Crossroads Church

This summer, we’re exploring stories together that can shape our spirituality and reveal the truth of God. After all, you never know who you will meet and what you will hear while sitting around the campfire.

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What’s the Issue Anyway?

We call powerful spiritual moments ________________ ________ experiences.

Spiritual experiences often become the ____________ rather than the ____________.

When the means become the ends, we become ________________ seekers not _____________ makers.

What Wisdom does Mark 9:2-11 offer us?

________________ were a place of divine revelation in Ancient Israelite Religion. (2) __________________ __________________ was evidence of divine revelation in Ancient Israelite Religion. (3)

____________ and ________________ were common responses to divine revelation in Ancient Israelite Religion. (4-6)

Peter wanted to ____________ in the moment. (4-6)

A ____________ of ____________ was a common symbol for God’s presence in Ancient Israelite Religion. (7a)

In the Gospel of Mark, the divine revelation is that Jesus is the _________ _____ _________ but no one gets it. (7b)

Son of God in Ancient Israelite Religion referred to divinely exalted ______________ that represented God.

Son of God in Ancient Rome referred to the ______________ ______________ of the emperors.

For Mark, the journey ____________ the mountain is the journey of belief and unbelief. (Mark 9:12-29)

The idea of a ________________ messiah or a ________________ son of God was difficult to understand and accept.

Don’t Miss This!

The Transfiguration revealed the ________________ of Jesus despite the __________________ of people.

________________ was the Mount of Transfiguration for the Roman Soldier. (Mark 15:39)

How can I live this in my everyday, normal life?

Embrace your _________ mount of transfiguration experiences.

Embrace your journey ___________ the mountain and through the valleys.

How does this make me a better person and the world a better place?

When Jesus is transfigured in our lives we are transformed into ______________ of ______________.

What is God inviting you into today?

1. Download the Crossroads app and participate in the Summer Journey: The Way of Peace.
2. Read the Gospel of Mark this week.

Thought provoking question:

1. Can you think of a time where you had a “mountain top” experience? What was that like?
2. What do you think Jesus, Elijah and Moses would have been talking about up there on that mountain?
3. Mark tells us that Peter, James and John were confused by the whole situation. Have you ever been confused by a spiritual experience? How did you work through your confusion?
4. What comes to mind when you think of making space for spiritual experiences in your life? How can you create space in your life for spiritual experience?
5. What does it look like for you to be a person of peace in your every day, normal life?

This summer, we’re exploring stories together that can shape our spirituality and reveal the truth of God. After all, you never know who you will meet and what you will hear while sitting around the campfire.

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What’s the Issue Anyway? (Matthew 8:18-22)

The call to ________________ ______________ just might be an ___________________ to embrace ___________________.

Following Jesus is more ___________________ than our ________________ ________________ and our ________________ _____________ in this life.

We only get ___________ ___________; nobody gets ___________. What are you going to do with your ___________?

What Wisdom Does Scripture Offer Us?

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been CALLED according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

1. Every person has a ________________.
2. God, by grace through Christ, has CALLED you to become God’s people. Gal. 1:6 (NCV)
3. The Greek word translated CALLED is ______________. It is about your ___________________ in
4. life, your ________________, your ________________ in life.
5. Before you saw the light of day, I (God) had holy plans for you. Jeremiah 1:5 (MSG)
6. Your CALLING is ___________________ to ______________ ______________.
7. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
8. God is good. Psalm 73:1
9. “We are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.” –Mother Theresa
10. ...comfort those who are frightened, take tender care of those who are weak. 1 Thess. 5:14 (LV) When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. Romans 12:13 (NLT)

Don’t Miss This!

1. Your CALLING will ___________ the ______________ of your ______________ and ___________________.
2. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Eph. 6:12
3. Although Jesus was ________________, he had this ________________ to ___________.
4. “Jesus promised those who would follow him only three things: that they would be absurdly happy,
5. entirely fearless and always in trouble.” –Greg Levoy
6. Your CALLING will ________________ the greatest ___________________ and ________________ in your life.

How can I live this in my everyday, normal life?

Get _______________ about your CALLING for your ________________.

What is God inviting you into today?

