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WE BELIEVE WHAT REALLY MATTERS TO US AND WHY Fall 2016 Sermon Series | EvergreenLA

God Speaks through Experience

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Page 1: God Speaks through Experience

WE BELIEVEWHAT REALLY MATTERS TO US AND WHY

Fall 2016 Sermon Series | EvergreenLA

Page 2: God Speaks through Experience

WE BELIEVE | EBCLA FALL 2016 SERMON SERIES

GOD SPEAKS THROUGH

SCRIPTURE TRADITION

Page 3: God Speaks through Experience

GOD ALSO SPEAKS THROUGH

EXPERIENCE

WE BELIEVE

Page 4: God Speaks through Experience
Page 5: God Speaks through Experience

SCRIPTURE

TRUTH

REASON

The Wesleyan QuadrilateralA NEW LOOK AT

TRADITION

EXPERIENCE

Page 6: God Speaks through Experience

“SCRIPTURE AS VALIDATED BY EXPERIENCE, AND EXPERIENCE AS VALIDATED BY TRADITION ARE GOOD SCALES FOR ONE’S SPIRITUAL WORLD VIEW.”

Fr. Richard Rohr

WHAT WEIGHT DO WE GIVE TO SCRIPTURE, TRADITION, AND EXPERIENCE?

Page 7: God Speaks through Experience

ExperienceScripture

Tradition

“Catholics claim to be the Tradition people and Protestants claim to be the Scripture people. This is only half-true and results in a dualistic food fight. [If our methodology for discerning Truth is a tricycle], the front wheel is Experience, because I think it wins out anyway, even though we don’t admit it.“ (Rohr)

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ExperienceScripture

Tradition

“Your cultural/personal experience, and how you perceive reality is going to determine what you pay attention to in Scripture and what you don’t pay attention to, and what you do or don’t pay attention to in Tradition. We’ve got to reveal this bias we’re all working with, and it seems that God is willing to work with it. How else could God work? God’s got to work through our experience.” (Rohr)

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EXAMPLESExperience Tradition

Scripture

THREE

Page 10: God Speaks through Experience

EXAMPLEExperience Tradition

Scripture

FIRST

Page 11: God Speaks through Experience

TRADITION

JOHN 9:1 AS JESUS WENT ALONG, HE SAW A MAN WHO WAS BLIND. HE HAD BEEN BLIND SINCE HE WAS BORN. 2 JESUS’ DISCIPLES ASKED HIM, “RABBI, WHO SINNED? WAS THIS MAN BORN BLIND BECAUSE HE SINNED? OR DID HIS PARENTS SIN?”

Page 12: God Speaks through Experience

JOHN 9:3 “IT ISN’T BECAUSE THIS MAN SINNED,” SAID JESUS. “IT ISN’T BECAUSE HIS PARENTS SINNED. HE WAS BORN BLIND SO THAT GOD’S POWER COULD BE SHOWN BY WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. 4 WHILE IT IS STILL DAY, WE MUST DO THE WORKS OF THE ONE WHO SENT ME. NIGHT IS COMING. THEN NO ONE CAN WORK. 5 WHILE I AM IN THE WORLD, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”

TRADITION

Page 13: God Speaks through Experience

JOHN 9:6 AFTER HE SAID THIS, HE SPIT ON THE GROUND. HE MADE SOME MUD WITH THE SPIT. THEN HE PUT THE MUD ON THE MAN’S EYES. 7 “GO,” HE TOLD HIM. “WASH IN THE POOL OF SILOAM.” SILOAM MEANS SENT. SO THE MAN WENT AND WASHED. AND HE CAME HOME ABLE TO SEE.

TRADITION

Page 14: God Speaks through Experience

JOHN 9:13 THEY BROUGHT TO THE PHARISEES THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN BLIND. 14 THE DAY JESUS MADE THE MUD AND OPENED THE MAN’S EYES WAS A SABBATH DAY. 15 SO THE PHARISEES ALSO ASKED HIM HOW HE WAS ABLE TO SEE. “HE PUT MUD ON MY EYES,” THE MAN REPLIED. “THEN I WASHED. AND NOW I CAN SEE.”

TRADITION

Page 15: God Speaks through Experience

JOHN 9:16 SOME OF THE PHARISEES SAID, “JESUS HAS NOT COME FROM GOD. HE DOES NOT KEEP THE SABBATH DAY.”

