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[Music]

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welcome to the commons cast we're glad

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to have you here we hope you find

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something meaningful in our teaching

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this week head to commons dot church for

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more information

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good morning thanks for being here come

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on back in and have a seat

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today we're going to start a new

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conversation we've got four weeks to

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talk about trinity and holy spirit and

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the nature of god so look out lots to

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cover here

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first though let's recap where we've

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been to start the year

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we just finished a series called

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relearning friendship

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and that was fun because scott and bobby

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and i all had a chance to add our voices

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into that conversation that was

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intentional we figured if we were going

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to talk about friendship we needed to

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hear from each other in that but we

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covered a number of different ideas in

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that series

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the idea that friendship is a unique

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category in our lives

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one that we need to guard and protect

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and celebrate the rarity of

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we talked about loneliness and

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expectation we talked about suffering

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and the way that we can join each other

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in those difficult experiences

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and then last week we talked about

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conflict in friendship

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in particular how difficult it can be to

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balance healthy good boundaries with

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also making space for disagreement with

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those who care about us

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and sometimes we need to make hard

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decisions about relationships and even

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friendships those that are not healthy

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for us but at the same time we don't

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want hard decisions to make us hard

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people in fact the reason for good

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boundaries in your life

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is that you want to be able to stay soft

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and vulnerable and open to intimacy with

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the relationships that earn that from

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you

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you're actually protecting your open

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heart by keeping good boundaries

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i actually posted a follow-up to our

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youtube channel this week

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looking at some of the conflict

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strategies that can be helpful in

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relationships some of the ones that

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rachel and i infused in our marriage

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if you're interested in that it's

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available as a resource for you on

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youtube of course that whole series is

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available in the archives if you missed

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any of it so check that out

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today though we begin the forgotten god

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no my name is jeremy i'm part of the

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team here at commons and thanks for

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being here uh whether you are in the

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room or online today we really

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appreciate your presence with us

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we know we couldn't do any of this

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without you

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but in this new series we want to take

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some time to talk about the presence of

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a spirit in all of our lives

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now obviously we haven't forgotten about

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god right this is a church after all and

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all of us got up and prepared ourselves

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to be part of this worship gathering i

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mean we are here specifically because we

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remember god at some level

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and yet

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particularly in a church like commons

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i think where we have intentionally

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created space for an intellectual

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pursuit when it comes to our faith

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it can feel at times like spirit is

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secondary

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maybe not forgotten but perhaps asked to

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stand just to the side a little bit

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and i'll admit some of that is my own

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story in my own baggage

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i made my way to the jesus story through

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the pentecostal tradition

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in fact i did my undergrad at a

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pentecostal bible college and before

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starting comments i worked in and i was

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ordained in pentecostal churches

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and that charismatic spirit-filled

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experience was a big part of my

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formative christian journey

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now over time

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some of the gaps in my experience became

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more evident to me

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i went to grad school and i read more

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widely

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i started to understand that the

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christianity was this long and wide

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river with a lot of different streams

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flowing into it

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and hear me here it's okay to understand

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your stream and where you feel most at

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home actually that's an important part

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of all of our stories

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but for me

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making christianity mine was also

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learning to value and embrace these

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traditions that i had not been exposed

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to

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i hear a commons we work hard to

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incorporate prayers and imagery from

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across the christian perspective to

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remind us of just how big god is

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but then

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i also began to see

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how at times those ecstatic experiences

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of worship that i had been a part of had

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been used to manipulate my emotions and

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perspectives

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and certainly not always intentionally

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but even unintentionally

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there's incredible power in communal

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experience

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and sometimes it can be very hard to

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figure out what is spirit and what is

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group think in some of those moments

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i still remember being in camp meetings

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at 18 years old when i was new to

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christianity and everybody there was

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speaking in tongues and there was a lot

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of pressure about participating in that

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and i did

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only to be left wondering the next day

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whether any of that was real

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so i remember

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resolving very early in my career as a

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minister that pressure and coercion were

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never going to be part of my repertoire

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as a pastor

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and that goes for spirit but it goes for

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money it goes for salvation

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i firmly believe that god is gentle with

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all of us and yet still

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i recognize that i was deeply shaped by

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encounters with spirit profound

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experiences of prayer and worship that i

