with perfected love and without exception and expectation

Intensive Gospel Study: John 14

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 14

What/who was important to Jesus?

The incarnational and liberating Truth of Himself

What needs did Jesus meet?

Jesus was God incarnated to point the Way forward to Himself

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To believe and to follow the New Law of Grace and Love

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
He promised us the Paraclete/Holy Spirit, peace and that He will return

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

Jesus once again shows how He is God incarnate

How do followers respond to Jesus?
We must believe and allow the Holy Spirit to liberate us so that we are free to follow the Way that Jesus has set before us

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

“Servanthood is not God’s way to get us to the place where we will only be served; it is the Way and the Life of the kingdom of God. Jesus is without ambiguity when He tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). His invitation is to join an uprising. If we choose to follow Him, there will be within us a revolution of the soul. He will do nothing less than translate us from a kingdom of emptiness into His kingdom where we will begin to live in a new reality. The Way of God is the path of servant hood. This is not a test to see if we deserve better. It is God offering us the best of Himself and the best of life. God calls us to be servants because God is a servant.” (pgs. 115-116 of Erwin Raphael McManus’ Stand Against The Wind: Awaken The Hero Within)

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? See above---also, when Christ Himself, who is attested, in the scriptures to have said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’---He means that He and the example of His life are that and not the Bible or churches or pastors or clerical opinions or checklist Fundamentalism(s) [aka the Fundamentals: biblical Inerrancy/literalism, the virgin birth, the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection of Jesus and the authenticity of Christ's miracles (or, alternatively, his pre-millennial second coming] are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Christian Truth is not propositional, but incarnational for Christian Truth is found in the personality, character, life and work of Christ, who modeled God’s Way of living. Christ’s Life is the Way to live the Truth; Truth is the Way Christ Lived and the Way to Live is to follow Christ’s example: the Truth.

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? We must let the incarnated Holy Spirit guide us to live the way of Christ as stated more fully in the answers to the two questions above---also, just as Christian Truth is incarnational, Christian Truth is also experiential and relational---for we experience God’s Truth through the incarnational indwelling of the Holy Spirit and we relate Christ’s Divine Presence most fully by showing random acts of loving service towards others---also, God’s Truth is not written but lived: Absolute Truth is not about the comfortable checklists of religion to decide who is in or out (for Christianity is not an exclusive club founded on manmade propositions---scriptural or not) nor a religion about God/Jesus (Christendom---organized institutionalized religious Christianity), but is Jesus Himself and the religion of the way that Jesus lived His life, which scandalously fulfilled all of the world’s religions or even lack of religion---for Jesus’ Way is a call to an abundant life

Intensive Gospel Study: John 13

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 13

What/who was important to Jesus?

Love, Cleanliness And Oneness

What needs did Jesus meet?

He cleanses the stain of iniquity

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

He wills for us to serve one another in love and to receive those, whom Jesus has called (no matter what---whether they are homosexual, persist in premarital sex or are divorced and remarried, etc. for the Holy Spirit wills whom the Holy Spirit wills to call and we, the church, the bible and pastors are not the Holy Spirit

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
His betrayal and how the church needs love, service and oneness

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

Jesus models love in action for us---for His loving service is partaken with grace and humility

How do followers respond to Jesus?
We must practice the orthopraxis of agape and filial love

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

The unconditional loving service of others

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He cleanses us of the crud that gets in the way of our serving God and others

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? To stand in the unconditional loving service of God and others, the church must first stop acting as if it or bible translations are the Holy Spirit---as if any human, human cultural biases or human institution can restrict and regulate, whom the Holy Spirit wills to call to ministry or in general---for a lot of people (mainly Fundamentalists and bible literalists) actually believe that they can usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit from willing, whom the Holy Spirit wills to call to the ministry or in general and/or that it is their task to determine whom can and can’t be called to the ministry or in general instead of the Holy Spirit alone---and in so telling the Holy Spirit what to do, they not only commit idolatry (ecclesiolatry as well as bibliolatry and poimenolatry/clericalism), but also worse than that it grieves the Holy Spirit (the only unforgivable sin). As Christ is the True pillar of the church for us and in giving the Great Commission, Christ excluded no one from ministering the Gospel, serving and being served including gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders and both women and men of every culture, climate, race, type and personality. Secondly, in the Bible, the unfolding of God’s will and self-disclosure of God’s self-revelation, in the Person and work of Christ---we find that God was most fully revealed as being Love itself---for Christ is Love---as Robinson (influenced by Paul Tillich) wrote: "For it is in making himself nothing, in his utter self-surrender to others in love, that [Jesus] discloses and lays bare the Ground of man's being as Love" (ibid., p. 75, italics added). He also wrote: "For assertions about God are in the last analysis assertions about Love" (ibid., p. 105)--- (Honest To God). When we divinely encounter Christ as Love for us, in the advent of the proclamation of scripture---we see all of Christian ethics is contingent upon the moral axioms of the Higher Law of Righteousness, Love, Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness---the Golden Rule and to love God completely and to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. If the sum and substance of Christian morality and ethics then is this---then why should we read Christian morality out of a vacuum with no insight, inquiry and reference to the Higher Law, on which the line of all Christian morality is drawn? For what profits one to have morality without love? For all of Christianity is rooted in loving service---just as Brennan Manning says*---quoting from Barbara Doherty: "Love is service. ‘There is no point in getting into an argument about this question of loving. It is what Christianity is all about---take it or leave it. Christianity is not about ritual or moral living except insofar as these two express the love that causes both of them. We must at least pray for the grace to become love.’" (*-pg. 29 of A Glimpse Of Jesus: The Stranger To Self-Hatred)

