What Is The Jesus Creed?

What Is the Jesus Creed?

No-lazy-load Judaism’s Fundamental Beliefs Every day, at the time of awakening and at the time of retiring, the observant Jew recites aloud a credo.This creed is taken from the Bible, specifically from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which is found in one of Moses’ books, as well as two other texts.In the Glossary of Terms at the end of the book, it is explained in detail.The Shema (pronounced Ske-me or Sh’ma) is a sacred Jewish creed that is recited every day.Anyone who wishes to comprehend what Jesus means by spiritual formation should spend some time meditating on the Shema of Jewish tradition.Jesus admired and, as we will see, altered the Jewish doctrine of spiritual training for the benefit of his disciples.

• The Lord our God, the Lord is one, and Israel should hear (shema) this.
• Love the Loin, your God, with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your power, no matter what.
• These commandments, which I give you today, are to be engraved on the inside of your hearts.
• Make an impression on your children.
• Discourse about them can take place while you are sitting at home or walking down the street, while you are lying down or getting up.

Tie them around your wrists as symbols, and bind them to your foreheads as well.Put them on the doorframes of your homes and on the gates of your properties.An expert on modern Jewish devotion claims that the Shema ″is the first ‘prayer’ that children are taught to utter,″ and it is the ″ultimate statement of the most fundamental conviction and commitment of Judaism.″ The Shema expresses what is most vital in the process of spiritual development: The only God who belongs to Israel is YHWH (the holy Hebrew name for God), Israel has been selected by God, and Israel is obligated to adore God with all of its being—heart, soul, and might.The Shema specifies a Torah lifestyle for spiritual growth, including the need to learn, recite, instruct, and write out the Torah, as well as the wearing of tzitzit (fringes) to serve as a reminder of Torah.There is a promise associated with living life according to the Shema: when Jews live their lives according to the Shema, they will be ″blessed″ in ways that are beyond their comprehension.

1. One may argue that the Jewish creed is as follows: Love God through following the Torah to its fullest extent.
2. The question is, where does Jesus fit into a Jewish universe that upholds a Shema of loving God by following the Torah?
3. The Jesus Creed is a statement of faith in Jesus Christ.

In accordance with the First Amendment In the manner of a decent Jew, Jesus recites the Shema on a regular basis.″Of all the commandments, which is the most important?″ he is asked by a legal expert later in his life when he encounters him.For a Jew, this man’s question represents the pinnacle of the subject of spiritual development.

• He is requesting the location of the spiritual heart of Judaism.
• He believes that Jesus may be aware of what is going on.
• Yes, he does.
• As an answer, Jesus recites the Shema with certain additions, and in doing so, he alters a credo in order to define the spiritual core of his disciples.
• It’s referred to as the Jesus Creed.

The Jesus Creed is a statement of faith in Jesus Christ.Listen, O Israel, for the Lord our God, the Lord is one.″ The Lord your God is to be loved with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength.″ [Things are going well thus far; this is Deuteronomy 6:4-5.] .1] Secondly, ″love your neighbor as you would like to be loved.″ There is no commandment more important than these three.We can find the Jesus Creed for spiritual formation right here on this page.According to Thomas a Kempis, Jesus has ″condensed a whole lexicon into a single dictum″ in the Jesus Creed: ″Everything concerning spiritual development for Jesus is fashioned by his rendition of the Shema.″ For Jesus, the most important thing is to love God and love people.Love, a phrase that is virtually impossible to define, is an unwavering admiration for another person that stimulates and moulds acts in order to assist that person in becoming what God wishes for them.

When it is functioning correctly, love is a combination of feeling and volition, affection and action.It is impossible to overstate the significance of the Shema for the creation of Jewish spirituality.As a result, when Jesus changed the Shema, we must pay notice.

Of course, Jesus acknowledged and accepted the Shema, but he also added to it.The question we must then ask ourselves is: Is Jesus suggesting only a minor modification?No.Additions to the sacred Shema take courage (or chutzpah), but this addition reveals the heart of the Jesus Creed in its most basic form.Most of my readers are familiar with the Apostles’ Creed, and they are aware that if I were to insert a few lines after ″and life everlasting″—for example, ″and in supporting your local church by giving a tithe of your income, before taxes!″—that I would be confronted with a sucker-punch even in a civilized church.

″You don’t mess with religion, honey,″ the ambulance attendant would remark to me as she wheeled me away in the back of the vehicle.Jesus, on the other hand, is the master of addition.A Love-God Shema is used instead of a Love-God and Others Shema, which is more inclusive.What Jesus contributes is not unfamiliar to Judaism, and he is not implying that Judaism is in any way flawed.

1. Within Judaism, Jesus is establishing his own retail establishment.
2. Although loving one’s neighbor is fundamental to Judaism, it is not fundamental to the Jewish belief, as expressed in the Shema.
3. As a result, what Jesus says is considered Jewish.
4. However, the focus on loving others is not reflected in the credo of Judaism in the same manner as it is expressed in the creed of Jesus.
5. By including the love of others in his own version of the Shema, the author demonstrates that he believes that love of others is essential to spiritual formation.

1. The fact that Jesus changes the Shema of Judaism is not sufficient evidence of this.
2. There is more to this than meets the eye at first glance.
3. When the Shema is transformed into the Jesus Creed, it takes on a personal significance.
4. See how Jesus explains what it means to love God in the Gospel of Luke in order to understand this, because following Jesus is now synonymous with loving God, according to the gospel.
5. In the Jesus Creed, the Shema takes on a personal significance.
6. Jesus extends invitations to individuals to become a part of his small group of disciples on a regular basis.

1. When one guy learns of this, he immediately volunteers to participate, believing that by doing so, he will grow in his love for God.
2. It’s a straightforward request from the man to Jesus: ″Lord, I want to love God and follow you, but first, please allow me to attend the funeral of my father.″ ″Let the dead bury their own dead,″ Jesus declares in a startling manner.
3. Ouch!
4. All this guy asks for is an opportunity to love God with all of his heart, although with a slight wait, but still an opportunity.

