Sunday, February 17, 2008

Vintage Jesus

by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears

I highly recommend that you all buy this book and read it! I started reading last night and could not put it down. Needless to say, I am now finished the book and want everyone I know to read it now!

You can read about it and learn how to get your copy, here.

I also want to recommend listening and watching Mark Driscoll's sermon series, also titled Vintage Jesus.

Roughly two thousand years ago, Jesus was born in a dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their own oil, think pro wrestling is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy. Jesus' mom was a poor, unwed teenage girl who was often mocked for claiming she conceived via the Holy Spirit. Most people thought she concocted the crazy story to cover the fact she was knocking boots with some guy in the backseat of a car at the prom. Jesus was adopted by a simple carpenter named Joseph and spent the first thirty years of his life in obscurity, swinging a hammer with his dad.

In Vintage Jesus, one of America's most influential young pastors teams up with a seasoned theologian to lead you on a hilarious theological journey chasing Jesus through Scripture and pop culture. The authors provide timeless answers to twelve timely questions about the most important man who has ever lived. Each chapter concludes with answers to common questions about each subject.

Contents
Chapter 1 Is Jesus the Only God?
Chapter 2 How Human Was Jesus?
Chapter 3 How Did People Know Jesus Was Coming?
Chapter 4 Why Did Jesus Come to Earth?
Chapter 5 Why Did Jesus' Mom Need to Be a Virgin?
Chapter 6 What Did Jesus Accomplish on the Cross?
Chapter 7 Did Jesus Rise from Death?
Chapter 8 Where Is Jesus Today?
Chapter 9 Why Should We Worship Jesus?
Chapter 10 What Makes Jesus Superior to Other Saviors?
Chapter 11 What Difference Has Jesus Made in History?
Chapter 12 What Will Jesus Do upon His Return?

These questions are answered with insights from people such as Jesus himself, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Luther King Jr., Hugh Hefner, Jack Bauer, Fidel Castro, Oprah, Kanye West, Gandhi, Homer Simpson, Mike Tyson, Gil Grissom, and Madonna, along with some demons and a porn star. There have been seventeen thousand books written about Jesus, but none is like Vintage Jesus.


Here are some quotes that I highlighted as I read:

"...the reason that many people are prone to hold someone or something in glory above Jesus is that they believe the lie that God's glory and our joy are in conflict, so that if we live for God's glory it comes at the cost of our joy."

"This glorious truth means that in worshiping Jesus, God is glorified and we are satisfied."

"According to the first two commandments, there is only one God, and that God alone is to be worshiped. Martin Luther said that we break the rest of the commandments only after we have broken the first two."

"Indeed, when we are speaking of salvation we must speak only of Jesus, always of Jesus, and assuredly of Jesus."

"If we were to see Jesus today, we would see him in glory, not in humility."

"Unlike most religions, Christianity has no place, language, race, or culture that serves as a center to hold it together. Christians share no worldwide headquarters, no common language, no common race of ethnic heritage, and no common cultural framework. The only thing that holds all of Christianity together is the risen Lord Jesus Christ who is alive today."

Get it today.

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