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Creating Space
Jamin kicks off this series on 1208's new vision with an important rule for 1208ers: we create space for others. Churches often keep people who are different from us at a distance, but the Bible shows us time and time again to create space for everyone to come close and experience the goodness of God, regardless of how different or undiscipled they are.
Exmas & Crissmas
Jamin uses one of C.S. Lewis' short stories to address the difference between the ways the Christian and the non-Christian celebrates and understands Christmas. Though now that some time has passed since Lewis wrote this paper, his prophetic words cut a bit to the heart: which holiday do Christians actually celebrate now a' days?
The Wise Men
Jamin throws a new spin on the Christmas story of the Wise Men. We're they really supposed to be a part of the story or were they just party crashers?
The Magnificat Moment
Mary's song, "The Magnificat," comes across a bit hilarious. There she is, talking with a relative when all of the sudden she breaks out into song as though she's on broadway. It's odd. Or is it?
The Virgin Birth
The virgin birth is often under scrutiny today, further showing our western enlightened mind's inability to have faith and believe in miracles. Jamin discourses on this subject and tries to give some logic as to why a virgin birth isn't even as weird as we make it out to be.
Gentleness
Many of the stories about the church that make the news are stories of downright viciousness. The church is called to be gentle, but rather we often abuse our own and those outside of our churches. This isn't right.
Faithfulness
In a world full of divorce over the most minuscule of things, it becomes evident that the church knows little about faithfulness—especially in comparison to God's faithfulness, who has been faithful to us regardless of every time we have cheated on him with other gods and lovers.
Goodness
How do you preach on the fruit of the Spirit we call goodness? "Be good to people?" "Do good things?" How long does it take to communicate that? Apparently a bit longer than we think, because upon deeper research, it seems what Paul means when he says goodness is actually, "Generosity."
Patience
In a technological consumer culture where desires are satisfied often instantly and 24/7, do we really know anything of patience? Even the church (who is supposed to be patient like the Holy Spirit) has begun to embrace all of the speedy ways of the world. How do we learn to be patient when everything tells us to move fast?
Peace
Few things over the years have made Jamin rethink Christianity like Jesus' call for peace. This concept and fruit is so counter-cultural to the world's violence that non only does it require us to live boldly and differently from those outside the church, but it also forces us to challenge many of those within the church.
Love
The first fruit of the Spirit that Paul lists is love and rightly so. For we know that God is love and that Jesus condensed all 600+ laws in the Bible into two: love God, love people. If we don't love, everything else in Christianity falls flat and fails. That being so, Jamin kicks off his new message series on the Fruit of the Spirit with the topic of love.