BUT OTHERS ASKED, “HOW CAN A SINNER DO SUCH SIGNS?” SO THE PHARISEES DID NOT AGREE WITH ONE ANOTHER.

TRADITION

Page 16: God Speaks through Experience

JOHN 9:24 AGAIN THE PHARISEES CALLED THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN BLIND TO COME TO THEM. “GIVE GLORY TO GOD BY TELLING THE TRUTH!” THEY SAID. “WE KNOW THAT THE MAN WHO HEALED YOU IS A SINNER.”

25 HE REPLIED, “I DON’T KNOW IF HE IS A SINNER OR NOT. I DO KNOW ONE THING. I WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I CAN SEE!”

TRADITION

Page 17: God Speaks through Experience

JOHN 9:28 THEN THEY BEGAN TO ATTACK HIM WITH THEIR WORDS. “YOU ARE THIS FELLOW’S DISCIPLE!” THEY SAID. “WE ARE DISCIPLES OF MOSES! 29 WE KNOW THAT GOD SPOKE TO MOSES. BUT WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE THIS FELLOW COMES FROM.”

TRADITION

Page 18: God Speaks through Experience

JOHN 9:30 THE MAN ANSWERED, “THAT IS REALLY SURPRISING! YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE HE COMES FROM, AND YET HE OPENED MY EYES. 31 WE KNOW THAT GOD DOES NOT LISTEN TO SINNERS. HE LISTENS TO THE GODLY PERSON WHO DOES WHAT HE WANTS THEM TO DO. 32 NOBODY HAS EVER HEARD OF ANYONE OPENING THE EYES OF A PERSON BORN BLIND. 33 IF THIS MAN HAD NOT COME FROM GOD, HE COULD DO NOTHING.”

TRADITION

Page 19: God Speaks through Experience

JOHN 9:34 THEN THE PHARISEES REPLIED, “WHEN YOU WERE BORN, YOU WERE ALREADY DEEP IN SIN. HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT TO US!” AND THEY THREW HIM OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE.

TRADITION

Page 20: God Speaks through Experience

WHAT DO OUR EXPERIENCES TODAY TEACH US ABOUT WHY SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT JUST BORN BLIND, BUT NOT EXACTLY THE SAME AS OTHER PEOPLE?

•SOME STICK WITH TRADITIONAL THINKING

•CHANGE THINKING BASED ON EXPERIENCE (AND REASON)

TRADITION

Page 21: God Speaks through Experience

EXAMPLEExperience Tradition

Scripture

SECOND

Page 22: God Speaks through Experience

ACTS 10:9 PETER WENT UP ON THE ROOF TO PRAY. 10 HE BECAME HUNGRY. HE WANTED SOMETHING TO EAT. WHILE THE MEAL WAS BEING PREPARED, PETER HAD A VISION. 11 HE SAW HEAVEN OPEN UP. THERE HE SAW SOMETHING THAT LOOKED LIKE A LARGE SHEET. IT WAS BEING LET DOWN TO EARTH BY ITS FOUR CORNERS. 12 IT HAD ALL KINDS OF FOUR-FOOTED ANIMALS IN IT. IT ALSO HAD REPTILES AND BIRDS IN IT. 13 THEN A VOICE TOLD HIM, “GET UP, PETER. KILL AND EAT.”

SCRIPTURE

Page 23: God Speaks through Experience

ACTS 10:14 “NO, LORD! I WILL NOT!” PETER REPLIED. “I HAVE NEVER EATEN ANYTHING THAT IS NOT PURE AND ‘CLEAN.’ ” 15 THE VOICE SPOKE TO HIM A SECOND TIME. IT SAID, “DO NOT SAY ANYTHING IS NOT PURE THAT GOD HAS MADE ‘CLEAN.’ ” 16 THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES. RIGHT AWAY THE SHEET WAS TAKEN BACK UP TO HEAVEN.

SCRIPTURE

Page 24: God Speaks through Experience

ACTS 10:17 PETER WAS WONDERING WHAT THE VISION MEANT. AT THAT VERY MOMENT THE MEN SENT BY CORNELIUS FOUND SIMON’S HOUSE. THEY STOPPED AT THE GATE 18 AND CALLED OUT. THEY ASKED IF SIMON PETER WAS STAYING THERE.

