Jason Clark's Blog, page 25

LEAVING & FINDING JESUS

Leaving & Finding Jesus

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With grace and humor, Jason juxtaposes an inclusive, reconciling, self-giving, unconditional view of God’s love against an excluding, hierarchal, punishment-focused, conditional view of God’s love.

Jason introduces the book he is currently working on, Leaving (& Finding) Jesus, which challenges readers to stop building their faith upon the broken foundations of a transactional view of God, and instead, embrace the powerful understanding of reconciliation and self-giving love that truly transforms our lives and our world.

QUOTES

“God removed the veil, literally, figuratively, metaphorically; every veil that man’s fallen understanding, our religion of good and evil has put in place, every us and them, for or against, sin conscious veil of separation has been removed. Nothing separates us from the reconciling love of God!”

“We are either moving toward exclusion or inclusion.”

“We need to be having conversations about sin that are not sin conscious.”

“What would the world look like if sons and daughters operated in reconciling love, not counting people’s sins against them, not counting their broken ideologies, their actions against them…:

To learn more about the book or to pre-purchase a copy, you can go to,
www.indiegogo.com/projects/leaving-jesus/

PRE-ORDER

Jason Clark is a bestselling storyteller who writes to reveal the transforming kindness of the love of God in a world traumatized by the religious abuses done in the name of the love of God. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children, Madeleine, Ethan, and Eva, and their dog, Indiego.

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YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE THESE MESSAGES…

THAT WE WOULD BE ONE

by Jason Clark | Feb 12, 2020

This message was given at The Reformers Gathering in 2019 at The Gate Church in Charlotte NC. This message is an invitation into the reformation that Jesus started 2000 years ago, it is an invitation into oneness with Christ.

SURE IN LOVE

by Jason Clark | Jan 6, 2020

Our Heavenly Father is always good and doesn’t desire desperate kids. Any relationship where kids are desperate for their Father is dysfunctional. Jesus revealed what it looks like to live sure as a loved son of our Father and gave us access to this same sureness.

I CALL YOU FRIENDS

by Jason Clark | Dec 9, 2019

“I no longer call you servant, I call you friend.” This is the invitation Jesus gave us. There is no servant master language in heaven. Obedience is the invitation to discover God’s heart until ours beats in rhythm with His.

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LEAVING & FINDING JESUS

by Jason Clark | July 28, 2021 | Books, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Interview, Intimacy, Podcast | 0 Comments

Jason introduces the book he is currently working on, Leaving (& finding) Jesus, which challenges readers to stop building their faith upon the broken foundations of a transactional view of God, and instead, embrace the powerful understanding of reconciliation and self-giving love that truly transforms our lives and our world.

LEAVING (& FINDING) JESUS WITH DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

Leaving (& finding) Jesus with Derek Turner & Jason Clark

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God’s sovereignty revealed by Jesus through cruciform, self-giving love, the nature of trust, intimacy, and union, and the transforming truth that there is no shadow of turning with God, in this podcast the guys explore Jason’s upcoming book, Leaving (& finding) Jesus.

This conversation juxtaposes an inclusive, reconciling, self-giving, unconditional view of God’s love against an excluding, hierarchal, punishment-focused, conditional view of God’s love.

You can pre-purchase the book at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/leaving-jesus/

QUOTES

“God became one of us, to rescue all of us.” Derek

“The sovereignty of God is self-giving; it is sacrificial in nature.” Jason

“Jesus is the Rabi that walks us through the scriptures; His perspective is the one that we need.” Derek

“I am so convinced Jesus never leaves, that nothing separates us from the love of God.” Jason

“If God is a punishing God, and we become what we behold, then you can justify pretty much anything in the name of Him, and we’ve all felt this abuse.” Jason

“There is no greater love than self-giving love that reconciles all things.” Jason

“I feel like your book is going to help people experience peace; that it’s ok to ask questions, to have doubt, to leave a Jesus that you’ve grown up with that might be contrary to who Jesus really is.” Derek

For more on Leaving (& Finding) Jesus click HERE

Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

PRE-PURCHASE iTunes Google Spotify YouTube Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

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JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… CARLOS PADILLA / WALKING IN GOD’S POWER

by A Family Story | May 5, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 0 Comments

Healing, miracles, the power of God, evangelism through the gospel of inclusion, faith, and reframing repentance, Carlos shares about his journey of discovering that the miraculous, or a transformed life, is simply about discovering God’s love and our origin and union in Him.

