Podcast appearances and mentions of ryan ashley

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Ryan Ashley. Though Ashley dreamed of becoming a tattoo artist as a teenager, she didn't think it was realistic and became a fashion designer instead. Specializing in beads and lace, she ultimately used that eye for detail and deep understanding of tattoo culture to win Ink Master season 8 in 2016. Since winning in 2016, she's gone on to appear in spin-offs and other seasons, including serving as a judge on season 16 of Ink Master, which is airing now. In a conversation with her co-star, Ashley reflects on her most meaningful tattoo, the challenges of being a working mom, and behind-the-scenes stories from the Ink Master set. Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps.  ------- Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome listeners to SEASON 4 - Episode 32 of The Yonkō Table! Featuring your host Yonkō The GrandMasterHoop, fellow Yonkō DrJaceAttorney, and Worst Generation Miss. Mad! “If we gonna win against monsters, we gotta start acting like humans”…Easier said than done as The Boys closes out its 4th season with a hostile takeover by Homelander & Vought, an unhinged Billy Butcher, and grim cliffhanger for our favorite team of corrupt superhero fighting team. How far will Homelander's Justice reach? What will Butcher do with the virus? Where's Ryan & Ashley? Who's rescuing The Boys? Did Neuman deserve it?! How will this be bridged in Gen V season 2 ahead of the 5th and final season of The Boys?!? This and so much more, so quit swabbing the deck, come have a seat, and get fed with this week's episode of The Yonkō Table! Discord: https://tinyurl.com/44bpr4hn Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/u2tcbdvx Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/2mudtdwm Be sure to follow us on: Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/nxhw66te Facebook: facebook.com/yonkotable Instagram: instagram.com/theyonkotable Patreon: https://tinyurl.com/yzv488vr

Real Life Church is a thriving church in Las Cruces, NM. Our teaching is aimed at being Bible-centered, relevant and applicable. Our goal is to enable you to experience God's wisdom and power in every area of your life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - at home, in the workplace, in public and private. To learn more about, or to support this ministry, please visit getreallife.org

Real Life Church is a thriving church in Las Cruces, NM. Our teaching is aimed at being Bible-centered, relevant and applicable. Our goal is to enable you to experience God's wisdom and power in every area of your life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - at home, in the workplace, in public and private. To learn more about, or to support this ministry, please visit getreallife.org

Real Life Church is a thriving church in Las Cruces, NM. Our teaching is aimed at being Bible-centered, relevant and applicable. Our goal is to enable you to experience God's wisdom and power in every area of your life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - at home, in the workplace, in public and private. To learn more about, or to support this ministry, please visit getreallife.org

Real Life Church is a thriving church in Las Cruces, NM. Our teaching is aimed at being Bible-centered, relevant and applicable. Our goal is to enable you to experience God's wisdom and power in every area of your life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - at home, in the workplace, in public and private. To learn more about, or to support this ministry, please visit GetRealLife.org

A groovy, Evil Dead-inspired episode featuring Chicago Haunt Builder Ryan Ashley who is the owner & operator of The Evil Dead on Thrun home haunt in Batavia, IL. Ryan talks about the opportunities he has had to meet Bruce Campbell & his origins with the cult classics. Mike's dad, John Napoletano, joins the show to talk about his fandom of the Evil Dead franchise & the latest installment; Evil Dead Rise. John & Mike also go into their early home haunt-viewing days & the origins of some of the most iconic Chicagoland Halloween locations. Matt Nausid from Greenbriar Cemetery gives another Haunter's Hack regarding foam materials for gravestones & Mike lists some haunted houses that are opening up for Halfway to Halloween events.

Ryan and Ashley Gage are back this week to chat with us about how to be bridge builders, and what it looks like to see and value each other. If you didn't hear part 1 of our conversation, I highly recommend that you go back and listen to episode 45. Friends, I want to let you know that I am on this journey with you. I have a lot to learn about the centuries and centuries of racial injustice, and the racial injustice that continues to happen today. I am committed to do whatever I can to be a part of the ministry of reconciliation that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5. Like Ashley said in Episode 45, the work of reconciliation is messy and it is a marathon, not a sprint. So, I've got my sneakers on and I'm ready to run for the one haul. But the beautiful gift is that the marathon is being flooded by people like you, who are linking arms and running together to see restoration, healing, and reconciliation happen in our communities and around the world. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/carly-bartlett/support

