{"id":52979,"date":"2014-10-26T09:31:21","date_gmt":"2014-10-26T14:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?p=52979"},"modified":"2017-08-01T15:17:47","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T20:17:47","slug":"if-you-cant-say-it-about-jesus-dont-say-it-about-god-jason-micheli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2014\/10\/26\/if-you-cant-say-it-about-jesus-dont-say-it-about-god-jason-micheli\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Can’t Say it about Jesus, Don’t Say it about God (Jason Micheli)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
If You Can\u2019t Say It About Jesus, Don\u2019t Say It About God \u2013 Phillipians 2.1-11<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
By Jason Micheli,<\/strong><\/a> pastor at Aldersgate UMC in Alexandria VA. This is classic Jason. Classic.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 It might surprise some of you to hear that, as gentle and considerate as I appear to be, I have a tendency to be contrary.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And while I wouldn\u2019t say that I have a short fuse exactly, I\u2019ll be the first to admit that sometimes I can be cranky, maybe even a little confrontational.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 For example-<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 There was the recent \u2018episode\u2019 that has since come to be known in my house as \u2018Daddy\u2019s Grocery Store Freakout.\u2019<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And before I tell you about \u2018Daddy\u2019s Grocery Store Freakout\u2019 I should say first that, as a responsible preacher, I try hard, whenever sharing personal stories, never to present myself in a heroic light.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I try hard to avoid stories in which I appear to be the wise or faithful one. I usually avoid any anecdotes where I\u2019m the good example or where I do the right thing.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 You can take that as my disclaimer that \u2018Daddy\u2019s Grocery Store Freakout\u2019 is an exception to that rule. In this instance, it\u2019s the other guy who\u2019s the idiot.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 A couple of Sundays ago I fell asleep on the sofa watching\u00a0Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince<\/i>\u00a0with the boys. I woke up from my nap to Gabriel staring at me, nose-tip to nose-tip, and saying \u2018Daddy, it\u2019s almost time for dinner.\u2019<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 With just a yawn and a stretch, I headed to the grocery store. As I pushed my shopping cart through the entrance I caught my reflection in the glass.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 My bed-head hair was mussed every which way.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 My undershirt was covered with tomato sauce stains from lunch that looked a little like blood. My eyes were heavy and bloodshot.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And I had what looked like a scar across my face from the zipper of the pillow I\u2019d been sleeping against.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 In sum: I looked like a crazy person.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 After picking up a few odds and ends, I stood in the produce section staring aimlessly at the bare\u00a0Sunday<\/span><\/span>\u00a0shelves and wondering what on earth I could make with just japanese eggplant, jalepenos, and Italian parsley.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And I swear- it\u2019s because I was trying to think of a recipe NOT because I was eavesdropping that I overheard him.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 One of the store employees was sitting against the refrigerator, where the cabbage normally goes. Three other, younger, employees were huddled around him.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 To protect the identities of the innocent and the idiotic, I won\u2019t go into names or descriptions. I\u2019ll just tell you what I\u00a0heard.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cMy best advice is for you guys to stay completely away from her\u2019<\/i><\/b>\u00a0the one leaning against the cabbage section said to the three.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And he nodded with his chin in the direction of \u2018her.\u2019<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 And again, I wasn\u2019t trying to eavesdrop but I couldn\u2019t help it. When he nodded in \u2018her\u2019 direction, like gravity was pulling me, I looked over my shoulder to see who the \u2018her\u2019 was he had in mind.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u2018She\u2019 was near the other side of the store, working a cash register.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u2018She\u2019 was a teenager it looked like. She couldn\u2019t have been more than 18.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And \u2018she,\u2019 I could tell from the scarf wrapped around her head, was a Muslim.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 That\u2019s when I decided to eavesdrop.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2018How do we stay away from her?\u2018<\/i><\/b>\u00a0one of Produce Guy\u2019s three disciples asked.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2018Don\u2019t talk to her. Period.\u2018<\/i><\/b>\u00a0He said without equivocation.\u00a0\u2018Pretend she\u2019s not there. If she says something to you, act like you didn\u2019t hear her. If she needs help with something, tell her you\u2019re busy with something else. If a manager tells you to work with her, say you\u2019re in the middle of something.\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 His three disciples all nodded like receivers watching a quarterback draw up a play.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 What I heard shocked me, but I didn\u2019t say anything.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I didn\u2019t say anything until I heard him say:\u00a0\u2018Remember, she worships a false god. That\u2019s a sin, and God doesn\u2019t want you associating with sinners. God hates sinners.\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Thus began what\u2019s come to be known as \u2018Daddy\u2019s Grocery Store Freakout.\u2018<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I left my cart and stepped over to their huddle and said, in love:\u00a0\u2018Excuse me, it sounds to me like you don\u2019t know what the blank you\u2019re talking about and maybe you should just shut your mouth.\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 It was his turn to be shocked.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 He stood up from the cabbage section and held up his hands as if to say \u2018no harm, no foul\u2018 and said:\u00a0\u2018There must be a misunderstanding; we were just having a religious conversation.\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And that\u2019s when I lost it:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2018<\/i><\/b>Mis<\/i><\/b>understanding? I\u2019ll say. You\u2019re telling these poor idiots that God doesn\u2019t want them helping someone else?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
That God wants them to deliberately ignore someone else?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
