Archive for the ‘By Bill Winn’ Category
The Father Loves And Likes You Fest – 2017 Videos
Filed under: Ascension of Jesus, Bible, By Ann Vinson, by Anthony Mullins, By Bill Winn, By Calvin Simon, By Richard Andrews, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Church, Faith, God Father Son and Spirit, Good News Festival, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Inclusion, Love, Ministry, On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, Relationships, Sermons, Song, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Father Loves and Like You Fest, The Gospel Project, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Worship | Tags: Fest 2017, Holiday Inn Oceanfront, Ocean City, The Father Loves and Likes You Fest, The Father Loves and Likes You Fest 2017
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www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILC4-exBRb8Lqol6QVwTRo2Z6Mk8dWh
All Videos for The Father Loves And Likes You Fest 2017 are now available to watch on YouTube!
Theme: “Sharing In The Overflow” – John 7:37-39
“It was clear to us what God’s WORD was to us and that is – I’ve redeemed you – and I am going to redeem you! It’s OK…and You don’t have to be afraid to be vulnerable, because I have redeemed that, and I am with you now to see things restored and reconciled…..and there are ways for us to begin to participate as he shares the Spirit with us, so, really, we have nothing but a reason to say THANK YOU to God, and in the Psalms it says – ‘Clap your Hands’” – TJBrassell
The Father Loves And Likes You Fest 2017!
Filed under: Bible, By Ann Vinson, by Anthony Mullins, By Bill Winn, By Calvin Simon, By Richard Andrews, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Church, Faith, God Father Son and Spirit, God the Trinity, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Humor, Inclusion, Love, Ministry, On Mission with Christ, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Prayer, Relationships, Sermons, Song, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Gospel Project, The Plan of Adoption, Timothy Brassell, Trinity, Uncategorized, union, Union In Christ, Union with Christ, Witness, Worship | Tags: Fest 2017, Holiday Inn Oceanfront, Ocean City, The Father Loves and Likes You Fest, The Father Loves and Likes You Fest 2017
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Thursday, October 12th Good News Event
Opening Good News Message: GCI National Intern Development Coordinator Anthony Mullins
“Contentment And The Big Ask!”
Part1a: 25min
Part 1b: 28min
Full Message: 53min
Friday, October 13th Good News Events
Introduction to Break-Out Sessions and Prayer – 5 min
Pastor Timothy Brassell – Lead Pastor GCI Baltimore MD.
- Session 1) Anthony Mullins – GCI National Intern Development Coordinator
“Life Together: The Overflow Of Community!” – 50min
- Session 2) Timothy Brassell – Lead Pastor GCI Baltimore, MD.
“Discerning The Signs Of Our Current GCI Times!” – 65min
- Session 3) Bill Winn – Lead Pastor GCI Richmond, VA.
“Participating In Jesus’ Generosity!” – 38min
Evening Good News Messages
- 1) Ann Vinson – Pastor GCI Baltimore MD.
“Are You Overflowing With The Holy Spirit?”
John 7: 37- 39 – 39min
- 2) Richard Andrews – Pastor GCI Baltimore MD.
“It’s Good News: Jesus Is Life!” John 6- 63 – 32min
Saturday, October 14th Good News Messages
- 1) Calvin Simon – Lead Pastor GCI Norfolk, VA.
“Jesus Is All We Need Despite Our Feelings!” Matthew 11: 27-30 NIV – 28min
- 2) Bill Winn: Lead Pastor GCI Richmond, VA.
“Can You Here Me?” – 30min
Sunday, October 15th Concluding Good News Message
Timothy Brassell: Lead Pastor GCI Baltimore, MD.
“Return to Jesus – Your Pastor and Guardian!”
Part 1a: 36min
Part 1b: 44min
Full Message: 80min
God’s Word To Us Going Forward – 34sec
“https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/gods-word-to-us-t-brassell.mp3”
“It was clear to us what God’s WORD was to us and that is – I’ve redeemed you! and I am going to redeem you! It’s OK…and You don’t have to be afraid to be vulnerable because I have redeemed that and I am with you now to see things restored and reconciled…..and there are ways for us to begin to participate as he shares the Spirit with us so really we have nothing but a reason to say THANK YOU to God, and in the Psalms it says – ‘Clap your Hands'” – TJBrassell
BEing.
