New

Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
  

The Velvet Elvis – Rob Bell

Movement Six – New

Idea: Something new is happening inside us.

Discussion Setting: Now!

We have new life in Christ Jesus: 

Our new self is here, the old self is dead. We are dead to sin, but alive to God. We have crossed over from death to life.

Romans 6:10-11 – The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

We are on a journey to become the person God already thinks we are. We are Holy, Dearly Loved, and there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

Being alive in Christ Jesus is not about having fire insurance. It’s about experiencing kingdom living NOW.

God Desires to Live with Us:

Genesis 3:8 – Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…

Exodus 25:8 – “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”

1 Kings 5:3-5 – You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’

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 Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1 Corinthians 6:19 – Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

and, according to Revelations 21-22, in the end, God takes up residence with us.

Life without God is Hell on Earth: 

“What we got was not self-freedom but self centeredness, loneliness, superficiality, and harried consumerism. … overstocked medicine cabinets, burglar alarms, vast ghettos, and drug culture. Eighteen hundred New Yorkers are murdered every year by their fellow citizens in a city whose police department is larger than the standing army of many nations.” – William Willimon, Resident Aliens.
 
But life with God is powerful: Luke 7:28 – “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Question: What does this mean? 

How do we have a relationship with God? 

1. John 3:16 – For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
   John 14:23 – Jesus replied, “Anyone who LOVES me will obey my teaching. My Father will LOVE them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
   (see also Luke 7:36-50 and 1 Corinthians 13:1-8) 
2. Keep the commandments, and pay heed to Matthew 22:36-40 – “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  
3. When ministering the kingdom of the heavens to the needs of human beings, avoid anger, condemnation and judgment of others: Matthew 10:16 – “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
   Question: What is the wisdom of the snake, and what is Jesus referring to with the Dove? 
4. Pray, and keep in mind…

a.       Prayer is personal. We do not need fancy words, it is not mechanical, and the “sandwich approach” does not work.

b.      Patience and perseverance is important.

Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

James 1:4 – Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

c.       “Asking is powerful!”

Luke 11:5-8 – Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

Luke 18:1-8 – Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

d.      God does not always give us what we want, but our prayers make a difference, and, they can cause God to act.

2 Kings 20:1-6 – In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, “Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

Exodus 32:10-14 – 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”  But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. “LORD,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

“Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population.”  Author: Randolph C. Byrd, M.D.
Institution: Medical Service, San Francisco General Medical Center, CA.
Source: Southern Medical Journal 1988 Jul; 81(7): 826-9
Abstract: The therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer (IP) to the Judeo-Christian God, one of the oldest forms of therapy, has had little attention in the medical literature. To evaluate the effects of IP in a coronary care unit (CCU) population, a prospective randomized double-blind protocol was followed. Over ten months, 393 patients admitted to the CCU were randomized, after signing informed consent, to an intercessory prayer group (192 patients) or to a control group (201 patients). While hospitalized, the first group received IP by participating Christians praying outside the hospital; the control group did not. At entry, chi-square and stepwise logistic analysis revealed no statistical difference between the groups. After entry, all patients had follow-up for the remainder of the admission. The IP group subsequently had a significantly lower severity score based on the hospital course after entry. The control patients required ventilatory assistance, antibiotics, and diuretics more frequently than patients in the IP group. These data suggest that intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian God has a beneficial therapeutic effect in patients admitted to a CCU.

Discussion Points 

1. Rob Bell says we are not defined by what the things we don’t do, and that the “do not sin” message does not work. What are your thoughts on this? 
2. What happens when we stumble, and our old self reappears? 
3. Are you persistent in your prayer life? Has God answered any of your prayers. 
4. How many times should you ask God for something? 
5. Dallas Willard says “Pray for what concerns you. … The circle of our intentions will inevitably grow in the largeness of God’s love.” What do you think he means by this? 
6. Rob Bell – Jesus’ desire for his followers is that they live in such a way that they bring heaven to earth. … Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for. Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for.

Additional References:

The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard
Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony, William H. Willimon

Love, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If 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. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

A woman going completely nuts for Jesus in Luke 7:36-50
(as we all do when we come to the realization of who he is and his love for us)

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
   “Tell me, teacher,” he said.
   “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
   “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”


The Last Resort
the Eagles
(the bad press we deservedly receive when we sin in the name of God)

...

We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny and the name of God

And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about
what it's like up there
They call it paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace paradise,
kiss it goodbye

Dust

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
– John 15:16

The Velvet Elvis – Rob Bell

Movement Five – Dust

Idea: Jesus chose you, and he believes in you.

Discussion Setting: First century AD.

The Rabbi – Disciple Relationship: The Rabbi chooses!

“Cover yourself in the dust of your Rabbi’s feet, and drink in his words with gusto.” – Yose ben Yoezer

Matthew 9:9-10   ⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  ¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.

Luke 9:23  Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

1 Kings 19:19-21  ¹⁹ So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. ²⁰ Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
 ²¹ So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. 

Luke 9:62  “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 16:13-20  13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

 2 Kings 2:8-12   ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”  “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.    ¹⁰ “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”  ¹¹ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

Mark 14:31  But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

Jewish Educational Structure – Ages 6-10, 10-14, beyond… All of the Jews in the first century AD knew the first 5 books of the Old Testament by heart. The learned Jews knew the 39 books of the Old Testament by heart. So, the mere utterance of a phrase from the Old Testament brought a strong reminder of things from the past. 