Jesus, on the other hand, is completely reinventing what it means to love God.Surely, it is difficult to comprehend Jesus’ decision to urge a man not to attend his father’s burial service.A special exception is provided for those who are burying one’s father, according to Jewish tradition: ″One whose deceased is lying before himis free from the reciting of the Shema.″ When one is burying one’s father, even the sacrament of the Shema is halted.In any case, how could Jesus expect a man to miss his father’s funeral?When you have a basic grasp of burial practices, you can see how the Jesus Creed was put into practice in the actual world.These practices demonstrate how loving God becomes a personal experience for Jesus.

Burials took place in two stages during the time of Jesus Christ.In the first instance, the family (led by the oldest son) placed the body in a casket and then into a tomb to allow the body to decompose naturally after his death.It took the entire family seven days to be with their loved one in mourning.The body was in the tomb for approximately one year, during which time it decayed.Then, in the second step, the bones were removed from the tomb and casket and deposited in an ossuary (a receptacle for bones), before being reburied, this time in a permanent location.Observing the Torah was how decent Jews showed reverence for their fathers, how they carried out the requirement to honor one’s parents, and how they loved God by doing what was right.

Many people today believe that Jesus’ encounter with this man took place between the first burial and the second burial, which is the proper context.To begin with, it is doubtful that a family member who is sitting shiva (after the initial burial) would be out and about in any case, and it is difficult to see Jesus declining to fulfill this most holy of duties.If the contact with Jesus takes place between the first and second burials, it is possible that he will have to wait up to a year before he begins to follow Jesus’ instructions.In the face of the Jesus Creed’s conundrum, the man is torn between two options: should he follow Jesus or should he follow (what he perceives to be) the Torah?Following Jesus, Jesus urges the man to follow him, and in doing so, Jesus links loving God with having a personal connection with him.To put it another way, the Shema of Judaism is transformed into the Jesus Creed: Following Jesus demonstrates one’s love for God.

This is a revolutionary understanding of the Shema, and it is the essence of what Jesus believes the spiritual life is all about.Let’s put it all together at this point: As a regular Jew, Jesus’ spiritual training begins with the recitation of the Shema, the Jewish creed.In two ways, Jesus changes the Shema: loving others is added to the act of loving God, and loving God is understood to be the act of following Jesus.

This is known as the Jesus Creed, and it serves as the foundation for everything Jesus teaches about the process of spiritual development.Even Jesus understands what life is all about, and that life is about love—love of God and love of other people.Life, according to Rick Warren, is equal to zero if love is not present.″Love is the best use of one’s life,″ says another.The best way to express love is through time.″The finest moment to fall in love is right now.″ It is also past time to put that love into action by learning the Jesus Creed, which is available online.

Jesus creed: What is the focus of spiritual life?

Discipleship and disciplines: for many of us over the past 50 years, these two terms have encapsulated the core of what it is to be a follower of Christ.In particular, we have come to identify the term ″discipleship″ with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whose prophetic voice showed us what it was like to be a Christian under Hitler’s dictatorship.According to Reginald Fuller’s translation, ″When Christ summons a man, he bids him come and die.″ These are challenging words that invite us to pick up the cross on a daily basis, even at the risk of persecution and death.Bonhoeffer’s lectures to students at an underground seminary, The Cost of Discipleship, had a significant impact on the American church after they were published.Following Jesus meant living a life of radical commitment to his teachings, particularly as crystallized in the Sermon on the Mount, and this convinced many people of that (Matt.5-7; Luke 6).

• The quest of social justice, which dominated the 1960s, found a theological foundation in the word ″discipleship,″ which was revived in the 1970s.
• The writings of the Anabaptists found their way into the pulpits of the United States.
• John Howard Yoder and Ronald Sider were no longer considered extremists, but rather prophetic voices in the world of religion.
• Lutherans and other Protestants began to wear crosses, often quite big wooden crosses, and to argue that Bonhoeffer’s method of the cross had profound implications for how all Christians were to engage with society and specifically in (or against) war.
• Virginia Stem Owens’ novel Living Next Door to the Death House and Jim Wallis’ novel Faith Works are both excellent instances of this perspective written in recent years.

While this was happening, another voice began to be heard in the 1960s and 1970s, first from the back row and later from the pulpit itself.There was a widespread belief that future generations would require greater spiritual sustenance than could be offered by a robust commitment to social justice.One’s focus shifted within, in order to discover the source of power that would keep one’s active existence going.Many people were compelled to seek peace and tranquility as a result of the superficiality and materialism of society, as well as the noise and stress of modern life.The poem Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen, which begins with reaching into the deepest part of one’s own being, is the greatest expression of this impulse to turn inward.

1. From loneliness to solitude, from animosity to welcome, and from delusion to prayer, Nouwen’s profound and abiding sense of spiritual formation travels from one to the other.
2. The practice of turning inward to the spiritual disciplines resulted in a rediscovery of the great traditions of the church, which had been lost for centuries.
3. Protestants joined together with Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians in order to practice the disciplines.

Protestants studied the Rule of St.Benedict, while Orthodox Christians studied The Philokalia.Richard Foster, an evangelical Quaker, may have played the most important role in making the disciplines more accessible to a wider audience, but many others were also involved in the process.

• One might think of spiritual writers such as Nouwen, Frederick Buechner, Kathleen Norris, and Roberta Bondi, as well as Thomas Merton’s publications, such as The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), What Is Contemplation?
• (1959), and The Inner Experience (2003), as well as spiritual writers such as Thomas Merton.
• The care of one’s soul has become increasingly important in the process of spiritual formation.
• What images do the terms ″discipleship″ and ″disciplines″ conjure up in your mind when you think about what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century?
• It is the act of a Christian who is radically dedicated to obeying Jesus Christ, who learns Jesus’ teachings and puts them into practice, that is referred to as discipleship.