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didn't want to shake

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and so when we were formulating our

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values at commons jesus at the center

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that's what we started with

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we always had the conviction that jesus

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would be the lens through which we

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interpreted scripture together

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but the language that we added of

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intellectually honest and spiritually

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passionate that was an attempt however

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clumsy

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for us to marry a critical academic

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investigation of faith with the trust

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that god still does show up in

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unexpected ways for all of us and so as

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a community we've tried to balance those

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ideas but i think it's fair to admit

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that oftentimes the power and the

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presence of spirit in our lives can

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sometimes be relegated behind our

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intellectual pursuit at least it can for

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me

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and i'll admit one series of

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conversations is not going to fix all of

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that and awareness of divine presence is

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something that each of us has to

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cultivate daily

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but one series of conversations

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certainly isn't going to hurt so let's

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start there

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so today we're going to talk about

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trinity

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what is the nature of god and what do we

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mean when we talk about god's threeness

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next week we'll talk about god's spirit

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in and through us in the world

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we'll talk about conviction and

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conscience as spirit guides us in

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community and finally we'll look at

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spirit as a feminine image and metaphor

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for god

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sometimes when we take biblical

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metaphors for god and to tightly

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anthropomorphize them

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we can squeeze out other important vital

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images to the edges and we want to do

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some work in this series to reclaim some

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of that territory in our imagination

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so that's lots to cover but hopefully

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this will be fun and let's start

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together with a prayer

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god

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we come today confident in the presence

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of your spirit here with us

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and even when we lack the language or

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understanding of exactly how we trust

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that you are near

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and so this day

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as we speak together of spirit as we

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remind each other of your being in and

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with us we ask that you would move that

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conversation not just through our

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intellect but somehow deep into our

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being

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we long to be

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fully present to you

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our minds and our hearts and our bodies

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but also somehow our spirits entwined

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with the divine

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and so for those of us who tend to live

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in the world of the mind we thank you

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for that unique expression of who we are

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how it brings us closer to knowing you

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we celebrate intellect and

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thoughtfulness and how you've wired us

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but we ask that in these moments you

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would expand our imagination of grace

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if we have heard your voice before

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sensed your nearness with us and yet

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struggled sometimes to offer ourselves

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and healthy life-giving ways

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we ask for peace to come

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[Music]

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flood our minds and calm anxieties to

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invite us to discover you in surprising

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moments

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help us discern

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between excitement and emotion and you

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but also to embrace this full spectrum

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of what it means to be human in our

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ecstatic joy and crushing pain

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in whatever way we need your spirit

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today

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we trust that you will meet us

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and heal us

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and enliven us with spirit's breath

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in the strong name

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of the risen christ we pray

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amen

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okay

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the agenda today is trinity

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and it's going to look like this we're

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going to talk about communal experience

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and the point of doctrine dancing around

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and what is it that is underneath our

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language but even to try to talk about

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trinity is kind of absurd

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one of my

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favorite sayings of the church from an

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author that is long since forgotten

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is that we must speak of god is three in

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one but to speak of trinity for more

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than a minute means we will inevitably

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slip into heresy because we probe too

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deeply the mysteries of god

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now that does not bode well at the start

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of a 30-minute sermon but i still i like

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that quote

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because some things are simply

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mysterious

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and so today we're not going to try to

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parse the doctrine of trinity

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i'm really not interested in gatekeeping

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theological spats

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but i do want to talk about why trinity

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is so important to my concept of the

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divine

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and i think from there that can give us

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a starting point for the rest of the

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series to focus in on the person of

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00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:31,680
spirit within that same triune god

287
00:10:29,839 --> 00:10:34,000
first though as an entry point i want to

288
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talk about buzzfeed

289
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,480
in particular an article that they

290
00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:41,040
posted last week about a collection of

291
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different prayer websites

292
00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:45,839
two in particular that they listed

293
00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:48,240
pray.com and hallow.com

294
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these are sites that are set up so you

295
00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:52,079
can go and post your prayers and

296
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theoretically someone will then pray for

297
00:10:52,079 --> 00:10:55,040
you

298
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and that's not bad

299
00:10:55,040 --> 00:11:00,079
we have a prayer tab on commons.life and

300
00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:02,079
we do collect those prayers and we do

