We’ve been exploring the idea of a total reset in life – what Jesus described as being born again.  It presents a number of challenges to us in our modern lives which are so complex and interconnected.  What about our responsibilities, families, and so on?

Jesus is not talking about a life replacement, but reset and renewal.  A reset is different from formatting a computer.  One is destructive and wasteful, the other is refreshing and freeing.

We regularly talk about the world’s big story in these daily challenges.  We were created to know God be known by God, to have God at the centre of lives.  Then all humans rebelled against God, pushing him out of our lives.  This was the beginning of sin, a separation between humans and God stemming from our desire to worship and rule ourselves, rather than reliance on God.

Human history is filled with evidence of this separation from God.  What was God to do?  God could reformat, start over, and pretend it never happened.  But instead, we got a reset moment.  God stepped into this world as Jesus Christ, and pushed reset.

He makes it possible for us to reset our lives, and has begun to reset the entire world – with a fresh start known as the kingdom of God.

In our lives, we get a second chance to live in a close, personal relationship with God, when we start practicing the kingdom of God.

Having tried the alternative, living to ourselves, now we can live under God’s care and guidance once again.

Considering the rebellion against God in our past, God doesn’t say “forget about it”.  He sees, remembers, and does something about it.

The Kingdom of God is a reset world.  Not the whole world yet – we just see signs and glimpses of it in people, and in God’s direct action today.  We’re invited to start living into this now, and to become a glimpse of the kingdom of God in other people’s lives.

But how?  Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

We’ll see tomorrow what that means.

Question: Where do you see signs of God’s “reset” world today?

Reminder: Coffee hours are tonight tomorrow night at 7:30pm at Starbucks in the Ajax Chapters Store.  See you there!

Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.

Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - July 17, 2013

Wednesday - Change It - Originality

I know a PHd student who asked this question on Facebook: "How do you cite Facebook?" Researchers like her live and breathe citations. It's critical that they learn how to quote someone properly. There are whole books written about referencing sources properly. Good teaching in Jesus’ day was the same. Rabbi Hirschel says this. Rabbi Hillel says that. At best, a good teacher might come up with some creative parallel, paradox or new insight into those ancient words. But to say something original, that was risky. Maybe you could get away with it at end of your career, or maybe after you'd died, people would say it about you. The Jewish people have such a long history – to make up your own stuff was as if you thought you were better, and could ignore the past. If you did, people would ask, "Who is this guy?" In this case, he was Jesus, a carpenter from a small town. He never went to the advanced schools of Judaism. Lucky he was literate. He was not where you’d expect original, profound teaching to come from. You might expect teaching that was original and trite, or profound and dated, but not original and profound at once. Yet, everyone, even his enemies, saw this profound, original teaching in Jesus. They said the same as these crowds. “He teaches as one with authority” meaning he wasn’t quoting the great teachers of the past, like other Jewish Rabbis always did. He just taught, and people recognized his words as good and true, despite his lack of citations. He hadn’t followed another rabbi, he just gathered a school of students around him. He doesn’t need to cite, because he is the source of all truth. He is called the "Word" of God - the "Word" being a Greek concept of the truth with personality. Question: How is Jesus different from other teachers in your life? What did he teach that no one else said before, or has ever improved upon since? We meet for coffee every Wednesday night at Starbucks in the Chapters Store in Ajax, in Durham Region just East of Toronto. Maybe we'll see you there?

From Series: Sermon on the Mount | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

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