Read More THE CROSS with DEREK TURNER & JASON CLARK

by A Family Story | January 6, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 3 Comments

In this first episode of season two, Jason and new host Derek Turner dive into the wonder of what Jesus revealed about our Father and humanity through the cross and resurrection.

The post The Emmaus Road appeared first on A Family Story.

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Published on July 28, 2021 10:09

BRUXY CAVEY / LOVING GOD BY LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR

Bruxy Cavey Loving God By Loving Our Neighbor

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Bruxy Cavey, author, and pastor of The Meeting House, dives into relational faith, loving God through loving our neighbor, repenting with a hopeful future focus, how doubt is connected to our faith, how we are not people of the book (bible) we are people of the person (Jesus), and three perspectives on hell concluding with the fact that the New Testament church never leveraged hell to get people to make a decision to for Jesus.

QUOTES

“Jesus was no theologian He was just God who told stories.” Madeleine L’Engle

“There are people who will hurt other people to show how much they love God…they will boast in their love of God by doing damage to people around them…”

“A new command I give you, just love others as I love you.”

“No longer is it love God and love your neighbor, now it’s love God by loving your neighbor. That is our faith.”

“Meditation, prayer, bible study, going to church all play back up to the band…the soloist in the band of Christian faith is loving others really, really well. Even our enemies…we love our neighbors we love or enemies, there’s no one left not to love in the spirituality of Jesus.”

“More often than not He uses the word repent to change the way we think about the coming Kingdom. ‘The Kingdom is at hand, repent and hear the good news.’ He attaches it (repent) to what’s coming, not what happened before; to what we should be hopeful about not, what we should be ashamed about.”

“They worshiped him but some doubted…It’s this group of doubting worshipers that Jesus trusts the future of the church to.”

“We read the book, study the book, we love the book, we memorize the book, we meditate on the book, so that we can get to know the Person, not just so we can get to know the book. Unless we make that final maneuver to see Jesus as the Word of God, we’re doing it wrong.”

“Jesus is the authoritative inerrant, infallible Word of God and scripture is the inspired gift of the Spirit to lead us to Jesus.”

“Hell is never used by the New Testament church in their evangelistic presentations to try and get people to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.”

“Threats don’t help a love relationship… So even if hell does work (to get people to make a decision for Jesus) it works for the wrong reasons.”

For more on Bruxy Cavey
www.bruxy.com
The Meeting House
Instagram
Twitter

Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

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by A Family Story | June 2, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

An infinite love, the nature of revelation, a kindness that changes our minds, the joy of our salvation discovered as we awaken to the resurrection, the risen Christ within us, in this podcast Derek and Jason discuss how all creation is awakening to the transforming certainty of sacrificial love and resurrection life.

Read More WHEN LOVE COMES TO TOWN / with DEREK TURNER

by A Family Story | April 2, 2021 | Faith, Intimacy, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 0 Comments

He came and he walked beside us, He said, “I will never leave you, I will never forsake you; you are not alone, you belong.” When we discover this love, we are transformed and we begin to love like He does. On Palm Sunday Derek speaks about the cross and how we are invited to live surrendered and sure in love. He talks about laying down our loves, loving our enemies, and seeing the kingdom come.

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by A Family Story | January 6, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 3 Comments

In this first episode of season two, Jason and new host Derek Turner dive into the wonder of what Jesus revealed about our Father and humanity through the cross and resurrection.

The post BRUXY CAVEY / LOVING GOD BY LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR appeared first on A Family Story.

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Published on July 07, 2021 09:52

Stoning And Sacrificial Love

Stoning

A man and woman were caught in adultery.

You can read the story in John, chapter eight.

The woman was ripped naked from the bed. She was half chased, half dragged through the streets by angry religious men with rocks. The men meant to throw the rocks at the woman until her bones were broken and her flesh a bloody pulp. They meant to kill her for her sins. We don’t know what happened to the sinful fella who was in the bed with her, it’s possible he slinked off, it’s just as possible he had his own rock.