301
00:11:00,079 --> 00:11:03,200
pass them to a prayer team so that's

302
00:11:02,079 --> 00:11:04,160
cool

303
00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,399
but

304
00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:08,240
this article was about the incredible

305
00:11:06,399 --> 00:11:10,560
amount of venture capital that was

306
00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:13,680
flowing into these sites

307
00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:14,959
40 million dollars in one investment

308
00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:16,959
and that is not because venture

309
00:11:14,959 --> 00:11:18,240
capitalists love prayer it's because

310
00:11:16,959 --> 00:11:19,760
they love

311
00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,079
data

312
00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:24,480
you see these sites have a large user

313
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base they are free after all

314
00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:28,880
but prayer represents some uniquely

315
00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:30,560
valuable information about you

316
00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,640
i mean it might be nice to know what you

317
00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:34,480
ate for lunch but imagine if advertisers

318
00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:37,519
knew what you were praying for and

319
00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:39,200
that's what these sites are selling

320
00:11:37,519 --> 00:11:41,040
now to be clear

321
00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,360
the investigation showed that these

322
00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:45,120
sites have privacy policies that say the

323
00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,880
contents of your prayer will not be sold

324
00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,640
to third parties but the way they get

325
00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,560
around that is by creating different

326
00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,920
categories and forums to post your

327
00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:54,079
prayers in

328
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:56,399
and then by combining that with your age

329
00:11:54,079 --> 00:11:58,480
and location data they can mine a lot of

330
00:11:56,399 --> 00:11:59,200
information about you

331
00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:00,959
so

332
00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:02,320
say you post a prayer in the marriage

333
00:12:00,959 --> 00:12:03,920
category

334
00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:06,720
and then all of a sudden you see an ad

335
00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:08,399
for a divorce lawyer on facebook

336
00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,720
or a new marriage book from an author

337
00:12:08,399 --> 00:12:13,120
whose instagram post you liked once

338
00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,160
that's where it's coming from

339
00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,600
so first

340
00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,839
super shady

341
00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:19,560
the second i think it also kind of

342
00:12:17,839 --> 00:12:21,839
reveals what's broken in our

343
00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,200
conceptualization of prayer to begin

344
00:12:21,839 --> 00:12:24,720
with

345
00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,560
now obviously

346
00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,639
i don't know everyone's motivation here

347
00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:30,800
i don't have the data mining capability

348
00:12:28,639 --> 00:12:32,320
to understand all that but

349
00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,560
i would guess

350
00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,560
that at least part of the appeal behind

351
00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:38,399
these sites is the idea that to get your

352
00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:39,519
prayers answered the best way to do it

353
00:12:38,399 --> 00:12:41,519
is to get

354
00:12:39,519 --> 00:12:43,040
as many people as possible praying for

355
00:12:41,519 --> 00:12:45,600
you

356
00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:48,000
and that's a very subtle but also a very

357
00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:51,200
capitalist perspective that has worked

358
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:54,000
its way into our imagination of god and

359
00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:56,240
it's something that you see a lot of

360
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:59,040
if i want god to do what i want god to

361
00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:03,040
do the way to twist god's arm is to get

362
00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:05,519
a lot of prayer capital behind me

363
00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:07,680
and that is fundamentally a misshapen

364
00:13:05,519 --> 00:13:10,560
imagination

365
00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:12,480
a prayer is not a tool for us to shape

366
00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:17,279
god's work in the world as much as it is

367
00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:19,920
a tool that works reflexively on us

368
00:13:17,279 --> 00:13:22,959
now when jesus teaches us to pray in the

369
00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:25,360
lord's prayer which we've recited today

370
00:13:22,959 --> 00:13:28,000
it's all about how our reflection and

371
00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:31,760
our intention can align our desire and

372
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:34,480
our action with god's heart

373
00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,839
prayer is not to change god it is meant

374
00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,920
to change

375
00:13:35,839 --> 00:13:39,040
you

376
00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:40,240
okay

377
00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,560
but then what about something like

378
00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:45,120
healing should we pray for that

379
00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:47,519
well absolutely we should right

380
00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:49,440
in james we read is anyone among you

381
00:13:47,519 --> 00:13:51,920
sick let them call the elders of the

382
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:54,399
church to pray over them anoint them