Filed under: By Bill Winn, Christian Living, Church, Evangelism, Faith, Inclusion, Love, Participation with Jesus, Perichoresis, Relationships, Uncategorized | Tags: being, birdie, Faith, golf, Jesus, participate
Comments (1) I like to play golf. I’m not very good at it. I’m fairly good at it, just not very good. My best friend is very good at it. I, however, just enjoy being outside, fellowshipping with others, and the occasional score under 90.
Last summer I began to believe that I possessed the physical, mental, and emotional abilities necessary to improve my game. One of the things I have done is take golf lessons. I have a coach named Adam who is very knowledgeable and helpful.
A few Saturdays ago, in lieu of a lesson, we went out and played a few holes together. The idea was for Adam to be able to take a look at my whole game. Instead of just working on short irons, driver, chipping, or putting he was going to evaluate a variety of my shots on every hole.
When I arrived that day on the course Adam said, “Hey do you want a lesson today or do you want to go play a few?” “No contest.”, I thought. So we headed over to the first tee. When we stepped onto the tee box Adam informed me that he was going to hit all of my shots for me. I would just stand by and watch.
Ha ha! No, that last bit isn’t true at all. Adam did not hit all my shots for me. What kind of instructor would he be if he just did it all for me? I had to participate in my learning to be
Brookwoods G.C. Hole 11, Par 3, 173 yards. (yep… I made the birdie putt)
a golfer. While it is very exciting to see a good golfer hit the ball a foot from the cup from 180 yards away, it is even more exciting when, through hours of practice and thousands of range balls, you do it yourself. (See pic)
The Father, Son, and Spirit have included the human race in their life of love, fellowship, goodness, mercy, justice, laughter, dancing, and mutual other-centeredness and love us so much that we are called to believe and respond to that inclusion. Peter said, that because our sins have been forgiven we are called to respond.
The whole of humanity are the children of God and we are called to believe that we are the children of God and so grow into the fullness of what it means to be His children. We are called to participate, not in any way that creates our reconciliation or redemption, but we are called to participate as children of God so that (as Dr. C. Baxter Kruger says), “the way of our being aligns with the truth of our being.”
Every analogy concocted fails the greatness and profound mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but in my limited capacity let me say this. Jesus is the great I AM who believes perfectly on our behalf so that in him we might have our own true personhood and distinction. This is why he sends the Spirit. We are not him and he is not us, but by the Spirit we get to participate in His humanity! We are really us! We matter and God will have us truly be his children in love, in laughter, in relationships, in giving, in sharing, in altruistic action, in faithfulness, and in every aspect of our lives!
In the very Person and Being of Jesus, your humanity is saved, adopted, included, and you are God’s beloved child. Therefor; in his grace, and by the Spirit, will you be His saved, adopted and included child, responding in relationship to Him; responding to other human beings the way he does?
~Bill Winn
Wingnuts Must Be Wingnuts!
Filed under: By Bill Winn, Christian Living, Church, Evangelism, Faith, Gospel, Humor, Love, Ministry, Participation with Christ, Participation with Jesus, Uncategorized | Tags: anarchy, Believe, blessings, Inclusion, life, one way, wingnut house
Comments (2) Wingnuts Must Be Wingnuts!
Last year a couple of close friends of ours told us about an anarchist’s house in Richmond called the Wingnut House. As one might imagine, I was curious. I had to see it. The more we learned about the house the more I wanted to see it.
The Wingnut house was a large home in the Barton Heights area of Richmond. It was an anarchist collective. The folks there believed in a variety of things… such as mutual aid, anti-authoritarianism, and direct action. The house was generally open to the public, it was a drug-free/ alcohol-free place where food, live music, community, and, I’m sure, spirited debate were in ample supply.
At the core of anarchism is the belief that the governments of mankind are illegitimate and bring mostly oppression, poverty, and violence. There are actually a few tenets of anarchism that, I think, have a ring of truth about them. But anyway on with the story… you’re gonna love this.
So our friends got in the church van with us and began showing us the way to the Wingnut House. I was excited! So as we pulled alongside the house what struck us was that large portions of the house were covered in expertly painted murals containing various themes and messages relating to the care of humanity and anti-authoritarianism. On the front of the house there was said to be a mural dedicated to people killed by the State and I wanted to see it but there was a one-way street in front of the house and I didn’t want to drive all the way around the block so… yep you guessed it.