Then Jesus was thrust into the middle of the story. The woman, weeping and afraid, was flung before Him. Then yanked to her feet, she was forced to stand. She tried to cover her nakedness. She wouldn’t meet His eyes; the fear and condemnation so great, she knew the law, the vicious mob knew too; even the disciples knew.

“The law says she should be stoned” the angry religious men screamed. “What should we do?” they asked Jesus, with stones in hand. They had schemed the horror of this moment to force Jesus to play the game of good and evil. And they thought they had Him neatly trapped.

Jesus took his time, scribbled something in the dirt. Then, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,” He said.

His words resounded through the city streets, the nation, the world, and all the way up to heaven. Like always, his words were life.

For all who hear them.

“At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

Sacrificial Love

Jesus’ death and resurrection was the conclusion to everything He said and did. “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they do,” was the paradigm in which He walked the earth.

God reconciling all humanity to himself, not counting our sins against us, was the beginning and end, the foundation of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, the authority from which Jesus lived, moved, and had His being. Every word He spoke and everything He did was done from and toward one end, reconciliation.

It was the lens through which He interacted with all people, the oppressed and the oppressor.

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone…” was a picture of restorative justice. These words stood between oppressed and oppressor and released salvation and restoration.

To everyone.

Salvation From Good & Evil

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone….” There is salvation in that statement; for everyone.

Salvation for the woman who was caught in adultery, and salvation for the men who were holding the stones.

You see, “Those who use the sword will die by the sword.” (see Matt 26:52) That’s what Jesus told Peter after he attempted murder to defend his belief system. Had Peter been holding a rock instead of a sword, Jesus’ words would have barely changed, “Those who use stoning will die by stoning.”

or

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone…” Those words still have the power to save us today, regardless of whether we identify with the woman or the men. And, while it’s easier to see how salvation for the oppressed in Jesus’ words, they very much are words of salvation for the oppressors as well. Cause it’s all one sick game.

Those men holding stones? They were participating in their death devotion; a vicious spirit of sin-focused retribution which is counter to the gospel of Jesus.

Those men did not understand what spirit they were participating in; through stoning the woman, they condemned themselves to the same retribution because those who use stoning die by stoning…

Because, in the paradigm of good versus evil, sin is our ultimate judge and all have sinned.

In the paradigm of good and evil, no one there could justify throwing stones, but everyone deserved to be stoned.

There was salvation in Jesus’ words. Salvation for those with stones and those without, because all who heard His words, oppressors and oppressed, were enslaved to the law of stoning and under this law guilty to carry a sentence of stoning.

Jesus’ words exposed the hypocrisy humanity was enslaved to. The same death devotion so many of us participate in daily through our political, religious, and often relational verbal or social media stonings.

Stoning is never justice, it’s hypocrisy. It’s participation in the spirit of revenge, in the knowledge of good and evil and evil and evil and evil…

To Be Continued…

Jason Clark is a writer, producer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children, Madeleine, Ethan, and Eva. Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… The Bride and the Ecclesia

by A Family Story | December 16, 2020 | Articles, Dreaming, Faith, Friends, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship | 0 Comments

Membership in a church does not automatically make me part of the Bride of Christ.

Read More Fathers and Sons / Culture of Honor

by Jason Clark | September 8, 2011 | Articles, Faith, Friends, Leadership, Reviews, The Fathers Love | 4 Comments

Danny’s book “Culture of Honor” did this. It revealed identity. Danny gave vernacular to my journey. More than that, his writing helped to settle the insecurity experienced on the journey. You see, Danny revealed my heavenly Father in a new way and the better you know your heavenly Father, the surer you are as His son.

Read More Resurrection And Transformation!

by Jason Clark | July 17, 2019 | Articles, Faith, Intimacy | 1 Comment

When we lose track of our Father’s nature, we become deceived about our own. That’s what happens when a lie is believed; it separates us from His love nature and access to our identity as sons and daughters.