What would a first century Jew hear in the parable of the good Samaritan? Luke 10:25-37   

Notice the parallel in the reading from the Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 28-1-15  

Discussion Points

1. Covering yourself in the dust of your Rabbi Jesus will change you over time. How has being a disciple changed you? 
2. Disciples were called to serve their Rabbi. How do you serve Jesus? 
3. Are you discipling anyone? Is anyone discipling you?

Additional References:

Sitting at the feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishnes of Jesus can Transform Your Faith, Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg

Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life, Lois Tverberg

Tassels

But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; - Malachi 4:2

The Velvet Elvis – Rob Bell; Movement Four – Tassels

Idea: God wants to make us into the people we were originally intended to be.

Terms: Prayer shawl, the cross, salvation, healing, restoration, soul, super-whatever, Sabbath.

Rob Bell Quotes:

“The anticipation. The fact that I would do whatever it took to get there. … Not ‘I have to’ but ‘I get to’. Not obligation but celebration. Not duty but desire.”

“I was exhausted. I was burned out. I was full of doubt. I was done. I had nothing more to say. … I didn’t even know if I wanted to be a Christian anymore.”

“Shalom is the presence of the goodness of God. It’s the presence of wholeness, completeness.”

“Jesus gets what we deserved. We get what Jesus deserves.”

“God isn’t just interested in the covering over of our sins; God wants to make us into the people we were originally intended to be.”

“It is possible for the cross to have done something for a person but not in them.”

 “…why do I take on so much? …why is it so hard for me to say no? …why is that person’s approval so important to me? …What happens is our lives become so heavily oriented around the expectations of others that we become more and more like them and less and less like ourselves.”

“…it was clear that there were significant numbers of people I was spending a significant amount of time working to please and that my issue was a simple one … Sin. … Your job is the relentless pursuit of who God has made you to be. And anything else you do is sin and you need to repent of it.”

 “…it is possible to be a good Christian and go to church services and sing the right songs and jump through the right hoops and never let Jesus heal your soul.”

“I’m learning that very few people actually live from their heart. Very few live connected with their soul. And those few who do the difficult work, who stare their junk in the face, who get counsel, who let Jesus into all of the rooms in their soul that no one ever goes in, they make a difference.”

“I cannot lead people somewhere I am not trying to go myself. I don’t have to have arrived, I don’t have to be perfect, but I do need to be on the path.”

“Sabbath is a day when at the end I say, ‘I didn’t do anything today,’ and I don’t add, ‘And I feel so guilty.”

Related NIV Quotations

Numbers 15:38-40 - Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.

Luke 8:43-48 - And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.  When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

John 5:24 - “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Mark 8:36 - What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Study Points: (My answers started in bold print.)

1. How many times in your life have you felt on Wednesday that you couldn’t wait to get to church on Sunday?  My church story… 
2.  Are you desperately seeking the approval of others? I have, and sometimes still do…
3.  Have you ever felt like you had reached the end of your rope? Are there things in your past that are crippling your future? My Answers: Yes and yes… 
4. What is your vision of the church and your relationship with God? Have you ever felt like you had to get good to REALLY have Jesus in your life? Are you receiving healing? Do you feel like you are on the path? My story… 
5. Rob Bell says, “Success doesn’t fix anything. We have the same problems and compulsions and addictions, only now we have more stress and more problems and more pressure.” Do you believe this, or do you believe that if you can just ‘make it’, then everything will finally be in its place? My Answer: I believe it now… 
6. Do you have a “superwhatever” that is keeping you from being the person God intended you to be? My Answer: Absolutely…
7. What, if anything, does your Sabbath consist of?

True

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
(Isaiah 6:3)

“It’s not truth over here and Jesus over there, as if they are two different things.”
(Rob Bell)

“Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective.”
(Rob Bell)

The Velvet Elvis – Rob Bell

Movement Three – True

Idea: God and Jesus are everywhere, past and present. God is the creator of all things, and Jesus is the logic of all things. All truth belongs to God, and we are of God. Consequently, we can claim all truth.

Discussion Setting: Our lives, individually and collectively.

(NIV quotations) – What do we do with the following verses?

Genesis 28:10 – 17 -  Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

1 Corinthians 3:21-23 - So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

Acts 17:28  - “As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

Discussion Points 

1. Rob Bell tells us that truth can be found almost anywhere, and we should claim it. 
Stories: The litmus test for parents and friends. Crossroads by Don McLean - “Can you remember who I was? Can you still feel it? … You alone can make me whole once again.” 
Question: Where have you experienced truth in your own life that is outside of the direct teachings of God, and yet is so clearly of God? Have you ever encountered truth from someone you would have never expected yourself to agree with?

2. Rob Bell reminds us that Jesus is everywhere.
Story: In my office at TAMU as a first year professor, before a talk.
Question: Have you felt God’s presence so strongly that it was undeniable?

3. Rob Bell reminds us that Jesus is not God’s “hail Mary”. Jesus is the logic of all things past and present.
Discussion Question: What are your feelings on this statement?

4. Rob Bell says “Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective.”
Discussion Questions: Is it OK to dislike a Christian song, a Christian book, a Christian play, or a Christian movie? Have you ever disagreed with a Christian organization or a Christian political group?