I. Making God obvious | John 1:14-18

A. No one has ever made God as obvious to the world than Jesus, the one-of-a-kind Godexpression!

B. No Old Testament revelation, vision, epiphany, or theophany can adequately and definitively state, “This is what God is like!”

1. They are all a part of a journey of discovery that leads ultimately to Jesus, the exact representation of God.

2. God is like Jesus and Jesus is like the Beatitudes…

II. A faithful presence | Matthew 5:7-12

A. The ethics and essence of a faithful presence

1. Blessed are the merciful…

• …for they shall receive mercy.

2. Blessed are the pure in heart…

• …for they shall see God.

3. Blessed are the peacemakers…

• …for they shall be called sons of God.

4. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness…

• …for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

For Further Discussion

• Discuss the relevance of each of the beatitudes mentioned today to the church’s engagement with society.

• What does John mean when he states that, “No one has seen God at any time”? How does this influence our reading and interpretation of the Old Testament?

• What should we expect as an outcome of embodying the qualities discussed above? Why should we think that this will succeed?

• How are we to measure the church’s vocational success? Is persecution the only real proof that we are making God obvious?

Good Reads:

To Change the World

by James Davison Hunter

Beauty Will Save the World

by Brian Zahnd

I. Making God obvious

A. The antidote to “seizing power” is to be a “faithful presence”

1. The vocation of the church is to bear witness to and be the embodiment of the coming Kingdom of God.

2. God’s word of love becomes flesh in us, is embodied in us, and is enacted through us…

3. …to those with whom we live, in the tasks we are given and in our spheres of influence

II. A faithful presence (Matthew 5:3-6)

A. How shall we be in the world?

1. Flying upside down or right side up?

B. The ethics and essence of a faithful presence

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit,

• …for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2. Blessed are those who mourn,

• …for they shall be comforted.

3. Blessed are the meek,

• …for they shall inherit the earth.

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

• …for they shall be satisfied.

For Further Discussion

• Discuss the relevance of each of the beatitudes mentioned today to the church’s engagement with society.

• Are these quali7es/virtues naturally endowed? Are they pre-requisites for God’s blessing? If not, what are they and how are they imparted?

• What should we expect as an outcome of embodying these qualities? Why should we think that this will succeed?

• How are we to measure the church’s vocational success?

Good Reads:

To Change the World

by James Davison Hunter

Beauty Will Save the World

by Brian Zahnd

A. East of Eden | Genesis 3:24; 4:16; 11:2; 4:17

• East is away from the presence of God

B. Further to the right… | Genesis 4:23-24; 6:11-13

• Cain on steroids!

C. The organizing principle is the will to power enforced with violence

• And so began human societies!

A. Searching for a better society | Hebrews 11:8-10

• A better city built by God, not Cain | Hebrews 11:13-16

B. “Where is this place?” | Hebrews 11:39-40

• Pointing to Christ | Hebrews 12:1-2

C. Jesus, Jerusalem…

• …and a new Jerusalem | Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 21-22

D. The church is a prophetic witness to the world, not because we make predictions about the future but because we know where this is headed and we live that…now!

A. Don’t worry about that, just keep heading west!

• Restate, in your own words, how the story of Cain and Abel demonstrates the origin of an axis of power as the organizing principle of human society.

• Why do you think Abraham has to leave Ur instead of trying to make it better? Why do you think the text says he was looking for a heavenly city on earth?

• In Hebrews 11, Abraham and the whole list of “faith” people never found the city they were looking for. What is up with that? What are they so highly commended for?

• What is the difference between the city of Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem?

• Discuss your thoughts regarding “changing the world.” Is that the mission of the church?

by James Davison Hunter

by Brian Zahnd

II. Growing things change…

III. Changing things bring challenge...

IV. Challenge demands trust in God...

V. Trusting God leads to obedience...

VI. Obedience makes us healthy…

VII. Healthy things grow…

For Further Discussion

• What are your thoughts about the future of the Vineyard Church in New Orleans?

• The path of logic and the path of faith are not always the same. What are your thoughts on logic and faith? What about presumption?

• What is your relationship to this local church? To what degree would you say that you “own it”?

• How are you being challenged through this effort to both expand our facility and plant a new church in the city?

A. Illusion

B. Irony

C. Tragedy

A. Naming the powers

1. The powers and society | Romans 13; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 2

B. Confronting the powers | Colossians 2:15; Ephesians 1:21

1. Christ confronting the powers

2. The church confronting the powers

C. Engaging the powers | Colossians 2:8,20; Ephesians 3:10

1. In word and deed

A. Romans 8:19‐25

• Discuss the following statement made by John Davison Hunter in To Change the World: “The belief that the state could help us care more for the poor, slow the disintegration of traditional values, and generate respect among different groups is mostly illusory.”

• What is the “irony” and “tragedy” of Roman numeral II?

• What is the relation between human rulers/authorities and those in heavenly places?

• What does it mean that Christ has disarmed but not destroyed the powers that be?

• How then, are we to live and manifest the wisdom of God to the powers? Why do you think revolutions work or do not work? Why would seizing the levers of power not be a good solution?

• What then, is a patient revolutionary?

by James Davison Hunter

by Lesslie Newbigin

A. The ultimate descriptive of God…

1. …is Jesus on the cross!

2. Absorbing sin, carrying it to death, and then shaking it off!

B. The cruciform life of Christ does not save us from God but instead shows us who God is!

A. It depends on which operating system is running.

1. The operating system, the organizational principle, the axis on which the world turns is power.

B. The incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Christ gave the world a new operating system.

1. An axis of love!

C. Humanity has been invited/called to be a community of people that imitate the cruciform life, rotating on an axis of love.

1. An unimaginable mind…

A. We need an imagination for being an alternative society of the future that is committed to the cruciform life!

• What was your main and plain take away from today’s talk?

• What is your understanding of the meaning of the cross and resurrection? Is it changing, growing, or deepening? In what ways?

• Take a look at Colossians 2:15 and Ephesians 3:8‐13 and discuss their meaning in the light of today’s talk.

• Edmund Burke’s famous quote: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” If we determine that there is truth in this statement, what does that look like if we are living around an axis of power versus an axis of love?

by Brian Zahnd

A. The meaning and effects of a pluralistic society

1. God is simply not as obvious as He once was!

B. Once upon a time…

1. Pre and Post Enlightenment

A. In the church and among Christians, there are many different understandings of the world, ways of being in the world, and ways of relating to the world.

1. “Defensive against”

2. “Relevant to”

3. “Purity from”

A. Coming to terms with the culture…

B. Coming to terms with old models of engagement…

C. Entering a pluralistic culture as a community of God’s people…

1. “…enacting peace and seeking it on behalf of all others through the practice of faithful presence…” (John Davison Hunter, To Change the World)

• What were your initial thoughts when you heard the phrase, “Christianity is just one of many voices…”? How did it make you feel?

• Why do you think the church has held on to the ways to engage the world as listed in above?

• How should we exist as one of many voices? How should we think about the “others” without an “us and them” mentality?

• How will the gospel be preached/received by others in the culture?

• What are your thoughts on being a faithful presence? What does it look like for you?

by John Davison Hunter

by Brian Zahnd