NAEEM FAZAL / REIMAGINING GOD

Naeem Fazal Reimagining God

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Naeem Fazal, founding pastor of Mosaic Church, and author of Ex-Muslim, talks about deconstruction or reimaging God. Naeem talks about the importance of being able to recognize God outside of our personal context, how to view sin, how to approach scripture, and a beautiful gospel that’s not just about the Jesus who saves but about the Jesus who is restoring humanity and all creation.

QUOTES

“My whole life has been about reimagining God because I started off as a Muslim.”

“Our mission as Mosaic, (our church) is to reclaim the message of Jesus.”

“Not recognizing God out of context is the biggest sin of religious people.”

“We sometimes preach Jesus and preach the gospel to solve a particular kind of sin a particular type of problem.”

“We have sinner and saint, but God sees oppressed and free.”

“What Jesus was doing on the cross was not just saving us so we wouldn’t go to hell. It’s way bigger than that; it’s liberating us to live in this eternal Kingdom that can be accessed here and on the other side. He was restoring not just humanity, but all creation.”

Regarding scripture / “It’s an inspired tool that God has used to encourage my faith; it is not what I anchor my soul on.”

“Here’s what happens when you anchor your soul on the text. The text becomes sorcery. You say it a certain way to get what you want. So, these stories and conversations become like incantations that are used in Jesus’ name. People don’t get that, but that’s Harry Potter.”

For more on Naeem Fazal
www.naeemfazal.org
Mosaic Church
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook

Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY

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by A Family Story | January 6, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, God Is Not In Control, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 3 Comments

In this first episode of season two, Jason and new host Derek Turner dive into the wonder of what Jesus revealed about our Father and humanity through the cross and resurrection.

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by A Family Story | February 17, 2021 | Crisis of Identity, Faith, Intimacy, Leadership, Relationship, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two, The Fathers Love | 1 Comment

Derek and Jason dive into our union in Christ and how that impacts everything from knowing our identity to loving our “enemies,” to evangelism, to navigating cross moments in our lives.

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Published on June 30, 2021 08:19

Inheritance In the Saints

Inheritance In the Saints by George MacDonald and Dale Howie

The Inheritance is the final sermon of the “Unspoken Sermons” series and a true reflection and summary of MacDonald’s thoughts. Abba, our Heavenly Father, is the beginning and end and everything in between.

If we have not found the first light of heaven in our relationship with our Father, Brother, and Teacher, heaven will be Hell for us! Because Heaven will be continuous fellowship with God! What we receive in the end is Them and what They always wanted from eternity past was Us!

“Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” Colossians 1:12 NASB

The Inheritance is God Himself

MacDonald did not care to persuade anyone that heaven was a place worth going, some mansion in the sky. However, he would convince us that no home in the Universe, no time in the future, is worth anything if we remain as we are! Whatever Heaven is, it is not filled with THINGS. It is filled with people! Heaven is eternal fellowship with God, and He is big enough to spend that eternity with you and me individually! The following is perhaps one of the most beautiful stories in all of his writings.

The Kite Story Alone

Alone…However, what boy, willing to be a disciple of Christ and a child of God, would prefer a sermon to his glorious kite.

Together…A kite is the most divine of toys, and with God, Himself as his playmate, watching it together in the blue wind, tossed hither and thither in the golden sky!

Others…He might be willing to part with his kite, the wind, and the golden sun and go down into the grave for his brothers, but surely not to be admitted to an eternal prayer meeting! For my part, I rejoice to think that there will be neither church nor chapel in the heavenlies. Yes, there will be nothing of religion but its Love and no law but the perfect Law of Liberty.

There is no need for law or religious practice where every heartbeat expresses the Divine, where selfishness is too revolting to be considered, and every voice is eager with thanksgiving! Where the rushing of these joyful waters is bursting from beneath the throne of God, they being the joyful tears of the Universe! Religion! Where will there be room for it, where the essence of every thought is the Divine?

What place for honesty, where love fulfills the law to overflowing! Here a person would rather dive into hell than wrong his neighbor in the smallest way! (paraphrase)

Much of our journey can be understood through this simple progression, Alone, Together, and Others!

Heaven as Sharing

What MacDonald is trying to say is that everything comes from God. Therefore, our inheritance, whatever form it will take, will be Him, for everything is His and comes from Him. Creation began with the Father, Son, and Spirit’s relationship, and everything will end inside that relationship. Theirs is a Life of giving, and this Life and is the only life worth having!