I thought, “What the heck, it’s an anarchy house so we’ll “stick it to the man” and drive the wrong way down the one-way street. (Since there was nothing coming in this quiet neighborhood) So picture it, we’re in the Richmond Grace church van, going the wrong way down a one-way street just to see a mural painted on an Anarchist Collective house called- The Wingnut. It is one of my favorite memories.
What happened next shocked me. (No we didn’t get pulled over by the police, that would not have shocked me) There were about a dozen or so people sitting on the front porch and steps of the house and as we passed by some began to shout at us that we were going the wrong way!
Can you believe it? The anarchists were upset that we were going against the signs put up by man-made governments. I began to laugh and then it hit me and I thought, “Be what you are.”
I must confess as we passed by the house going against the designated flow of traffic I was eager to receive accolades from the anarchists. I awaited my fist pumps and upward turned thumbs but… it didn’t happen. I’m not sure why my “anarchy” wasn’t celebrated but it got me thinking.
Do we, as believers, sometimes find ourselves unwilling to celebrate the achievements and freedoms of those who might not think and believe as we do? I catch myself sometimes grumbling to the Father, Son, and Spirit about the blessings and successes of those around me who don’t give nearly as much time, energy, and resources to the life of the Church, who perhaps don’t give God a second thought, and maybe don’t even believe there is a God.
As a Gospel preacher I know that “Jesus gives life and breath and all things to all mortals” (Acts 17:25) Notice that Paul distinguishes life from breath. The Greek word for life is zoe, meaning spiritual life. Yes Trinity and Humanity reader… Jesus gives you life with His Father in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and he gives it to your Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, or Muslim neighbor. The difference is, that when we begin to see and believe, our minds are transformed and we begin to recognize that Jesus is truly at the center of everything we do. It’s a Gospel fact, but much of the prevailing thought in our day would have us believe otherwise. Believing the Gospel in the world might just be a little like going the wrong way on a one-way street.
So our mission, as those who believe and especially at Trinity and Humanity, is to inform and educate every person in the world that they have been included in the Triune Life of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Whether that message is popular or widely accepted is only an indication of how much work there is for us to do as “Gospel educators.” Sometimes, to get the message out, it’s okay to go against the flow of traffic or be called a nut… I’ve been called worse.
~Bill Winn
Colorblind? How Do We See?
Filed under: By Bill Winn, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Inclusion, Love, Prayer, Trinity, Uncategorized, union | Tags: colorblind, colorblindness, Jesus, lens, See, see through the glass dimly
Comments (3) I recently watched a short video about a new product that allows people, who suffer with the most common form of colorblindness to see a fuller color spectrum. There are a good many “sciencey” words that describe what’s gone wrong in a person’s eyes to cause colorblindness and I don’t understand them but the problem is very real for almost 8% of humanity.
What if there were a new set of lenses through which a colorblind person could see in full color HD like the other 92%? Would you want the colorblind to know? Wouldn’t we tell anyone in our lives who suffers from colorblindness about this amazing way to see? Of course we would.
So how do we see God? How do we see ourselves? How do we see each other? I would venture to say that way more than 8% of us see God, each other, and ourselves in unhealthy ways.
Can we be honest and confess that we see… oh… how shall I put it… “dimly”? I certainly can tell you I am no different than the Apostle Paul. I, too, see through the glass dimly. None of us are immune to this condition. I am a GCI Pastor preaching Trinitarian theology as clearly as I can, I am mentored by some of the finest theologians alive today, and I even write for a blog called Trinity and Humanity but I still see through the glass dimly. I still struggle with the latent mythologies about God that hold over from my youth.
In spite of what I know about the Father, Son, and Spirit I sometimes catch myself fearing the wrath of an angry judge instead of resting in the embrace of a loving Father.
So what do we do about it? We simply change the lens through which we see God. Easier said than done, I know, but this is where prayer enters in. So what’s the cure? What lens are we looking for? We need only ask John who (not what) that lens is… John the beloved disciple recorded for us these words of Jesus, “If you have seen me you have seen my Father.” ( Jn 14:9) Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay what? Yes, Jesus- the totally chill, inviting, accepting, forgiving, providing, and healing God/Man is exactly like his Papa.