The vast majority of Christians, however, go above and beyond these teachings in order to incorporate the powerful images of the Pauline letters into their daily lives—images such as ″living in the Spirit″ and ″the fruits of the Spirit.″ However, no matter how widely the concept of discipleship is interpreted, its basis is based on a profound commitment to the Christian faith.Discipline conjures up images of hard work, dedication, willpower, and regimentation in the mind.One of the most significant effects of a consistent practice of the spiritual disciplines is that it provides a sense of order to one’s life.As the ancient Hebrews transformed the mundane calendar into a sacred calendar of holy feasts, and as the early Christians transformed the Roman calendar into a sacred calendar of Christian days and seasons, the practice of the disciplines can help us to create a sacred rhythm to our days, weeks, months, and years as we go through our lives.One of these rhythms is the observance of the divine hours, also known as the divine offices, which include morning prayer, noon prayer, vespers, and compline, among others.The divine hours, which are enshrined in the Anglican and Episcopal Book of Common Prayer but are unfamiliar to Presbyterians, Methodists, and other Protestant denominations, summon the Christian to frequent worship, praise, and prayer on a daily basis.

Instead than interfering with our job, these everyday routines serve to remind us of why we do what we do.Our days are shaped by the divine hours, according to author Annie Dillard, and ″how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.″ The work we are doing with this hour and the following hour is what we are doing.A timetable protects us from the turmoil and whims of life.

It is a net for capturing days, as the name suggests.Disciplines are designed to ″capture″ our days so that we might live consciously.It is a structure on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at different points in time.We might become drunk on the flow of God’s gracious time when we practice a discipline that captures so much of what is happening that time appears to stand still for a little period of time.However, even though both discipleship and discipline may stimulate the soul, I am skeptical that either will be able to fulfill it.

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing that comes to mind is not, ″Today is a day to be completely committed.″ Even though that thought is encouraging, it is not sufficient to keep me going.It was not enough to keep Jesus himself alive, no matter how radically committed he appeared to be.Twenty years of studying and teaching the Gospels have made me acutely aware of the power of Jesus’ ideas of discipleship—his exhortation to ″be perfect″ and to ″take up your cross everyday,″ and his warning that ″anyone among you who does not give up all he has will not be my follower.I am also aware that these passages may be exploited and misapplied, particularly when they are used to depict extreme obedience as the sum total of the Christian life, which I believe to be the case.

1. Despite the fact that radical commitment is a valuable notion, it is not what the Christian life is all about.
2. There is something more about discipleship than meets the eye.
3. Is it the disciplines that provide the foundation for discipleship?
4. Jesus prayed, thought, fasted, remained in seclusion for periods of time, lived modestly, worshiped, and celebrated his resurrection.
5. He, on the other hand, rarely spoke about the disciplines.

1. They are present, but they are not his primary concern.
2. Because they are so objective, spiritual disciplines are susceptible to being infected by legalistic and pietistic barnacles, which transform them into hideous beasts.
3. Because the disciplines can be quantified, tallied, and evaluated, they may readily lead to people comparing themselves favorably or unfavorably with others, depending on their perspective.
4. Because they are actions, they may readily elicit feelings of achievement and superiority in the performer.
5. Putting too much emphasis on discipline for spiritual development may lead to legalism—as seen by Christians who brag about how much they read their Bibles every day, how much they attend church, or how well their children are doing in their vocations.
6. Just as the barnacle of legalism can attach itself to the disciplines, so can the barnacle of individualized pietism attach itself to the disciplines.

1. Individual piety is a noble good that results in the production of other goods such as sanity and tranquillity, among others.
2. However, it can also lead to an egoistic spirituality in which God is assigned the task of serving me—of making me a better person, of making the world clear to me, or of swooping down to earth specifically for me—instead of serving the greater good.
3. It is possible to identify people who make this mistake through what social scientists refer to as ″attribution theory,″ which is a cognitive game in which Christians claim to understand why everything that happens in the course of human events occurs and what meaning specific events—such as getting a flat tire or losing one’s job—have in their lives.
4. To put it another way, ″God made my tire flat so that I would hear a specific song on the radio so that I could use those words in a personal relationship with someone else who needed to hear those words on this specific day!″ It is important to practice the disciplines because they are well-trodden paths, but they must not become the central focus of one’s spiritual life.

In the same way that there is something behind discipleship, there is something beyond the disciplines.What is it that transforms discipleship into a commitment that allows us to remain steadfast in our faith?What is it that transforms the disciplines into a spiritual development path?It is my belief that the answer may be found in the ″Jesus Creed,″ which I have coined.″What is the meaning of a life of discipleship?″ a scribe inquires of Jesus.″What is it that the disciplines are intended to achieve?″ Because the scribe is a Torah-observant Jew, and because Jesus is also a Jew, the scribe asks this big question in the way of first-century Jews: ″Of all the laws, which is the most important?″ (Matthew 22:37-38) It is this that is most important,″ Jesus responds, ″Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.’″ With all your heart, mind, and strength, love the Lord your God, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’ Another is, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ″There is no greater commandment than these,″ says the prophet.

(Matthew 12:28-31.) Love is at the heart of discipleship and goes beyond the disciplines—love for God and love for others.If it is motivated by love, radical commitment is acceptable.Spiritual formation is admirable if it results in a deep love for God and for people.Without love, to use Paul’s words in a more modern context, we either become fanatics or egoists.When Jesus says that we are to love God, he is quoting from the Shema, which is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.These are the words that were recited according to the ″divine hours of Judaism,″ which were the hours between sunrise and sunset.

The majority of academics believe that devout Jews chanted this verse two or three times a day.In contrast, when Jesus says in the next verses that we are to love one another, he is interfering with the hallowed doctrine of his contemporaries.Adding Leviticus 19:18 to the Shema gives his followers a new credo, known as the Jesus Creed, which they can use as a guideline for their lives.The love of God must always be accompanied with love for people, no matter what.Both, all of the time.Individually, they transform humans into fanatics and egoists.

