The Scriptures Are A Portal Into God’s Presence

Last night I had an opportunity to spend time with some of the young adults at Gateway Church here in Austin. I shared some ideas on why the Bible is a trustworthy book, and we had a time for Q & A. It was a great time to interact and get to know some great new people!

Here are some of the highlights:

So many people throw out all of God’s Word because some of it doesn’t make sense at first glance. Other times, people use the Bible to push their own agenda rather than allowing the text to mean what the author intended for it to mean.

Humility is essential in understanding and applying the Scriptures.

Life transformation comes through the application of the Scriptures not information about it.

Understanding the types of literary genres is essential to understanding the meaning of the text.

For the letters in the New Testament, whenever we share particulars (specific life situations) with the first-century setting, God’s Word to us is the same as his Word to them.

God is the hero of all biblical narratives. The biblical narratives are descriptive rather than prescriptive.

We need to use the Scriptures to interpret Scripture.

We need to try to determine how the original hearers would have identified the story.

Wisdom is the ability to make godly choices in life.

We can trust that what we have as the Bible is a trustworthy document. In other words, we have enough proof that what we have is what was written.

Most importantly, my friend and mentor Erwin McManus gave me one of the best ways to describe why we should read and apply the Scriptures to our lives. He said: “The Scriptures are a portal into God’s presence.”

Next steps:

Check out the Gateway Church webpage designed for the skeptical and the curious.

Listen to the “Life’s Toughest Questions” series at Mosaic by Erwin McManus.

Many of these principles came from How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. For an overview, send me an email at eric.bryant@gatewaychurch.com with “Reading the Bible” in the subject line.

Try reading through the Gospel of John. Notice how Jesus interacts with people, and ask God to speak to you. Try living out what you sense Him saying to you.

“What Good Are We Supposed to Do?” (Origins Event DVD)

The Origins Event DVD includes 2 discs with speakers, panels, and small group questions based on the July 24th Origins Event plus a round table discussion with several leaders of the Origins Project. The Origins Event DVD would be great for leadership development and for small groups!

Some of those included in the Origins Event DVD include:

Amena Brown
Margaret Feinberg
Dan Kimball
Dave Gibbons
Alan and Debra Hirsch
Rick McKinley
Marlon Hall
and many others…

To see other clips from the Origins Event DVD, go here!

To order The Origins Event DVD for $49 (includes shipping and handling to US addresses), contact belinda@mosaic.org.

Proof of Life: Truth

Erwin continues to share some great messages as part of the “Proof of Life” series at Mosaic. Here are some highlights from this past Sunday:

“There are certain proofs we can use to determine if we are fully alive spiritually. If we’re not fully alive we are settling for far less than what God has in mind for us.

Sometimes there may be areas of our lives that have not yet seen God’s light.

1 John 2:3-6
John creates a contrast between life and death. He is an idealist when he writes: “This is what life looks like. He is also a pragmatist when he says: “When it doesn’t work out just right here is what to do.” John isn’t trying to establish rules or policies but trying to help us connect deeply to God thru Jesus. Once we come to know God then living in truth becomes a natural result. He isn’t saying we need to obey God so that we can know God.

Eternal life is knowing God. The end game isn’t eternal life. The end game is knowing God which results in eternal life. (John 17:3) Eternal life isn’t a destination or location but a relationship.

Relationships change us.

Jeremiah 24:7 God’s plan all along was to create a new relationship between us and Him. Religion gets this backwards. Legalism doesn’t bring life. Life and relationship changes how we live.

God has our best interest in mind and He knows what He’s talking about. We obey because we trust Him. We cannot obey His commands unless we hear His voice.

There is not only a relational shift but a perceptual shift. A conceptual shift is more a religious shift. We may say we believe but we don’t actually change. A perceptual shift enables us to see the world differently. We begin to see the way God sees.

When we live in relationship with God we begin to live more and more in tune with Him.

1 John 2:6
The closer we grow to God the more we live as Jesus lived. Keeping the 10 Commandments is easy compared to walking as Jesus walked.

When we live outside of God, the idea of obeying God sounds oppressive and constricting. Once we come alive we see the freedom that comes in obeying God. Psalm 119:32

There is also an essential shift. We change in our very nature. (Gal 2:20) We can hear the God who was inaudible. We can see the God who is invisible.

We need to act when God speaks.

Can you hear God’s voice?

If so, are you willing to obey?”

Listen or watch this message at www.mosaic.org/podcast.

What are some of your favorite insights from this message?  How can we live out truth more faithfully?