Intensive Gospel Study: John 12

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 12

What/who was important to Jesus?

Belief and unbelief

What needs did Jesus meet?

Jesus summarizes His teachings on eternal life and dethroned worldly powers to liberate the oppressed

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To believe in God

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Unbelief and Imperialism---Jesus scandalously rides peacefully into Jerusalem and is declared King Of The Jews (a political act) shortly afterward metaphorically dethroning Caesar or as Luke 1.52 puts it: “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble” and as Luke 4.18-19, quoting from Isaiah 61states:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

John 12 is strong on the messianic fulfillment of Jesus: first, John 12 contains a combination of two different anointing traditions about Jesus---which are the Markan and Lukan traditions; next, a narrative about the Triumphal Entry connected with Zechariah 9:9---which proclaims the coming of Israel’s king---but what is also interesting is that Joshua in Zechariah 6:12 is called a tsemach, which is Hebrew for branch and Jesus’ Hebrew name is Yahshua or Yeshua, which is close to Joshua’s Hebrew name and Jesus is called The Branch; also, one other key point is the allusion to Psalm 118:26 in John 12, which is connected to the Davidic line of the Messiah (See The New Interpreter’s Bible: Volume IX---Luke/John and Commentary On The New Testament Use Of The Old Testament by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson for further information)

How do followers respond to Jesus?
We are to believe in Jesus and to bear witness to Him

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

Same as above

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He dethroned all worldly powers and liberated the oppressed or as Thomas Helwys puts it: “The King is a mortall man and not God, therefore hath no power over (an)y immortall soules of his subjects to make lawes and ordinances for them and to set spirituall Lords over them.” (I would also recommend Marcus Borg’s Jesus: Uncovering The Life, Teachings And Relevance Of A Religious Revolutionary and John Dominic Crossan’s God And Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then And Now for more information on this subject)

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? Jesus liberates our conscious(es) from all worldly powers, so that we are free to follow only Him---part of this liberation is the foundation of the firm Baptist belief in the separation of church and state and another part of this is the church’s mission to liberate the oppressed and to pursue social justice for the marginalized as in moderate versions of these movements:
Liberation_Theology and the Social Gospel Movement--- also, the church must move beyond imperialism as in this anonymous quote:
“There is a difference between my experience of God and who God is. There is a difference between affirming that I walk into the mystery of God through the doorway called Jesus and that in my experience this is the only doorway that works in my journey, and asserting that there is no doorway through which anyone can walk except mine. Imagine the idolatry present in the suggestion that God must be bound by my knowledge and experience! Yet that claim has been made and is still being made by imperialistic Christians today. The text written by persecuted minority members of the early Christian community to justify their claim to be part of the larger people of God becomes a text that is interpreted in such a way as to become a claim that issues in religious imperialism. Is it not interesting how little attention is paid to another text that proclaims an open and inclusive faith? It is found in the words attributed to Peter in Acts 10:34ff.: ‘Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’ We live in a religiously pluralistic world, but there is only one God. This God is not a Christian, nor is this God an adherent of any religious system. All religious systems are human creations by which people in different times and different places seek to journey into that which is ultimately holy and wholly other. Until that simple lesson is heard, human beings will continue to destroy each other in the name of the ‘one true God.’" And Dr. Jonas’ response: “Anonymous, That is an incredibly well-said comment. I agree. I like your designation ‘Imperialistic Christians.’ I think there are way too many today, especially in America. But, as I teach college students, I am seeing a difference in the midsets of the younger generation and that gives me hope. Many of my students are turned off by exclusivity.” ---(See: Here)---also, Jesus said: “blessed are the peacemakers” not blessed are the warmongers

Intensive Gospel Study: John 11

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 11

What/who was important to Jesus?