The wildly popular reality competition series Ink Master is back for an all-new season beginning September 7 exclusively on Paramount+. The new Ink Master features a new host, new judges, new challenges and the biggest grand prize in the show's history: $250,000 and the title of “Ink Master.” Joel Madden, lead vocalist for the pop/punk band Good Charlotte, joins the series as host. Ink Master's new judges are Ryan Ashley, the first female artist to win Ink Master (season 8); celebrity tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado, one of the world's best color realism artists; and industry veteran Ami Jame, a well-known Japanese tattoo specialist and entrepreneur with almost 30 years of experience. Former host Dave Navarro returns to the series as the “Master of Chaos,” introducing crazy twists and game-changing bombs to the competition.

The wildly popular reality competition series Ink Master is back for an all-new season beginning September 7 exclusively on Paramount+. The new Ink Master features a new host, new judges, new challenges and the biggest grand prize in the show's history: $250,000 and the title of “Ink Master.” Joel Madden, lead vocalist for the pop/punk band Good Charlotte, joins the series as host. Ink Master's new judges are Ryan Ashley, the first female artist to win Ink Master (season 8); celebrity tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado, one of the world's best color realism artists; and industry veteran Ami Jame, a well-known Japanese tattoo specialist and entrepreneur with almost 30 years of experience. Former host Dave Navarro returns to the series as the “Master of Chaos,” introducing crazy twists and game-changing bombs to the competition.

On today's nerdtastically newsworthy episode of #NerdORama we enter the world of everyone's favorite tattoo competition “Ink Master” with a master of intricate black & grey tattoos and one of season 14's newest judges, Ryan Ashley, who made history as the first woman to win the title of Ink Master!!!

ICYMI: The Mo'Kelly Show Presents – A conversation with tattoo artist extraordinaire Ryan Ashley, who joins the program to introduce “Ink Master” on Paramount+…PLUS – iHeartRadio Anchor, Reporter and fellow Nerd Nick Pagliochini joins the program with every magical moment from D23 Expo 2022 on KFI AM 640 – Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app

It's back! Tattoo artists competing for the right to be named the best. Ryan is one of the judges and she says the heat is on.

It's back! Tattoo artists competing for the right to be named the best. Ryan is one of the judges and she says the heat is on.

We had the pleasure of interviewing LOKRE over Zoom video.Toronto-based R&B singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist LOKRE as she gears up to release her debut album ELIZABETH in September. On June 22nd, LOKRE releases her new single 'Sun Don't Set'. Taken from her forthcoming album titled ELIZABETH (named after her grandmother), 'Sun Don't Set' is LOKRE's first release in 2 years and is the springboard for her musical journey that is transformative, decadent and refuses to be ignored.On the new single, LOKRE says: "‘Sun Don't Set' is an affirmation to press on in the face of self-doubt. The lyrics serve as a much needed reminder, a divine gift even, to encourage me to see the big picture and the temporary nature of pain. No matter how grey the sky, I can trust that the sun is there… even if I can't see it. That's the kind of faith I think life demands.” The single is encapsulated into a live performance directed by long-time collaborator and choreographer Caroline Torti filmed in the stunning countryside outside Toronto. LOKRE (pronounced lock-ree) has been fiercely paving the path for her undeniable talent. Her sound was born out of the collision between her Indo-Trinidadian and Irish sonic mosaic and eclectic influences such as Sade, Alicia Keys and Nelly Furtado. Her talents have attracted a noteworthy list of collaborators including MNEK, Brian West, Ryan Ashley, Yetibeats, Adam Messinger, and Curtis Richardson to name a few. Outside of music, LOKRE's passions lie in: poetry, meditation, wellness, yoga, mental health (she launched & produced a series with Jack.org called DeMystified), and streetwear/sneaker culture. We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #LOKRE #Elizabeth #SunDontSet #NewMusic #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB https://www.bringinitbackwards.com/follow/ Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! https://www.facebook.com/groups/bringinbackpod

ICYMI: Tuesday, talking w/ State Champs Odessa Zentz from Helena High track & Ryan Ashley from Capital tennis, along with NAIA National Champion Sydnee Little Light. Plus, the Auto Concepts Performance of the Week and the MT Rodeo Roundup. Visit jasonwalkershow.com for more. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jason-walker89/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jason-walker89/support

When it comes to software, one thing we know for sure is that sometimes our tools are going to fail, and introducing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning into software tools creates additional vulnerabilities. In Part 1 of our two-part series discussing AI Assurance, we detail methods and findings from a recent audit that IQT Labs conducted on FakeFinder, an open source deep learning tool that predicts whether or not a video is a deepfake. Tune in to learn about our audit approach and overall findings from our IQT Labs experts Andrea Brennen and Ryan Ashley. 

