What is the Significance of Jesus?

The Conversion of Our Imaginations

Ever radically changed what

you thought about someone you thought you

already knew?

What did Saul think about Jesus before he met him as he was headed

to Damascus?

Not the Messiah

Blasphemer

Dangerous

Heretic

11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

Galatians 5

Saul had preached Circumcision.COVENANT WITH GODTHE SIGN

One of!God’s!

Chosen

ISRA

EL

PROMISES BLESSINGS

Saul had preached Circumcision.E X C L U S I V I T YIDENTITY

One of!God’s!

Chosen

ISRA

EL

SET APART BELONGM E A N I N G L E S S

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 5

What was it that converted Paul’s imagination?

Christ crucified

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

1Corinthians 1

22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

1Corinthians 1

22 If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, 23 you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.

Deuteronom

y 21:23

How does the cross of Christ offend how we think and act

today?

The gospel can be reduced to IMPROVEMENTS IN BEHAVIOR

We preach and teach Moralism.

PERFEC

T

We preach and teach Moralism.Get your act together!Try harder.

If we’re good,!

Jesus will love us.

Don’t mess up. Ever again.M E A N I N G L E S S

“When an impossible objective is given to people in a large hierarchy and when it is accompanied by immense pressure to produce, the people in the organization will also experience growing pressure to engage in unethical behavior…

Robert E. Quinn, Deep Change (p.51-52)

“…An invisible form of corruption at the top, the exercise of authority without concern or demand without support, results in a very visible form of corruption at the bottom.”

Robert E. Quinn, Deep Change (p.51-52)

Not that necessary

Unsympathetic

Demanding

Source of fear

Exhausted yet?

4 But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, 5 so he could set us free from the Law,

and we could become God’s children.

Galatians 4