Is the good news of Jesus Christ really as good in your mind as it was in the mind of Jesus? God’s dream for humanity is far more amazing than most of us realize. He wants to “marry” us, to invite us into his family and walk in radical love with us.
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Puppets and Dresses
• Seth McCoy
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The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news to the world that God has a made a way for peace (“shalom” in Hebrew) so that mankind can live according to the dream that God had in mind from the beginning of the world. When there is peace, the dividing walls between people are torn down. This is much more than a Gospel message about where we will go when we die. This is about how we live today and the freedom to live that way.
In the movie Pinocchio, the wooden puppet wanted to be more than he was. He wanted to be a little boy and be a part of his master’s family. In the same way, the Gospel (“good news”) is about how we can be more than we are, about how we are invited to participate as a member of God’s family. Ultimately this means that we are invited into a radical unity with God, similar to a marriage. In marriage, the two become one. The Gospel is about how we can walk in a marriage relationship with God as one who dances with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In the first century, the path to marriage was very different than it is today. When a man and woman were betrothed to one another, it was as if they were fully married, except they did not live together. The man would prepare a home and get ready to provide for a family. The woman would prepare herself for the weeding ceremony and wait for the coming of her betrothed. In the same way, we are living in this betrothal period with Jesus. He will come for his bride, the church. How will the church look on that day? Will you be faithful, contributing to the beauty of the church?
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Covenant, Faithfulness, Salvation
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Focus Scripture:
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Ephesians 1:11-18
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all his people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his people.
6 thoughts on “Puppets and Dresses”
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"I am a podrishioner that just wanted to say thanks for sharing Woodland Hills through podcasts and videos. This is my place to get a spiritual refill, and it’s where I get most of my teaching from. Since I've starting following you four years ago, my view on God, myself and other people has radically been changed. Thanks so much, and keep sharing the Kingdom!"
– Knut-Inge, from Norway
I love the opening line: “…following Jesus is not about arriving at the right destination but about journeying toward a new future with the Spirit.”
A little over a year ago, the company where I had worked for the last 5 1/2 years eliminated my position, and thus far I’ve been unsuccessful at finding a new job. So with so much time on my hands now, I sometimes wake up in the morning wondering why I should even get out of bed.
But, when it feels like there is nothing to really look forward to and I tell Him that, I catch the glimmer in His eye, I remember Who it is I get to walk with for the day, and I get the feeling that getting up is like running toward a lover, someone who’s been watching me sleep and is eager for me to wake up to tell me a secret, to show me something new. There is always enough energy, enough reason, enough hope for THAT!
In a lot of ways, I feel like a kid again on an epic adventure as I live out these days that are so shrouded in mystery! I love that he surprises me, that answers don’t come as I expect (that would be kind of boring I think). And, I’m learning to trust His heart, His hand and to rest. Maybe this is exactly what’s on His agenda for the day.
…”Small steps in a consistent manner”….
I tend to be the “big leap of faith” girl. I can make big sweeping decisions to reform myself like nobody’s business…the problem is that it’s been me trying to reform myself. Me trying to change. me! me! me!
I am experiencing moments, now, not lightning and thunder events, but sprinkles of being given the grace to take care of myself, of listening when others talk, of giving them the space to talk, of connecting over achieving, and realizing that the connection I was looking for in the achieving was right there infront of me and I already have it.
I just needed to slow down enough for it to come to me, and rest, like a butterfly, for a moment. A small step. Not a big, huge leap. A beautifully small, and courageous step. Towards my Savior…and on my path, feeling the footing, beneath my feet. Small steps. Small glorious steps/
Scott hit the nail on the head. You can tell he has a full relationship with the Lord because he speaks from that perspective as he shares his faith. For all the “type A” personalities, this is a good exhortation to slow down and notice what beauty lies around you. The beauty is not at some imaginery finish line, but along the path and sometimes just off the path in places never traveled. Thanks for the reflection Scott.
Maybe the Kingdom of God is…at hand? Within you? Near? Wasn’t this Jesus’ teaching two thousand years ago?
The Kingdom of God is not a place, it’s a practice.
Its first Person–the Son of God–birthed it by dying and rising again, vanquishing sin and death. He struck a deathblow at the kingdom of darkness. So we practise God’s kingdom by aggresively attacking the kingdom of darkness–not the people we believe to be living there there (we can’t judge hearts), for our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, the principalities and the principles (or lack thereof) that form the toxic spiritual atmosphere of that kingdom.
Faced with the all-pervading nothing that ‘existed’ before creation, God said, ‘Let there be light.’ When we come across poverty, we say, ‘Let there be light’ by sharing what we have. When we come across injustice, we practise, not justice, but mercy. When we come across sorrow, we practise comfort. Where we see self-indulgence, we practise self-sacrifice. Where we come across sin (as we understand it given our limited comprehension) we practise not judgment but the gospel and love. From the beginning, we have been working (rather, God has been working) to establish heaven on earth. Trying to ‘go to heaven’ is a very noble thing, but you can’t ‘go’ there without first ‘being’ there. Paradox? Yup. The kingdom of God is at hand, folks.
Didn’t mean to preach, folks.
The article, and the comments that follow it–just beautiful
Absolutely LOVE that music! Especially the flute and mandolin… all of it is soul melting!
I appreciated the whole message, but the part that most deeply touched me was Seth’s vulnerability about how he was feeling in the present moment–wanting people to appreciate his talk so he could feel valued. Such a good message about how much God loves us–as much as he loves Jesus. Thanks, Seth, you blessed me beyond measure by helping me see how God wants us all to be one–and to be his spotless bride.