Reverb Evangel Handbook

8/9/2019 Reverb Evangel Handbook

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/reverb-evangel-handbook 1/14



Reverb Evangel [events outreach]

Government & Faith

SurveyHow would you like to take part in a

“ Government & Faith ” survey?

o In your view, would it make sense

to mix County & State legislation

with religion & religious issues ?

—one example would be passingnew laws mandating that churches

stress things like tolerance.

o What about Federal tax policy and

religion: Should churches keep their

tax exempt status?

o What about mixing art and religion:

Should artists be free to explore

religious themes?

o What about specific religious

ideas? How do you understand the

idea of God: Is God personal or is

God more impersonal?

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Request to Proceedo Do you believe in a real afterlife ?

o Do you believe in a final judgment ?

o Do you believe it’s possible that areal God may want to extricate you?

We ’re her e to walk folks through

a 10-minute presentation that

unpacks that idea of “extrication ”

& what we mean by that.

Do you have a minute?

Good —and please feel free to interrupt

where you want to comment.

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Bad & GoodJesus of Nazareth compared the afterlife

to a king…

sending his servants

to invite people

to a dinner event.

The servants went “into the highways”

and “gathered all whom they

found —both bad and good .”

(Matthew 22:10)

I like the idea that both

the bad and the good

get invited to the afterlife.

And it also sounds

like an open invitation:

that agnostics & skeptics are

welcome to hear out his message

—and judge for themselves.

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Curse & Judge And H is message…

is that He became a curse for humanity.

Jesus of Nazareth became a curse

to extricate those who are cursed.

Things that sound

strange at first hearing sometimes

turn out to be painfully accurate .

Like…

we’re all made up of particles

that are in motion!

And…

the God of the Heavens

is “pristine”— morally and spiritually.

And we are not pristine!

Despite our moral & spiritual efforts,

to be “pristine” is to be flawless.

There’s a terrible incompatibility —

between the God of the Heavens

and us —in effect, acting as a curse.

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Curse & JudgeAnd the afterlife is where

that curse —that incompatibility —

can no longer be avoided.

Jesus not only said

there would be a probing judgment

in the afterlife —where

our lack of flawlessness

becomes insurmountable —He

even said He would be the

Judge of that Judgment.

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The CrossSo… it is important to put together

what Jesus was claiming, so you can

gauge whether or not it’s persuasive.

Bottom line :

He became a curse

when He was hung on a tree.

But He personally demolished the curse

with His resurrection.

He now claims to be the One who can be

trusted —to transfer us out of danger

with His own personal immortality.

Eternal life … is Jesus’ resurrection—

somehow given as a gift.It is a wash of new life

that cleans us from all our spiritual decay.

Eternal life extricates us from cursedness .

And it levels the moral playing-field:

Prostitutes & Chemists —no one is pristine

like God is pristine.

All equally need eternal life as a gift.

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The Son’s Claims Jesus made many statements

about eternal life. He explained

it wasn’t just about a future afterlife,

saying : “He who believes in

the Son has eternal life…”

[meaning in the present ]

(John 3:36)

He made eternal life specific to Him

—when He said:

“I am the resurrection and the life.

Whoever believes in me ,

though he die,

yet shall he live.“

(John 11:25)

He made it categorical, saying:

“For this is the will of my Father ,

that everyone who looks on the Son and

believes in Him should have eternal life ,

and I will raise him up on the last day .”

(John 6:40)

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TransitionOdd! Jesus of Nazareth

is considered unique in His wisdom

and yet the crux of His teaching

is that all of humanity has an unavoidable

need for Him and His immortality. Odd.

And yet, according to the Bible,

believing in the One pristine Man,

who extricates us from cursedness

is crucial.

But it poses a question. Assuming it’s true,

what would motivate that type of strange

generosity?

One of the reasons God

may have been so

willing to send His Son

to be hung on a tree,

is that even before He made us,

He existed as 1 God in 3 Persons

—making him infinitely relational…

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RelationshipThis means that

before time & space

there were relationships,

that loyalty and love

preceded the material world,

and suggests a possible motivation

for the Father’s generosity:

that is the love and loyalty that go

hand in hand with being infinitely

relational.

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Augustine’s

repentance textLet no debt remain outstanding,except the continuing debt to love one

another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

The commandments,"Do not commit adultery-Do not murder,"

"Do not steal-Do not covet," and whatever other

commandment there may be,are summed up in this one rule:

"Love your neighbor as yourself."

… And do this —understanding the present time.

…The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.

So let us put aside the deeds of darknessand put on the armor of light.

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime:not in orgies and drunkenness,

not in sexual immorality and debauchery,not in dissension and jealousy.

Rather, clothe yourselveswith the Lord Jesus Christ,

and do not think about how togratify the desires of the sinful nature.

(Ro 13:8-14)

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SummarySo the issues we began with:

legislation and tax policy

regarding religion

are pretty pale fare compared with

the stark undermining of personal

gratification and the reconstructing

of our personal lives on things like

loyalty and love.

The God of the Bible does extricate us.

But the “extrication” is

profound .

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Final Q&AAll this poses 3 questions

that by answering you’ d help me plot

where you find yourself...

o Do you think the idea of a God who is

uniquely personal & loyal & relational

is appealing?

o Do the claims Jesus makes resonatewith you? Like : “I am the

resurrection and the life. Whoever

believes in me, though he die, yet

shall he live.”

o What do you feel you might say to an

infinitely relational God to convince

Him to let you into His afterlife?

…If you’re curious about or drawn to

any of thi s, we’d love for you to

visit us at our church!

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Reverb Evangel Handbook

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