We've inked a deal with Katie Sullivan, that's right Esther from Dexter is here to tell Clare Kramer and David Magidoff all about her love of Ink Master. Does she have any tattoos? Not yet, but that doesn't stop her from loving all the art and all the drama. Find out if she would ever be a human canvas and what she wants to do with Dave Navarro only on Fanaddicts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Romans 12:1-212 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.“In the 20th century (generally speaking), protestant Christians set out to make America Christian and ended up making Christianity American.”Stanley Hauerwas“A disciple is anyone whose ultimate goal is to live as Jesus would live if he were in their place.”Dallas WillardJesus brought about a reformation by telling a subversive, alternative story. He told a story that is more than science, more than history, more than philosophy, more than anthropology, and more than morality. A story that not only happened once, but is happening still. And you and I are invited into that!NT Wright

Philippians 2:1-11, John 13:34-35; 15:12-13, 1 John 4:20, John 1:14, Revelation 2:1-41. Love God Well2. Love Each Other Well3. Love This World WellJohn 13:34-3534 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”John 15:12-1312 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.1 John 4:2020 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.John 1:1414 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.The Message“He had the right attitude. He chewed gum, looked arrogant and flipped the bird to the guards—he did everything the prisoners wanted to do. He was a mean mother from the South who was there because he loved us. When he walked away, everyone in that place had become a Johnny Cash fan.” Merl HaggardThings are different now. The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's often vocal sanction of things as they are. But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.Philippians 2 :5-85 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!“The word describes something that happens within an existing relationship, whether between two human beings or between God and man. In human relationships, hesed implies loving our neighbor, not merely in terms of warm emotional feelings but in acts of love and service that we owe to the other person simply because he is part of the covenant community.” Revelation 2:1-4Revelation 2:1-42 “To the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus write:These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.As you look at the incarnate son of God dying on the cross the most powerful thought you should think is: this is the true meaning of who God is. He is the God of self-giving love.NT Wright

Following Jesus with Our Whole SelvesForgiveness: Absorbing the PainFebruary 14th, 2021Matthew 18:21-35, Luke 23:32-34, Ephesians 4:30-5:2IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR A CHRISTIAN TO BE SPIRITUALLY MATURE WHILE REMAINING EMOTIONALLY IMMATURE.Peter Scazzero Matthew 18:21-3521 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,' he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.' 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,' he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”Luke 23:32-3432 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[c] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.Ephesians 4:30-5:230 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 1 Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.The personal act to release the one who sinned against me from my personal right to collect on the moral debt (to pay them back) for their offense, giving it over to God for His justice and mercy.Instead of giving them back the pain they gave me, I absorb the pain into myself with God's help.“Any pain or tension we do not transform we will transmit. In the face of jealousy, anger, bitterness, and hatred we are to be like water purifiers; holding the toxins inside of us and giving back only the pure water.”Ronald Rolheiser – Sacred Fire“As we age, we can begin to trim down our spiritual vocabulary and eventually we can get it down to just three words: forgive, forgive, forgive. The major task psychologically and spiritually for the second half of our lives is to forgive. We need to forgive those who have hurt us, forgive ourselves for our own failings, forgive life for not being fully fair, and forgive God for seemingly being so indifferent to our wounds. We need to do that before we die because ultimately there is only one moral imperative, not to die an angry bitter person but to die with a warm heart.”Ronald Rolheiser – Sacred Fire

February 7th, 2021Luke 7:36-50, Matthew 6:14-15“Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive.”C.S. Lewis – Mere ChristianityLuke 7:36-5036 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”“Tell me, teacher,” he said.41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”Matthew 6:14-1514 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.1. Forgiveness is Not Forgetting“In Scripture we learn that “remember” means to bring into active memory so that attitude and action are impacted. Like God, we do not “not remember” the sin, so it does not influence future relationship. Like God, we do not erase the fact of the sin from knowledge. In case of God, that would contradict His omniscience.”2. Forgiveness is Not a Feeling 3. Forgiveness is not saying that something is not a sin4. Forgiveness is not having to allow someone who is toxic back into your life!5. Forgiveness is rarely a one-time event!The personal act to release the one who sinned against me from my personal right to collect on the moral debt (to pay them back) for their offense, giving it over to God for His justice and mercy.1. We return to God the right to take care of Justice.2. Forgiveness means that we will determine and want to do good not evil!3. See forgiveness as an unmerited gift4. Forgiveness means that we will absorb pain into our lives…

