{"id":2336,"date":"2019-12-31T15:41:35","date_gmt":"2019-12-31T21:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/?p=2336"},"modified":"2019-12-31T15:41:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-31T21:41:35","slug":"out-of-the-box-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2019\/12\/31\/out-of-the-box-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Out of the Box Love"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"p1\">Sunday, December 29, 2019 | Christmas<\/h4>\n<p class=\"p2\">First Sunday after Christmas:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Holy Family<br \/>Year A<br \/><i>Old Testament<\/i> Isaiah 63:7\u20139<br \/><i>New Testament<\/i> Hebrews 2:10\u201318<br \/><i>Gospel<\/i> Matthew 2:13\u201323<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bkreF0-ruU8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>God came to me in a dream last night or should I say, this morning?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I dream about that church often. This time it was different, and I was told to write it down.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>That church sits prominently in town on the main drag of town.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>It is large and has lots of land.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>It sits empty most of the time.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>A developer came by one day. He wanted the property. He wanted to make money and was willing to pay top dollar.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>This land was not being utilized nor the building. The city was not getting the tax they could get so they could help the community. It was to be a win win for the developer the city and the community.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>They were thinking out of the box.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>I dream of that church often. I dream of a day when it would be packed with God\u2019s children.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>That particular church is often a focus of many of a dream. But this time I really listened. This time when God spoke, I opened my ears and heart. This time, I had to write it down.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>God is calling me to share this dream. It is not mine but God&#8217;s dream. God speaks, this time I listened to tell you what was said.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>As FLC what is our Out of the box ideas to spread God love with the wealth of what God gives to us in love, the property of FLC<br \/><br \/>We need to get out of the way of God&#8217;s love. Be open to God&#8217;s love. Say yes to God&#8217;s love.<br \/><br \/>Good loves<br \/>God sent God&#8217;s son to love<br \/>So we could be loved<br \/>So we could love<br \/>So we could love God&#8217;s children.<br \/><br \/>Out of the box love is sending gods self into the world as a human child to grow up among us.<br \/><br \/>God&#8217;s out of the box love was to die us on a tree of Roman punishment.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>God\u2019s out of the box love was to turn that tree into a symbol of love.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>God\u2019s out of the box love was to raise Jesus from the dead so we could have life in the love of God for us in Jesus.<br \/><br \/><b>&#8220;A Strange Way To Save The World&#8221;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Verse 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m sure he must have been surprised<\/p>\n<p>At where this road had taken him<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Cause never in a million lives<\/p>\n<p>Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem<\/p>\n<p>And standing at the manger<\/p>\n<p>He saw with his own eyes<\/p>\n<p>The message from the angel come to life<\/p>\n<p>And Joseph said<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chorus 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Why me I&#8217;m just a simple man of trade<\/p>\n<p>Why Him with all the rulers in the world<\/p>\n<p>Why here inside this stable filled with hay<\/p>\n<p>Why her she&#8217;s just an ordinary girl<\/p>\n<p>Now I&#8217;m not one to second guess<\/p>\n<p>What angels have to say<\/p>\n<p>But this is such a strange way<\/p>\n<p>To save the world<\/p>\n<p><strong>Verse 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To think of how it could have been<\/p>\n<p>If Jesus had come as He deserved<\/p>\n<p>There would have been no Bethlehem<\/p>\n<p>No lowly shepherds at His birth<\/p>\n<p>But Joseph knew the reason<\/p>\n<p>Love had to reach so far<\/p>\n<p>And as he held the Savior in his arms<\/p>\n<p>He must have thought<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ending<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now I&#8217;m not one to second guess<\/p>\n<p>What angels have to say<\/p>\n<p>But this is such a strange way<\/p>\n<p>To save the world<\/p>\n<p>This is such a strange way<\/p>\n<p>Such a strange way<\/p>\n<p>A strange way to save the world<\/p>\n<p>Such a strange way (to save the world)<\/p>\n<p>What is your out of the box response in love for God? &#8220;<br \/>What is your out of the box response to His love for us, that is love for God&#8217;s people?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What will our out of the box response here, at First Lutheran be because of the love God has for us in Christ Jesus?<br \/><br \/>Out of the box love<\/p>\n<p>Out of the box love<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sunday, December 29, 2019 | Christmas First Sunday after Christmas:\u00a0 Holy FamilyYear AOld Testament Isaiah 63:7\u20139New Testament Hebrews 2:10\u201318Gospel Matthew 2:13\u201323 God came to me in a dream last night or should I say, this morning?\u00a0 I dream about that church often. This time it was different, and I was told to write it down.