Resurrection

What needs did Jesus meet?

He raised Lazarus from the dead and promised resurrection for believers

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To abide in belief

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Resurrection, which in Greek is anastasis and literally means “standing up again”

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

Jesus’ closeness to Lazarus

How do followers respond to Jesus?
Abide in their belief and trust in God

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

We must stand up by God’s grace in any given situation and pursue justice everywhere

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He brought New Life to the world

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church must stand up for justice for the oppressed, which is what being raised up and called to a new way of living is all about, in the prophetic sense---the radical justice of the Kingdom of God, in which the least of these are served by loving grace and the last are first---or as Larry Norman puts it:
and your money says in God we trust
but it's against the law to pray in school
you say we beat the Russians to the moon
and I say you starved your children to do it
you say all men are equal all men are brothers
then why are the rich more equal than others
don't ask me for the answer I've only got one
that a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son

Intensive Gospel Study: John 10

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 10

What/who was important to Jesus?

Humanity

What needs did Jesus meet?

He met our needs by His Love

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To listen to Him

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Jesus assures us that He is our Shepherd

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

That Jesus gives us the ability to discern and interpret scripture for ourselves for that is what Psalm 82:6 means as exposited in John as well as Luke 17: 20-21 stating: 20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (KJV)---and part of the Kingdom of God being within us is again the right for individual believers and churches to be free in their interpretations of the scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit and discernment (judgment) and to interpret them however they choose

How do followers respond to Jesus?
By listening for Jesus’ spiritual voice

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

Discerning God’s voice in all things

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He lived a self-sacrificial life for our sake

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church should seek to eradicate poimenolatry or pastor worship and ecclesiolatry or worship of the church just as Luther formulated an anti-poimenolatry/anti-clericalism position by eradicating the distinctions between the clergy and laity, when he established the Protestant doctrine of the Priesthood Of All Believers---in an age when the clergy were considered spiritually superior to the laity by having direct links to God---(Although certain Christians in direct violation of the Protestant doctrines of the Priesthood Of All Believers, religious liberty and freedom are trying to reestablish clerical superiority over the laity by reasserting the clergy’s absolute authority to dictate what and how the laity are to believe---and how they are to act and what they are to do---and also, by deifying fallible clerical opinions pertaining to religious and moral issues as the end of dialogue)---for Jesus is our True Shepherd: pastors are only pointers and guides in our own ability of discernment and interpretation in our own individual spiritual quests and journeys with Jesus

Intensive Gospel Study: John 9

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 9

What/who was important to Jesus?

Spiritual Vision

What needs did Jesus meet?

Giving sight to the blind

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

Keeping our sight on Him

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Spiritual Blindness

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

How Jesus challenges the Jewish (Pharisees’) assumptions of equating suffering with sin and suffering being penal, which was the dogma of the Jewish retribution theology of the day---in which all those suffering from diseases or any malady were living sinful lifestyles: what is even more interesting is the Jewish thought implying sinning fetuses and esoteric Rabbinical thought theorizing soul reincarnation (See The Disciples’ Commentary On The Gospels: John by David Smith and The Gospel Of John In Light Of Indian Mysticism by Ravi Ravindra for further information)---{Sadly, retribution theology is still in fashion in the homophobic rhetoric of the Fundamentalists in equating the modern phenomenon of homosexuality and AIDS as sinful diseased lifestyles and God’s wrath poured out on humanity---but Jesus challenges these false assumptions as well}

How do followers respond to Jesus?
I am reminded of the line from that old hymn:
“Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.”

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

We must live an enlightened life by living just as Jesus

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? Jesus is the True Light of the world

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church must live as a beacon of light in the world by pouring out the light of grace rather than the darkness of religious retribution otherwise known as karma---for that is what an enlightened life is all about

Intensive Gospel Study: John 8

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 8

What/who was important to Jesus?

Nothing in verses 1-11 considering that John 7:53 through 8:11 were never in the original text to begin with, but were a later scribal emendation/interpolation based on a little over 900 dubious manuscripts of a later origin (I’d recommend Bart D. Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why for more information on this subject)---but we can discern that Jesus authentically despised judgmentalism and called people to repentance in John 7:53-8:11---also, in the remaining verses 8:12-8:59 (which are part of the original text), Jesus self-discloses the liberating Incarnational Truth of Himself

What needs did Jesus meet?

