Friday

I will be entitling the posts with the heading "Friday" on our Young Adults Cell. So next time you see this post you'll know the idea i have in mind. Just something i want to do in organizing the labels of the posts i'm doing. tsk tsk.

Well, I did the introduction of our study on Jesus Creed: Love God, Love Neighbour. As you can see the book "Jesus Creed" has a big influence on me. It's something that i have been thinking about for the past year. I've been revisioning the things that i have been believing and restructuring the road of my spiritual formation. So in a way this year is sort of like an experimental and practical passageway of what i believe. So i guess you can say for this year a resounding theme would be constantly Experimentation.

Back to the study...

We were discussing on how a christian looks like, something about image. I believe that we project certain images as christians and we were asking the question what image should a christian project. Following that we asked the question what forms us or what helps us conform to this image. Stuff that influence us enough to form us to an image.

I believe that each image we project is the product of the things or stuff we do to influence us.

So, we moved to a passage in Mark 12:28-33.

This is what Scot Mcknight calls Jesus Creed. In a nut shell; love God, love neighbour. For Jesus this is the thing that we should use to form us to the Christian image. The emphasis is love and that is loving God and Loving neighbour. Love is the epitome of what marks us as Christians: John 13:34-35.

Now we must not stop there. When we say the creed's vision is love, and that loving God means loving other people as well, we have to understand that left to our own vision or interpretation we might practice it in a different way. So for this to work, Following Jesus is the way of the creed. If we are to understand the creed properly we have to take it by Jesus' way.

To end it, we challenged each other to recite the creed daily and whenever we think about it as we go along through the day or weeks or whenever we remember it. And to top it off we all agreed that having a creed for reciting is a good thing! And that is from a church tradition (SIB) that does not have creeds.

To me this is a sign of Emerging Church or Emergent thinking. I am for that.

Below is a sample of the study that i did. Needs some revisions though.

Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others

1. How should a Christian look (image) like?

2. According to your answer, what are the things that help form us into this ‘look (image)’?

Shema: Jewish Creed found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. This is the first creed that Jewish children are taught to recite every day.

Jesus’ vision for what forms us (Spiritual formation)
[Mark 12:28-33; Luke 9:57-62]
“Hear O Israel, The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
With all your soul, with all your mind,
And with all your strength”
The second is this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
There is no commandment greater than these.

Here Jesus amended the shema (the first part of the commandment above) but revised it by adding “love your neighbor…” (Leviticus 19:18). So for Jesus loving God means or is equivalent to love others as well. (Check out these verses Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:5-6; James 2:8-13; 1 John 4:19-21)

Do you think that we separate loving God and loving others (in a way that loving God is defined as another thing and loving others means another thing)? Why?


What are your thoughts on having a creed for recitation to help you in spiritual formation?


The creed’s main content and emphasis is LOVE. Though recitation is a main characteristic of a creed/ any creed, the intent of reciting a creed is not merely meant for vain repetition without life. The recitation should inform, remind and form us to the creed’s vision: To Love God, Love Neighbor.

We're Adults!!!

It's a strange thing. Well maybe in the context where I am living in (Malaysia...pin point that to Miri). Let me tell you, people still view someone like me, 28 years old (to make it clearer, twenty eight years old, TWENTY EIGHT YEARS OLD) a youth. Or worse people still think people like me children. Man!!! I'm 28 for goodness sake. To make it more clearer, i'm almost thirty!!!

Why are most people in my generation shoved up in this category? Why are we labeled youths?

I keep thinking in some cases it's because the adults and some parents don't want to let us grow and take up responsibilities. Well that is one of the reasons. Another could be, people think that we are incapable of handling responsibilities.

Both are true in a sense. So if adults think we are not capable, mentor us, help us, show us how it is done, supervise in minimal dictator spirit. I'm gasping for air.

Do you know, people in my generation, or those close to mine are the most lost crowd in Church? Well this is just a general observation. It's not true of all young adults but in general for me that's how i see it. I mean when i turned 20 things started to change. Alienation crept in. I was neither a youth or adult (or accepted in the adult group). But i made it through going into that transition but i think there are many casualties lost in transition.

I mean we are loosing our next church leaders and people. If we don't do anything we are not going to see these people anymore or those in the younger generation because if we don't do something about it we are going to loose out on a whole generation.

I just urge, all those young adults to rise above the transition and be an adult. Lets show the older adults that we also can contribute to society and to church as well. Make drastic measures. Lets do something about it.

My urge, Let us go...

I am Legend

I must say that this is one cool movie. Sure it has these cool effects and all that but the most important thing for me watching a movie is the message behind the story. I was turned off reading a comment/ rather a review about the movie (It went something like, "...if you don't mind watching a movie with just one character...Will Smith...", not in the exact words). But anyway Rachel told me it was cool so i took her word for it and watched it. And i must say, some reviewers are such lame fellows (probably because the sit and watch a lot of movies and the get tired at some point and wrap up some cheesy review...well sort of).