They work together to transform humanity into the imago Dei, living manifestations of God’s love.It was the same way then as it is now: we don’t add to the Apostles’ Creed or other ancient creeds of the church (despite our propensity of attempting to invent new ones), and it was the same way in Jesus’ day.Incorporating a new group’s identity into the hallowed Shema was a sort of reformation.

The purpose of the Jesus Creed was to help shape the identity of those who followed Jesus.They were to be people who were devoted to God and to one another.Christ, through reshaping of the Shema, provided his followers with a creed that they were to recite on a daily basis (and I am in the habit of reciting it many times throughout the day—as I get out of bed, walk, work, drive, and retire).This creed serves as a basis for discipleship and provides a vision for the future of the disciplines.If our love for God and others serves as the foundation of our radical commitment, we live in the manner in which God would have us live.And if we practice the disciplines in order to deepen our love for God and for others, we live our lives in the way that God would have us live them.

1. When it comes to discipleship, it is less about radical commitment and more about radical love, and the disciplines are less about spiritual development than it is about love formation, respectively.
2. There is no better way to put it than John Ortberg, the pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, who says, ″The true indicator of spiritual well-being is growth in the ability to love God and others.″ If we can accomplish this without engaging in any particular spiritual disciplines, we should do so without hesitation.″

Jesus Creed

1. COVID-19 Has Transformed Everything. And that’s OK with me. Our lives are punctuated by a series of watershed moments that change everything. These are the moments that distinguish history from the future. A single instant, life is one way, and the next, life will never be the same way again.
2. A Prayer for the People of Ukraine (Episcopal Church of England) We pray for the people of Ukraine today, asking God to provide them peace and justice. We pray for world peace and the abolition of all armaments. We hope that your Spirit of comfort would surround all those who are frightened about tomorrow.
3. Having spoken with another colleague who had phoned to tell me he was leaving his position as the pastor of a nearby church, I hung up the phone after a few minutes. He was going to be a member of the administrative staff at a nearby institution. He could have been preparing to retire.
4. Some church historians have told a story for a long time, let’s say more than a century, about a journey from Jerusalem to Antioch to Ephesus to Rome, and then from Rome to Wittenberg and Geneva and then to London and then to colonies and so on.
5. Pastors communicate with one another. When discussing community events or how our churches may work together to address specific needs in our areas, we may bring up the subject of collaboration. Recently, as you would expect, we’ve been spending a lot of time chatting to one other.
6. An apocalyptic vision for forensic investigations that are sensitive to the needs of survivors Written by Bishop Todd Hunter of the C4SO I glanced around and saw all of the tyranny that was going place beneath the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they had no one to console them
7. power was in their faces.
8. Gary Black contributed to this article. I was a visitor at a friend’s golf club on a Saturday morning not long ago, and I was there at the crack of dawn. Our foursome’s day began with a courteous introduction to the two other players who had been allocated to our foursome on a gorgeous, cool day. As is customary,..
10. Nashville seminary professor Dr. Richard Lucas was known for his preaching classes at a small seminary in Nashville. He was familiar with every well-known preacher. Dr. Lucas has spoken sermons on every passage in the Bible throughout the course of his long and distinguished career. My friends and family are among the best I have.
11. For those who don’t remember, ″MacGyver″ was an old television show from several years ago that followed Angus MacGyver, a special agent in some obscure government agency who hunted down bad guys all over the world. The story’s premise was always the same. MacGyver would do it.
12. The Pharisees have been portrayed in a stereotypical manner by the church. As a result, the church habitually reads the Gospels according to its stereotype, and in doing so, the church misinterprets the Gospels. In a recent post, I used the term ″lenient″ to describe a situation.

The Jesus Creed Quotes by Scot McKnight

Find and share inspirational quotes with your friends.Scot McKnight’s book, The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others, is a must-read.990 reviews, an average rating of 4.09, and a total of 88 ratings Quotes from the Jesus Creed 1-30 of 37 results are shown.We learn from the Jesus Creed that the obligation of a disciple is to love God and to do so by following Jesus.Only when your own lights or sense of direction are inadequate do you decide to follow someone else.Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.

• ″Love, according to Mother Teresa, is only useful if it can be seen in action.
• ″Do ordinary things with exceptional love,″ she is credited with saying, ″small things like caring for the ill and the homeless, the lonely and the unloved, washing and cleaning for them,″ among other things.
• ″You must give what will cost you something,″ says the author.
• Her religion, which she refers to as her Shema, is straightforward: Prayer is the result of quiet.
• When you pray, you will receive faith.

The fruit of faith is love, as the saying goes.The fruit of love is the fruit of service.″Peace is the result of serving others.″ Scot McKnight’s ″The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others″ is a good example of this.″God’s church exists not for itself, but for the benefit of those who are not yet members,″ Michael Green says, cutting through church jargon: ″The church that lives for itself will inevitably die by itself.″ The church is not a religious organization with a secular objective, nor is it a religious club.Instead, it is a community of worshippers and missionaries.″ Scot McKnight’s ″Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others″ is a good example of this.

1. A significant distinction is made by J.
2. I.
3. Packer in his powerful examination of what the Bible teaches about God: the difference between knowing about God (thought) and knowing God personally (mind and heart—as well as soul and strength).

As long as eternity is defined as eternal fellowship with the Father (rather than as a theological test), we must begin getting to know the One with whom we shall share the table as soon as possible.In the words of Packer, ″the rule…is to convert every factual truth that we learn about God into a subject for meditation before the Lord, which will ultimately lead to prayer and praise to the Lord.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.

• ″These modifications are in keeping with the Jesus Creed: Because Jesus loves others (including us), he offers himself as a substitute for the lamb.
• As a result, the Lord’s Supper is a Passover that has been transformed by the Jesus Creed.
• The Passover lamb is transformed into the Lamb of God, and the Lamb of God leaves us with a rhythm by which to remember what he has done for us.
• Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.
• To paraphrase Dorothy Sayers’s powerful words, our vocation is not, in the first instance, something we do to live; rather, it is something we do to live.″ In many ways, the workplace is or should be the culmination of the worker’s abilities; it is the object in which he finds spiritual, mental, and physical fulfillment; and it is the channel through which he presents himself to God.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.

