"Building Bridges", Jeff Graf's notes

A bridge-building God

--He spoke in a known language
A “heart” language

--Began to explain the inexplicable
Answered humanity’s most fundamental questions
Is there a God, and if so, how do I relate to Him?
Why am I here, and how do I relate to the people living with me?

God’s starting points

--Story
Origins
Provision
Relationships
Sin, grace, and atonement

--Anchored firmly within the culture of the day

Kingdom Culture

--Relationship to earthly culture
Above it (Überkultur)
Vestiges remain in every earthly culture
Biblical culture and not Western or Eastern

--Three missionary goals
Find what remains of Kingdom Culture
Build a bridge from it to the Kingdom of Heaven
Give way to the Holy Spirit to work

Kingdom Culture in the Old Testament

--Ten Commandments
First four – our relationship with God
Last six – our relationship with one another

--God’s use of cultural images
Shepherd (Psalm 23)
Vineyard (Isaiah 5)
Husband (Isaiah 54:5)

--God’s use of story
Noah to illustrate saving grace by faith
Exodus to illustrate redemption from the slavery of sin
Choosing the younger over the older or the weaker over the stronger to illustrate the working of His heart

Kingdom Culture in the New Testament

--The Beatitudes

--Commonly understood cultural metaphors
A man sowing seed in a field (Matt 13:24)
A mustard seed (Matt 13:31)
A woman putting yeast into bread (Matt 13:33)
A treasure hidden in a field (Matt 13:44)
A merchant seeking fine pearls (Matt 13:45)
A fishing net (Matt 13:47)
A head of a household (Matt 13:52)

Apostolic bridges

--John 1:1, 14 God used Koine Greek / Greeks related to logos "the Word" / cultural image: "dwelt [as in a tent; tabernacled]" / related story: "beheld".

--Hebrews 1:1, 2 "prophets" (v 1) culturally accepted, anchor point; "Son" (v 2) new revelation, bridge to Kingdom culture

Bridges in Acts (Acts 1:8)

--Peter’s first sermon (Acts 2:14-36)

--Paul’s first sermon (Acts 13:16-41)

Starting points for missionaries

--Firm confidence in the Lord to be able to prayerfully follow His leading

--Know the “heart language” of the people and use it to gain new insights of how the culture operates

--Practice living using the incarnational principle

Incarnational Principle (John 1:14)

--Hard to find the term in a dictionary and confusing on the Web

--Creator of the Ends of the Earth, who took on human flesh

--An example to follow and yet much more

Living the incarnational principle

--Only Jesus did it perfectly.

--Missionaries do it partially.

Fearless failures

--Certain to fail (at least once)

--Learn and laugh

--Language acquisition
Adult mind with a toddler’s vocabulary
Donde? versus Como?

Subtle and sometimes stunning successes (1 Cor 3:7)

--Propositional bridges

--Story first with a proposition for support – Melanesian approach

--Proposition first with a story for support – Western approach

Going into the culture-to-kingdom construction business in our community

--Just modern or post-modern?

--Same approach
Learn the language
Understand the culture
Find an anchor point

--Take an apologetics class

Leave room for mystery (John 3:8)

--Fear of mystery
Lack of understanding and control
Christian abuses

--Balance theology and God’s sovereignty

Our Challenge

--Learn the language

--Learn the culture

--Be fearless failures

--Be ready to experience subtle and sometimes stunning successes

--Relate propositionally but don’t forget your story

--Leave room for the miraculous

bible reading nov 1-2

Bible reading for weekend Nov 1 -- 2 Nov 1 -- Hosea 7 and Psalms 120-122 Nov 2 -- Hosea 8 and Psalms 123-125 ================ "Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing." (Hosea 8:12) THE RESULTS OF SIN (ch 7-8). Notice the words and metaphors to describe Israel's sinful condition: they are surrounded with, and proud of, their evil (7:1-3); like adulterers in the heat of passion (7:4-5); their anger is like a hot oven (7:6-7); they are like a half-cooked (one side only) cake (7:8); their strength is gone (7:9); they are like silly doves easily trapped (7:11-12); they are undependable like a warped bow (7:16). In spite of all of this they are so proud of themselves! (We might say they have a strong self-esteem.) They have spurned what is good (8:3); they sow to the wind and have no real fruit (8:7); they are a useless vessel (8:8) and a wild donkey wandering alone (8:9); they regard God's law as a strange thing

bible reading dec 3-5

Bible reading for weekend December 3 -- 5 Dec 3 -- Nahum 1 and Luke 17 Dec 4 -- Nahum 2 and Luke 18 Dec 5 -- Nahum 3 and Luke 19 ================ "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness." (Nahum 1:7-8) TIME'S UP FOR NINEVEH (Nah 1-3). The prophecy of Nahum is God's word to the people of Nineveh, part two. Jonah was part one, chronicling a city-wide repentance of Assyrians in the capital about a hundred years earlier. The closing bookend is Nahum, and the Assyrian empire is big, powerful, and aggressive. Notice the references to chariots (2:3-4, 13; 3:2). The Assyrians were a militarily advanced culture, and cruel in their warfare. Whatever spiritual receptivity they had at the time of Jonah was gone by the time of Nahum. Nahum may not have actually visited Nineveh, for it seems the book was w

bible reading dec 13-14

Bible reading for December 13 -- 14 Dec 13 -- Haggai 2 and John 3 Dec 14 -- Zechariah 1 and John 4 ================ "Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts..." (Haggai 2:4) THE LATTER GLORY (Haggai 2). The Jews, having returned from Babylonian exile, must get to work and finish rebuilding the temple. For this reason, the post-exilic period is called the "second temple" period. King Herod would later enlarge and add many embellishments to the site. But the beginnings in Haggai are so modest compared to the temple originally built by Solomon, and the people were discouraged. The Lord asks, "Is it not as nothing in your eyes?" (v 3) He tells them that they are to be strong and to keep working, for he is with them, no matter how humble the project may seem. This principle applies to us, as well (Matt 28:20; Eph 6:10). We should not become disheartened at the smallness of the return on our

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