Jesus Stories for the Losers, the Lost, and the Least by Papineau

Description: The stories in this book are about Jesus and how he turned his and our world upside down by his concern for the losers, the lost, and the least. Throughout the gospels these are the people whom Jesus embraces as members of his family. By singling out familiar biblical stories and retelling them with these categories in mind, we can view and recreate the stories from a fresh and surprising perspective. Here's a clue. Imagine your church four times its original size. And continue imagining that a couple of thousand folks hear that Jesus is going to preach, and has sent out the word, "Everybody's invited!" No sooner is the word out than people are streaming in from the suburbs, the inner city, the countryside. What a mix of folks they are! Busy bankers, bag ladies with pushcarts, social butterflies and shady ladies, bleary-eyed derelicts, purple spike-haired teens with rings in noses and ears, folks of every color, married couples, divorced and remarried couples, unmarried straight and gay couples, plus a few shapely ladies with very deep voices--very deep voices--a little too deep for shapely ladies! An observer on the scene might think, "Boy, there's a lot of losers and lost souls showing up- the least likely to get through the doors at the Ritz!Pouring through the open doors, imagine Jesus smiling from ear to ear, greeting them with open arms, but NOT screening the winners from the losers by demanding that losers mend their ways before entering the church. "You're out! You got dirt on your soul!" Or, "You're in! You're clean as a whistle!" Why would he be so careless and carefree about who'd enter?It was because he was delighted that they showed up. Because he loved to throw parties and surround himself with losers, lost souls, and the least loved, those not likely to get ahead in this world.And imagine that after listening to him for three days (you can preach that long when you're the boss's son), he invites them to break bread with one another--mingling, interacting, communing with him and one another. Think about it! Communion with Jesus -- all the losers, the lost, and the least.Would our theology, our politics, our biases, our fears of reprisals lead us to bar the doors rather than open them wide? Would we be so fearful that in our haste to exclude those losers we would even have excluded the young bearded man with the invitin smile, passionately crying out, "Open the doors"?

Price: 28.78 USD

Location: Madison, Wisconsin

End Time: 2025-01-10T03:01:26.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4.63 USD