Thought Provoking Questions:

1. If following Jesus may be an invitation to poverty, hardship and distress, why doesn’t the church teach it more?
2. How clear are you about God’s calling or challenge for your life right now; not what it may have been 5 or 10 years ago, but now?
3. When you hear Jesus says you are salt and light is it hard for you to imagine it being true? Why or why not?
4. How has following Jesus tested the limits of your faith? Give specific examples.
5. Do you resonate with Greg Levoy’s words about what followers of Jesus will experience in life? Why
6. or why not?

In A Fresh Perspective, dig into topics central to the Christian experience in fresh ways, and (re)discover a faith you can love.

In A Fresh Perspective, dig into topics central to the Christian experience in fresh ways, and (re)discover a faith you can love.

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What’s the Issue Anyway?

East of Eden communities __________________ and _____________ out of fear.

When we think ___________ story is ___________ story, we will fear _____________ story. Fearing “them” is the seed of __________________ and __________________ behavior.

A Fresh Perspective on salvation understands that “Group Fear” combined with power leads to

_______________ injustice, the opposite of peace on earth.

A Fresh Perspective on Salvation: The Present Kingdom of God

The central story line of Jesus is the _______________ of ___________. (Mark 1:14-15)

The Kingdom of God was a religious and _______________ metaphor.

A Fresh Perspective affirms Jesus is ____________. (Philippians 2:9-11)

A Fresh Perspective emphasizes salvation ___________ something not ____________ something. (Mat 5:13-16, James 2:14-18)

Don’t Miss This!

A Fresh Perspective on Salvation begins with personal transformation and moves towards God’s vision of _____________ on _____________.

The God revealed in Jesus cares about justice because that God cares about _______________.

What does a Fresh Perspective on Salvation ask of us in our everyday, normal life?

Salvation raises our __________________ of what is universally causing human suffering.

Salvation asks us to use our ______________ and _______________ to bring about change.

Salvation asks us to live under the politics of __________________.

Ultimately, a Fresh Perspective on salvation is a __________________ engaged __________________.

How does this make me a better person and the world a better place?

When we say “Jesus is Lord” and when we see and live the Kingdom of God, we aren’t trying to go to ______________, but trying to bring heaven to _____________.

When ___________ story is about peace on earth, it constrains ___________ story and frees me into ___________ story.

What is God inviting you into today?

1. Explore more of what this Fresh Perspective means by coming next week and listening in on the panel discussion.
2. Explore baptism as a way of acknowledging my commitment to follow the peacemaking path of Jesus.
3. Explore some of the leading contributors to poverty, racism, sexism or homophobia in our world and how the choices I make can positively affect change.

In A Fresh Perspective, dig into topics central to the Christian experience in fresh ways, and (re)discover a faith you can love.

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What’s the Issue Anyway?

Remember: A Fresh Perspective embraces Jesus’ politic of ____________________ not holiness.

A Fresh Perspective sees salvation as ____________________ in two dimensions.

A Fresh Perspective on salvation embraces the metaphor of life ____________ of ____________.

Life East of Eden is marked by four spiritual powers: ___________, ______________, ______________

and the ___________ of __________________.

What Wisdom does Scripture offer us?

A Fresh Perspective embraces and redeems the metaphors revealing a need for ___________ ____________: Born Again and The Way of Death and Resurrection. Jn 3:1-5, Mk 8:34, Lk 9:23-24)

A Fresh Perspective sees Jesus as ___________ ____________ and ___________ ___________ of God in the flesh. (Jn 14:6)

Don’t Miss This!

Salvation is a metaphor for the __________________ transformation that puts us on the path of _____________ dying to an old way and rising to a new way of seeing ourselves, our neighbor and our God.

How can I live this in my everyday, normal life?

Stop running from the one who heals the _______________ _______________. Choose to ______________ in Jesus’ way of dying and rising.

The way of dying and rising is the path of making ______________.

How does this make me a better person and the world a better place?

New Life in the Christian traditions replaces the power of sin, guilt, shame and the lie of separation with the power of _________________, ___________, ______________ and ____________.

The fear of death is replaced with __________________ ____________ in the goodness of God for this life and the next.

What is God inviting you into today?

1. (Re)Start an intentional relationship with God.
2. There is a person I need to make amends with as part of my dying to an old self and rising to a new self.
3. I would like to talk with someone about baptism as a symbol of my entering this new way of life revealed in Jesus.