Jesus is the only lens through which we accurately see God. He is the only lens through which we best see others and the only lens through which we see our true selves. Seeing is believing, so they say, and when we join the saints and the great cloud of witnesses and begin to look at everything through Jesus we will see our fellow man as ones worthy of love, we will see ourselves worthy of love, and we will will see the Father, Son, and Spirit as the source of worth and love.
The new EnChroma (TM) lenses allow the colorblind to see a more colorful world but the lens of Jesus Christ helps us see Love as we could only dare to dream!
Let’s pray, “Father, we want to see you through the eyes of Jesus, we want to see others the way he does, and we want to see ourselves with the same love and acceptance that is made known to us only in our Savior! In Jesus’ name… Amen.”
you may view the EnChroma video here
video used under Fair Use for educational purposes.
~Bill Winn
Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
Filed under: By Bill Winn, Love, Trinity, Uncategorized, union | Tags: cloud, fix your eyes on jesus, golf, Witness
Comments (4) Recently my daughter, Abby, and I have been golfing together. She’s eleven and very new to the game so I am careful not to give her much instruction or set her expectations too high. Right now she just starts each hole at 50 yards and works her way in. She is making par on some holes already and seems to enjoy going with me.
For Abby and I, the chance to be together outdoors is what makes our golf outings most enjoyable. But… there is another thing that excites her. Once we get out to a flat area of the course I move over and let her drive the cart. Now I know what Harvey Penick said, “In my opinion, no young player can develop his or her game to its highest potential if he or she rides around the course in a golf cart.” But… renting a cart and letting her drive it is another way to keep my younger daughter interested in the game and, if all goes well, maybe she’ll fall in love with golf and go to college on an athletic scholarship.
So the first time Abby ever drove the cart she made me seasick!! She was literally swerving from one edge of the cart path to the other. Thankfully she wasn’t going very fast but in any case we were driving twice as far as we were going, if you catch my drift. (see what I did there)
Finally, I asked her a question, “Abby, are you looking at the cart path right in front of the cart or are you looking out ahead a few yards?” She responded by telling me that, indeed, she was focused on what was immediately in front of her.
I made the recommendation that she keep her focus a short distance ahead of the cart and after that she did well. She drove the whole back 9 and only bumped the curb once. I was highly impressed with her hand-eye coordination, timing, and skill… and that was just in handling the cart, not to mention the half dozen times she made bogey or par.
Arriving home, I told my wife that there was surely a spiritual lesson in the cart driving experience Abby had that day. Well, I think there is and I think this is it:
Too often in our walk with the Father, Son, and Spirit we are tempted to focus too much on what is right in front of us. We get focused on our doubts, our financial situation, our politics, or the latest “ism” or “schism” the Christian Church is talking about. What we may find helpful is to keep our eye on the Big Picture… his name is Jesus. Sure we must keep watch for what is right in front of us but our main focus should always be on Jesus, as he relates to our Father, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and our inclusion in that life of love.
Yes, rather than bump and weave our way through life from one side of things to another, perhaps we’d be a lot better off paying heed to these words found in Hebrews 12:
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, (emphasis mine) the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
FORE!!!
~Bill Winn
Personhood, Distinction, and Our Union with the Blessed Trinity
Filed under: By Bill Winn, Christian Living, Gospel, Inclusion, Uncategorized, union | Tags: Christianity, distinction, Faith, Home, Inclusion, life, me, Party, personhood, popcorn, Truth, union
Leave a comment When my older daughter Faith was about 4 years old we all sat down to watch a movie together as a family. It was probably a Disney, Barbie, or a My Little Pony cartoon but I can’t recall. What I do remember is an event that bowled me over theologically. You see, at the time I was only one year into my “Trinitarian transformation” and the Father, Son, and Spirit seemed to have me on such a fast track that nearly everything around me appeared to shout some aspect of the Gospel of our Inclusion in Jesus.
As we prepared the movie, Faith asked if I would make some popcorn 
with “extra, extra, extra butter”. I agreed and off I went to make real old fashioned stove top popcorn like my grandma Mary Ethel Winn used to make for us on her magic stove.
As the movie began Faith and I sat close so that we could share our bowl of popcorn. Just moments into the movie I found myself staring, jaw dropped, and wide-eyed at my 4-year old daughter. She wasn’t levitating or quoting Shakespeare, she was eating popcorn. Yep, I can guess that right now you might be thinking, “That Bill Winn sure is a weirdo.” Well, you might be right. You wouldn’t be the first person to ever tell me they wonder how my brain works and frankly I don’t know either except to say that more and more, in the past 10 years I have tried to make my brain more available to the Holy Spirit.
