Revolutionary Love - Week 2

s we march towards the semiquincentennial for this country we are invited to reflect on where the country has come and draw inspiration from it. However my charge to us in this season is that we are not called to go back to things as they were but to have a vision of where God is calling us to go to the next level. In the past we had a vision for independence. In this next season we are called to a vision for interdependence! That vision will be based on and fueled by love.

Exegesis – 

* This call for interdependence is not a light lift. There is a reason that we don’t have it now. It is REALLY hard. It won’t result from  a march or a decree in Congress, it has to emerge from a people that are serious about a revolutionary love that exists on every level 

* I want to suggest that we as followers of Jesus have a special role to play in this transformation because we have a blueprint from the bearer of perfect love

* Our call is not just to study and proclaim Jesus, or try to get into heaven - but to live like Jesus

* In this passage Jesus says - I am showing you these things because I want you to do the same

* We had Bible Study the day after the shooting of Renee Good. Her wife said that she was just trying to help her neighbor. 

Wife, Becca Good - “If you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind. Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow. Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole."  

* The father of Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot Renee, said that his son shouldn't be charged because - “You would never find a nicer, kinder person,” the father, who is from Illinois, added. “He's a committed, conservative Christian, a tremendous father, a tremendous husband. I couldn't be more proud of him.”

* Joseph Macklin, brother-in-law of Renee Good - “She had no reason to be there, in my opinion. It had nothing to do with her. She shouldn't have been in the way. She had nothing to do with the ICE agents or immigration, so she shouldn't have been there. I wish she would’ve minded her business and stayed out the way. I know families are being broken apart, and I know she was trying to help, and it’s heartbreaking. But now it’s our family, and now her kids don’t have a mom… and one of them has lost both mom and dad.”

* Three different visions of what we are called to as Christians

* Our vision really matters!!!

* G.K. Chesterton summarizes in What’s Wrong With the World Today

* So what would it look like for us to take this call seriously?

* 1991 Gatorade campaign - Be Like Mike - Michael Jordan becomes an international brand - it suggests that we pattern our life after him. 

* What if we were serious about our call to "Be Like Christ

* Renee was trying to walk that path and we too are called to take it seriously!

Reflection Questions

1. VISION IT OUT - You have committed your life to trying to be like Christ. What would your daily life look like? How would you wake up in the morning? What would you be doing during the day? How would you deal with moments of tension and conflict in your life/ in the world? (OPTION) Imagine you were making the video - Be Like Christ. What are the different video shots that you would bring into the video.

2. VISION IT OUT - New Roots is a community of people who takes Jesus call seriously. We are a community that is serving God and serving one another. What does that look like? How do we move with one another? (OPTION) Imagine a dinner gathering similar to Jesus’ with the disciples - what would it look like? How would we show up for one another?