Thought provoking questions:

1. Do you have any physical symptoms associated with the feeling of guilt and shame? What are they?
2. How does guilt turn to shame in your life? Is there anything that you have found helpful in short- circuiting that process?
3. What ways of talking about or thinking about salvation were given to you as a child or in your spiritual journey? How have these ways of seeing salvation been helpful? Have they been harmful?
4. As we explore the first dimension of salvation, have you had any personal experiences that produced a new way of seeing or living in your life?
5. What are some habits that can help cultivate a new life centered on Jesus’ way of dying to an old self and daily rising to a new self?

In A Fresh Perspective, dig into topics central to the Christian experience in fresh ways, and (re)discover a faith you can love.

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What’s the Issue Anyway?

Faced with tragedy and trauma, we struggle with the “_________” question.

Our __________________ affects how we answer the “why?” questions.

Our worldviews determine what we are ________________ to believe about the world.

In Antiquity, their worldview determined what they were ________________ of believing aboutthe world.

The earliest followers were ________________ _______________ limited by the matrix of culture and their worldview.

A Fresh Perspective takes diverse atonement theories from antiquity __________________ without needing to take them ________________.

We have at least five atonement theories with _____________ in the writings of the earliest followers.

We have become people who _____________ Jesus instead of people who ________________ Jesus.

How about A Fresh Perspective on the Cross and Sin for my everyday, normal life?

A Fresh Perspective sees _________ as the persistent spiritual reality manifested in the continual escalation of human ________________ and ________________. (Genesis 4:6-7, 15, 23-24)

________________ is the power of darkness and its time had come. (Luke 22:50-53)

A Fresh Perspective understands that the cross ____________________ the darkness of violence. (Jn 12:31ff)

The Metaphor: Until we _________ ________________ what is destroying us we can’t heal. (Num 21:8-9)

Don’t Miss This!

A Fresh Perspective asks us to _________ at:

(1) the cross of _____________ until we see the _________ of human violence and injustice that is destroying (our) humanity.

(2) the cross of _____________ until we see that only compassion and forgiveness have the _____________ ______ _________ us from the evil of violence and injustice.

A Fresh Perspective honors the language of ________________ without needing ___________________.

How does this make me a better person and the world a better place?

A Fresh Perspective on the cross and sin invites us to ___________________ in the restoration and healing of the world through a __________________ life.

What is God inviting you into today?

1. Attend the Thursday night conversation group to talk with others about a Fresh Perspective on the Cross and Sin.
2. Take some time to literally look at a cross this week, seeing it as an instrument of violence, evil and injustice. Then, look at it, seeing it as an invitation to a way of peace that conquers violence and injustice through compassion and non-violence.
3. Re-read passages in the New Testament that speak of sin in the singular with an understanding of sin as escalatory violence found in Genesis 4.

Thought provoking questions:

1. What comes to mind when you see or think about a cross?
2. Have you gone through experiences in life that left you asking “Why?” Did you find any redemptive meaning or purpose in those experiences?
3. If you were raised with any form of Christian faith, what did it mean to you when you heard or what does it mean to you now when you hear, “Jesus died for your sins.”
4. Are you surprised that explanations for the meaning or significance of the cross are called “theories?” If you hold to a certain theory today, is it unsettling to you or freeing to you that this is only a theory and not a doctrine?
5. What are some ways that we can live a “cruciform” life at work? At home? At church?

In A Fresh Perspective, dig into topics central to the Christian experience in fresh ways, and (re)discover a faith you can love.

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What’s the Issue Anyway?

For millions of people the modern, literal, exclusivist interpretation of Jesus is no longer _________________, has become a _______________ to faith and is _________________ with the idea that “God is love.”

What Wisdom does A Fresh Perspective on Jesus Offer Us?

A Fresh Perspective affirms that Jesus is _______________ to Christian faith. (Jn. 14:7)

A Fresh Perspective on Jesus takes his _______________ seriously. (Matt. 7:13-14)

A Fresh Perspective on Jesus understands he was killed because of his passionate vision for the _______________ of God which included a radical critique of the conventional wisdom of Religion and Rome. (Mk. 15:25-27)

The death of Jesus _________________ his followers and needed contextualized _________________. A Fresh Perspective on Jesus treasures experiencing the _____________ _____________. (Gal. 2:20)

Don’t Miss This!

Jesus is ________ metaphor of God who invites us to follow him on the _____________ way of justice, mercy, inclusion and sacrifice every day.

How can I live this in my everyday, normal life?

Daily _____________ Jesus: walk the narrow path of justice, mercy, inclusion and sacrifice.