Proof of Life: Passion

I realize this has become Erwin McManus week at my site, but Erwin has been bringing some really great insights I’d like to share.  This past Sunday was the best message I have ever heard on the topic of sin.  Sin proves that this isn’t all there is!  Listen to the entire message or watch it at www.mosaic.org/podcast. Here are highlights from Erwin’s message:

“1 John 1:8-2:2
Sin isn’t a popular topic. We have to wrap our head around the concept of sin to understand what God wants to do and needs to do in our lives.

The way we tend judge people show that we are more concerned with other people’s sin than our own.

We become what we love. The life we live is the one we want. We are what we desire. If we disagree, then why do we do what we do? We will become what we want the most.

John doesn’t condemn us in this passage. Instead, he shows the way out. First, we need to acknowledge the need to change. If we don’t acknowledge the need then God cannot help us. We need to own our own sin.

This is a human condition issue! Rom 3:23. There is an intention to our life (bringing glory to God). Our life isn’t random but designed with purpose. The dilemma is that our life outside of God misses this intent. He tells us (not to condemn us) but to show us a better way.

What does it mean to bring glory to God?
living your life for the good of others (1 Cor. 10:31-32)

Sin is living our life outside of God’s intention. We should live knowing we were created with intent. Am I letting other people’s intentions for me guide my life or am I connecting to God’s design?

Sin is the human capacity to make a destructive choice rather than a constructive one. It would be as if trees stopped exhaling oxygen and instead exhaled carbon monoxide. When we choose sin we exhale poison.

We need to take personal responsibility for our moral choices. We do what we want to do. That is why the issue is what we want -our passions. Human action is a reflection of our intention.

The goal is to make fewer destructive choices and instead make more life-giving choices.

Jesus came to give us freedom from our own destructive choices. Everything that I’m forced to do isn’t me. External motivators don’t really change us. We only change due to intrinsic motivations. Ex. Children act the way we want them to act. We’re surprised when they “change” in college, but we never really knew them. We didn’t get to their core. You only change the core through love. The only lasting change is the one motivated by desire.

Who do you want to be?

What is happening within is reflected in what we create. What is the story you want to tell? You have to know the story before you begin the design (ex. Fashion).

We were created in God’s image. When we leave God’s story, this is called sin.

The only way back is to own it.

The choice is ours!

We live with the consequences of our desires.

Our character is our essence (not our occupation).

Romans 6:12-14
The reason we keep choosing destructive patterns and behaviors is because we want to do so. We get to choose! These destructive choices end up owning us. Life isn’t in these things! Life is in Jesus! Sin doesn’t have to be our master!

John 10:10
Jesus came to bring life!
He cannot help us until we confess we’re dead.

At 10:10am ask God to help me live with intention today.

At 10:10pm ask God to forgive me for the times I didn’t live with intention that day.”

Get the “Proof of Life” discussion guide at www.mosaic.org.

An Interview with Erwin McManus

Erwin-Top left with glasses 🙂

Erwin McManus serves as the lead pastor of Mosaic, the founder of Awaken Humanity (non-profit), and McManus Studios.  Erwin is an entrepreneur (see Temple Bags and Native Son), filmmaker, author, and speaker.

Do you know what is most impressive about Erwin?  He is a person of genuine faith and character.  His wife and kids love him and love God (this is not always the case for a pastor’s family).  He is one of the most generous people I know.  I count the opportunity to be on his team and one of his friends a tremendous honor and privilege.

Erwin wrote the Foreword for Not Like Me and joined me for an interview during the Not Like Me online release party. Take a listen to our interview below:

Erwin McManus
[audio:NotLikeMe-McManus.mp3]
Download MP3 Here

What were some of your favorite insights?  In what ways do you plan to risk?

“Enter Here” with Erwin McManus

The Origins Event DVD includes 2 discs with speakers, panels, and small group questions based on the July 24th Origins Event plus a round table discussion with several leaders of the Origins Project. The Origins Event DVD would be great for leadership development and for small groups!

Some of those included in the Origins Event DVD include:

Amena Brown
Margaret Feinberg
Dan Kimball
Dave Gibbons
Alan and Debra Hirsch
Rick McKinley
Charles Lee
Marlon Hall

and many others…

To order The Origins Event DVD for $49 (includes shipping and handling to US addresses), contact belinda@mosaic.org.

Proof of Life: Light

Satellite View of North vs. South Korea At Night

From Proof of Life, check out excerpts from the message Erwin McManus shared during our new series at Mosaic.

“God is purest form of all that is true. He is source of all wonder, beauty, & awe. Dying and entering God’s presence means stepping into those characteristics. This is our natural habitat. We were created to live fully in the light.

We have an instinctive fear of the darkness.  Even our legends tell us that the undead can only exist in the dark.

