We explore how John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw" helps us understand Jesus' personality, focusing on his disruptive honesty and what it reveals about his character. Understanding Jesus means embracing his full humanity, including his confrontational nature when addressing religious hypocrisy.

• Jesus had a real personality as both fully God and fully man
• We often appreciate Jesus' honesty when directed at others but squirm when it's aimed at us
• Jesus confronted the Pharisee about cleaning the outside of the cup while being full of greed inside
• The exclusivity of Jesus as the only way to salvation is perhaps his most offensive claim
• We must reckon with our sin debt that we cannot pay ourselves
• Faith in Christ requires both belief and repentance, not just intellectual acknowledgment

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Using John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw" as our guide this week, we dive into Chapter 4, "Fierce Intention," exploring the passionate personality of Jesus through his temple cleansings.

• Jesus cleansed the temple twice – first early in ministry (John 2) and again during his final week (Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19)
• The temple cleansing wasn't a momentary outburst but a planned, sustained demonstration of righteous anger
• Jesus carefully crafted a whip, caused stampeding animals, overturned tables, and scattered coins
• Even in his fierce intention, Jesus showed compassion by telling dove sellers to remove cages rather than harming innocent birds
• This powerful, assertive Jesus contrasts sharply with the passive, meek portrayal in many worship songs
• We cannot fully worship Jesus seeing only the Lamb and not the Lion
• We shouldn't "declaw the Lion of Judah" by ignoring passages showing his fierce side
• Being Christlike sometimes means "turning over tables" against corruption and injustice

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We're continuing our exploration of Jesus's personality using John Eldredge's "Beautiful Outlaw," focusing on the fierce intentionality of Christ that's often overlooked in typical portrayals.

• Using Matthew 16:21-23 to introduce Jesus's forceful rebuke to Peter: "Get behind me, Satan"
• Examining the context of Jesus's ministry taking place in enemy territory, not just peaceful pastoral settings
• Understanding Jesus's response at Lazarus's tomb through the original Greek, which describes him as "snorting with anger like a war horse"
• Analysis of Jesus's commanding voice when raising Lazarus—described as loud as a violent storm
• Realizing Jesus deliberately chose to command with power and authority rather than using a calm approach
• Connecting Jesus's willingness to "get loud" with our own need to be forceful when confronting darkness

Join us tomorrow for part two of "Fierce Intention" where we'll be covering some of our favorite stories in the Bible.

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The concept of Jesus having a distinct personality is often overlooked, creating a two-dimensional view that makes him difficult to truly love and connect with. We explore John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw," specifically chapters on Jesus's personality and playfulness, to discover a more complete picture of Christ as both fully divine and authentically human.

• Eldridge describes reading the gospels without Jesus's personality as "like watching television with the sound turned off"
• We often reduce Jesus to vague spiritual qualities like "loving and compassionate," making him seem like "a get-well card"
• Jesus's playfulness is evident in the Emmaus Road story (Luke 24) where he feigns ignorance about his own death
• On resurrection morning, when Jesus could have immediately revealed himself, he chose a playful approach that built to a dramatic revelation
• Understanding Jesus's playfulness brings scripture to life and helps us see Christ as a multidimensional person

Join us tomorrow as we continue exploring "Beautiful Outlaw" with a focus on Jesus's fierce intention – one of the most compelling aspects of Christ's character found in scripture.

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Kyle Tompson shares how John Eldredge's book "Beautiful Outlaw" transformed his understanding of Jesus by revealing Christ's authentic human personality alongside His divinity.

• John Eldredge is the author of "Wild at Heart," a groundbreaking book on Christian masculinity
• Eldredge's lesser-known book "Beautiful Outlaw" explores Jesus' playful, disruptive personality
• Many Christians unconsciously view Jesus as "pretending" to be human rather than being fully human
• Scripture repeatedly emphasizes Christ's genuine humanity (John 1:14, Hebrews 2:14, Philippians 2:7-8)
• Jesus experienced real human emotions and physical limitations (sweating in Gethsemane, hunger during temptation)
• Understanding Jesus' humanity and personality allows us to relate to Him more authentically
• Tomorrow's episode will explore whether Jesus was truly playful

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Jesus offers Peter a complete spiritual reset by meeting him on the same seashore where he first called him to be a disciple, demonstrating that past failures don't define our future with God.

• The Word of God described as the sword of the Spirit against evil forces
• Jesus gives Peter a "do-over" after Peter's three denials
• Christ doesn't wait for Peter to get his act together but actively pursues him
• We don't need second chances, we need completely new life in Christ
• Jesus repeats his original call to Peter: "Follow me"
• Our identity is defined by Christ's scars, not our own failures
• No sin or mistake disqualifies us from God's purposes
• The enemy tries to define us by our past; Jesus defines us by His cross
• "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"

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Peter's journey from denying Christ to dying as a martyr illustrates the transformative power of encountering the resurrected Jesus. Speaking about John 21, we explore how Jesus reinstated Peter and predicted his sacrificial death, demonstrating that following Christ isn't about comfort but commitment.

• Jesus recreates the scene of Peter's three denials, giving him three chances to affirm his love
• Despite reinstating Peter, Jesus immediately tells him about his future martyrdom
• Peter transforms from a coward who denied Christ to a bold evangelist who converted thousands
• Church history records that Peter requested to be crucified upside down, considering himself unworthy to die like Jesus
• The central truth: we don't follow Jesus because He makes our life better, but because He is better than life
• Jesus isn't a means to an end—He is the end and the ultimate prize worth any sacrifice

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Jesus meets Peter exactly where he is after his betrayal, creating a powerful scene of restoration rather than rejection. Our failures never disqualify us from God's purposes and plans.

• Jesus actively pursues Peter who had returned to fishing after his denial
• The charcoal fire intentionally parallels the setting where Peter had previously denied Jesus
• Jesus asks Peter "Do you love me?" three times, giving him opportunity to affirm what he previously denied
• Instead of putting Peter on a "personal improvement plan," Jesus immediately reinstates him to leadership
• There is more grace in Jesus than sin in us - not permission to sin, but declaration of grace's power
• God often uses our greatest weaknesses as our greatest ministry strengths
• Peter's mouth - once the source of his denial - becomes the instrument God uses for the first Christian sermon

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Jesus teaches a profound lesson about obedience through a fishing miracle, demonstrating that apart from Him we can do nothing but with Him we discover unexpected abundance. 

• Peter and several disciples return to fishing but catch nothing all night
• Jesus appears on shore and calls them "children" in a playful challenge
• He instructs them to cast their nets on the right side though it makes little logical sense
• The miraculous catch reveals Jesus' identity and power
• Many of us are just a few steps of obedience away from our miracles
• We must choose faith and courage over fear and doubt
• Specific actions may include starting a ministry, sharing faith, offering forgiveness
• When we do things Christ's way instead of our own, supernatural results follow

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Christ's resurrection gives us a new identity that frees us from returning to old ways. The story of Peter in John 21 shows how even devoted followers can revert to past behaviors during times of uncertainty.

• Peter's declaration "I'm going fishing" was not a casual hobby but a return to his pre-disciple identity
• Before following Jesus, Peter had been rejected from rabbi school and told to learn his father's fishing trade
• Returning to old ways during crisis is like a healed person choosing to lie back down on their mat
• We don't have to do what we used to do because we're not the person we used to be
• Even the disciples closest to Jesus struggled with knowing what to do after the resurrection
• God uses imperfect people like Peter to accomplish extraordinary things
• The Holy Spirit gives us power to walk in our new identity rather than reverting to former patterns

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