But anyway back to the movie. Its has a kind of apocalyptic theme embedded in the story. Something like the end of the world is coming. The story revolves around New York being the main location hence, the scientist (i think) Will Smith's character who has not given up hope in finding a cure. A cure for a virus that has infected the whole city and the whole world. People turned into Zombie like creatures that roam only in the dark, something to do with their condition (they cant stand the UV rays; the sunlight).

Well anyway there was this scene, where Smith's character talked or rather explained about Bob Marley. Something about his vision or message of peace through music. Anyway Marley, in one of his concert, he was attacked (did he get shot??? I'm not sure, i didn't pay attention),anyway after that incident the next day he did another concert!!! Some reporter (or something like that) asked him why he was still doing a concert, not fearing of another attack. He answered, that there are a lot of people out there doing evil and they don't seem like stopping, taking a break, not taking a rest (just to get the meaning clear), so we who want to spread good, peace should do like wise!

That's a wow factor to me. I mean, since Evil is not taking a break in spreading its effects, Good on the other hand cannot give up. Good cannot afford to take a rest, and work to nullify evil. I like that. It gives us motivation, that even when evil is marking its territory and stamping its credentials that it is here to stay, Good must do the same as well. Because ultimately Good will triumph. Like the movie's message, a cure was found. And it was found because someone believed and kept on working and working the extra mile.

still awake...

It's getting late but I'm still awake. It has become a habit for me to sleep late. I guess habits are hard to undo...well some are i guess. I'm getting some thoughts of dissatisfaction at the moment. It feels like life is meaningless. Well that's how i just feel sometimes, and as you know (that's if you don't know) life is not a bed of roses.

There are a lot of ups and downs in life. But the trick is (if there is any for that matter) to maintain a rhythm. We have to deal with the fact that a person cannot be all ups everyday, and neither can a person be down 24/7. There are extremes from time to time but mainly, we tend to move constantly up and down. It's a fact.

I'm not into believing that a christian is the most happiest person alive. To me that is a myth. We all, people who live under the sun, go through the same ups and downs, joy and sadness, triumph and defeat. Lets not be too 'spiritual' and say that Christians feel good all the time.

To me, as soon as we accept reality, the ups and downs and all that, the sooner it is for us to build on a rhythm. A rhythm that is stable and does not move too much in extremes.

Beliefs and the part of Incarnating them

How do we relate these images to...

...to These???

The birth

What he did

His death

His resurrection and ascension

Sometimes our saving religion doesn't know what to do/how to help the poor...we are too quick to say Jesus loves you without even showing that we love them too.

ACTS 2:41-47

ACTS 2

41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church—about three thousand in all. 42 They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer.
The Believers Meet Together
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

This is one of the most powerful verses or passage that can be found in the bible. (well also the whole bible that is). There is such a strong sense of bonding embedded inside the very core of the passage. Pastor Winston was preaching and was focusing on the topic: A year of Building. He stressed 5 points with the emphasis pointing on building, hence

1. Building bible centered people
2. Building a praying people
3. Building a caring community
4. Building a worshipful people
5. Building an increasing membership

Good points i should say, and definitely in line with the vision of my Church. The challenge of course will be how are we going to achieve these points above? They look so good that we cant even picture what they look like. Like the first point, "how do we build bible centered people?". It is easier said than done.

This is the challenge that we all have after hearing the word preached. How do we apply what we have heard and not stop at "what a good sermon" and then relax ourselves on our Sunday couches and doze off to sleep?

This is one of the books that i'm currently reading at the moment. I've just started and i'm getting the hang of the subject of the book and the way the writer writes. Although some of the word are somewhat technical but i find the way he writes understandable. So, maybe at some juncture, there are going to be posts about what i am reading here. Some people may find the cover of the book to be lame but as a self professed 'geek', the cover seems great to me (not to mention the subject matter).

Books

I just got some books that i ordered yesterday and that means i'll be doing alot of reading soon and ver soon. I'm a geek so i love books. Let me show u what I got...

1. NEW TESTAMENT & THE PEOPLE OF GOD- N T WRIGHT
2. MORAL VISION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT- RICHARD B HAYS
3. DRAMA OF DOCTRINE- KEVIN VANHOOZER
4. A COMMUNITY CALLED ATONEMENT- SCOT MCKNIGHT
5. EXCLUSION AND EMBRACE- MIROSLAV VOLF

These are all cool books and some are very thick so see how i cope reading them. Hahahahahahaha.

A new year...

Saying goodbye to yesteryear and saying hello to this year 08!!!

Man is it getting weird. I'm getting older (ouch). Well we always rant about age, but I'm all for maturity. I hope as i enter the new year, not only am i aging, but i hope maturity follows.

The new year sure does smell new and a lot of new things are gonna crop up. A lot of new challenges and hear aches, disappointments and triumphs. God help us all face the newness of 2008 and stand firm in you at all times.

I'm taking a step now...