Real Jesus in a Real World

Real Jesus = Real Love!

Real love.  REAL Love.  REAL.  LOVE.  HOW real?  Good question.  Answer: As real as it gets.  No wait, more real than we can ever imagine.  What might that "real love" be like?  Well, here are just a few real examples.  First, meet Billy.  He's sitting at the "time out" table.  Uh oh...not good...until he gets a dose of Real Jesus.  When love-soaked grace moves in... wow.  And then witness the power of that real love as a Black teen invites his white friend (and son of a leader in the local Whate supremacist group) to church.  What happens next is all about the real love.  Then we'll go shopping with a child who is inspired by that same real love to go on a "More God-Cookies!" mission.  Fun!  Finally, what if our automatic (often trained from childhood) "thank you" response was transformed into a lifelong habit and mission to spread the Real love of Jesus?  We'll meet a grandmother who did just that.  Real Jesus Love in action!

Real Jesus = Real Vision

How might our lives be different if we saw everything through the lenses of the powerful love of Real Jesus?  This week, we'll meet some people who did their best to do just that.  From homeless, living in a car with her mom...to living in the "huge-est house ever", with all kinds of pets too!  From standing by a fellow student who's being bullied...to having an amazing new friend!  From the depression of graduating from high school amid the shutdowns of a worldwide pandemic...to the amazing open doors to a dream future!  And from 97 years old to age 3...bit by bit, year by year...how did that happen?  Meet Irv - amazing, Jesus-vision Irv!

Real Jesus = Real Persistence

Steadfast.  Persistent.  What comes to mind when you see or hear these words?  How about "steadfast, persistent love"?  That's what Real Jesus is all about - all the time, every time.  This week, we'll meet a grandson who brings the power of Real Jesus's persistent love and grace into the life of his grandmother as she recovers from a debilitating stroke.  And I'll share what I call "legacy of love" words from two very different grandmothers (literally a world apart).  Then, what about the power of an attitude of persistent, steadfast thanksgiving rooted in the powerful love of Real Jesus - which gives true and amazing strength as a woman nears the end of her earthly life.  Thanksgiving?  Yep!  And finally, we'll meet Ana, a self-described "hospice expert", who has "graduated" from hospice care three times.  In her, we'll experience the power of the steadfast, persistent, thankful love of Real Jesus.  Real Jesus = Persistent, steadfast LOVE!

Real Jesus = Real Strength

"Be strong".  When life gets tough, we often hear some version/variation of these words.  What if the most helpful words were instead, "Tough times - strong Jesus"?  What IS "real strength"?  We'll meet a high school athlete who seeks the real (and amazing) Jesus-strength she sees in her autistic brother.  And then there's an amazing woman named Beatrice, in hospice care nearing the end of her earthly life...middle name - Grace.  Lifelong strength - Real Jesus.  And what if, when you thought of "joy", it's definition became J.O.Y. = Jesus On You?  Meet Mabel and Simon, whose JOY in the midst of very challenging times give them strength beyond imagining!  Finally, we'll join a group of students who are raising vegetable seedlings to be planted in a local community garden.  They discover that strong soil = strong plants, and as they re-pot the baby plants, they think about the strength of planting their lives IN Real Jesus.

Real Jesus Says - Imagine with Me!

Imagine this...imagine that...Our imagination often steers us, even when we don't realize it.  Imagine.  Know that Real Jesus is all about real, last-through-anything love, imagine...imagine an addiction recovery group which meets in a church building.  "My friend told me this group was for everyone.  That does their "everyone" really mean?  Imagine you've just moved into a new apartment.  Someone brings you cookies...and a message that's far from welcoming...and a man whose in-laws "sure know who's going to Hell"...wow.  And who does the church belong to?  Answer:  Real Jesus.  Yes, really.  But often it like quite the opposite.  Imagine what church would look like, act like, if "church people" really WERE Real Jesus love people...imagine!  Finally, imagine meeting someone in a local coffee shop who looked very different from the last time you'd seen them there.  Now they just...glowed...with joy.  "I've found my people," they say.  "They're REAL Jesus people.  Imagine...

Real Jesus Says - Here I Am!

