Welcome to The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: A Discussion Series on the Seven Churches in Revelation.

Here is an overview of the next seven weeks:

Week 1: Rev. 2:1-7 Ephesus: 1st Love
Week 2: Rev. 2:8-11 Smyrna: Faith Death
Week 3: Rev. 2:12-17 Pergamum: Nasty Idol Food
Week 4: Rev. 2:18-29 Thyatira: Jezebel, you !@$%*
Week 5: Rev. 3:1-6 Sardis: WAKE UP!
Week 6: Rev. 3:7-13 Philadelphia: Patient Endurance
Week 7: Rev. 3:14-22 Laodicea: Spit

Enjoy the discussions. I will be posting the text for this week right now.

Hey everyone:

Hope your Easter is going well!  We have made a few changes and I just wanted to point them out.

We now have a calendar up showing all of the major events happening @ Th3 Waters! This will be a one stop shop to find out the events coming up with Th3 Waters and allow you to put them all on your calendars and to be able to attend!

To go tot he Calendar page just click on the word, “Calendar” over there on the right —–>

or you can just go directly to the page via this link.

There is tons of stuff coming up in April.. so be sure to check it out!

Have a great week and please do not forget to bless at least three people this week, and think about who you will bless and what you will do to bless them before hand.. it usually makes the blessing more meaningful that just a random act of kindness! Thanks and God bless yall!

The Jesus for President tour is coming to Cincinnati….. I promise… this one will be full of conversation and discussion…here is a little info on it:

Jesus for President

Shane Claiborne, Chris Haw
And Friends

A different kind of campaign.
A different kind of party.
A different kind of Commander in Chief.

NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AND FROM BOOKSTORES EVERYWHERE

»Teaching, storytelling, art, music, and liturgy to provoke the political imagination.

»Turn off the TV, pick up the bible and join the revolution of political misfits and cultural refugees.

»Politics for Ordinary Radicals

Shane and friends will be here June 25th Starting @ 7:00 pm… the location is yet to be known, but Please put this down on your calendars now… you will not be disappointed. (at least I don’t think you will, heh)

Hey everyone:

here is this week’s text for discussion:

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”

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9 Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

20 This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.

21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;

23 the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you. ^[a]

27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up ^[b] to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 118:26 The Hebrew is plural.
2. Psalm 118:27 Or Bind the festal sacrifice with ropes / and take it

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Matthew 21:1-11

1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5“Say to the Daughter of Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ “^[a]

6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna^[b] to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[c]
“Hosanna^[d] in the highest!”

10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 21:5 Zech. 9:9
2. Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
3. Matthew 21:9 Psalm 118:26
4. Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15

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Well, God bless yall, and have a great week!

There are multiple videos in this article, but please go read it and watch the videos and let the discussion begin:

Is There Life After Life?

“The question of heaven, the question of what happens after death, is one which a lot of people in our culture try to put off as long as they can, but sooner or later it suddenly swings round and looks them in the eye,” said Bishop Tom Wright.

Believers and unbelievers have strong views about what happens when you die. For centuries, Christians have believed that their destiny after death is heaven: a spiritual place where they — along with a myriad of angels, — sing praises to God for eternity. But is it possible that Christians may have gotten that part of their faith badly wrong?

Wright, who is based in the North of England, is one of the world’s foremost theologians, teaching at a range of universities from Oxford to Harvard. The author of the new book “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church,” Wright says that many of us started thinking seriously about heaven only after we got a glimpse of hell.

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I hope that was enough to wet your taste buds… please read it and watch it and stir up some conversation. God bless yall!

If you do not know it, I love N.T. Wright! He is an amazing scholar, Theologian, and author! And if there is a living theologian that I agree with most often (when I can read his writtings 3-4 times to understand what he is saying, heh….then I agree and “get it”.

And this time he explains in a new book what Heaven is really like.

So here is an interview to wet your whistle, who knows maybe even get some discussion going here on the blog… Here is the link to the article…and a little bit to get you interested enough to click the link:

Christians Wrong About Heaven, Says Bishop

(a TIME article interview by: DAVID VAN BIEMA

TIME: At one point you call the common view of heaven a “distortion and serious diminution of Christian hope.”

Wright: It really is. I’ve often heard people say, “I’m going to heaven soon, and I won’t need this stupid body there, thank goodness.’ That’s a very damaging distortion, all the more so for being unintentional.

TIME: How so? It seems like a typical sentiment.

Wright: There are several important respects in which it’s unsupported by the New Testament. First, the timing. In the Bible we are told that you die, and enter an intermediate state. St. Paul is very clear that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead already, but that nobody else has yet. Secondly, our physical state. The New Testament says that when Christ does return, the dead will experience a whole new life: not just our soul, but our bodies. And finally, the location. At no point do the resurrection narratives in the four Gospels say, “Jesus has been raised, therefore we are all going to heaven.” It says that Christ is coming here, to join together the heavens and the Earth in an act of new creation.

TIME: But it’s not where the real action is, so to speak?

Wright: No. Our culture is very interested in life after death, but the New Testament is much more interested in what I’ve called the life after life after death — in the ultimate resurrection into the new heavens and the new Earth. Jesus’ resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon his return. Part of this will be the resurrection of all the dead, who will “awake,” be embodied and participate in the renewal. John Polkinghorne, a physicist and a priest, has put it this way: “God will download our software onto his hardware until the time he gives us new hardware to run the software again for ourselves.” That gets to two things nicely: that the period after death is a period when we are in God’s presence but not active in our own bodies, and also that the more important transformation will be when we are again embodied and administering Christ’s kingdom.

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OK so what do you think? leave a comment of two below…let us know…. KUTPs!!!

Via Crucis :: Immersion

Via Crucis :: Immersion 2008 intro letter (pdf)

You are invited.

Via Crucis :: Immersion is an experiential Stations of the Cross. Via Crucis is based on the 14 Stations of the Cross … remixed. Our expression of this ancient Christian practice will be multi-sensory,multi-denominational, multi-layered, and multi-media. Via Crucis :: Immersion is a pilgrimage. A journey into the heart of God. It is an immersion into the suffering of Jesus and a discovery of our own brokenness. It is Christ’s passion.

We have already given our desire to produce one of the stations of the Cross booths, so if you would like to help with this then please let D.G. know! Thanks!

Th3 Waters’ travel video!

Enjoy! And thanks Court!

Saw this funny video from a friend thought I would share it here. Enjoy…