So, our share in the Kingdom of Heaven is not what we get but what we can give away. What is truly mine is only what I have received and have the power and desire to give away. What I cannot share with everyone is not Life!

Thoughts On:

INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS / For MacDonald, our inheritance is relational, not material. And our share in it is expressed in giving. This thought reflects the nature of creation as the expression of the Trinity’s relationship, shared love, and subsequent giving of Life. This process is consistent with the continuation of our transformation from takers to givers!

GOD IS OUR INHERITANCE / How else could it be? How everything begins is how it ends. They wanted to share Themselves, Their Life, with us. So, when Life has gone full circle, what we will receive is Them!

THE MEANING OF SHARE / Again, what else would make any sense? The Father, Son, and Spirit sacrifice Themselves, withholding nothing of Their Life from us. They have given away all that They are and all that They have for Their creation! Would this giving not define everything for us as well?

HEAVEN IS GOD HIMSELF / This section is the theme of the sermon and reflects Abba, Father! and The Child in the Mist on relationship as the Divine’s Irreducible Truth! Heaven is not an escape from life, but the family, the Home, we were destined for from the beginning.

The Kite Story paints a beautiful image of our journey, one movement from Alone, Together, and to Others! This path is the journey of consciousness. Our ever-expanding Universe until all is One and all is Love! Therefore, this Life is simple goodness, as good as the very Life of God is good, filled with the joy of our very being!

THE HELL OF THINGS / If we do not care about relationships, then we are left with Things! If heaven for us is about Things, then God’s Heaven will be Hell! Without the fellowship and communion of the Father, Son, and Spirit, there could be no Heaven!

THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE / Relationships are dynamic, not static. They are ever-changing. Heaven is not instant attainment of perfect Love. If we have learned the joy of repentance in this life? We will continue to experience that ever-increasing joy in the next. Heaven is the joy of a true heart, of an heir of Light, of a child of God, who desires and loves an open soul!

HOME / It was Home that ended CHILD at the beginning and it is Home that ends the book here. For all of creation in all of its glory and beauty is but a taste of Heaven. For here is not our Home. Home is where the heart is, and that Heart resides within the One who is our Heavenly Father!

This article, Inheritance, is a paraphrasing of George MacDonald’s final sermon from the Unspoken Sermon series written by Dale Howie.

You can learn more about Dale and his writings HERE
You can dive into many more articles at www.frontporchtheology.org

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HAROLD & LINDA EBERLE / THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION

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Harold and Linda Eberle share about the catalytic love of God that is transforming our western understanding of the church. They speak on victorious mindsets, kingdom thinking, the myth of separation, reconciliation through the death of Jesus, and salvation through his life; plus old elephants! This is a power packed interview full of profound insight.

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by Jason Clark | October 3, 2012 | Dreaming, Faith, Leadership, Life, Prone To Love, The Fathers Love | 1 Comment

Over the last twenty some years I’ve had some rather rude awakenings. Yeah, I’ve traveled to new places and I’ve confronted Bad Dudes. But that’s pretty much were the similarities to an episode of the A-Team end. You see, the bullets were real and they didn’t miss. I’ve been shot, many times – and it was no mere flesh wound either.

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Published on June 23, 2021 23:05

DALE HOWIE / UNSPOKEN SERMONS ON THE GOOD NEWS OF INCLUSION

Dale Howie Unspoken Sermons On The Good News Of Inclusion

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Paraphrasing the sermons of George MacDonald, Dale Howie shares his sometimes painful, often beautiful, journey of awakening to the irreducible truth of life discovered in relationship. He speaks to grace, our common Fatherhood, our inclusion in Christ’s life, death and resurrection, our union, and the wonder of our humanity. A humble storyteller and relational theologian, Dale speaks as a father on behalf of Our Father, who loves all His children with a reconciling love.

QUOTES

“The God that’s alone in heaven doesn’t love anybody. He creates out of need. The Trinity, they don’t need anything. They have life and fellowship in abundance…they wanted to share their relationship with us”

“MacDonald hammers home that the cause of all of our problems is the fact that we will not accept our common Fatherhood.”