SCRIPTURE

Page 25: God Speaks through Experience

ACTS 10:19 PETER WAS STILL THINKING ABOUT THE VISION. THE HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE TO HIM. “SIMON,” HE SAID, “THREE MEN ARE LOOKING FOR YOU. 20 GET UP AND GO DOWNSTAIRS. DON’T LET ANYTHING KEEP YOU FROM GOING WITH THEM. I HAVE SENT THEM.”

21 PETER WENT DOWN AND SPOKE TO THE MEN. “I’M THE ONE YOU’RE LOOKING FOR,” HE SAID. “WHY HAVE YOU COME?”

SCRIPTURE

Page 26: God Speaks through Experience

ACTS 10:23 THE NEXT DAY PETER WENT WITH THE THREE MEN. SOME OF THE BELIEVERS FROM JOPPA WENT ALONG. 24 THE FOLLOWING DAY HE ARRIVED IN CAESAREA. CORNELIUS WAS EXPECTING THEM. HE HAD CALLED TOGETHER HIS RELATIVES AND CLOSE FRIENDS. 25 WHEN PETER ENTERED THE HOUSE, CORNELIUS MET HIM. AS A SIGN OF RESPECT, HE FELL AT PETER’S FEET. 26 BUT PETER MADE HIM GET UP. “STAND UP,” HE SAID. “I AM ONLY A MAN MYSELF.”

SCRIPTURE

Page 27: God Speaks through Experience

ACTS 10:44 WHILE PETER WAS STILL SPEAKING, THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME ON ALL WHO HEARD THE MESSAGE. 45 SOME JEWISH BELIEVERS HAD COME WITH PETER. THEY WERE AMAZED BECAUSE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD BEEN POURED OUT EVEN ON THE GENTILES. 46 THEY HEARD THEM SPEAKING IN LANGUAGES THEY HAD NOT KNOWN BEFORE. THEY ALSO HEARD THEM PRAISING GOD.

SCRIPTURE

Page 28: God Speaks through Experience

ACTS 10 THEN PETER SAID, 47 “SURELY NO ONE CAN KEEP THESE PEOPLE FROM BEING BAPTIZED WITH WATER. THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT JUST AS WE HAVE.” 48 SO HE ORDERED THAT THEY BE BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.

SCRIPTURE

Page 29: God Speaks through Experience

WHEN HAS ONLY EMBRACING SCRIPTURAL TRUTH OR TRADITIONAL TRUTH AND IGNORING EXPERIENTIAL TRUTH PROVEN TO BE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE?

Page 30: God Speaks through Experience

EXPERIENTIAL TRUTH HAS THE POWER TO CORRECT DISTORTIONS OF SCRIPTURAL & TRADITIONAL TRUTH

OUR HUMBLING AND EVEN HORRIFIC CHRISTIAN HISTORY

First Century Anti-Semitism

Atrocity of the Holocaust

XWOMEN CAN’T SPEAK OR LEAD

Women Can’t Speak or Lead

True in Many Churches Today

White Christian Privilege & Supremacy

Invade, Enslave, Rape, Kill, Subdue & Steal in name of Christ

Page 31: God Speaks through Experience

“POLITICAL FIGURES, MILITARY LEADERS, AND RISING DEMAGOGUES CONSISTENTLY CONSOLIDATE POWER BY SCAPEGOATING AND DEHUMANIZING AN OUTSIDER, AN OUTCAST, OR AN ENEMY…”

Brian D. Mclaren

FROM “THE GREAT SPIRITUAL MIGRATION” (2016)

Page 32: God Speaks through Experience

“BUT CHRISTIAN LOVE RESISTS THEIR AGENDA BY HUMANIZING ‘THE OTHER’ SO THAT WE SEE ALL PEOPLE AS BROTHERS, SISTERS, NEIGHBORS, LOVING THEM AS OURSELVES, STANDING WITH THEM IN SOLIDARITY.”

Brian D. Mclaren

FROM “THE GREAT SPIRITUAL MIGRATION” (2016)

Page 33: God Speaks through Experience

REAL EXPERIENCES WITH REAL PEOPLE

Page 34: God Speaks through Experience

EXAMPLEExperience Tradition

Scripture

THIRD

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CAN A GAY PERSON BE A CHRISTIAN?

ADDING EXPERIENCES TO SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION