Inappropriate Conversations

"Christ is my center but ... my boundaries are permeable."

Matthew 28:16-20 (The phrase “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” might lead to many understandings of the word “nations” for Biblical times and today, but “Go” seems absolutely unambiguous)

“If it is an error for some Christians to make relative what God has made absolute, it is equally an error to make absolute what God has left relative."

John 20:1-18 (“They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him”)

"Consequences. Do we still believe in consequences? No matter; they still believe in us."

Mark 15:25-47 (Darkness at noon, torn curtain in the temple, stone blockade)

"Often, when someone dies, we feel a combination of love and something else, and this, too, is holy. And entirely human. And they don’t cancel each other out. Love and anger. Love and disappointment. Love and emptiness. We always love imperfectly. It is the nature of human love. And it is okay. But despite all the love in the world, when it comes down to it, none of us can know the reality of another."

John 19:1-37 (when Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished”)

"Lord, please shine a light of hope on those of us who fall behind. And when we stumble in the snow, could you help us up while there's still time?" 

Luke 23:39-43 (“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”)

"My prosecuting room still holds a strand of her hair in evidence."

Matthew 27:11-26 (warned about his wife’s dream and seeing there was nothing he else he could do, Pilate washed his hands of accountability for the fate facing Jesus)

“Yes, a man is a dangerous thing. So is a scalpel. It can wound or it can save your life. You don't make it safe by making it dull; you put it in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing.”

John 18:1-11 (Jesus told Peter to put away his sword, and we should understand that having a weapon does not mandate using it … as opposed to turning the other cheek and leaving fate in God’s hands – the cup the Father has given)

"Some deny Jesus by saying they never knew him. Others deny Jesus by insisting that they are the only ones who 'really do' know him."

Matthew 26:31-75

"Imagine if every church became a place where everyone is safe, but no one is comfortable. ... We might just create sanctuary."

Mark 14:12-25 (we usually think a large gathering of friends or family should, by its nature, be harmonious; on the other hand, betrayals in situations like this are Biblical)

“Today I know that such memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.”

John 13:1-35 (through foot washing as an example of serving one another, Jesus tells disciples that they, and we, should do the same)