Genesis 3:1-7, John 1:19-23; 29-39; 3:22-30Genesis 3:1-73 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LordGod had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?”2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. God Has not made a bad tree. He has simply made a tree. And there is nothing intrinsic about the tree that is different in any way from the other trees. Rather, God has simply confronted man with a choice. He could have just as well said, “Don't cross this stream; don't climb this mountain.” He is saying, “Believe me and stand in your place as a creature, not as one who is autonomous. Believe me and love me as a creature to his Creator, and all will be well. This is the place for which I have made you.” Francis Schaeffer, Genesis in Space and Time Frozen: Let it GoIt's time to see what I can doTo test the limits and break throughNo right, no wrong, no rules for meI'm free John 1:19-23; 29-3919 Now this was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”He said, “I am not.”“Are you the Prophet?”He answered, “No.”22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”23 John replied in the words of Isaiah (40) the prophet, “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.'”[d]29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God's Chosen One.”[f]35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”John 3:22-3022 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized.24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.' 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[h] 27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 1. I Am Not the Messiah, 19-20 2. 2. I Am Not Elijah, 21a3. I Am Not the Prophet, 21b 4. I Am a Voice (for the Lord), 235. I Am a Baptizer (in Water), 25-266. I Am Unworthy (to Untie His Sandals), 27-28 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”[h] His IdentityHis CallingHis Limitations 1. His Knew His Identity 2. He Knew His Calling 3. He Knew His Limitations “Emotionally healthy people understand the limits God has given them. They joyfully receive the one, two, seven or ten talents God has so graciously distributed. As a result, they are not frenzied and covetous trying to live a life that God never intended. They are marked by contentment and joy.”Peter Scazzaro“Maturity in life is when somebody is living within their God given limits!”

Genesis 12:1-5; 10-20; 20:1-3; 26:1-7; 27:18-25; 37:2-4; 37:31-36, Exodus 20:1-6Genesis 12:1-5; 10-2012 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.Genesis 20:1-320 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. Sound familiar?3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”Genesis 26:1-726 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham's time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b] 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”Genesis 27:18-2518 He went to his father and said, “My father.”“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” 20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.“I am,” he replied.25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”Genesis 37:2-4; 31-362 This is the account of Jacob's family line.Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate[a] robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.31 Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe.”33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.36 Meanwhile, the Midianites[c] sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.Exodus 20:1-620 And God spoke all these words:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.1. Generational Sin is a Real Thing 2. Sin Has Consequences that Last for Generations 3. On the Scale of God's Mercy and Judgement, Mercy Wins Every Time“To become a Christian and to be adopted into God's family with the new name of “Christian” does not erase the past. God does not give us amnesia or do emergency emotional/spiritual reconstructive surgery. God does forgive the past, but he does not erase it. We are given a new start, but we still come in as babies drinking milk and are expected to die daily to the parts of our lives that do not honor God and follow Jesus.” Peter Scazzero"Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it”Winston Churchill“The critical factor that most significantly determines my new identity as a Christian is not blood of my biological family but the blood of Jesus. We are given a new name (Christian), a new inheritance (freedom, glory, hope, resources a hundred-fold), and new power (the Holy Spirit), to live in this new life. We become partakers in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), able to enjoy the absolute security and stability, freedom, intimacy, and confidence in prayer (Luke 11:5-13) of children in God's family. There exists a new dynamic in the life inside me, the life of Jesus.”Peter ScazzeroWhen I was young I set out to change the world. When I grew older, I perceived that this was too ambitious so I set out to change my state. This, too, I realized as I grew older was too ambitious, so I set out to change my town. The I realized I could not even do this, I tried to change my family. Now as an old man, I know that I should have started by changing myself. If I had started with myself, maybe then I would have succeeded in changing my family, the town, or even the state… and who knows maybe even the world.

Genesis 12:1-5; 10-20; 20:1-3; 26:1-7; 27:18-25; 37:2-4; 37:31-36, Exodus 20:1-6Genesis 12:1-5; 10-2012 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.Genesis 20:1-320 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. Sound familiar?3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”Genesis 26:1-726 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham's time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b] 5 because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”Genesis 27:18-2518 He went to his father and said, “My father.”“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” 20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.“I am,” he replied.25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”Genesis 37:2-4; 31-362 This is the account of Jacob's family line.Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate[a] robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.31 Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe.”33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.36 Meanwhile, the Midianites[c] sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.Exodus 20:1-620 And God spoke all these words:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.1. Generational Sin is a Real Thing 2. Sin Has Consequences that Last for Generations 3. On the Scale of God's Mercy and Judgement, Mercy Wins Every Time“To become a Christian and to be adopted into God's family with the new name of “Christian” does not erase the past. God does not give us amnesia or do emergency emotional/spiritual reconstructive surgery. God does forgive the past, but he does not erase it. We are given a new start, but we still come in as babies drinking milk and are expected to die daily to the parts of our lives that do not honor God and follow Jesus.” Peter Scazzero"Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it”Winston Churchill“The critical factor that most significantly determines my new identity as a Christian is not blood of my biological family but the blood of Jesus. We are given a new name (Christian), a new inheritance (freedom, glory, hope, resources a hundred-fold), and new power (the Holy Spirit), to live in this new life. We become partakers in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), able to enjoy the absolute security and stability, freedom, intimacy, and confidence in prayer (Luke 11:5-13) of children in God's family. There exists a new dynamic in the life inside me, the life of Jesus.”Peter ScazzeroWhen I was young I set out to change the world. When I grew older, I perceived that this was too ambitious so I set out to change my state. This, too, I realized as I grew older was too ambitious, so I set out to change my town. The I realized I could not even do this, I tried to change my family. Now as an old man, I know that I should have started by changing myself. If I had started with myself, maybe then I would have succeeded in changing my family, the town, or even the state… and who knows maybe even the world.

Jeremiah 17:9, John 4:3-30"noverim me noverim te"“Let me know myself, let me know you.”Augustine – Confessions1. You Have A Story2. You Are A Whole PersonSocial, Intellectual, Spiritual, Physical, and EmotionalJeremiah 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?“The reason we don't want to feel is that feeling exposes the tragedy of our world and the darkness of our hearts. The route to facing what we feel is not by valuing the darkness of what we feel, but by valuing the deep structure of why we don't want to feel. Once we face why feeling is so hard, then we can move beyond what we feel to the deeper energy within is that keeps us from grappling honestly with our emotions. Then we will not only feel more deeply, but more importantly, we will feel our feelings in a way that exposes our struggles with God.”Tremper Longman and Dan Allender, The Cry of the SoulJohari Window Graphic1. God is An Emotional Beingcontempt, despise, weep, bewail, weeping, dread, rejoice, rejoicing, abhor, loathe, tears, murmur, growl, roar, be boisterous, be indignant, indignation, raging, rage, love, pity, look upon with compassion, burning anger, rage, compassion, delight in, delight, pleasure, burn, be kindled, anger, be attached to, love, howl, make a howling, be vexed, indignant, angry, provoke to anger, vex, vexation, comfort, be sorry, console, rue, repent of, ease oneself, infuriated, overflow, arrogance, fury, exult, vexed in his heart, jealous, ardour, zeal, jealousy, be wrath, and make wrathful 2. You an I Are Made in the Image of GodThe personality that emerges from the Gospels differs radically from the image of Jesus I grew up with, an image I now recognize in some of the older Hollywood films about Jesus. In those films, Jesus recites his lines evenly and without emotion. He strides through life as the one calm character among a cast of flustered extras. Nothing rattles him. He dispenses wisdom in flat, measured tones. He is, in short, the Prozac Jesus. In contrast, the Gospels present a man who has such charisma that people will sit three days straight, without food, just to hear his riveting words. He seems excitable, impulsively "moved with compassion" or "filled with pity." The Gospels reveal a range of Jesus' emotional responses: sudden sympathy for a person with leprosy, exuberance over his disciples' successes, a blast of anger at coldhearted legalists, grief over an unreceptive city, and then those awful cries of anguish in Gethsemane and on the cross. He had nearly inexhaustible patience with individuals but no patience at all with institutions and injustice.Philip Yancy – The Jesus I Never KnewJohn 4:3-30 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”17 “I have no husband,” she replied.Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.“Ignoring our emotions is turning our back on reality; listening to our emotions ushers us into reality. And reality is where we meet God.”Tremper Longman and Dan Allender, Bold LoveEmotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable. It is not possible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.” Peter Scazzero – Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