1 John 1:7-9
God will always be clear with who He is. Make a decision to live by truth rather than by a lie. Living in light moves us to the truth. When you live in truth, everything is filtered through love because truth changes you first.

“If you always tell the truth, you never have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain

1 John 1:7-11
You cannot say you live in the light and carry bitterness, envy, jealousy, etc towards others. The miracle is when we forgive someone who doesn’t want it. We need forgive for our own good. Forgiveness needs to be given freely.

We can lose our homes & all of our $ and still survive, but if we lose hope we cannot. Choosing despair over hope leads to the darkness.

The ability to illuminate a room occurs from those who have faith in God and faith in others.

John 1:3-11
The life we have in us through Jesus determines the light that comes from us. There is a light inside of us that is supposed to shine from us.

When we move towards truth, hope, & faith the light becomes brighter within us.

In the pitch darkness, the light has even more power. The smallest flicker of light conquers the darkness.”

To listen or watch the full message, go to www.mosaic.org/podcast!

Proof of Life (week 1)

From Proof of Life, check out the short film and notes from the message Erwin McManus shared during our new series at Mosaic.

Proof Of Life Trailer from Mosaic LA on Vimeo.

No matter what interesting food we might taste, we always communicate that “it tastes like chicken” because we don’t have an adequate way to describe it. “Life” is a word like that. It is used often yet not fully understood.

1 John 5:13-15
We emphasize “eternal” but John was emphasizing “life.”
It is hard to give someone something they perceive they already have.

1 John 1:1-4
Life appeared revealing that what we thought was “life” was merely existence.

John 1:3-4
In Jesus is real life.
We choose existence because its what we strive for and toil for. Too often we reject what is offered to us for free as a gift. It wasn’t free. It was paid for by someone else.

Only 1 out of 7 actually change their life when the Dr tells them they will die unless they do. Will you be that 1?

Is there any real difference in your life because you believe in God? Is there any real difference in how we live our lives because of our faith in Jesus?

Too often we don’t strive to bring to life to others because we aren’t fully alive.

What will you choose?

To listen or watch the full message, go to www.mosaic.org/podcast!

Crave: The Documentary

We showed Crave: The Documentary yesterday at all of our Mosaic gatherings. It is a powerful film Erwin created. It demonstrates the openness of people to move conversations from social or superficial to spiritual and significant. Take a look at the trailer:

Mosaic LA Soul Cravings Preview from Mosaic LA on Vimeo.

You can purchase the Soul Cravings Church Kit and the Soul Cravings Prequel online at the Power to Change Resource Centre or call 1-800-667-0558.

A Response to Anne Rice Leaving Christianity

Dear Anne Rice,

When I heard you started following Jesus a few years ago I was excited for you. In my own spiritual journey, connecting personally to God through Jesus truly changed everything for me.

In reading a story about your Facebook comments and your desire “to quit being a Christian,” I was saddened. Intuitively I knew that you must have encountered people who follow Jesus who probably began attempts to conform every part of who you are to become more like them rather than to help you become more like the person God created you to be and to become more like Jesus.

After reading your comments, I realized my fears were right. You have become the victim of potentially well-meaning people who think that everyone who follows Jesus needs to look, act, and make choices just like them. Way too often, as people of faith, we have added to what we think is essential.

I just wanted to let you know that there are more of us out here than you may realize.

There are many, many people who have chosen to follow Jesus without getting caught up in the religion which has done so much damage in His name. There is a group of insurrectionists who seek to love, serve, and influence people no matter how these people in their life choose to live, what they choose to believe, or how they choose to vote.

I am a part of a movement of people who follow Jesus. We gather together in service projects, in homes to study the Scriptures, and in larger gatherings on weekends. We allow people to belong before they believe (whether or not they ever believe).

To hear that your faith has moved you from pessimism to optimism really encourages me. Keep pursuing Jesus, and you will find there are a lot more people out there who are with you.

A Fellow Follower of Jesus,

Eric

Excerpts from Anne Rice’s Facebook page:

Anne Rice My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.

Anne Rice As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

Anne Rice For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten …years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

For more on the idea of following Jesus rather than religion: check out The Barbarian Way or Not Like Me (especially chapter 10).

For more on getting away from the non-essentials, check out “People for the Ethical Treatment of People” and “Advocating for the Rights of Those Who Don’t Believe.”

For more on belonging before believing: check out this interview on the topic, this post on “Belonging Before Believing in the Scriptures” or this post on “Catalyzing Community.”

For more on our community go to www.mosaic.org, on our network go to www.MosaicAlliance.com, and on our tribe go to www.OriginsProject.org. There are more and more communities, churches, and networks leaving what has been called Christianity in order to truly follow Jesus….