We don’t want but deserve slavery and death, and he experiences for us what we don’t want but don’t deserve (a life of freedom),″ says the author.Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.Before we can begin to perceive the cross as something done for us (which leads to faith and worship), we must first see it as something done by ourselves (which leads to repentance).″As we stand before the cross, we might say to ourselves, ″I did it, my sins put him there,″ as well as ″he did it, his love brought him there.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.″What is not out of the question is that the cross, which the rest of the world considers to be a horrific symbol, has transformed into a place of grace for Christians.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.Remember this, Church: every creator and worker is called to serve God in his or her profession or trade, not outside it.

We are called to ″do″ something that is not a ″work,″ but rather a sacred vocation.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.The gospel before the gospel, as Tom Wright puts it, ″goes with a swing, a clap, and a stamp.″ ″Mary’s Song is the gospel before the gospel,″ as Wright puts it.In Mary’s Song, she expresses appreciation to God for transforming her tarnished reputation into a messianic calling.

″However, her background is far more complicated than this awful label.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.It’s comforting to know that ″even Jesus was resurrected with his wounds.″ It means that we, too, are raised to a vocation with the wounds of our past intact, visible, and a witness to what God is capable of.Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.″Hebrew for ‘poor, humble,’″ says the author.The ″pious impoverished″ of Judaism are described as such.

Following the Babylonian Exile (587 BC), a social class of Jews who returned to Israel were known as much for their devotion to the Torah* and the temple as they were for their economic plight.Their predicament compelled them to place their faith in God and to pray for him to establish his justice throughout the land.As a result, this was a group where people’s hopes for the Messiah flourished.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.″Hear, O Israel, for the Lord our God has spoken.

1. The Lord is One and only One.
2. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength, no matter what you are going through.
3. Love your neighbor as yourself is the second rule of thumb.
4. ″There is no higher commandment than these,″ says the Bible.
5. Scot McKnight’s book, The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others, is a good example of this.

1. Samaritans were the stereotypical adversary of Judaism during the first century, serving as the personification of aberrant beliefs and denying Jerusalem-centered hope and trust.
2. They are still in operation at the same place today.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.
3. ″Zealots: a Jewish movement that emerged in the first century AD that advocated for the use of violence to reclaim the Land and establish the kingdom of God.
4. Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.
5. ″On a more fundamental level than just watching democratic institutions, it is Jesus’ alienation from sin that allows him to have a complete conviction of the particular tragedy of our depravity.″ Considering that Jesus had absolutely clear eyes to view the sorrow of sin, his confession is completely accurate.″ Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others is a good place to start.
6. Thank you for returning.

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Faith Forum: Why do we love God?

Many of us have a deep affection for God.Some, on the other hand, just respect God and do not love Him.Some have stated that they despise the name ″God.″ Everyone in each of these three categories will give different reasons for their personal relationship with God.Even those of us who adore him will point out that we have different motivations for doing so.An English translation of a poem by the Spanish poet Leon Felipe (1884-1968), who was born in Spain but spent his final years in Mexico, is provided here for your enjoyment.This was translated by Walter Smelt, a student at Harvard Divinity School, and published in the most recent edition of the ″Harvard Divinity Bulletin″ journal.

• I adore you, Lord, because you are a good role model.
• There will be no stacking of the deck, and no miracles.
• You allow me to lay them out card by card—no utopias, no surprises up your sleeve—as I play out your dreadful solitaire game.
• What is it about God that we love?
• We put this topic to our panel of eminent religious leaders from throughout the area.

What they have to say is as follows:

DUH!

Muhammed A.Quddus is a member of the Northern Nevada Muslim Community.If love is defined as a sense of fondness, warmth, and gratitude, then the reasons for Christians to love God are self-evident and unquestionable.According to them, God is the one who created them, protects them, and nourishes them, and it is to God that they will return to an eternal existence in a paradise, if that is what they choose.When God creates kids from ″nutfah,″ he nourishes them in their mothers’ wombs, brings them into this world as lovely tiny creatures, and gives them infinite ability to accomplish good in this world when they grow up.In the course of their development, God provides people with several chances to enjoy the blessings of this life while also earning rewards by doing good actions to ensure that they will have a delightful position for eternity in the world to come.

• Yes, humans are responsible for their acts and must answer for them.
• However, without responsibility, existence would be ″solitary, poor, ugly, wretched, and short,″ in the words of Thomas Hobbes.
• What is it about God that one does not adore?

GOD IS LOVE

Robert W.Chorey is the curia of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno.moderator God is the first to love us.It all begins with this, and only with this.First and foremost, accept the fact that there is no cause for you, me, or any of us to exist at all, and yet we do.We are the ones who are intended.

• God loves us and God desires to have us.
• The next consciousness would be gratitude; I am glad for the fact that I am alive.
• I am grateful to you for merely being in this world.
• That gratitude is reserved exclusively for God.
• Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, demonstrates the depth of God’s love by giving of himself for the sake of everyone in order to redeem the world; to save it from our ingratitude and self-centeredness, which causes so much misery for all people.

When we individually become aware of this, our feelings of gratitude will only grow.It is the acknowledgement of God’s unfathomable kindness that is eventually expressed in gratitude.It is love that recognizes the goodness in all of creation and in all of people.The last revelation is that we were made by God to love one another.

LOVE HEALS ALL

Matthew T.Fisher, a resident priest at the Reno Buddhist Center As a nontheistic worldview, Buddhism does not provide a straightforward response to this question.As part of our Buddhist practice, we do not offer sacrifices to any god or gods.Nevertheless, we express our profound thanks to the Supreme Intelligence and Compassion of the Universe, as well as to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who have guided and sustained us on our spiritual path.In his teachings on loving-kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy, the Buddha distinguished three types of love.These are three characteristics of the heart that we all possess.