Matthew 26:36-42, Luke 10:21, John 2:13-17, John 11:32-36Mark 6:30-3430 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.Luke 10:2121 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.Luke 12:49-5049 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!John 2:13-1713 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”[c]John 11:32-3632 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.35 Jesus wept.36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”“But an authentic relationship with Christ also takes us into the depths — the shadows, the strongholds and the darkness deep within our own souls that must be purged. Surrendering to this inward and downward journey is difficult and painful.” Dallas WillardEmotional moments and emotional understanding often lead us to the greatest clarity in our thinking and understanding. These are the lightbulb moments. They capture the truth in a snapshot, as no amount of rational thinking can.Matthew ElliottEastern Spirituality = DetachWestern Spirituality = Fake ItSecularism = Escape itThe common denominator is to run away from emotional pain1. He Gives God His Feelings2. Jesus Gives God His Desires3. He Gives God His Trust“Ignoring our emotions is turning our back on reality; listening to our emotions ushers us into reality. And reality is where we meet God … Emotions are the language of the soul. They are the cry that gives the heart a voice.” Tremper Longman and Dan Allender, Bold Love

Philippians 4:21-23; 1:1-2; 1:13 21 Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. 22 All God's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.1:1-2Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,To all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons[a]: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.1:1313 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[c] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.The lavish, opulent, untamed, raw, scandalous blessing of God! Unearned, undeserved, illogical, and disproportionate… Poured out through Christ over every facet of your life, and the living presence of the Creator God deep inside of you, poured out through the Holy Spirit with limitless power to live out, and up to, God's calling on your life!

Philippians 4:14-20; 11-13; 1:3-7, 2 Corinthians 8:1-511 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early daysof your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.Philippians 1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.2 Corinthians 8:1-58 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

Philippians 4:10-13, Matthew 6:24, Proverbs 30:7-91. Contentment is Something We Learn2. Contentment is Not Dependent on Our CircumstancesWhen I get __________ then I will be content and happy.3. Contentment is a Struggle in Times of Want or in PlentyMatthew 6:24“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” “Mammon means possessions or property. Today we might legitimately translate Mammon as things, money, gain, or success. The god Mammon is left with its pagan name in the Greek text and in most translations in order to remind readers that Mammon is a spiritual force who works with tremendous attracting power to draw us into its orbit and out from under the service of Christ.”Dale Bruner“For untradeable things that cannot be exchanged (such as friendship), there is no way to trade them or swap them (you cannot buy a true friend or inner peace). But you can buy things that seem to be around it: proxies. You can buy a dinner in a restaurant for your friends, but there is no way you can buy true friends by doing so; or you can buy a cabin in the mountains and try to find peace there, but you cannot buy peace itself. Ultimately, advertising functions on this principle: They show you something that cannot be traded (a happy family at breakfast, an escape, or beauty) and offer you a tradable proxy (some kind of breakfast cereal, a mountain cabin, or shampoo). And even though we know this is an illusion and that actors and extras play in ads, we still start to desire a better pillow (mine is responsible for my troubled sleep), new yogurts and cereals (the happy family at breakfast), and shampoo (even if the model in the ad has probably never used the particular brand).”Tomas Sedlacek; Economics of Good and EvilSon of Agor Proverbs 30:7-9“Two things I ask of you, Lord;do not refuse me before I die:Keep falsehood and lies far from me;give me neither poverty nor riches,but give me only my daily bread.Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord? 'Or I may become poor and steal,and so dishonor the name of my God.”“He is richest who is content with the least for contentment is the wealth of nature.”Socrates“The happy man is content with his present lot, no matter what it is, and is reconciled to his circumstances.”Seneca

