Jesus’ interaction with the Jewish leaders in the Gospel of Matthew

As I read through the book of Matthew, I turned on my imaginary reel of motion picture magic to truly appreciate and captivate the interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers of the Law and scribes in 3D. I admit visually it was not as stunning as Avatar, in part due to my lack of imagination since I continued to envision dirt roads when Jesus traveled, however it was equally thrilling. Without hesitation Jesus courageously confronted the big bad Pharisees and teachers of the law, often in front of big crowds. He rebutted, rebuked and boldly reproved their pesky harassments, all without flexing a muscle. Jesus corrected their twisted interpretation of the law and demonstrated that indeed He is the Messiah they have been expecting (John 5:38-40). Not only is he the Messiah but the complete fulfillment of the law as He notes in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Whew, talk about thrilling and action packed; He’s also inspiring and courageous considering the context the confrontations.

In chapter fifteen you will find a classic example of Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisee and scribes. Mind you they were borderline stalking Jesus and His disciples. As they were coming from Jerusalem yet knew exactly where Jesus and the disciples were dinning. In addition the Pharisee and scribes were able to observe the disciples’ lack of sanitary discretion when they did not wash their hands before their meal, talk about overzealous. Of course being the law mongrels that they were, the Pharisees and scribes interrupted the meal by alleging that somehow the disciples offended God by breaking the traditions of the elders. In true form, Jesus replies in verse three with a thought provoking question of His own, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” He then continues to illustrate his point and lashes out by calling them “hypocrites” in verse seven. The Pharisees and scribes particularly, but I can imagine everyone surrounding them were shell shocked, if not mortified by what Jesus said, after all they were the religious leaders. His statement was profound and totally challenged their hearts. Jesus clearly reveals that the Pharisees’ intent is wicked; they are much more concerned with finding fault, enforcing the law and continuing traditions than living out the Word of God with love, mercy, justice, grace and faithfulness. (more…)

Who is Jesus Christ?

The skies open up full of glory, the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon Jesus Christ and a voice from the heavens declare in all its majesty, behold “this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13 NIV) In such a glorious manifestation God, creator of all that exists, exalts Christ as He witnesses the baptism of Jesus proclaiming that indeed He is more than just a prophet but fully God yet fully man, the preeminent Son of God—God incarnate. Still, despite that God Himself acknowledges Jesus as son, the historical Christ finds much more than His identity in question but his divinity in the plight of the most vigorous philosophical debates among His very creation in the centuries that followed. Timeless as it seems, here we are pondering in such mystery, who is Jesus Christ?

Perhaps we should approach the implications of this question from a different perspective. Instead of defining who Christ is, let us first examine who He is not. Is He Lord, a liar or lunatic? Is He simply a great moral teacher in the same company as Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammed, Gautama Buddha and Confucius? C.S. Lewis argues that striping the divinity of Christ while acknowledging His moral greatness is “indefensible.” Is Jesus much more than a great moral teacher? Perhaps He’s merely a prophet or philosopher? Is Christ divine? Is He Messiah—the anointed King, spiritual Savior? Is He God? (more…)

Orange Tour Recap

I’ve been meaning to post a recap of the Orange Tour at my church, Cornerstone Family in Orlando, aside of all the excuses I can come up ultimately I’ve just been slacking.

So here we go.

The main auditorium was packed with over 300 leaders from across Florida and perhaps beyond. There was an excitement brewing in the air in anticipation of something Orange. I sat with friends from my previous church, we were Orange back then and we are excited that our new church home is now rethinking their process, their system. And that’s exactly what Reggie spoke about! Hmmm, was that a coincidence, strategic planning by our leadership or was it God’s sovereignty? We’ll debate that in another post.

Reggie Joiner and his team were incredible. Reggie urged us to rethink and reconsider our current system and encouraged us to make the appropriate changes to remain relevant in our children and student ministries. He noted that, “people change when the pain associated with the status quo becomes greater than the pain associated with the change.” Why are Christians always the last ones to adopt their systems to new cultural norms? Is it due to fear? Reggie points out that “We’re too afraid of who may walk away instead of who will come.” I agree we need to establish a system that is focused on those in our communities that are NOT coming to church. Whoa, what a selfless paradigm shift, huh?

I can go on and on, but then you’ll eventually stop reading. So let me conclude. In addition to the great main session that Reggie Joiner engaged us with, Sue Miller and Kevin Ragsdale did an awesome job speaking with us about Children and Student ministry at the breakout sessions. If you have NO idea what Orange is I encourage you to read “Think Orange.”

We want to thank the Orange Tour for coming and for the video collage.

For additional info visit: www.orangetour.org | www.orangeleaders.com | www.theorangeconference.com.

10 Reasons Why Your Church Should Seriously Consider Google Apps

As technology becomes more vital to the church world each day, communication within the church organization is critical.

Not only is there plenty going on but the people who need quick access to their important services, like email, calendaring, and documents are also on the go. Many churches do not have the resources to employ a full time IT staff and churches could cause volunteer burnout if those loyal servants are constantly having to do tech support.

There is a solution for that. It is Google Apps.

Google Apps is “cloud computing.” Rather than having all of your data stored on a server within your organization, it’s all located on Google’s own scalable server environment. Google Apps includes email, calendaring, document sharing, intranet websites, instant messaging, video and groups.

Essentially it’s a complete package.

Below are 10 reasons why you should consider making the switch:

1. Cost – It’s free. That’s right. Free. Churches and non-profits with less than 3,000 users qualify for the education edition of Google Apps which has no cost. This comes with Google’s own support which is also free.

2. Easy access – You can access your email, calendar or documents from any computer with an Internet connection. You can also have your email and calendar synced with your mobile device.

Continue reading: ChurchCrunch.com
Written by: JayCaruso