Ridin' the Wave -- Jason Brown

Ridin' the Wave -- Jason Brown

I was thinking a lot about Bill's sermon on Sunday.  Is it mundane news (old, boring, lacking novelty) or good news that Kingdom of God came near in Jesus?  For Jesus, this was good news.   The time of waiting had now been fulfilled and the messiah had arrived . . . and with him the very presence of heaven.  The wave was breaking and has been breaking in the 2,000 years since his birth.  God is on the move -- really.  He's here.  He's at work.  He's doing stuff today!  He's bringing the joy, healing and lifestyle of heaven to this planet now.  We've been praying "May your Kingdom come and your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven" for a long time and, guess what, God has been listening to that prayer.  This is exciting.

But, I have to be honest with you.  It is easy for me to lose this perspective.  In the chronos moments of my day, it doesn't feel as if I'm riding the wave of Holy Spirit.  Apparently there is some repenting and believing for Jason Brown to do -- at least that is what Jesus suggests is the key to riding the wave.  And when I say repenting, I don't think it has anything to do with discontinuing doing naughty stuff.  My suspicion is that the repenting I have to do is much deeper and less obvious than that.  

So, I'm going to be in the gospel of Mark this summer with many of you, looking for what it means to repent and being wide open to how Jesus and the story told in Mark defines repentance.   I'm hoping many of you join in on this journey -- not because it's the right Christian thing to do, but so that we can learn how to be better surfers.  My guess is that most of you reading this want more than anything else to jump on board with what God is doing.

Looking forward to reading your posts

5 comments (Add your own)

1. Bill White wrote:
Thanks for the blog, Jason. I am so excited about the Mark Study this summer - I can't think of a better way to deeply connect to Jesus than to be in the gospels with a group of people trying to follow this wild messiah. I hope everyone joins in and rides the wave.

Here's the video that was shown on sunday, if anyone is interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlPqL7IUT6M&feature=related

Mon, June 1, 2009 @ 9:31 AM

2. Ron wrote:
I missed the surf stuff as I was at noon service but Pastor Martin did a good job of showing us that without the Holy Spirit at work in our heart, everything you do in life is pretty much meaningless. I plan on going to the Mark series as much as I can with my kids and look forward to all of us growing.

Tue, June 2, 2009 @ 5:41 AM

3. Jason Brown wrote:
Thanks to Ron for reminding me/us of the fact that another one of our pastors preached at the noon service and that the surf analogy wasn't part of Pastor Martin's sermon. We had 750 people crammed into the sanctuary/fellowship hall for Super Salsa Sunday. I give thanks for Pastor Martin's message, the worship and the diverse body of Christ that revealed the glory of God on Sunday.

Tue, June 2, 2009 @ 6:00 AM

4. Greg Wallace Dolmage wrote:
I'm on board for anything that will make me a better surfer.

The most interesting thing to me about repentance is that it is not just about stopping bad behavior. It is about turning from what is life draining to what is life giving. Ultimately repentance is not repentance unless we have turned our lives to God. Seems like going through this Bible study is a great start for anyone's journey to repentance.

Tue, June 2, 2009 @ 8:11 AM

5. Cindy wrote:
This Sunday’s message has stuck with me all week. The idea of "chronos" vs. "kairos" took on a personal meaning this morning with my roommate over coffee. I was telling her about a normal lunch I had with a friend a couple of years back. Since that friend passed away, even a mundane lunch has gone from a "chronos" lunch into a "kairos" lunch in light of the fact that I can no longer share those times. In fact, every memory I have now holds that deep "kairos" feeling. As I thought about this as the day went on, I realized that even coffee with my roommate this morning was a "kairos" moment because she too is a close friend, a person made in God’s image, and extremely valuable.
I think repentance for me this week is about MAKING "chronos" moments "kairos" moments by paying attention to where God is in the moment. I need to forget my to-do list, fight off distractions, and pay full attention to the other person, recognizing that my time with them is a gift! That is one thing I have noticed and loved about Emmanuel; everyone stops and greets you and never seems too busy to pass on a hug or a hello – it’s rare in our culture…

Thu, June 4, 2009 @ 9:30 PM

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