383
00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:56,160
with oil in the name of the lord

384
00:13:54,399 --> 00:13:57,760
the prayer offered in faith will make

385
00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,760
the person well

386
00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:02,480
the lord will raise them up and if they

387
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,920
have sinned they will be forgiven

388
00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,160
therefore confess your sins to each

389
00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,079
other and pray for each other so that

390
00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:10,240
you may be healed

391
00:14:08,079 --> 00:14:12,880
the prayer of a righteous person is

392
00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:14,240
powerful and effective so should we pray

393
00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:17,440
for each other yes shall we pray for

394
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:19,279
healing yes should we trust that god's

395
00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:21,360
spirit is at work in the world of course

396
00:14:19,279 --> 00:14:23,600
absolutely

397
00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:27,760
but there is a lot more going on here

398
00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:29,040
than just getting what we want from god

399
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:32,800
first of all

400
00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:34,880
this idea james has of being made well

401
00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:36,480
that's literally the word for salvation

402
00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,480
that he uses

403
00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:40,639
and he makes that clear by tying it into

404
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,240
the idea of being forgiven when we pray

405
00:14:40,639 --> 00:14:44,399
for each other

406
00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:46,320
so this is actually isn't just about

407
00:14:44,399 --> 00:14:48,000
healing this isn't just about having our

408
00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,839
prayers answered the way that we want

409
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:52,560
this is actually rooted in the hebrew

410
00:14:49,839 --> 00:14:54,639
idea of shalom

411
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:57,279
being made well

412
00:14:54,639 --> 00:15:00,000
and at peace the embodiment of human

413
00:14:57,279 --> 00:15:02,160
flourishing in the world

414
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,000
now absolutely our physical health is

415
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,920
part of that

416
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:09,920
and james is acknowledging that but he's

417
00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:12,399
also expanding it at the same time

418
00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:14,720
this last phrase in the niv it says the

419
00:15:12,399 --> 00:15:16,399
prayer of a righteous person is powerful

420
00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,680
and effective but i mean that's just

421
00:15:16,399 --> 00:15:20,160
wrong

422
00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:22,399
the word powerful is ironically

423
00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:24,240
something more like effective

424
00:15:22,399 --> 00:15:26,000
it actually means it accomplishes a

425
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,519
great deal

426
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,720
and then the word effective is the word

427
00:15:27,519 --> 00:15:30,800
inergo

428
00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:33,040
except that's an adjectival participle

429
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:35,040
that modifies the word prayer

430
00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:37,360
all that means is that the sentence

431
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:39,440
should read something more like the

432
00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:42,639
working prayers of the righteous

433
00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,920
accomplish much

434
00:15:42,639 --> 00:15:46,639
in other words

435
00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:48,320
james is saying if you are sick come to

436
00:15:46,639 --> 00:15:49,920
the community for prayer because yeah we

437
00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:53,440
believe that god is active in the world

438
00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:55,440
and you might be healed but actually

439
00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:59,519
the prayers of the community will do

440
00:15:55,440 --> 00:16:01,199
more for you than you expect

441
00:15:59,519 --> 00:16:03,120
and so when you post your prayers online

442
00:16:01,199 --> 00:16:04,959
you end up with your data monetized by

443
00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:07,360
capital investment firms and when you go

444
00:16:04,959 --> 00:16:10,079
to community

445
00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:12,160
to those who know and care about you and

446
00:16:10,079 --> 00:16:14,240
you open yourself up to them not just

447
00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,399
with your needs but with your hurts and

448
00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:19,040
your failings and you trust that you

449
00:16:16,399 --> 00:16:21,040
will be loved and cared for known in the

450
00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:23,440
midst of that vulnerable moment you

451
00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:26,320
might be healed but you will

452
00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,320
be made well

453
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,839
and again

454
00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:32,320
the point of prayer isn't to manipulate

455
00:16:29,839 --> 00:16:34,839
god it's that we might be transformed by

456
00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:36,720
god's imagination for

457
00:16:34,839 --> 00:16:39,360
us

458
00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:41,759
and part of what james is arguing here

459
00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:46,160
is that healing is a gift but it's the

460
00:16:41,759 --> 00:16:48,800
very experience of beloved community

461
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:51,199
that we fall into when we open ourselves

