How do you feel about change? For most of us, it is not very easy, and the more dramatic or sudden the change, the more challenging it becomes.

One of the things that Jesus offered (offers), comes in the form of change. He offers new for old. Even though this sounds great and would be if Jesus were offering us new cars, when it comes to our personal lives, it is not so easy.

Old is comfortable. Old is safe. Old is good enough.....

As we discussed last week, Jesus' offer of forgiveness was one of the most divisive characteristics of his life and message. For many, this was an invitation to a whole new life, but for others, it was a declaration worthy of death!

In this week's discussion, we continue the conversation about sin and the liberating offer of forgiveness made by Jesus.

It didn't take long in Jesus' public ministry for people to start getting very polarized over his message. For some, it was profoundly good news, but for others, what He offers people is nothing short of blasphemy.

In this week's discussion, we consider one of those polarizing offers made by Jesus; the offer of forgiveness of sin. This is more than a "wiping of the moral slate", this is a revolutionary offer of freedom from that which is killing all of us.

Years ago, I was made aware of a broad scientific study into how people make purchases. The study, known as the IFBP Matrix, demonstrated that people go through four areas of consideration. Sometimes, this happens within seconds, sometimes it takes much longer.

The four areas are:

Issue - what is the problem, issue, situation, frustration, etc…

Feature - what does the new address, fix, improve on, etc….

Benefit - how does this help, enhance, benefit, expand, profit, etc…

Proof - what is the proof that it actually will do what is claimed

This study aims to look at the offerings of Jesus to the people of his day and to all people of all days. What did/does Jesus actually offer in his life and message?

Following our Listening Sunday at Whatcom Falls park, we brought some of the things that God had spoken to us back to our Mosaic gathering for consideration by the larger community.

The wind blows where it wants, you don't know where it comes from or where it is going, said Jesus. "Wind", as most of us are aware, is the word used to describe both the natural movement of air in the Bible, and also the working of the Spirit of God in and through out lives.

When did you first experience the "wind" of God? When did you last experience this wind?

Being an incarnational community means we recognize each other's humanity, then take it huge step forward and embrace it! When you look at the life of Jesus, he did not just put up with the human condition, he became the human condition.

Jesus didn't bring his God-ness to humanity as some act of pity, He brought his/our humanity to God as an act of solidarity!

Take a few minutes to think about your closest friends. What are the qualities that make them such good friends? Loyalty, longevity, safety, lack of judgement, caring, etc...

There is something that I have observed, that I think can be almost as challenging as having few or no friends. It happens in the lives of many many Christ-followers, sometimes with no effect and sometimes with disastrous effect. I will call it the lack of “God-infused friendships”.

I don't want to call them "spiritual friendships" because we can have very close and deep friendships with people that don't share our beliefs, yet the friendships are "spiritual". Proverbs 18:24 says, "There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother/sister" and sometimes, regardless of your friends beliefs, they are this kind of friend.

But do you have God-infused friendships?

Truth be told, it is difficult to experience true community. Jesus prayed for those that would hear the message as conveyed through his closest followers, that those who heard would be "one". Yet, all around us we see fractured churches, families and denominations. With Jesus' prayer, there must be the power and possibility to experience this "oneness", yet so few of us do. Why is that and what can we do about it?

Truth be told, it is difficult to experience true community. Jesus prayed for those that would hear the message as conveyed through his closest followers, that those who heard would be "one". Yet, all around us we see fractured churches, families and denominations. With Jesus' prayer, there must be the power and possibility to experience this "oneness", yet so few of us do. Why is that and what can we do about it?

Community is kindof a buzz-word. We hear it in political speeches, in civic functions and certainly within churches that are hoping to connect their adherents. We recognize that it is vital if people are going to stay involved and feel supported. So, why do we still see so many disconnected and isolated people?

Maybe some of the reason can be found in the fact that we may develop community, but we rarely experience communitas.