How does this make me a better person and the world a better place?

A Fresh Perspective on Jesus grows faith in our _______________ as _____________.

What is God inviting you into today?

1. Come back next week to explore a Fresh Perspective on sin, the cross and the death of Jesus.
2. Join a conversation group and talk about the images and understandings of Jesus you were given, you gave up and you are growing in.
3. Listen or watch the series “Explaining Jesus, Experiencing Christ” at crossroadscolorado.com or the Crossroads app.

Thought provoking questions:

1. What was your idea or understanding of Jesus growing up? Did you experience any moments where your understanding of the person or purpose of Jesus changed or evolved?
2. Do you find the idea of the humanity or the divinity of Jesus more meaningful in your life right now?
3. What are some of the metaphors that you have heard used to describe Jesus? One example would be “Light of the World.” Do any of these metaphors speak more profoundly to you?
4. Think of where you will be on Monday morning at 10am. What does it mean for you to follow Jesus then and there? How can you choose mercy, grace, inclusion and sacrifice?
5. What is your personal experience of encountering the living Christ, and how has this experience impacted your faith journey?
6. Have you ever thought about what Jesus thought the purpose of his life was? Do you think that Jesus thought the purpose of his life was to die or something else?

In A Fresh Perspective, dig into topics central to the Christian experience in fresh ways, and (re)discover a faith you can love.

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What’s the Issue Anyway?

_____________________ _____________ is a concept of God that many of us grew up with.

This “Thin” concept of God has produced many ________________ and ________________ images of God.

What Wisdom can a Fresh Perspective on God bring us?

A Fresh Perspective embraces our understanding of God as ________________ and ________________. (Isaiah 55:8-9; Acts 10:17; Acts 22:4-5)

A Fresh Perspective embraces a “____________” rather than “thin” concept of God.

God is best understood as a _____________ presence that permeates everything in the universe.

This _____________________ view is present and emerging in scripture.

(Psalm 139:7-10; Romans 8:38-39; Acts 17:28)

A Fresh Perspective embraces love as the ________________ nature within God. (1 John 4:8)

A Fresh Perspective embraces ________________ __________________ with God. (Psalm 34:8; James 4:8)

A Fresh Perspective embraces a ____________-_________ God. (John 14:9-10; Colossians 1:15-17)

Don’t Miss This!

A Fresh Perspective embraces God as the life-giving, unchanging and loving _____________ revealed in Jesus that we can _________ ourselves in through personal experience. (Ephesians 3:17b-19)

How can this fresh Perspective on God make me a better person and the world a better place?

A Fresh Perspective on God sets the prisoner _________.

A Fresh Perspective on God inspires us to love mercy, do justice and walk _____________.

What is God inviting you into today?

1. Consider whether I have been rejecting an understanding of God as Zeus-like being but not considering God as a loving presence that is the ground of all being
2. Jump into a Conversation Group to discuss more about a Fresh Perspective on God
3. Listen to S3 E15 (Reconstruction: An Interview with Brad Jersak) from the podcast “A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar”

Thought provoking questions:

1. How can I live out the values and principles that I believe are central to God's nature, such as love, compassion, justice, and peace, in my relationships, actions, and choices?
2. What personal experiences (if any) have you had that made you question or reevaluate your understanding of supernatural theism, and how did those experiences shape your current beliefs about God?
3. How can I deepen my personal relationship with God and experience God's presence in my everyday life?
4. How do you think a "thick" concept of God can inspire a more compassionate and just approach to social issues such as poverty, racism and climate change? In what ways can this understanding of God motivate you to take action and make a positive impact in the world?
5. What aspects of a "thin" concept of God do you find limiting or unsatisfying? Conversely, what aspects of a "thick" concept of God do you find liberating or fulfilling?

For Further Reading

1. The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg
2. A More Christ-Like God by Brad Jersak
3. The Divine Dance: The Trinity and your Transformation by Richard Rohr

In A Fresh Perspective, dig into topics central to the Christian experience in fresh ways, and (re)discover a faith you can love.

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What’s the Issue Anyway?

The word ___________ has become synonymous with the word ______________.

“Faith” as a synonym for “belief” leads to _________________.

Dogmatism leads to certainty which hardens the ___________.

Faith as a beautiful ___________ _________ of living with God always dies on the altar of certainty.

Exploring a Fresh Perspective on Faith

A Fresh Perspective honors that faith has always been ______________ to the Christian tradition.