He liberates us with the Truth of Himself

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To abide in Him

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
The Incarnational Truth of Himself

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

The scandal of the Incarnation, which is made clear in John 8:58: “‘I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am (ego eimi)!’”--- Jesus is God (Yahweh) incarnate

How do followers respond to Jesus?
By abiding in Him and living by His example

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

We must follow Jesus’ example and live by His “words”

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He liberates us with His Truth

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church must follow Jesus’ example and live by His “words”

Intensive Gospel Study: John 7

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 7

What/who was important to Jesus?

Judgmentalism

What needs did Jesus meet?

He promises Holy Spirit

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

Justly judge people rather than superficially judge them

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Judgmentalism---Zechariah 7:8-10: “8 And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'” and Hosea 6:6: “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (NIV)

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

His authority from God

How do followers respond to Jesus?
Believe Jesus is the One

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

We should avoid judgmentalism

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He sent us the Holy Spirit

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church should avoid superficially judging people based on the way they look or act (physical appearances) but be more concerned with social justice and judging their own spirituality

Intensive Gospel Study: John 6

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 6

What/who was important to Jesus?

Abiding faith

What needs did Jesus meet?

He met people’s physical needs by feeding them with physical food/substance and He meets people’s spiritual needs by providing them with spiritual food/substance

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To abide in our faith in Him, so that we don’t fall away and eventually fully and finally lose our eternal salvation unlike the false doctrine of Calvinism: once saved always saved

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
He explains that a full life is found in Him and how the way He lived is an example of what God meant life to be

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

How He feeds the multitudes as that was central enough to the Jesus narrative to be included in all four Gospels---although, the author of John uses different source material from the Jesus tradition ([written] oral tradition about Jesus) which focuses on the spiritual aspects of that event

How do followers respond to Jesus?
We must abide in our faith and trust in Him

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

To serve God through love and in relationship not theophobia or by being literally afraid of God

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He became our Living Manna

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? We are to be missional by living a life of loving service

Intensive Gospel Study: John 5

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 5

What/who was important to Jesus?

Bearing witness to God the Father

What needs did Jesus meet?

Healing and awakening spiritual awareness

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To bear witness to God by living out our faith missionally

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Healing of sin by becoming a witness

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

How Jesus relieves our burdens for He is our True Sabbath rest in the spiritual sense overturning Jeremiah 17:19-27 and the Pharisees’ literal interpretation(s) of said verses

How do followers respond to Jesus?
By becoming a witness for Jesus

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

Living our faith out by following Jesus’ example

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He relieves all our burdens whenever we live an abundant life by following His example

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church and individuals have been called to live missionally by bearing witness to Christ---this is really what being a martyr for Christ is all about---for martyr is an English derivative of the Greek word martureo which literally means “to bear witness,” but it can mean “testify” as well: in other words, we are called to live for Christ rather than (as the early Roman Catholic Church and G. K. Chesterton in his book Orthodoxy [implicitly by saying martyr-ship is good but not suicide even though it is] suggest) commit suicide for Christ---although, Jesus is certainly worth dying for, we are more effective witnesses by living out our faith rather than dying for our cause

Intensive Gospel Study: John 4

Reading Sheet
JOHN – Chapter 4

What/who was important to Jesus?

Bridging all theological divides

What needs did Jesus meet?

Healing and salvation

What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?

To worship God in Spirit and Truth

What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
Cultural and Theological Divisions: God is Lord of all

What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?

The scandal that Jesus was willing to fellowship with a Samaritan even though Judean Jews considered them heretics just like certain Christians treat others for not believing the way that they do (pg. 461 of Biblica: The Bible Atlas states: “The Samaritans were descendents of the northern tribes, who read their own version of the Pentateuch, and whose worship centered on Mt. Gerizim. There was little love lost between them and the Jews, who disputed their claim to be legitimate Israelites.”)

How do followers respond to Jesus?
In Spirit and in Truth

What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?

To avoid statements of Absolute Certainty such as: "my way of thinking is the only correct one, and if you don't interpret the (Bible) the same way I do, you're going to hell."---as if mere humans possess the perfect mind of God
( http://christianforums.com/showthread.php?t=7237579 )

How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? Jesus challenged the cultural assumptions of His day about God---if He did so today, we would wake up and find that God is not a male, heterosexual, racist, black or white, American, sexist, homophobic bigot, Republican or Democrat or any other partisan label one wants to attach to the Eternal God of all (not a few as Calvinists claim)---but that God is beyond any petty manmade theological box or Book that we try to hold God captive in or that God defies all human comprehension

What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? Relational theology is above doctrinal purity---in other words, God calls us to relationships with everyone not to parade our denominational doctrines around as if they are badges of honor---for God is a God of people and relationships not church doctrines and God is Lord of all regardless of their beliefs