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Can conflict be healthy? Can conflict be a doorway to transformation? Today, we explore how the collective at Ephesus found themselves in some serious conflict which leads to a major disruption. But it’s in the midst of the conflict and disruption that something is birthed. The author calls it, ONE NEW HUMANITY.
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Central to the human experience is pain and suffering. Last week we explored the question of WHY THIS? This week we will explore the question, WHAT NOW? What do you do when you are inside the pain? Is there a distinction between pain and suffering? Is suffering inevitable? How can we go through pain without being overcome by it?
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Why? That is the question. Why is there pain and suffering in the world? Where is the Divine? And what about all those clutches like “God is still on the throne” “God is in control” “Everything happens for a reason” and “His ways are not our ways.” Today we talk about pain and suffering.
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There are 8.2 billion humans in the world. There are 345 million humans in the United States. That is a lot of diversity, beliefs, prejudices, convictions, worldviews, values, and agendas. How are we ever going to live together? How will we ever organize ourselves? Today, we talk about politics, tension, and a new way to be human.
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Dr Susan David said, “We don’t experience emotions about things we don’t care about.” If this is true, then it leads to a question, what could our emotions be communicating to us? Could that answer tell us something about our purpose and meaning in the world? Today, we will explore emotions as a language of the soul.
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Are feelings reliable? Do they always tell the truth? Can our emotions be trusted? Can we experience emotions without being controlled by them? Perhaps so, IF we recognize the space between who we are and what we feel. Today, we talk about emotional maturity.
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We don't have to be afraid to feel. We do not have to ignore emotions. We do not have to bottle emotions. We do not have to numb emotions. We do not have to minimize emotions. We do not have to deny emotions. We don’t have to apologize for our emotions. To feel is to be human.
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If I am not what I have, what I do, or what I think, then the question remains, Who am I? To get at this question, we must ask ourselves who is asking the question. Because whoever is asking, might very well be the answer to the question. Today, we will explore what has been called the true self, awareness, consciousness, the DEEP I, soul, pure being, essence, or the eternal you. This awareness has been overlooked not because it is inaccessible but because it is so intimate we hardly recognize it.
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There is a monumental shift taking place in our time in regard to what it means to be human. This Copernicus like shift has the potential to move the human species into new levels of consciousness. What is that shift? It is an awareness and awakening to the “I” behind the question, Who am I? Because it turns out, I am not who I THINK I am.
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This is the first time being you, first time being me, and our first time being human. If that isn’t confusing enough, we arrived here with no manual to be human. Which leads to some questions? How do we know how to be human? What does it mean to be human? As we begin this new series, today we start with a simple yet profound and largely forgotten truth; it is good to be human.
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Our experience of LOVE, as amazing as it is, is incomplete. But soon, we will experience perfect love fully. Eugene Peterson writes it this way, “We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines brightly.” Until that day, Paul implores this collective to pursue love.
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Love is eternal. It was the energy present at the Big bang, it is the source and sustainer of all that is, and it will be present when everything else fades. This is why, in the end, what matters most will be love. We will never regret choosing the path of love. So the question is, what are we giving our energies to? In the end, love will be all that remains.
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Paul comes to his crescendo in 1 Corinthians 13 by using a rhythm, flow, and words with punch and power. Paul wants to set the house on fire with a closing description about love. What does he say? Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things! Paul wants this collective to know, the love he is writing about is tenacious. This love is strong.
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In 1943, an American psychologist named Abraham Maslow published a paper in an academic journal that attempted to describe the universal pattern of human motivations. He essentially ranked the most fundamental human needs and ordered them into a pyramid that has become famously known as “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.” Maslow observed that the human need for belonging ranked third, just under survival and safety. What does it mean to belong? And what does it look like for spiritual collectives to become a place of belonging?
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Ever heard this phrase? “I’m just speaking the truth in love.” How about this one? “Love without truth affirms us but denies our flaws. Truth without love has no compassion for the person's flaws.” Today, we talk about the relationship between truth + love. Is there a difference? Is love opposed to truth? Is love an enemy to truth? What if there is no tension between truth and love? What if love is the highest form of truth?
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Do you know someone who every time a name is mentioned it is followed by what wrongs that person did? Imagine being reminded of your worst moment again and again and again. Why do we do this? Many reasons, but one reason might be because we are operating in a wounded framework. Paul reminds us, love doesn’t keep score. Love is not playing that game. You don’t have to either. Liberation awaits.
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Love does not insist on its own way. These words are what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 about his experience with love. In context, this “insisting on its own way” has to do with a specific issue in the Corinth collective. While some insisted their way was the only way, Paul reminds them, love is not selfish, but is concerned about the wellbeing and flourishing of others. Perhaps the question for us is, how much of our lives do we spend working for the flourishing and wellbeing of others?
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In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul uses fifteen verbs to describe LOVE. Of those fifteen, seven are used to describe what love is not. Today, we explore how love is not envious, arrogant, boastful, or rude. These behaviors are the opposite of what love is. They also happen to be the characteristics of this Corinthian community. What do we do when our actions are not displaying love? Perhaps the answer is in fact, LOVE.
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In an age when vitriol, slander, and meanness are the standard for what it means to be human, we must ask, where is the kindness? And why does it seem those who profess to be the most spiritual, are often the most unkind? Today, we look at another profound descriptor Paul gives to love; love is kind. This kindness is present even in our unkindness. This kindness embraces us exactly as we are. This kindness slowly transforms our unkindness and shows us a new path forward that can lead to universal human flourishing.
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In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes LOVE with 15 verbs. Some are positive and others are negative. Today we will look at his first descriptor; Love is patient. In a culture where we are conditioned to be hurried, frantic, and anxious about life, love beckons us to a new dimension that is outside of the space time continuum. A place of peace and presence. Love is never rushed. Love is never late. Love is present with us always.
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