What I had a front seat to that night on the couch with Faith was her personhood, she’d always had it but in her development as a child it was becoming more obvious. You see I was eating the popcorn too, and the butter and salt content was perfect (if I do say so myself). I was enjoying the popcorn but Faith was too, why? She was enjoying the popcorn because it tasted good and, as a distinct person in the Cosmos, she liked it.
We are distinct persons given a place in the Triune God’s Universe. The great news of the Gospel is that we have been included in the life of Jesus with his Father in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and we will never lose our personhood. We will never not be us. Our inclusion and union must never be thought of like a droplet that gets included in a bucket of water. If we put a droplet of water in a bucket of the same substance it become indistinguishable from the rest of the water.
Our inclusion, our union, did not cause humans to disappear into God. No, our inclusion and union highlight us as persons so that we are more brightly shining as the Image of God than ever!
Humanity has been included in the Shared Life of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Trinity and Humanity- in unity, but forever distinct persons.
Thank you Jesus that you love me and have included me and that you value me so much that you have ensured that I will always be me and someday… a more awesomely Christ-like me than I can imagine!
~Bill Winn
Primary Function: What the Father, Son, and Spirit are on about.
Filed under: By Bill Winn, Church, Evangelism, Love, Ministry, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity, Uncategorized, Witness | Tags: Freedom, Included, Ministry, retirement
Comments (6) Recently our church family began serving a newly-opened retirement community and we are just getting to know some of the residents there. So far we are conducting a worship service that the residents are free to attend (or not attend), collecting large print books for their library, and I am visiting to eat lunch once a week.
So yesterday I was eating lunch with Rick (not his real name). He’s a retired father of 4 with fascinating stories to tell about the dozen or so states he’s lived in while he was a career man.
I noticed Rick sitting alone and decided to introduce myself. “I’m Bill
.”, I said. “May I join you for lunch?” He looked at me quizzically and replied, “Suit yourself. I’m not much of a conversationalist.” I sat down. I ordered a salad and the broccoli soup. The soup never came but the salad was amazing and huge so I didn’t miss the soup anyway.
During our conversation Rick asked me a question that vexed me so powerfully that I sidelined my prepared blog for today and am writing this now. Rick, I think, was having trouble believing that I was there without an agenda -other than to just love on and serve the fine folks in that community. Then he asked me the question. I might, in fact, describe his query as the throwing of a dart. His question caught me off guard and penetrated my heart.
He asked, “What would you say your primary function as a Pastor is?”
I was stunned. I gave him an adequate answer I hope, but last night lying awake at 2 AM I thought of a better answer. Isn’t that just the way it often happens?
My ministry as a Christian and as a Christ-centered Pastor is simply to participate in what the Father, Son, and Spirit are on about.
The Blessed Trinity has, as I see it, one primary goal and that is to see to it that the entire human race comes to know the Father with the Son in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. In the finished work of Jesus Christ humanity has been brought into eternal objective Union with God. The primary function of the Church is now to educate the human race, to declare their identity in Christ, and to work alongside the Holy Spirit to break the chains of brokenness and bondage.
So when Rick (again, not his real name) asked, “What would you say your primary responsibility as a Pastor is?”- a better answer would have been, “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives…” Isaiah 61
~Bill Winn
The Father Loves And Likes You Fest 2016!
Filed under: By Bill Winn, By Calvin Simon, By Jeff McSwain, by Paul David Kurts, By Tim Brassell, Christian Living, Gospel, Grace Communion International, Love, Relationships, Sermons, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, Trinity, Uncategorized, Witness, Worship | Tags: Discipleship, Faith, god the father, God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, God the Trinity, good news, Gospel Conference, Grace, Hope, Love, Mercy, New Life Fellowship Baltimore MD, Ocean City, Pastor Tim of New Life Fellowship, Pastor Timothy Brassell, The Father Loves and Likes You Fest 2016, Timothy Brassell of New Life Fellowship
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Thursday, October 13, 2016 – Beginning
Message One: GCI Norfolk Pastor Calvin Simon “May I Have This Dance?” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-13_sermon1_calvin-simon_may-i-have-this-dance_john-14-15.mp3”
Message Two: GCI National Ministry Coordinator Jeff McSwain “Slaying Grace” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-13_sermon2_jeff-mcswain_slaying-grace_john15.mp3”
Friday, October 14, 2016 – Morning Seminars
Seminar One: GCI National Ministry Coordinator Jeff McSwain “Reading Scripture With Jesus As Your Lens”
Seminar Two: GCI Baltimore Timothy J. Brassell “Proclaiming The God Revealed In Jesus”
Seminar Three: GCI Richmond Pastor Bill Winn “Spiritual Versus Secular?”