“Love fulfills the law to overflowing…” George MacDonald

“One question is worth a thousand answers. Paul young

“The questions come out of brokenness, come out of failure, they come out of all the lies you’ve been told and all the things you’ve believed and all the things you have told.”

“I can’t sit across from somebody who isn’t His child.”

“Anointing is nothing but my spirit speaking directly to yours and it can only happen because I own it.”

“…This life is simply goodness, as good as the very life of God is good and filled with the very joy of our being.” George MacDonald

For more on Dale Howie
www.frontporchtheology.org

To learn more or to support this podcast go to www.afamilystory.org
Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!

Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… CARLOS PADILLA / WALKING IN GOD’S POWER

by A Family Story | May 5, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Intimacy, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 0 Comments

Healing, miracles, the power of God, evangelism through the gospel of inclusion, faith, and reframing repentance, Carlos shares about his journey of discovering that the miraculous, or a transformed life, is simply about discovering God’s love and our origin and union in Him.

Read More KRISTIN DU MEZ / JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE

by A Family Story | May 26, 2021 | Faith, Interview, Leadership, Rethinking God Podcast, Rethinking God with Tacos / Season Two | 1 Comment

Patriarchy, authoritarian rule, the nature of power and privilege in America and the Church, the deconstruction movement, Christians in politics; in this podcast, Professor and Historian Kristin Du Mez, examines the impact of perhaps the most influential subculture in this country, white evangelicalism. This conversation explores how evangelicals have stepped away from the Jesus of the Gospels, from sacrificial love. “But what was once done, can be undone.”

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Published on June 23, 2021 08:43

Outwitted

He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle and took him In!

— Edwin Markham

Seventeen years ago I found this poem written on a tiny scrap of paper tucked in my grandmother’s well-worn and highlighted bible just after she died at the age of 100. It was one of a few loose notes she had written and kept in the book where she sought to know and discover more of God.

It’s titled Outwitted. I don’t know what it meant to her, I plan to ask her someday, but every time I read it I am overwhelmed with the measureless all transforming nature of the love of God.

This world is full of devastating circles that shut out, the lies of ‘us’ and ‘them,’ separation, distance and delay, offense, retribution; but love doesn’t play by the rules of good and evil. Love outwits our finite death devotion, our laws of good, and evil and evil and evil and evil.

Love is a sacrificial circle that takes everyone in; He hung on a cross and gave forgiveness and belonging and union and reconciliation, not counting our circles against us. And we have been invited to become one with this love, so the whole world would know (see John 17:25).

But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him In!

That is the gospel of Jesus on a cross; that no matter the circles drawn to shut people out, Love draws bigger circles, Love says, “We all belong, we become!”

Radical Compassion

I recently watched this powerful talk on compassion by Father Greg Boyle. I’d recommend watching it. We belong to each other is a powerful truth that changes how we interact with one another and ultimately the world. Radical compassion requires us to believe there is no “us and them.” There is only us. No one is outside the circle.

Jason Clark is a writer, producer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children, Madeleine, Ethan, and Eva. Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE… The Church, Politics, and Trust

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It seems the North American church doesn’t understand how trust works. You see, while trust is earned through faithfulness over time, it can be lost the same way.

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A true dream, one that is birthed in the heart of “old men dreamers,” carries with it authority and power. Only a person who has experienced the death of vision, who has nailed vision to the cross, has access to the power of resurrection. When he dreams again, he dreams the dreams of heaven. And a dream that’s birthed in heaven has power to transform earth, it can change a family, a neighborhood, a city, a nation, it grows exponentially and has eternal significance.

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Jesus never once was “prone to wander” or “prone to leave the God He loved.” He came to earth to settle that exact issue once and for all. He came to set us free that we too might see, encounter, and become love; that we might be transformed from prone to wander to prone to love Him!

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Your completeness in Christ is not a remote goal but our immediate reference!

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If our theology is grounded in the idea that our good God is in control, then why does He allow evil, suffering and bad things?

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I have witnessed the church, my brothers and sisters on both sides of an American aisle that doesn’t exist in heaven, go to war with one another on behalf of their devotion ‘for or against’ a politician.