462
00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:55,680
up to each other for prayer that's what

463
00:16:51,199 --> 00:16:55,680
we need because that is shalom

464
00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:01,839
which means that this is being made well

465
00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:04,640
because we are experiencing the kind of

466
00:17:01,839 --> 00:17:05,760
generative community that god has always

467
00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,959
known

468
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,959
within god's self

469
00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:15,120
so yeah we pray to be healed

470
00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:17,360
but more than that what we trust is that

471
00:17:15,120 --> 00:17:19,919
in shared community we are invited into

472
00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:22,400
the healing wellness the presence of the

473
00:17:19,919 --> 00:17:22,400
divine

474
00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:28,720
and in that we are made well because we

475
00:17:25,360 --> 00:17:31,200
experience the love that god

476
00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,200
is

477
00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,760
you see

478
00:17:33,039 --> 00:17:37,840
when we say that god is love

479
00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:40,640
we mean a lot more than god is loving or

480
00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:42,080
even that god loves us

481
00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:45,039
what we mean

482
00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:48,559
is that god is an endless dance of gift

483
00:17:45,039 --> 00:17:52,640
and reception give and take love alive

484
00:17:48,559 --> 00:17:52,640
from before there was time

485
00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:58,559
and that means

486
00:17:55,200 --> 00:18:01,120
that god has never been alone

487
00:17:58,559 --> 00:18:02,559
god has never felt on their own and so

488
00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:04,480
of course god's love for us would

489
00:18:02,559 --> 00:18:06,320
primarily take shape in the world in the

490
00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:10,000
ways that we embrace each other with

491
00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,000
that kind of community

492
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:15,600
human flourishing healing wellness at

493
00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:18,480
the end of the day it is modeled on the

494
00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,480
shape of god

495
00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:23,120
and this

496
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:25,200
right here is actually why discussions

497
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:27,280
of trinity are so important to

498
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,720
christianity

499
00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,880
that's why we wrestle with our language

500
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,480
and our dogma so intently but it's not

501
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,720
about gatekeeping or at least it

502
00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:35,679
shouldn't be

503
00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:37,600
because at the end of the day

504
00:18:35,679 --> 00:18:40,640
trinitarian theology is not about

505
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:42,559
getting god right it's more about making

506
00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:45,919
sure we don't miss out on any of the

507
00:18:42,559 --> 00:18:46,799
beauty of god

508
00:18:45,919 --> 00:18:48,240
so

509
00:18:46,799 --> 00:18:50,160
here's an example of how that plays out

510
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:52,160
theologically there's an old heresy

511
00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:54,160
called modalism

512
00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,640
and the best metaphor for this might be

513
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:58,720
to say that god is like water

514
00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,880
water can be a liquid and if you freeze

515
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:03,039
it god can be a solid and if you boil it

516
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:05,360
it can be a vapor so that's three

517
00:19:03,039 --> 00:19:07,520
molecules in three different realities

518
00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:08,960
just like the triune god

519
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,679
and that works except technically it's

520
00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:14,080
heresy because it assumes that god only

521
00:19:11,679 --> 00:19:17,360
acts or seems or appears in three

522
00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:18,240
different ways but isn't really triune

523
00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:20,640
now

524
00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,320
is anyone ever going to be less loved by

525
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:24,320
god for finding the metaphor of water

526
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,840
helpful or even using it in a sermon no

527
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:27,760
absolutely not that's not the point of

528
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,200
our doctrine

529
00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,720
what we're trying to protect with

530
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,640
doctrine

531
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:35,760
is the idea that god actually

532
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:38,240
is somehow a divine community of gift

533
00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:40,400
and reception

534
00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:42,000
persons in relationship not just in

535
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,640
appearance and that the nature of

536
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:48,400
everything what the universe is composed

537
00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:50,240
of is shared communal love

538
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:52,240
now hear me

539
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,760
the point of doctrine is not to decide

540
00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,360
who is right and who is wrong who's in

541
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:59,120
and who's out and i know it gets used as

542
00:19:55,360 --> 00:20:01,360
a weapon for that a lot and i'm sorry

543
00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:03,360
but the point of our theology our

544
00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:06,320
language and our doctrine is always