Friday, October 14, 2016 – Evening Messages
Message Three: GCI Regional Pastor Paul David Kurts “You Will Do Greater Things” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-14_sermon3_paul-david-kurts_you-will-do-greater-things_john14.mp3”
Message Four: GCI Richmond Pastor Bill Winn “I Am In You” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-14_sermon4_bill-winn_i-am-in-you_john14.mp3”
Saturday, October 15, 2016 – GCI Intern 15 Min. Messages
Message Five: GCI Intern Cory O’Neal “The Way, The Truth, and The Life” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-15_sermon5_cory-oneal_the-waythe-truth-and-the-life_john14.mp3”
Message Six: GCI Intern Cara Garrity “Sitting In Broken Places With Christ” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-15_sermon6_cara-garrity_sitting-in-broken-places-with-christ_john14.mp3”
Message Seven: GCI Intern Corey Lewis “Bearing Witness To God In The World” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-15_sermon7_corey-lewis_bearing-witness-to-god-in-the-world_john17.mp3”
Message Eight: GCI Intern Eddie Lowe “Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-15_sermon8_eddie-lowe_do-not-let-your-hearts-be-troubled_john14.mp3”
Sunday, October 15, 2016 – Conclusion
Message Nine: GCI Baltimore Timothy J. Brassell “God Speaks And Acts In A Trinitarian Way” “https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/16-10-16_sermon9_timothy-brassell_god-speaks-and-acts-in-a-trinitarian-way_john16-17.mp3”
I Already Got 5 Dollars
Filed under: By Bill Winn, Church, Gospel, Love, Uncategorized | Tags: Atonement, Forgiveness, Forgiveness of Sin, Love, Penance
Comments (2) In the Wendell Berry book, Jayber Crow, the main character (Jayber) tells a lie as a young man in order to disguise his aimlessness. He is hitchhiking and a man he knows from his childhood gives him a lift. Jayber is now about 19-20 and he knows the man does not recognize him. Jayber never intended to rob the man but he made up an elaborate lie about a sick mother and hungry brothers and sisters and that he had to go to the city to find work to support them. The truth was, he was lost emotionally and did not know what to do with his life.
When the man dropped him off at his destination he shoved a 5-dollar bill into Jayber’s jacket pocket. Jayber took the money, he needed it, but it was a liar’s wage and he knew it. The 5 dollars became a shameful burden for Jayber.
Well, by and by Jayber made his way back to his home town and became the town’s only barber. The memory of his lie and his “liar’s wage” would not leave him, nor would its shame. One day the man who’d given him the 5 dollars, so many years ago, came and sat in Jayber’s barber chair. Seeing that he was the only customer in the shop Jayber took the opportunity to confess his crime and offered to repay the 5 dollar
s. The man refused the money by saying, “I already got 5 dollars.”
Do you see it?
Forgiveness, true forgiveness does not require repayment. Since the man had forgiven Jayber he was no longer in a place where he had to have the money back in order for their relationship to be whole. It was not easy for Jayber to accept such free and honest forgiveness but he did and he and the man never spoke of the 5 dollars again.
In the Atonement the Father, Son, and Spirit forgave humanity’s Sin and sins, we were no longer under any obligation to repay a debt. Most amazingly the Father, Son, and Spirit do not even want our attempted repayments. There is no need for penance, no need to try and balance the scales, no need to try and make up for our sins. It may be necessary and beneficial to try to make restitution to a person we have wronged. It may be helpful for us and for them but it will never improve the unconditional forgiveness we have all received in Jesus.
The statement from Jesus on the Cross: “Father forgive them…” is a done deal for us. Trust me there is nothing you can ever give back to triune God that you perceive you have taken. I can almost hear Jesus now, when I let guilt creep into my life over wrongs I’ve done, “Hey Bill, I already got 5 dollars!”
~Bill Winn
Trinity and Humanity 