Incarnation and Kenosis – The Call to Cultural Self-Emptying
The only model given by Jesus to his disciples by which to accomplish their mission as ambassadors of peace and reconciliation is that of incarnation. “As the Father sent me, so I send you into the world” (Jn 17:18 – firstly, a prayer commitment; Jn 20:21 – secondly, the commissioning). Incarnation is to go into the world as it is and to ensure its’ transformation in accordance with God’s will from the inside out. The world into which Jesus came was political and military. He was born in Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus called for a census of the world’s populations. He then had to flee to Egypt when his life was threatened by Herod. The world was also cultural. Jesus participated at a wedding at which he contributed to both the quality and the quantity of the...
Incarnation as the model for mission
We just celebrated Christmas. The big deal is that God became a man and came to live on the block in downtown Nazareth. He set into motion what was to become the essential model for the mission of his people. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you into the world” (John 17:18, 20:21). Incarnation is the very heart and nature of mission and it can’t be anything else. We’re called to go into the world because it’s the world that God so loves, the world that needs to be made right, the world into which the Kingdom needs to come. The particularity of incarnation is that it teaches us that things are always changed and transformed from the inside. God came into the world in the person of Jesus and he comes into our very lives through his Spirit. God indwells us and...
Spiritual Disciplines
Inspired by The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible and adapted by Jeff Pratt Confession: Sharing your deepest weaknesses and failures with God and trusted others, so that we may enter into God’s grace and mercy and experience his ready forgiveness and healing. Lev. 5:5, Ezra 10:1, Ps. 32:5, Prov 28:13, Matt 3:6, James 5:16, 1 Jn. 4:15 Fasting: The voluntary abstention from an otherwise normal functions – most often eating – for the sake of intense spiritual activity. Deut. 8:3 ; 2 Chron 20:3 ; Dan 9:3 ; Joel 2:12-13 ; Matt 4:2 Fellowship: Engaging with other disciplines in the common activities of worship. study, prayer, celebration, and service, which sustain our life together and enlarge our capacity to experience more of God. Ps 133:1-3 ; Matt 18:20 ; Actes...
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