545
00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:08,159
simply to guide us steadily and gently

546
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:11,600
back toward the beauty of god that

547
00:20:08,159 --> 00:20:11,600
welcomes all

548
00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:15,360
and yeah sometimes we need to be pulled

549
00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,360
back in

550
00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:19,520
and sometimes we need to let go of

551
00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:21,760
overly simplistic images and narratives

552
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:23,919
about god that's what theology does for

553
00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,919
us

554
00:20:23,919 --> 00:20:28,400
but particularly when it comes to

555
00:20:25,919 --> 00:20:31,440
trinity

556
00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:34,159
doctrine should do anything but close

557
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:36,799
down our imagination it should only ever

558
00:20:34,159 --> 00:20:41,120
open us up to the expansive grace of the

559
00:20:36,799 --> 00:20:41,120
one god that is loving community

560
00:20:41,919 --> 00:20:46,799
god is the singular source of all that

561
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:49,440
is good

562
00:20:46,799 --> 00:20:53,840
and god is an eternal dance of gift and

563
00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,840
reception from before there was time

564
00:20:54,159 --> 00:21:00,640
that's what we mean when we say trinity

565
00:20:58,799 --> 00:21:02,880
in fact that's where the genesis of the

566
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,799
idea of trinity comes from

567
00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:06,640
that trinity is not an explicitly

568
00:21:04,799 --> 00:21:10,000
biblical idea

569
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:13,120
it's the product of biblical reflection

570
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:15,520
so tertullian was an african theologian

571
00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:17,679
that lived in the late second century he

572
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:20,960
was the first christian to use the latin

573
00:21:17,679 --> 00:21:22,240
term trinity to describe god

574
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:24,080
and then a couple centuries later

575
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:26,000
gregory of nazianzis one of the

576
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:28,480
cappadocian fathers

577
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,559
an eastern theologian from what today is

578
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:33,919
known as turkey gave us the first

579
00:21:30,559 --> 00:21:37,360
orthodox image of the trinity

580
00:21:33,919 --> 00:21:40,000
he coined the term perichoresis

581
00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:42,960
now he's using the greek language here

582
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:46,159
but the prefix peri means around as in

583
00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:49,039
perimeter or the measure around a circle

584
00:21:46,159 --> 00:21:51,120
and choreo is the verb to dance as in

585
00:21:49,039 --> 00:21:53,280
choreography

586
00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:55,600
so the first orthodox image of the

587
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:57,280
transcendent god so

588
00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:59,200
we have an imminent god that we see in

589
00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:02,000
history right that's goddess creator and

590
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:03,600
redeemer and sustainer or father son and

591
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,520
spirit all those images we are very

592
00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,440
familiar with the god that we know but

593
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:10,080
the first image of the orthodox

594
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,760
transcendent god who god is in god's

595
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:14,799
self

596
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:17,440
is literally the eternal dancing around

597
00:22:14,799 --> 00:22:20,000
that's it that's what we have

598
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:21,840
and that right there is why spirit is so

599
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:26,080
important to keep in mind as we point

600
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:28,080
our imagination back toward god

601
00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,600
because images as father and son are

602
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:32,000
beautiful they're so important to

603
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:34,960
christianity they help us imagine god is

604
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:37,440
close incomprehensible

605
00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:39,600
and jesus has an embodied image of god's

606
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:41,440
way in the world guides us through our

607
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,280
lives but at the same time if we let

608
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:46,159
them

609
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:49,280
very particular images of the divine can

610
00:22:46,159 --> 00:22:51,760
also close down our imagination far too

611
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,760
quickly

612
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:56,799
god is like a human god is like a man

613
00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:59,760
god is like a particular man that i've

614
00:22:56,799 --> 00:22:59,760
known in my life

615
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:05,280
and it's at that point that spirit

616
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:07,440
swoops in to lift our thinking back up

617
00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,400
to the transcendent divine that we can

618
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,039
barely

619
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:13,039
name the eternal dancing that formed the

620
00:23:11,039 --> 00:23:16,320
world in all of its complex and

621
00:23:13,039 --> 00:23:16,320
beautiful diversity

622
00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:22,559
see the point of spirit

623
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:24,400
in our theology is to bring us back to a

