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The Big Idea Big Buts of the Bible
The Big Idea Big Buts of the Bible
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Big Buts of the Bible
July 3/4: "Junk in The Trunk"
Big Idea: Jesus revolutionized what it meant to obey the commandment "do not murder" to show that it included being a person of reconciliation and grace in our relationships.
SummaryWe'll help people experience that being connected with God takes us beyond being people who simply don't murder others to being people who refuse to harbor resentment and hostility of any kind toward others. The reference to hell is not about the afterlife as much as it is the kind of life that we lead when we harbor resentment toward others. Resentment and hostility have no place in the life of a Christ-follower, and Jesus wants to set us free from the hell of hostility and resentment and lashing out at people, both in our words and in our hearts and minds.
July 10/11: "Hands Off"
Big Idea: Sexual purity and integrity are not just about not having sex with someone who you're not married to. It's about our thought life as well, and the stakes are high.
Summary:
Being truly connected to God affects all of who we are sexually.
Not just what we do or don't do when it comes to sexual actions, but the
thoughts that we think, too. Jesus is NOT advocating a spirituality
that is anti-sex or one that is sexually repressive. It's actually pro-
sex and liberating: the person who is constantly lusting after people
he/she is not married to is the person who is not free. The strong
warning here reminds us to take seriously what goes in on in our thought
life when the tendency is to think its not that big of a deal to have
certain kinds of sexual thoughts.
July 17/19 – Two Halves
Big Idea: Jesus teaches that to be connected to
God means a radical redefinition of faithfulness to your spouse in
marriage
Summary:
Summary:
We'll help people hear from Christ on marriage and what it really
means when you are living connected to God. In Jesus' day, the
religious culture had reduced the ethics of marriage to rule-following:
if you followed the rules of how to go about divorcing your spouse, that
was all that was expected of you. The dominant view in Jesus' day was
that it meant almost anything that really bothered the husband, but
Jesus made it clear that "something objectionable" meant sexual
immorality. Jesus was not trying to make stricter rules for people to
follow about divorce and remarriage: He was trying to help people see
what God intended.
July 24/25: "Plastic Surgery"
Big Idea: Jesus calls His followers to something
beyond keeping promises you've made in God's name. He calls us to be
people who cherish and prize their relationship with God so that they
only speak God's name when speaking to Him or about Him, and never to
use His name for their own purposes.
Summary:
Summary:
Jesus taught that it wasn't enough to just be a person who kept
their word when they had given their word in the form of an oath to God.
He said "You've been taught to just keep your oaths to God, BUT I say
to you, don't misuse the name of God at all. Don't use God's name for
your own purposes." This is about both not swearing (taking God's name
in vain) and not being someone who plays the God card in what they say
to make themselves look good or to get what they want.
July 31/Aug 1st: "Turn The Other Cheek"
Big Idea: Jesus teaches
us that living connected to God releases us from cycles of vengeance and
retribution, and frees us up to live generously and creatively in the
face of wrongs done to us.
Summary:
Summary:
The people of Jesus day were taught that fairness in retribution
and reprisal was all that God wanted. BUT Jesus taught that God wants to
take us beyond fairness to creative generosity with those that mistreat
us.
August 6/7: The End
Big Idea: Jesus teaches us to be radically loving
and good to the people who treat us the worst. Only God can bring
about this major of a shift.
Summary:
Summary:
Jesus calls us to an active self-giving in the face of animosity
and strife. We are called to not just NOT hurt people back, but to
return kindness for evil and mercy for being mean.