Philippians 4:8-9; 6-7, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5“The command in verse 8, to think about all the wonderful and lovely things listed here, runs directly opposite to the habits of mind instilled by modern media. Read the newspapers: their stock-in-trade is anything that is untrue, unholy, unjust, impure, ugly, of ill repute, vicious, and blameworthy. Is that a true representation of God's good and beautiful world? How are you going to celebrate the goodness of the creator if you feed your mind only on the place in the world which humans have made ugly? How are you going to take steps to fill your mind instead with all the things that God has given us to be legitimately pleased with, and to enjoy and celebrate?N.T. Wright2 Corinthians 10:3-53 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Philippians 4:1-3; 1:271:27 “Whatever happens, live as Citizens of the Gospel of the King!”“Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[e] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel”1. Paul Presupposes that You Are in Real, True Community2. Paul Presupposes that Your Community is a Living Display of the Gospel“And since the gospel does not come as a disembodied message, but as the message of a community which claims to live by it and which invites others to adhere to it, the community's life must be so ordered that it "makes sense" to those who are so invited.” Lesslie Newbigin“In contrast to the long period in which the plausibility structure of European society was shaped by the biblical tradition, and in which one could be a Christian without conscious decision because the existence of God was among the self-evident truths, we are now in a situation where we have to take personal responsibility for our beliefs.” Lesslie Newbigin

Philippians 3:17-21, Colossians 3:2-8

Philippians 3:1-11, Matthew 13:44“With regard to eternal salvation, rather than speaking of belief, trust, or faith in Jesus, we should speak instead of fidelity to Jesus as cosmic Lord or allegiance to Jesus the king.” Matthew W. Bates

Philippians 2:14-18, Exodus 16:1-3; 6-12; 17:1-4, Deuteronomy 32:1-7, Daniel 12:1b-3, Colossians 4:5-6, Ephesians 4:2914 Do everything without grumbling or arguing,15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.1. Exodus 16:1-3; 6-122. Deuteronomy 32:1-73. Daniel 12:1b-3Colossians 4:5-6Ephesians 4:291. Don't Grumble and Argue2. As you Hold Firmly to the Word of Life“Here, then, is the message of Easter, or at least the beginning of that message. The resurrection of Jesus doesn't mean, “It's all right. We're going to heaven now.” No, the life of heaven has been born on this earth. It doesn't mean, “So there is a life after death.” Well, there is, but Easter says much, much more than that. It speaks of a life that is neither ghostly nor unreal, but solid and definite and practical. The Easter stories come at the end of the four gospels, but they are not about an “end.” They are about a beginning. The beginning of God's new world. The beginning of the kingdom. God is now in charge, on earth as in heaven. And God's “being-in-charge” is focused on Jesus himself being king and Lord. The title on the cross was true after all. The resurrection proves it.”N.T. Wright, Simply Jesus“Live as citizens of the Gospel of the king”

Philippians 2:12-13, Ephesians 2:8-1012 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.“Whatever happens, live as citizens of the gospel of the King”“A long obedience in the same direction.” Eugene PetersonEphesians 2:8-108 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.10 For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“Jesus is a teacher who doesn't just inform our intellect but forms our very loves. He isn't content to simply deposit new ideas into your mind; he is after nothing less than your wants, your loves, your longings.”James K.A. Smith, You Are What You Love“Salvation here, is not in personal terms, “but in regard to the corporate life of the Philippian church. The readers are being encouraged to concentrate upon reforming their church life, ‘working at' this matter until the spiritual health of the community, diseased by strife and bad feeling, is restored.”Welcome to the family, now get to work!

Philippians 2:5-11, John 10:17-185 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothingby taking the very nature[b] of a servant,being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man,he humbled himselfby becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest placeand gave him the name that is above every name,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.“These seven verses have received more attention from NT scholars and Christian theologians than any other passage in Philippians and easily qualify for inclusion among the most hotly debated passages of the Bible.”Craig Blomberg5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:“God in Jesus became human and laid down the God card.”“To bind a Roman citizen is an outrage; to scourge him a crime; it almost amounts to parricide to put him to death; how shall I describe crucifixion? No adequate word can be found to represent so execrable an enormity.”Cicero from Against VerresCursus Honorum “Course of Honer” “Ladder of Offices”1. This is a Hymn about God!“The decision to become human, and to go all the way along the road of obedience, obedience to the divine plan of salvation, yes, all the way to the cross – this decision was not a decision to stop being divine. It was a decision about what it really meant to be divine… his progression through incarnation to death must be seen, not as something which required him as it were to stop being God for a while, but as a perfect self-expression of the true God.”N.T. Wright1. This is a Hymn about US!

