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foundationalconcepts
If in twenty-five words or less you had to boil down the spiritual journey, our purpose here on earth, (and for good measure) the meaning of life...could you do it? There are probably as many ways of expressing it as there are expressors, but one good way is just to say that all three point us to the same spot: to come to know who God is--and through that knowing of ultimate reality--to come to know who we are as well. Ultimate reality is God, and God is love--a radical, unconditional, indiscriminant, and unfair love...an outrageous love that G.K. Chesterton called the "furious love" of God. The messages here are foundational in that they look at the basics of what that love is all about and what naturally keeps us from embracing it.
the gospel according to lou
dave brisbin | [07.14.02]
A dying friend's last words encapsulate the whole of the Gospel: "Love each other. Just love each other...and kid around a little." A lot about the Kingdom, law, love, and why it seems so hard to simply be characterized by contentment.
 audio [mp3] | duration: 32:35, size: 7.6 mb | text [.pdf]
taking yes for an answer
dave brisbin | 11.17.02]
A look at the original meaning of Law/Torah to the ancient Jews, and how that meaning can change our outlook on life and faith every day. Purpose of the Law, interpretation, context--God is always saying yes, why don't we accept?
audio [mp3] | duration: 39:16, size: 9.2 mb
furious love
dave brisbin | [07.13.03]
When something seems too good to be true, it probably is...we see life and God's love that way. But God's love is perfect, in fact, God is love. What does that mean? GK Chesterton described it as "furious" love--that's getting a bit closer.
audio [mp3] | duration: 33:03, size: 7.9 mb
ruthless trust
dave brisbin | [08.24.03]
Like skydivers, we've all been freefalling since birth toward death. Are we enjoying the ride? Fear measures our lack of trust in God's love, and trust is never separated from faith in Scripture. So it comes down to trust--"ruthless" trust as Brennan Manning put it.
audio [mp3] | duration: 29:42, size: 7.9 mb
serious joy
dave brisbin | [10.19.03]
theeffect of trust in God's love is serious joy. Not joy seriously, but serious joy. What does that look like? How do we know if we have it? The Desert Fathers and Mothers of the 3rd and 4th centuries give us clues in the wonderful stories of where their joy took them in their daily lives and in their prayers of rest and of the heart.
audio [mp3] | duration: 31:45, size: 7.5 mb
the narrow gate
dave brisbin | [03.21.04]
You can't speak of ocean to a well-frog, the creature of a narrower sphere...how can we break out and see more of God's unlimited horizon? What did Jesus mean by the narrow gate? We think we know, but... What does Jesus' message mean to our notions of salvation, faith, obedience? And how do our broken hearts get in the way?
audio [mp3] | duration: 39:47, size: 9.3 mb
kingdom choices, kingdom moments
dave brisbin | [07.04.04]
Looking at the past is like looking through the fat end of the telescope--it gives us a distorted view of the passage of time. There is no such thing as past or future, those concepts only exist as electrical impulses in our brains. The only thing that exists is this moment, this one right here. This moment is where we will find the Kingdom, and only here. It is our choice.
audio [mp3] | duration: 35:03, size: 8.2 mb
his master's voice
dave brisbin | [09.19.04]
Most of us spend a lot of time waiting for and trying figure out God's will for our lives. Unfortunately, we often have such deeply-held conceptions of what that will is, that we miss what God is really trying to say. Like the RCA dog, Nipper, cocking his head at the phonograph, we need to learn to recognize our Master's voice, even from unfamiliar places.
audio [mp3] | duration: 28:53, size: 6.8 mb
justice mercy, mercy justice
dave brisbin | [05.01.04]
Justice begets fear. Mercy begets self-indulgence. The only way to do justice without fear is to know God's unconditional mercy and love. And the only way to do mercy without self-indulgence is to do justly within God's perfect Law. Unconditional mercy? But what then of justice? Mercy is the balance, the other side of the scales of justice that makes it all work.
audio [mp3] | duration: 27:47, size: 6.5 mb
you had me at hello
dave brisbin | [05.29.05]
There are two types of people in the world, those who need radical change in their lives and know it, and those who need radical change and don't know it. The change, theeffect, comes with the radical understanding of God's unconditional acceptance of us. When we've completely exhausted ourselves trying to talk God into taking us back, we simply hear: you had me at hello.
audio [mp3] | duration: 42.19, size: 10 mb
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