• Skillful spiritual practice infuses love into all aspects of our lives and into all that we come into contact with.
• When we communicate with others, disagree with them, or live with them, love can be present.
• This is a difficult task, but it is doable.
• It all starts with setting a goal for yourself.
• It is helpful to practice loving-kindness on a daily basis, even for a short period of time.

As the Buddha taught, ″With each drop of water, the jug is filled,″ even a small amount of practice may be beneficial.

BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US

Sharla S.Hales is the local public relations director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.According to the Apostle John, ″We love (God) because He first loved us″ (John 3:16).(1 John 4:19).I experience God’s love for me on a regular basis, whether I’m hiking in the Sierras, watching a sunset, or kayaking on Lake Tahoe.When I see my body recover from an injury, I am reminded of His love.

• As a manifestation of his love for us, he created our magnificent earth as well as the miraculous human body.
• When I am surrounded by the love of my family, I am most aware of God’s love for me, and I understand that just as much as I love my children, God loves me, His daughter.
• Because I am aware of God’s love for me, I am also aware of my own love and gratitude for Him.
• ″(O)h, how we need to adore God!″ said President Dieter Uchtdorf in his sermon.
• Because what we desire is determined by what we enjoy.

What we desire influences what we think and do in the present moment.We are defined by our thoughts and actions, which decide who we are and who we will become.″

GET LOVE, GIVE LOVE

Brian E.Melendez is a scholar of American Indian spirituality who lives in California.And that’s the double truth, Ruth: Indigenous people really revere their Creator.Throughout history, we have thought that nature, in all of her splendor, demonstrates the reality of our connection to the Creator.Furthermore, the realization that the Spirit of all things cannot be purchased, it cannot be sold, and it most definitely prefers to be wooed.Try to wrap your head around that…

• Historically, we have understood that every single cell in our body is derived from the dirt beneath our feet as well as the stars above us in the sky.
• The only thing that could give us such substantial beginnings was a loving (comedic) force.
• Because when the Creator shines through us, we become more — and the soul yearns for that light source in the same way that the body yearns for oxygen or the mind yearns for stimulation Love is always reciprocal between us and our ancestors, the land and the sky, and beyond the stars — we receive the love, and in return, we give the love back to the Creator, and so on.

RADICALLY AMAZING

Temple University’s ElizaBeth Webb Beyer If you’re Beth or a Rabbi, G-d, who oversees the whole world and is closer to us than the air we breathe, is surprisingly interested in developing a personal connection with each of us.G-d provided us with the means to construct it.The order to love G-d ″with all of our heart, all of our soul, and everything″ is given to us (Deuteronomy 6:3).We must choose to adore G-d consciously.It is not sufficient to simply follow the rules.Our ability to adore G-d grows as we get a greater understanding of Him.

• Awe-inspiringly beautiful, G-d is a precious and integral essence, and he is the key to a life well lived.
• Whenever we don’t think about G-d, it’s impossible to experience love (Maimonides).
• Every relationship needs care and quality time spent together.
• What would we do if G-d is truly our beloved, and we knew it?
• What would be our course of action?

″Dear G-d, there’s nothing in the world I’d prefer more than to spend the rest of my days with You!″ we would pray.In Likutei Sichot, vol.11, p.52, it is said that

IT’S NATURAL

Stephen R.Karcher, presiding priest of St.Anthony Greek Orthodox Church, is a native of New York.We love God because it is only natural for us to love the one who loves us so completely and completely in return for his love for us.Our gratitude as broken humans living in a broken world is fueled by the fact that there are those men and women who actually learn to love God, becoming lights for the rest of us to follow in their footsteps.While teaching that God’s benevolence is the greatest commandment, Jesus Christ emphasizes the necessity of our personal reaction to God’s kindness when he adds that it is the second greatest commandment to love our neighbor.

• This revelation of God’s very nature as love comes from Jesus himself, and it is for this reason that Holy Scripture has declared unequivocally that ″God is Love.″ God, who has been before the beginning of time, has been revealed as a loving communion of three divine individuals.
• As a result, love for God is natural for people who have been formed in his image, and it is our destiny as human beings to join in this communion of love.

THE ETERNAL RULE

Justin V.Deverse is a Baha’i educator.Love is the primal force that drives all of creation.It is the source of our existence and the life-giving thread that runs through every human soul.Our soul is naturally drawn to the Creator in the same way that a plant is drawn to the light of the Sun.This affinity to God’s characteristics is instilled in us from childhood.

• The might of a mountain awes our gaze, the roar of the ocean incline our ear, the splendor of the cosmos fills our souls, and the words of God beckon us home.
• We love God because it is a fundamental part of who we are.
• It is still our responsibility to choose to confront the source of this attraction and to be receptive to its regenerating influence on our own initiative.
• In the Hidden Words, Baha’u’llah makes an allusion to this: ″O SON OF BEING!
• Love Me in order for me to love thee.

If thou doesst not love Me, My love will never be able to reach thee.″Keep this in mind, O servant.″

GOD FIRST LOVED US

Steven Bond serves as the main pastor of Summit Christian Church in Sparks, Nevada.″We love God because he first loved us,″ says the author (1 John 4:19).God is the first and most important cause of everything that is good and decent in the universe.No matter where or when love manifests itself on this planet, it does so solely as a mirror of God’s perfect love, which both created and maintains us.In addition, the Bible teaches that ″God is love.″ (4:16; 1 John 4:16) A perfect example is love, which is one of God’s many perfections along with others such as holiness, mercy, goodness, and compassion, among others.God’s love may be seen in the loving community that exists between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, which is a manifestation of God’s love.

• Love necessitates a decision.
• True love cannot be coerced into being.
• As a result, even while God abundantly loves us, he does not compel us to reciprocate his affections.
• Those who do react to God’s love, on the other hand, rapidly learn that it is the gateway to the most fulfilling existence conceivable.

