What does it mean when we say we have individual rights? Do we all have the same rights or do we have different rights? In American culture, we are asking whether or not gay marriage is like interracial marriage and whether or not a woman has a right to abortion? Jesus shows us a different set of rights.

There is a saying that goes like this: Love is love. Whether between friends or couples or between parents and their kids, love is said to be all the same. During the time of Jesus, the Greeks had 8 words for love. In English, we have one word for love. Jesus modeled different kinds of love.

Jesus modeled diversity pretty early on in His teaching ministry. His students and disciples had different views and different hues. His commitment to diversity came from what He established on the sixth day of human history. How does diversity in Jesus’ Kingdom compare to the BLM movement?

Why are we, as humans, drawn to the promises of hope and change? What is so appealing with hope and change? Many have come and many will come promising a better tomorrow, more equality, more harmony, and better justice. What Jesus promises is a different kind of hope and change.

The world doing everything it can to provide humanity with the perfect life. The world is attempting to establish human flourishing apart from God. How effective has the world been with re-establishing human flourishing. We’ll find that humanity only flourishes when we live under His authority.

The flesh is “the desires of our body that feel natural but are apart of God.” These desires are

for control, dominion, and survival. Desires aren’t wrong in themselves but how they are applied. We all

experience strong desires but just because they’re strong doesn’t mean we need to give into them. We’ll find that the flesh wants our desires disordered and God wants our deepest desires ordered.

We learn from Jesus that the devil is a master manipulator as the most effective lies are the mostly true lies. He provides some truth to each lie, which makes it believable. Most often it is the “you deserve to be happy” one. From teenagers to those married for 25 years, it’s the most believable lie. It’s a lie that fits in our culture and fit with our media. We’ll find that through lies, the devil tries to get us to distrust God and trust ourselves.

Taking a step just means doing something slightly out of your comfort zone, but on the other side can be a greater faith experience with God.

From the beginning, the Holy Spirit brought order to chaos and light to darkness. We may be capable of creating physical life, but only the Holy Spirit can redeem our spiritual lives.

The same Spirit that brought Jesus back to life is alive in you.