624
00:23:22,559 --> 00:23:26,320
pre-rational

625
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:28,559
sub-linguistic experience of the

626
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:31,440
goodness that flows through everything

627
00:23:28,559 --> 00:23:31,440
we encounter

628
00:23:32,559 --> 00:23:36,559
i've been reading oprah's new book

629
00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,000
that oprah not the other one

630
00:23:36,559 --> 00:23:40,080
it's called what happened to you

631
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,039
conversations on trauma resilience and

632
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,440
healing

633
00:23:41,039 --> 00:23:45,520
it's fantastic you should check it out

634
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,440
but it's written by oprah winfrey and dr

635
00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:49,440
bruce perry who is a psychiatrist

636
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,600
specializing in childhood trauma and

637
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,200
neuroplasticity

638
00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,640
but the book is about helping us to

639
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,080
understand the ways in which our

640
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:58,159
experiences

641
00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:01,760
particularly traumatic experiences

642
00:23:58,159 --> 00:24:04,159
hardwire themselves into our brains

643
00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:06,000
the central premise is that far too

644
00:24:04,159 --> 00:24:09,600
often we ask what's wrong with us

645
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:12,000
instead of what happened to us

646
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:13,840
and for someone who has lived an

647
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,840
incredibly privileged life it's been

648
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:17,600
eye-opening for me to see just how much

649
00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:21,279
of what i take for granted in the world

650
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:23,919
has been a profound gift i was given

651
00:24:21,279 --> 00:24:26,000
but what i'm fascinated with today

652
00:24:23,919 --> 00:24:28,240
is the way that dr perry explains how

653
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:30,080
the first two years of our lives even

654
00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,960
our experience in the womb shape our

655
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:34,880
perceptions of the world

656
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,720
as parents i think we're more aware of

657
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,799
this today

658
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,799
but still sometimes we have this idea

659
00:24:38,799 --> 00:24:42,640
that we can hide things from our kids

660
00:24:40,799 --> 00:24:44,960
until they have language to talk about

661
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:47,279
it or understand it

662
00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:49,279
like we can argue in front of them or we

663
00:24:47,279 --> 00:24:51,279
can be frustrated near them or we can

664
00:24:49,279 --> 00:24:52,240
even ignore an infant or a toddler for a

665
00:24:51,279 --> 00:24:54,880
time because they don't really

666
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:57,440
understand what's happening

667
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:59,760
but dr perry argues that actually

668
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,600
language is what helps us rationalize

669
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,440
our experiences

670
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:06,640
and it's part of what gives us a defense

671
00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:09,039
to those types of experiences

672
00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:10,960
pre-linguistic children very young

673
00:25:09,039 --> 00:25:14,159
children though they are entirely at the

674
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:16,400
mercy of those experiences

675
00:25:14,159 --> 00:25:19,039
all they have is emotion all they have

676
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:21,360
is intuition all they have is touch and

677
00:25:19,039 --> 00:25:23,440
safety and care and concern and tone and

678
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:26,000
texture and timing to shape their

679
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:28,080
perception

680
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,799
so he argues that it's those

681
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:32,799
sub-rational pre-linguistic assumptions

682
00:25:30,799 --> 00:25:36,240
about the world that most deeply shape

683
00:25:32,799 --> 00:25:36,240
who we become in the world

684
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,480
now as a parent with a two-year-old

685
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,880
that's a lot of pressure

686
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:45,120
and i feel that

687
00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:47,039
but also it's an incredible invitation

688
00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:49,279
to us

689
00:25:47,039 --> 00:25:51,600
both to rachel and i as partners in

690
00:25:49,279 --> 00:25:53,360
raising our kids to see the best in

691
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,760
themselves and assume the good that's in

692
00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:57,520
the world around them but also to learn

693
00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:00,960
to welcome this knowledge as an

694
00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:03,120
invitation to remind myself

695
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,320
that it's actually my pre-rational

696
00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:06,320
experience of the divine

697
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:11,360
the ways that i learn to give myself

698
00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:13,840
over to worship and welcome the ways i

699
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:16,559
learned to assume god's love surrounding

700
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:19,039
me always the moments when i set aside

701
00:26:16,559 --> 00:26:22,080
my intellect and my theology to swim in

702
00:26:19,039 --> 00:26:22,080
divine goodness

703
00:26:22,159 --> 00:26:26,799
that these are actually the most

704
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:28,960
formative moments of my life not the