___________ spoke about and responded to faith. (Matt 8:10, 9:2, 9:22)

___________ wrote about faith’s power to transform the world. (Gal 3:8, I Thess 1:2-3)

Faith is especially important in the __________________ tradition.

A Fresh Perspective on faith _______________ the rich meanings of the word “faith.” Faith as ______________: to give one’s mental assent to a proposition.

Three foundational affirmations of __________________ Faith: The Reality of ___________

The Centrality of ___________

The Centrality of the ___________

Faith as assent is rather __________________. (James 2:19)

Faith as ___________: A radical trust in God. (Psalm 59:17)

Faith as ______________: Faithfulness to our relationship with God. (Exo 20:3, Lk 10:27) Faith as ___________: A way of seeing the essence of reality. (Matt 6:26)

Don’t Miss This!

A Fresh Perspective understands faith as __________________ a matter of the ___________.

How does this make me a better person and the world a better place?

A Fresh Perspective on faith reclaims a way of being Christian focused on __________________.

A Fresh Perspective on faith grows ___________-__________________.

What is God inviting you into today?

1. Take some time to consider whether my understanding of faith is more about statements I must believe in or living a life of loving what God loves.
2. Jump into one of the Conversation Groups.
3. Embrace a Fresh Perspective on faith that is about more about trust, fidelity, and vision and less about assenting to the right doctrines.

Thought provoking questions:

1. Would you say that your primary way of understanding faith has been believing in a set of statements or doctrines about God? What were some statements that you had to believe to be a Christian?
2. Do you think Jesus was talking about belief in a set of statements when he recognized the faith of the centurion, the blind man or woman with the blood disorder? If not, what do you think he might have meant by the word ‘faith’?
3. What freedom does understanding faith as primarily a matter of the heart (and not the head) bring to you?
4. Which do you think is a more challenging way to live by faith: loving what God loves or believing the right things about God?

In A Fresh Perspective, dig into topics central to the Christian experience in fresh ways, and (re)discover a faith you can love.

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What’s the Issue Anyway?

The Bible has been a significant source of ___________.

The Bible has been a significant source of _____________.

Christians are leaving the church because of the ___________ more than any other single reason.

A Fresh Perspective on the Bible starts with knowing a little secret about _____________-_____________ interpretation methods.

What Is the Fresh Perspective on the bible?

A Fresh Perspective affirms an ________________-___________________ interpretation of the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 4:7 and Luke 24:13-35

Stories can be ___________, even if they are not factual reports.

A Fresh Perspective affirms the Bible as _____________.

By affirming its sacredness, we are saying that the Bible is our ___________________ document, _______________ document and _____________ tradition. A Fresh Perspective affirms Jesus as the ___________ of the Bible.

A Fresh Perspective affirms the ___________________ nature of the Bible.

Don’t Miss This!

A Fresh Perspective is important because sometimes the Bible is ___________.

A Fresh Perspective free us from the tyranny of those who ________________ the Bible.

How can I live this in my everyday, normal life?

Embrace the Bible _______ ___________, not the one modernity wanted.

Let _____________ be your travel companion as you wander through the Bible. Remember that taking the Bible ________________ does not mean taking it ________________.

How does this make me a better person and the world a better place?

A Fresh Perspective can help us (re)discover a Bible that we can ___________ to read.

What is God inviting you into today?

1. Sign me up for the Thursday Evening Conversation Group at the Crossroads building.
2. I would like to get the digital weekly conversation guide.
3. Sign me up for the Digital Conversation Group.
4. Read one Psalm each day this week, looking for the metaphorical meaning.

Thought provoking questions:

1. When you think of the Bible, what word comes to mind? Why that word?
2. Have you ever felt like the Bible was being used as a weapon against you? How so?
3. Does it make you nervous, bring you a sense of freedom, or something else to think of the Bible as written by humans?
4. Why are stories such a powerful way to convey truths?
5. Is the idea that the Bible is wrong at times but also sacred easy or difficult for you to hold? Why?

For Further Reading

1. Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality by Richard Rohr
2. The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It by
3. Peter Enns
4. How the Bible Actually Works by Peter Enns
5. Convictions by Marcus Borg
6. The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus Borg
7. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg
8. A More Christlike Word by Bradley Jersak
9. What is the Bible by Rob Bell
10. How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian by John Dominic Crossan