NO LOVE, NO HATE

Kenneth G.Lucey is a professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Nevada, Reno.Take, for example, Zeus.I can honestly say that I have no strong feelings for or against Zeus the Olympian.Zeus has features that I respect, such as his strong appreciation for the virtue of hospitality, which is one of his many attributes.I, on the other hand, have no feelings for or against Zeus since I do not believe in him.

• As for Lucifer, the fallen angel who reigns over Hell, what do you think?
• Again, I have no feelings for Lucifer, nor do I have any animosity toward him, simply because I do not believe in him.
• The question that one may ask at this point is if there are any limits to my skepticism regarding spiritual entities in general.
• I would like to reserve judgment, i.e., declare neither belief nor disbelief in what is being said.
• What about the God of monotheistic, on the other hand?

The concept of an omniscient, omnibenevolent entity is one that I really enjoy.As a philosopher, I am capable of arguing both for and against His existence.However, in response to the original question, I am unable to honestly state that I either adore or despise the person referred to as God.

GOD, GRAVITY, AND GRANDMA

Amy Lindeman Allen, co-lead pastor of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, will be a guest panelist.Deuteronomy 6:5 states that ″you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might″ (dedication).The greatest commandment, according to Christians, is to love God.This is a teaching from the Torah that is shared by people of all faiths.On the surface, it appears to be self-explanatory.It can, on the other hand, be completely overwhelming.

• God, as the creator of the universe, has my utmost regard.
• I owe a debt of gratitude to God, who has redeemed humanity.
• But why should we adore God?
• In kindergarten, my daughter declared that her three favorite things were ″God, gravity, and Grandma.″ She was correct.
• Because if we didn’t have gravity, we’d just float away.″ She didn’t explain why she loved God, but her response seems to touch at the heart of my motivations.

God, more than gravity, is responsible for keeping us on our feet.God draws us towards the center of the universe and teaches us what that center consists of.I love God because it is in God that I have discovered the meaning of love.The theme for next week is: What are your pillars of joy?Faith Forum is a weekly conversation on religion hosted by religious leader Rajan Zed and presented by the Religious Freedom Foundation.

1. If you have any questions or comments, you may send them to [email protected] or @rajanzed on Twitter.

Palmer: Common is ″Just Wright″ for movie role

• Commentary last updated on May 3, 2010, 1:04 p.m.
• Eastern Time.
• Article written by Chris Palmer for ESPN the Magazine Photograph by Bobby Bank for WireImage Common and Queen Latifah are currently on site filming the film ″Just Wright,″ which will be released next week.
• Common will play as Scott McKnight, a New Jersey Nets All-Star guard who suffers a career-threatening injury and falls in love with his physical therapist (Queen Latifah) in the upcoming basketball film ″Just Wright,″ which will be released on May 14.

On the subject of Windy City basketball, NBA aspirations, and getting in shape for his first-ever major part, we got up with the Chicago rapper and aspiring actor.Q: Were you a Bulls fan when you were younger?A: Of course, I admired Michael Jordan and those Chicago Bulls teams.They made you feel good about yourself for being from Chicago.

I got to witness it up up and personal since I worked as a ball boy for the Bulls during Michael Jordan’s first season.In 1985, he gave me a pair of the first Air Jordans, which were black, white, and red, and signed them.I gave them to my father, who eventually wore them to one of my gigs some years after I gave them to him.I told him that he needed to relax and put them away.

1. Those are objects that people gather.
2. Were you taught how to play the game by your father?
3. Even though I undoubtedly received part of his DNA, I’ve always had a passion for basketball.
4. I wasn’t particularly talented when I first began playing biddy ball at the age of eight.
5. After the game, I’d sit on the bench and tell my coach that I was experiencing stomach pains so that I wouldn’t be forced to return to the field.
6. But once I started practicing, I became completely immersed in the game.

I had a respectable high school experience.Because of an injury, I was only able to compete on the varsity level for one year.The fact that I was injured inspired me to start creating demo recordings and concentrate on music more.I believe that if I had put in the effort, I would have been able to compete at the Division I level.

Actually, I like to tell myself that if I hadn’t taken up music, I would have been able to make it to the league.What players did you look up to when you were younger?I’m just a regular basketball fan, but I’ve always admired point guards, guys who have excellent leadership qualities and who are unselfish in their pursuit of victory.My favorite players were Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas, but I also admired guys like Maurice Cheeks and Kenny Patterson who attended DePaul University.Oh, and Tim Hardaway was my hero because of the way he pioneered the crossover in basketball.Every youngster in the neighborhood was trying to copy him.

• That only made me more proud to be able to tell folks I was from Chicago.
• What kind of game do you have on hand?
• I consider myself to be the perfect point guard since I take great pleasure in putting others up for success.
• When I create that sweet dish, I like to use a lot of flash in the kitchen.
• However, as I grew older and a little bit slower, I had to make some adjustments to my game.
• Instead of attempting to make a fool of myself, I had to carefully consider the angles and execute a straightforward move.

In recent years, I’ve also added a midrange jumper to my arsenal.However, when I’m on the floor, I try to get a sense of the game by simply reacting to the situation and creating for others.As a result of your role in this film, you’ve come close to realizing your dream of playing in the NBA.

Exactly.I had the opportunity to compete against Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard, which allowed me to experience what it would be like to play in the NBA up close and personal.During the two months that I was filming the movie, I had the distinct impression that I was in the NBA.What players in today’s NBA do you enjoy watching the most?For me, the guards like Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Derrick Rose continue to be the most important players.Due to the fact that I grew up in Chicago, I first met Rose when he was a sophomore in high school.

1. Even at that young age, I could tell he was going to be a fantastic basketball player in the NBA.
2. He exudes a strong sense of belonging to Chicago in the way he conducts himself.
3. He’s reserved, yet he’s no less of a fighter.
4. As a result, when you first got the part, did you consult with anyone about how to get into the mindset of a professional basketball player?
5. Baron Davis was the first player I spoke with on the phone.
6. For a short period of time, I followed him about.

