Forgiveness: Oshea Israel and Mary Johnson - http://theforgivenessproject.com/stories/mary-johnson-oshea-israel-usa/
Coaching 3 & 4 year-old soccer as a metaphor for life: "herd ball" - might go in the right goal, might go in the wrong goal - might fall flat on our face - might leave with no notice to use the bathroom....mob mentality: the direction you are going isn't a direction....sin...Directives from the Y to coaches: 1) this is the ball; 2) this is the goal; 3) the ball goes in the goal; 4) don't touch it with your hands...a little older: trying to get 4 year olds to learn position: "stand here". Ball goes by because they have been told to "stand here"...It's okay for little kids to be really bad at soccer - they're having fun! But we expect they will mature in their ability to grasp the purpose...Do we have church members who are not willing to mature beyond 4-year-old soccer?
Losing a child in Wal-Mart...how the community worked together to bring her back to me...before Mom could see her, calling out her name....child's face when she found her mother...could tie into personal story of a time you were lost and what you felt...different story of being lost and worried and having a strange adult yell at you: "You need to be with your mother!" Opposite experience to having community come together...another story of a lost child seeking an adult who looked trusting (grandmotherly)..."If you're lost, who do you go to?" (a mom with children, etc.)...Can we equip our church members with "where do you go when you are lost?"...so easy to shut down when we are lost; can't imagine forward momentum...Joseph & Mary leaving Jesus behind in Jerusalem..."People of Wal-Mart" came to help - this website disses people who shop in Wal-Mart; but these are the people who worked together for good. How do we judge others? "Aren't there churches for people like that?" Film people in the congregation telling their own "lost" stories...Shouldn't churches have a plan for people who are "lost" (been gone for 6 months?)
Only do 52 children's sermons - repeat them every year, so children (adults), over time, internalize these messages.
Doubt: Woman climbs into trunk of car and shuts it to see if light goes out (WHY????). Brings keys in with her....Police have to come to get her out. "It seemed like a good idea at the time..." There was a witness to this! Mob mentality, we condone this..and then, someone is locked in...perspective of doubt: if we let doubt overwhelm us, it can take us to places we don't want to go....Woman took a home pregnancy test, came out positive, she didn't believe it, took 3 more of different brands, husband comes home, doesn't believe, he pees on the stick to prove that this test can work...Driving back home, habitually, to see if the garage door is down....old SNL skit, family imagining what could go wrong, then drive off a cliff...parents tell you "don't ever touch the cigarette lighter," but you do...when doubt overrides common sense....we know better than Jesus...Do we have to be burned to believe?...another part of the spectrum: people sometimes do "dumb" things because they believe Jesus wants them to (unexamined spirituality)...How do you know about the faith if you don't step into it.
Purpose of the camera...from taking pictures of treasured moments/loved ones...evolution to selfie...focal point has moved to self...Focus as Christians varies: God, Others, Self...camera works both ways...Emmy Awards - Julia Louis-Dreyfus and producers of Veep, she is trying to take selfie with veteran presenter, he turns phone around as if to say: no, this is the future, take pictures of them...Kid President: We need to live in a world with fewer selfies and more "other people-ies"...perspective: story of family taking a long time to get pictorial directory picture made, parishioners behind them thought they were very rude; but really, they didn't have any idea that people were waiting, they didn't know how many rooms there were, how many salespeople, etc. Had to communicate with angry people to explain the difference in perspective...Wendell Berry poem: Once there was a man who filmed his vacation..."Screen Time" from Ted Radio Hour..Ted Talk by Monica Lewinsky on shame...
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