\u00a0 &#8230; <span class=\"more\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2019\/12\/31\/out-of-the-box-love\/\">[Read more&#8230;]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[77,87,90,21,102,78,3,126,68,10,14,83],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-dougd","4":"post-2336","6":"format-standard","7":"category-acceptance","8":"category-christ","9":"category-control","10":"category-faith","11":"category-god","12":"category-gospel","13":"category-grace","14":"category-holy-spirit","15":"category-hope","16":"category-jesus","17":"category-love","18":"category-sermon"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2m6h5-BG","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1990,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2018\/01\/06\/traditions-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2336,"position":0},"title":"Traditions","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"January 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Sunday, December 31, 2017 | Christmas First Sunday after Christmas:\u00a0 Holy Family Year B New Testament Galatians 4:4\u20137 Gospel Luke 2:22\u201340 \u00a0 https:\/\/youtu.be\/zUWeJrRQf5A","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Baptism&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Baptism","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/baptism\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/zUWeJrRQf5A\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1970,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2017\/12\/24\/god-does-and-comes-to-us-in-all-circumstances\/","url_meta":{"origin":2336,"position":1},"title":"God does and comes to us, in all circumstances","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"December 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Sunday, December 24, 2017 | Advent Fourth Sunday of Advent Year B On the same date: Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Eve Old Testament 2 Samuel 7:1\u201311, 16 Luke 1:46b\u201355 New Testament Romans 16:25\u201327 Gospel Luke 1:26\u201338 \u00a0 https:\/\/youtu.be\/BVbl-DOgRXk God comes to us even from the very beginning. Sometimes I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Advent&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Advent","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/advent\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.turnbacktogod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Mother-Mary-and-Angel-02.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2010\/02\/27\/a-new-thought-for-easter\/","url_meta":{"origin":2336,"position":2},"title":"A new thought for Easter","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"February 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas has always been my most favorite time of the year. When I was a child, yes, it was about presents and Santa. My family did not go to church ever, so Christmas to me was the snow, the decorations, presents and Santa. As I gained a greater understanding of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/_FfyN1hJQqRU\/S4lYl2zPL2I\/AAAAAAAAAGI\/j2NylULXLxY\/s320\/05_09_55---Christ-is-Risen_web.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1977,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2017\/12\/24\/quietly-in-the-night-christmas-2017-message\/","url_meta":{"origin":2336,"position":3},"title":"Quietly in the night (Christmas 2017 Message)","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"December 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Nativity of the Lord Christmas Eve\u2014Proper 1 Years ABC On the same date: Fourth Sunday of Advent Old Testament Isaiah 9:2\u20137 Psalm Psalm 96:1-13 New Testament Titus 2:11\u201314 Gospel Luke 2:1\u201320) \u00a0 https:\/\/youtu.be\/3b_GvkU1zUA The birth of Jesus takes place without fanfare.\u00a0 No billboards, no public service announcements and no blimp\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christ&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christ","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/christ\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Mary-and-Joseph-moonlight-300x225.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Mary-and-Joseph-moonlight-300x225.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Mary-and-Joseph-moonlight-300x225.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1453,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2015\/12\/10\/advent-precursor-to-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":2336,"position":4},"title":"Advent, Precursor to Change","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"December 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 https:\/\/youtu.be\/gW-ls5LoXoE Audio Version Sunday, December 6, 2015 Second Sunday of Advent Year C Old Testament Malachi 3:1\u20134 New Testament Philippians 1:3\u201311 Gospel Luke 3:1\u20136 Welcome to the second Sunday of Advent.\u00a0 Yet another week of waiting for the Lord.\u00a0 Like the Israelites, we wait in anticipation of what God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Advent&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Advent","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/category\/advent\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/gW-ls5LoXoE\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":883,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2014\/04\/09\/giving-a-mark-of-discipleship\/","url_meta":{"origin":2336,"position":5},"title":"Giving, A Mark of Discipleship","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"April 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Sixth Mark of Discipleship: Giving Audio Link \u00a0 Psalm 37:4,21-22,25-26, 29-29 \u00a0 4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 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