Sometimes it can feel like God is playing an eternal game of "hide and seek".  It feels like God is hiding, when it's really the other way around.  We're trying to hide.  God is present everywhere, but we often don't notice or pay attention.  And pretty soon, we stop noticing, stop seeing.  And then...wow!  It's as if God is saying, "Here I Am!"  But Real Jesus shows us that God - the "Great I Am" NEVER fails to be present: in EVERY neighborhood, on every doorstep, in every "playground", and in every season and situation of bad news.  A "triple crown of good news": who couldn't use one of those?  But what if you have to choose just one?  And have you ever met someone you haven't seen in years?  Someone who changed your life back then in amazing, step-up-and-love-like-Jesus' ways.  Then there's the kid who know just "who" they want to be for Halloween:  Jesus!  What happens when "Jesus" knocks on doors that night?  Wow.  Finally, we'll sit with a team planning worship service theme.  Why do so many of the "Here I am" Bible verses only get used at Christmas?

Real Jesus Says - There's a Place for YOU!

Many times, we define ourselves by what we're not.  Not like "them"... But what happens when WE get defined as "them"?  Real Jesus says there's always a place in His love for you...and for all those "thems" too.  First, we'll meet a band student who says solos are nice, but all together is better.  Next, an "intriguingly diverse" family calls and wants to know: "how deep is your welcome?"  Is there a place for THEM?  And then, what does a donated trailer full of building supplies have to teach a team of volunteers about how with Real Jesus, there's a love-filled place for everyone?  Finally, we'll meet a young socce3r player who defines himself as "just a regular player...nothing really important".  And then he realizes that with Real Jesus, there are no "regular, unimportant" people - all are needed, and all are special!

Real Jesus Says - Spread the Love!

Where do you think the amazing, life-changing love of Real Jesus is needed most?  Imagine that love being spread far and wide, deep into hearts and lives.  Imagine...A study group looks at the endings of many of the "letter books" of the Bibl3e and realizes the love-power being spread in those final words.  How would they put that "love-spreading" in their own words when they said goodbyes in their daily lives?  And we'll meet Ivan, who uses his birthday cupcakes to spread Real Jesus love to the most unlikely kids in his class at school.  Then, imagine what happens when the #1 mission of Local "Community Make a Difference Days" - Spread Jesus' Love, No Matter What - meets division's destructive power.  Spread the Love!  And finally, we'll listen in as a group of kids in an after-school program reflect on the question:  "What/Who do you think a Christian is?"  You guessed it - spread the love, the REAL love, of Jesus!

Real Jesus Says - Don't Give Up!

"Don't give up!  It's going to be OK".  A common, and natural response to those words might be..."Really?  Define OK..."  This week, we'll learn about "El sal de Jesus" (the salt of Jesus) as a grandmother passes on her real-life experience of Jesus as "God's Love-Preserver".  And how about the challenge of loving someone you just don't like?  Enter the persistent, Real Jesus led "Love Patrol" on a school playground.  Then we'll meet a woman who, in the space of six short months, lost her spouse, sister, and mother, lost her job, and was diagnosed with a serious illness... and then her faithful beloved dog of 15 years died.  "Dig your roots deep into Jesus", she says.  And then a cat she names "Persistence" shows up.  Finally, meet Sally, whose life and work keep her out of churches, but the steadfast, everywhere love of Real Jesus meets her in a local coffee shop, where she finds "real church".  Real Jesus never gives up on love!

Real Jesus Says - Come on In!

Come on in!  "To what?", you might ask.  "Where?", you may wonder... Come on in to the power of real, last-though-anything love of Real Jesus!.. Come on in!  Where?  Everywhere...yes, EVERYwhere... "Grace Lives Here".  What would you expect to find behind the doors of an apartment with that sign on the front door?  We'll also an "unusual family" who are new to the town, neighborhood,...and school.  An amazing teacher steps up to make all the difference in their lives...Come on in!  And then there's the church struggling with attendance that decides to TRULY invite, welcome, include, and value EVERYone to the "Jesus Banquet".  Come on in!  Finally, picture a child at a local farmers' market who spots a person very different from herself, yet like her wearing a cross.  "You must belong to the Jesus family too,... "she tells him.  Come on in!