Divine Encounters: Transforming Lives Through Christ

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You know when we study scripture we have to be careful. A lot of people have taken the approach of studying scripture kind of like an autopsy, looking at the scripture like a corpse or a cadaver, approaching scripture to study it, weighing it, looking at its date of birth, the day of its decease, his hair color, its length, its weight, all that. [00:09:00]

I like to look at the text through story to understand the semiotics, the nature of what God is trying to tell us through these stories that not only were written down but passed down, shared, communicated, repeated over and over. And I'm blown away by the fact that Jesus, the Bible says, needs to go through Samaria. [00:09:29]

This is a story of Jesus breaking boundaries, building bridges, sharing truth, and transforming communities. That's what Jesus does, amen? And when other Jews would think this is uncouth, we're going to take the long path and not go through Samaria with those heathens, those Israelis from the north, from those other tribes. [00:16:25]

Can I tell you Jesus is not afraid? He's not afraid of people. He's not afraid of the mess. He's not afraid of hard conversations. That's what sets Jesus apart, amen? Divine dialogues. And what I love about the work of ministry, I'm so grateful that God called us into the work of ministry. [00:17:18]

I believe everybody has an appointment with God. Everyone will have an opportunity to hear the message and to turn their heart toward the Lord. 1 Timothy 2:3 says this, this is good and pleasing, excuse me, this is good and pleasing, pleases God our savior who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. [00:19:13]

God visits his people. He visits the world. He visits every heart. In fact, what I love about the ministry of Jesus is he always starts with common ground. He steps into her world and he says, can I have something to drink? I like to do this. You know, when I came to the Bay Area, I found common ground really quickly. [00:21:27]

He went to her well. There's no crowds. There's nobody there. And he's going to step into her trauma, her pain. Like think of all the pain points that she's talking through. He's drawing them out. I mean, she's got religious pains and emotional pains and relational pains. I mean, trauma, trauma, trauma. [00:22:34]

Jesus is not about burying your past. He's about to bring it to him. Let him see it. Let him know what you're going through. Let them know your pain. Let them know you're conf. I got a theological question. He's not afraid of your questions. God is good. Come on, somebody. God is good. [00:24:32]

Disorientation leads to unlearning. And most people, they are stuck in their life because they're not willing to unlearn something. I meet all the time people who come into our church who get disoriented, and now their next step in following Jesus is to unlearn some things, to be renewed in their mind, to have a new worldview. [00:27:14]

What does true worship look like? There are 10 words in the Greek for worship, but Jesus uses the word prono. Prono means to come close and kiss. It's a worship of affection. Your affections are off, chasing this, chasing that. The latitude and longitude you've been thinking, oh, it's the mountain and it's the well. [00:31:51]

The church is the only institution that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not its members. So one of the greatest moments that's going to happen in your life is when you realize the church is all about you discovering that it's not all about you. [00:40:48]

The Power of One: one woman changes her city. Acts chapter 8, they come back and revival breaks out, but the seed was planted by the Messiah. One woman, one conversation changed everything. There's a Sunday school teacher named Edward Kimble. You've probably never heard of him. [00:41:00]

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