1. I just needed to know what was going on in his thoughts.
2. What prompted him to begin playing?
3. What impact has the game had on his life?
4. When did he realize he had a shot at becoming a professional?

It seemed like I was talking to him about everything, from the stress of having to succeed to what to eat after a game.Your body appears to be that of an NBA player in this film.What methods did you use to get into shape for the role?I aim to keep a healthy lifestyle and work out four times a week on a consistent basis.

• However, for this film, I had to put in some serious effort.
• I had a whole team assisting me with nutrition and in the gym, which was extremely beneficial.
• I went through a slew of agility drills and ended up doing far more cardio than I would have otherwise.
• Even if you come from a basketball background, being an NBA player is a difficult feat to accomplish.
• Were you worried about how convincing you’d be able to be in your presentation?
• I was certainly apprehensive about whether or not it would be credible.

• The fact that you don’t see Common or a rapper in the video is really significant to me because I want people to think of me as a basketball player.
• The sports coordinator on the film wanted to test how devoted I was going to be early on, so he told me a tale about Denzel Washington from when he was working on ″The Hurricane,″ which was released in 2008.
• During the filming of the movie, Denzel prepared for four months for a two-minute fight sequence in the ring at the opening, knowing that if he didn’t come off as believable, the movie wouldn’t work.

That’s a lot of pressure.I’m aware of the situation.However, I received a great deal of assistance.Jimmy Sann, the assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets, treated me as if I were a real player.In addition to working with me on core strength and other fundamental abilities that basketball players require, he was a huge help in improving my shooting.

I ended up shooting about 500 jump shots every day, and my jump shot has never been more consistent.What did the NBA players in the film have to say about your abilities?When D-Wade approached me after the film, he told me that I demonstrated the finest talents of any of the men he had ever seen in basketball movies who had attempted to portray basketball players.

• So that had to have given you a lift in confidence.
• It really gave me a boost of energy.
• I was eager to put my skills to the test and see what I could do against him.
• Did your time on the court with those players instill a newfound respect for the game in your mind?
• Absolutely.

The majority of people are unaware of the size, strength, and speed of these players.In many ways, they are superior to humans.They have a large presence in areas where most individuals do not even work.

You think you’re quick, but then you come up against someone who is significantly larger than you and who is also significantly faster.You can’t tell how remarkable these people are just by looking at them on television.However, I value them as individuals as well.D-Wade is a great guy to sit down with and just hang out with.

• I was interrogating him about the league and asking him all kinds of questions.
• Who are the most difficult opponents to play against?
• Who are the most effective trainers?
• As a result, it’s a lot of fun to be friends with these guys.

1. When rappers begin to appear in their own movies Their professional lives have a tendency to influence public view of them as rappers.
2. This is your eighth film and your first starring part – do you feel like you’re going through a transformation?
3. Because I’m still putting out music and freestyling and putting out raw hip-hop, people still think of me as a rapper, and I don’t believe that has had an impact on how they perceive my music.
4. The goal for me is to bring out beautiful music that is inspired by the soul, but I also want to do a good job on whatever film I’m working on, and I believe that people can appreciate me for both goals.
5. However, there will be others who believe you are destined for Hollywood, and I believe this has a lot to do with the way you conduct yourself.

However, in this day and age of multitasking, it is far more common to be able to perform both at the same time.If possible, do you want to reach a stage where people know you as an actor who also happens to be a rapper?Yes.

That gives me a warm and fuzzy sensation.I’m constantly looking to break new ground and attract a new audience of supporters.My belief is that there are far more individuals out there that I can connect with via acting than I could through music.When I got signed to the record company Interscope, someone there informed me that I was going to be more of an actor than a rapper in the near future.

1. I’m not sure if he intended that as a compliment, but I took it as such.
2. Your character is a basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets in the film.
3. When you finished shooting the film last summer, the Brooklyn Nets went on to have one of their worst seasons in the history of the NBA.

1. What happened?
2. How much do you believe this will have an impact on the film?
3. We were well aware that this film would draw a large female audience who might be unaware of or simply uninterested in the outcome of the Nets’ season.
4. I believe the producers assumed that the male fan base would be uninterested as well.
5. Obviously, it would have been fantastic if they had done well, but we should be fine when the film is released.
6. I believe a significant number of Nets fans will wish Scott McKnight had really played for them.

1. At the very least, New Jersey was represented by one All-Star this season…
2. Exactly!
3. Chris Palmer is a contributing writer for ESPN The Magazine.

He lives in New York City.Since 1999, Chris Palmer has been a regular contributor to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com’s coverage of the National Basketball Association.

God’s Love for Man

REFERENCES TO THE BIBLE: John 3:16CONTENTS:

1. The meaning of love
2. the different types of love
3. the manifestation of God’s love for human beings
4. A requirement for humans to express their love in response to God’s love

Meaning of Love

• When someone loves someone, they have a deep and powerful feeling of fondness for that other.
• It is normal, yet it is tough to understand.
• It is compassionate, gentle, kind, persevering, patient, and not jealous, among other characteristics.
• God has a deep affection for human beings.

God’s genuine love for mankind is what motivated him to send his son to redeem mankind after man’s fall into sin.

Types of Love

The several kinds of love are as follows:

1. Platonic love is affection shared between two people who are not romantically involved. It is not a sexual relationship in any way shape or form.
2. Philia love is the affection shared between friends who have similar interests and points of view
3. it is also known as friendship love.
4. Storge love: This is the natural love that develops between family members as a result of their shared history
6. Erosive love is defined as sexual love that occurs between persons who are of opposite sexe.
7. Agape love: Agape love is an unconditional love that is free of any attachments or conditions. It is also referred to as ″selfless love.″ This is the kind of love God has for mankind
8. this is the kind of love God has for mankind.

EVALUATION

1. Define love, then explain God’s love for man in your own words.
2. Men