Philippians 1:12-18, 1 Corinthians 4:9-13, 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, Romans 8:281 Corinthians 4:9-132 Corinthians 6:4-10“At some point in this generation, "Take up your cross and follow me" changed into, "Come to Jesus and he'll make your life better.” E. Randolph Richards, Misreading Scripture through Western Eyes13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[c] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.No matter what happens, all of you live as Citizens of the Gospel of the King15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach the King out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.The Redemptive EdgeThe God we worship is able to take evil, cut into it with redemption and dig out good!1. Some People Get Angry at God2. God is in ControlThe Gospel hope is not that everything that happens to you is the will of God!The Gospel hope is that no matter what happens to you, God is with you!28 And we know that in all things God works for the good…28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.“What has happened to me”The Redemptive Edge: How has God cut into that?Because of _________ I rejoice!

Philippians 1:3-11“Western societies are, by and large, individualistic societies. The most important entity in an individualistic culture is the individual person. This misreading of Scripture arises from combining our individualism with a more subtle, deeply hidden and deeply rooted aspect of our Western worldview: we still think the universe centers around us.” E. Randolph Richards, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes“If we're not careful, our individualistic assumptions about church can lead us to think of the church as something like a health club. We're members because we believe in the mission statement and want to be a part of the action. As long as the church provides the services I want, I'll stick around. But when I no longer approve of the vision, or am no longer "being fed," I'm out the door. This is not biblical Christianity. Scripture is clear that when we become Christians, we become-permanently and spiritually-a part of the church. We become part of the family of God, with all the responsibilities and expectations that word connotes in the non-Western world.”E. Randolph Richards, Misreading Scripture with Western EyesThe lavish, opulent, untamed, raw, scandalous blessing of God! Unearned, undeserved, illogical, and disproportionate… Poured out through Christ over every facet of your life, and the living presence of the Creator God deep inside of you, poured out through the Holy Spirit with limitless power to live out, and up to, God's calling on your life!Ending Prayer:9 And this is my prayer: that our love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that we may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of King Jesus, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:3-63 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of King Jesus.The Word: BeganThe Word: GoodThe Word: Completion“I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist; Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!”Leslie Newbigin

Philippians 1:1-6 , Acts 16:6-40, Exodus 19:3-6, Romans 6:3-5, Colossians 3:1

Philippians 1:27-30, Acts 17:7Philippians 1:27-3027 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[e] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.“Live as citizens of the gospel of the King”4 pieces of Backgrounds“Empire, Caesar, Gospel and Colony”Acts 17:7 “They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”I am perfectly comfortable with what people normally mean when they say ‘the gospel.' I just don't think it is what Paul means. In other words, I am not denying that the usual meanings are things that people ought to say, to preach about, to believe. I simply wouldn't use the word ‘gospel' to denote those things.”N.T. WrightThe gospel is the royal announcement that Jesus is Lord.Or put another way…The good news that the crucified Messiah is the risen Lord of the universe.Living out the Gospel happens in communityLiving out the gospel is hardWhat Gospel do you believe?What Lord do you worship?

Ecclesiastes 5:8 - 6:9

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Matthew 6:5; 5:34-35, Isaiah 29:13, Hebrews 10:19-25, Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11“Compassion is allowing someone else's heart to walk around in your chest”.Two Assumptions the Teacher has:1. I can't find it here… then I have to go there!2. If I find it, he will be full and content.“We are unhappy and we are generally unhappy about being unhappy, but it's fine.”Jonathon Haidt - The Happiness Hypothesis“[You are] a being whose wants make no sense, don't harmonize, whose desires deep down are discordantly arranged, so that you truly want to possess and you truly want not to at the very same time. You're equipped, you realize, more for farce (or even tragedy) than happy endings.”Francis Spufford - Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense“The best anyone can do is to reach a balance of discontents.”Sigmund Freud1. Pursue it!2. Become a Cynic3. Become Moralistic… So how do we move forward?Objects must be sacramentalRelationships must be covenantal“He wants us to see how far from Eden we have come. Once it was enough for a man and a woman to have God and the good gifts that God gave, even if it meant that there was a tree and a fruit that existed but not for them. Now, even though we are surrounded by opportunities to laugh, or drink, or work, or make money, none of it is enough, we are not satisfied, and death stomps on all of it. Even our marvelous moments of good work and good intimacy will one day become only a memory and then be gone forever in the world. Death did this to us. We did this to us. God let it be. He will have to take care of death and all that has flown from it. In time the promised One will come. A cross will come. A tomb will empty. Death will die.”Zack Eswine – Recovering Eden