705
00:26:26,799 --> 00:26:32,159
work that i do to study and research and

706
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:32,159
write a lot of sermons

707
00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:37,679
in other words

708
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:40,000
the experiences of god that i allow

709
00:26:37,679 --> 00:26:43,679
myself to have that will shape my

710
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,679
theology not the other way around

711
00:26:44,799 --> 00:26:50,320
or as frederick buchner once wrote

712
00:26:48,159 --> 00:26:53,200
a common view is that life itself

713
00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:55,440
whatever life is does not care one way

714
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:58,400
or another any more than the ocean cares

715
00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:01,039
about whether we swim or drown

716
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:02,799
and in all honesty and has to admit that

717
00:27:01,039 --> 00:27:04,640
a great deal of the evidence supports

718
00:27:02,799 --> 00:27:08,400
such a view but rightly or wrongly the

719
00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:10,960
christian faith flatly contradicts this

720
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,840
to say that god is spirit is to say that

721
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:12,880
life

722
00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:15,200
does

723
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:17,279
care that the life-giving power that

724
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:20,720
life itself comes from is not

725
00:27:17,279 --> 00:27:22,159
indifferent as to whether we sing

726
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,720
it wants us

727
00:27:22,159 --> 00:27:24,720
to swim

728
00:27:25,919 --> 00:27:30,240
and my hope is

729
00:27:28,399 --> 00:27:32,720
that as we begin a series of

730
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:34,960
conversations about this forgotten god

731
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:37,760
spirit that exists beneath every moment

732
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,760
of our lives

733
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:43,279
that we would be able to remember that

734
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:49,399
the god we grasp at with incomplete

735
00:27:43,279 --> 00:27:49,399
language and theology is always for us

736
00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:54,640
and that the more deeply that conviction

737
00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:56,799
can undergird our thoughts and theology

738
00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:59,360
and doctrine the more effectively that

739
00:27:56,799 --> 00:28:02,679
god can transform our experience of

740
00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:02,679
god's world

741
00:28:02,799 --> 00:28:08,880
may the eternal dance of gift and

742
00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:12,480
reception go with you this week

743
00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:14,399
may you inhale divine love

744
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,960
and then breathe out anything that

745
00:28:14,399 --> 00:28:19,520
happened to so doubt in your embrace

746
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:19,520
this week

747
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:23,679
the triune god that sits the center of

748
00:28:21,919 --> 00:28:25,760
our faith

749
00:28:23,679 --> 00:28:28,960
but also at the foundation of our

750
00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:30,960
experience of the world

751
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:33,679
he shared communal love from before

752
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:34,720
there was time extended now

753
00:28:33,679 --> 00:28:36,799
to us

754
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:39,279
and through us

755
00:28:36,799 --> 00:28:39,279
let's pray

756
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:46,960
three in one god

757
00:28:43,279 --> 00:28:49,600
who has always existed as shared love

758
00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:53,279
a dance of gift and reception give and

759
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:55,520
take a breath in and out

760
00:28:53,279 --> 00:28:57,840
may we understand that below our

761
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,840
language and theology sits this

762
00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:02,320
realization

763
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:04,080
that the universe is founded in shared

764
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:06,720
love

765
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:09,120
and that our thinking our theology our

766
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:12,159
scriptures our encounters with jesus are

767
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:14,480
based on that truth

768
00:29:12,159 --> 00:29:16,480
they are pre-rational experience of you

769
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:19,520
that we feel somewhere deep in the core

770
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:21,360
of our being in our bones

771
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:24,840
and we allow that to become the

772
00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:28,320
experience that shapes everything we

773
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:30,720
see when we talk with a person

774
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:33,440
when we imagine ourselves

775
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:36,000
when we move the world pushing toward

776
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:37,840
the kingdom and imagination you have for

777
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,399
all of us

778
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:42,080
may who you are

779
00:29:40,399 --> 00:29:44,880
before language

780
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:48,240
before time before theology

781
00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:49,919
always guide us into love

782
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:52,720
in the strong name

783
00:29:49,919 --> 00:29:55,720
of the risen christ we pray

784
00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,720
amen