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Published on June 17, 2021 00:04

SHEILA GREGOIRE / THE GREAT SEX RESCUE

Sheila Gregoire The Great Sex Rescue

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Intimacy within marriage, the connection between intimacy and mutuality, the nature of trust, the definition of sex, addressing transactional vs relational thinking, dismantling obligation, addressing objectification and broken ideologies developed from Eph 5:22, “Wives submit to your husbands…” Sheila Gregoire practically rethinks sex so husbands and wives can experience intimacy, joy, and deeper connection.

QUOTES

“The conversation around intimacy in marriage has largely ignored mutuality.”

“In order to have intimacy you have to have two people who both matter.”

“What, too often, the evangelical church has done is elevated one person’s needs, specifically the husbands over the wife, and that has really wrecked sex for everybody.”

“A lot of the reason that women have trouble reaching orgasm, that women have bad views of sex, that women just have trouble with sex in general, is not necessarily because of their husbands, but because of what they have been taught in church and in Christian circles and in Christian resources.”

“A lot of women feel very objectified, especially in the church….If you talk to evangelical women, almost all of them have stories of what they were told when they were hitting puberty about how they were now a stumbling block to men. Even elders and pastors…commenting on what they were wearing. And it’s really traumatizing.”

“We’re basically telling boys that sexual attraction and lust are the same thing…we’re raising a whole generation of boys to feel guilty for normal biological reactions…Jesus did not say, “whoever sees a beautiful woman has committed lust He said, ‘whoever looks with lust has committed adultery. So, it’s a deliberate action, it’s a deliberate mindset…”

“The church has made marriage into an idol, and our whole approach to marriage has been wrong because our approach is, ‘let’s keep marriages together.’ And, ‘it’s a success if people don’t get divorced.’ No, it’s a success when people look like Jesus. It’s a success when we walk in His steps…when we achieve healing and wholeness.”

“God loves you more than He loves the institution of marriage.”

For more on Sheila Gregoire
www.tolovehonorandvacuum.com
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To learn more or to support this podcast go to www.afamilystory.org
Please rate, review, share, and subscribe!

Podcast intro and outro music by Wilde Assembly

Derek Turner Follower of Jesus, in love with @sarahjturner, father to @caro.turn & @kaaatters, owner of Milo, pastor @rivercharlotte. Amazed by Grace www.rivercharlotte.com

Follow Follow Follow Jason Clark is a writer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

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“The two greatest myths that we, as humans, believe, are the myth of separation and the myth of scarcity.”

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Published on June 13, 2021 19:38

10 Rules Of Engagement For Social Media

I’m not a great list maker, that’s Karen’s gift, but over the last few years I’ve been asked on occasion about my “rules of engagement” on social media; particularly regarding how to navigate disagreement, or how to interact with those who are unkind, angry, afraid or accusatory.

Sacrificial love is my guide. I know this love to be like Jesus on a cross, unoffended, forgiving, and reconciling all to Love. There is no “us and them” in this good news, we all belong to each other. With that in mind, here are some thoughts I have had through the years.

1. If I am not willing to lay my life down for the person I am disagreeing with, I shouldn’t comment.

2. We are after understanding, not agreement. And honor is the road traveled to get there.

3. It’s not about being right, it’s about being love. I’m here to REVEAL love, not DEFEND my ideology.

4. Love keeps no record of wrong. I don’t have a right to hold onto offense.

5. Reaction creates an equal and opposite reaction. Love is responsive, fear is reactive and doesn’t lead to life. Don’t react, respond.

6. Empathy and compassion are expressions of kindness and it’s kindness that transforms the way one thinks. Be kind. Always.

7. Apologize when I’m wrong and especially if I am unkind; publicly and privately.

8. If I love exposing hypocrisy more than I love the hypocrite, then I have no part in what Jesus is doing and nothing of value to add to the conversation.

9. Everyone is doing the best they can.

10. We belong to each other.

“If love is the answer, community is the context, but tenderness is the methodology.” Father Greg Boyle

Jason Clark is a writer, producer, speaker, and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children, Madeleine, Ethan, and Eva. Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow JOIN OUR MAILING LIST GIVE TO A FAMILY STORY

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