That God wants them to treat someone like they\u2019re not even a person?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re telling them that God hates sinners?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
And you call yourself a Christian?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
You\u2019ve completely lost the plot.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
If you really believed in Jesus Christ none of those words would ever come out of your mouth.\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And that\u2019s when I realized I\u2019d been poking him in the chest with my Japanese eggplant.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 He gave me a patronizing smile, like I was the one who didn\u2019t get it.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2018Do you go to church?\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b>he asked.\u00a0\u2018Maybe if you went to church you\u2019d understand\u2026\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2018Yeah, I go to church\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b>I said.\u00a0\u2018In fact, I go every\u00a0Sunday<\/span><\/span>. I\u2019m there all the time. Aldersgate United Methodist Church. We\u2019d love to have you visit us sometime.\u2018\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And that\u2019s when I realized that all the other customers in the produce section were motionless, as though suspended in time, staring in shock at me.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And for a brief, sobering moment I was able to see myself as they must\u2019ve seen me: a man with red, bloodshot eyes, wild hair, and what looked like a scar across his face and blood splatter on his shirt, screaming about God near the cabbages, with an eggplant in his hand.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"pastedGraphic.png\"<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Don\u2019t let the pretty poetry and lofty language fool you.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 This song, which Paul cuts and pastes into his letter here in Philippians chapter 2, it\u2019s meant to shock you.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because those last few lines of the song:<\/div>\n
9<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0Therefore God also highly exalted\u00a0him
\nand gave him the name
\nthat is above every name,
\n<\/i><\/b>10<\/sup><\/i><\/b><\/span>\u00a0so that at the name of Jesus
\nevery knee should bend\u2026
\n<\/i><\/b>11<\/sup><\/i><\/b><\/span>\u00a0and every tongue confess
\nthat Jesus Christ is Lord.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Those last few lines aren\u2019t original- not to Paul, not to any other Christian, not to anyone in Philippi.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 They\u2019re lifted straight from the Old Testament, from Isaiah 45- which, in case you don\u2019t know it, is one of the Bible\u2019s fiercest statements against idolatry, against worshipping any other god but the one with a capital G.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And what does Paul do with this song from Isaiah?<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Paul, a lifelong Jew, who for his entire life at least twice a day would\u2019ve recited in prayer:\u00a0\u2018The Lord our God the Lord is One.\u2019\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Paul, a Pharisee, an expert in the Law who you can bet knew that the very first law, the law of all laws, was \u2018You shall have no other gods besides me.\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 What does Paul do with Isaiah\u2019s song?<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 He sticks Jesus in the middle of it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 He says that:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because Jesus knew power and might aren\u2019t things to be grasped at but given up.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because Jesus emptied himself of heaven.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because Jesus made himself poor even though he was rich.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because he exchanged his royal robes for a servant\u2019s towel.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because Jesus stooped down from eternity and humbled himself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because\u00a0he<\/i>\u00a0forgave 70 times 7.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because\u00a0he<\/i>\u00a0blessed those who cursed him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because\u00a0he<\/i>\u00a0went the extra mile for those who cared not for him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Because\u00a0he<\/i>\u00a0put away the sword and turned the other cheek and loved his enemies.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because Jesus remained faithful no matter it cost him, no matter where it led him, no matter how it ended.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because he did that,<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And\u00a0that\u2019s<\/i>\u00a0the shock.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Because the name that is above every name\u2026is Yahweh.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 The name that is above every name is \u2018I am who I am.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The name that is above every name is the name that was revealed to Moses at the Burning Bush, the name that was too holy to be spoken aloud or written down.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 That\u2019s why, in its place, the ancient manuscripts always used the word \u2018Kyrios\u2019 instead: \u2018Lord.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 The same word Paul attaches to Jesus here in the middle of Isaiah\u2019s song.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 It\u2019s\u00a0meant\u00a0to shock you- that this God who appeared in a burning bush and spoke in a still, small voice, this God- the one and only God- comes to us fully and in the flesh as Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 It\u2019s intended to shock you- that Mary\u2019s son is as much of God the Father as we could ever hope to see.<\/p>\n

\"pastedGraphic.png\"<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I was in the middle of \u2018Daddy\u2019s Grocery Store Freakout\u2019 when I realized all the eyes of the produce section were on me, looking like they were waiting for someone- anyone- to taser me and put me back in my straight jacket.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 So I looked up and smiled and it must\u2019ve seemed more creepy than conciliatory because just like that all the shoppers scurried away to safety. So did Produce Guy\u2019s three disciples, who went back to work.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 But Produce Guy wasn\u2019t ready to let me leave without proving how I was wrong and he wasn\u2019t.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2018You must be one of those Christians who think we all just worship the same god\u2019<\/i><\/b>\u00a0he said dismissively.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2018No\u2019\u00a0<\/i><\/b>I said, and just like that I was shouting again.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2018You don\u2019t get it. You don\u2019t get it at all.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
I believe our God couldn\u2019t be\u00a0<\/i><\/b>more<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i><\/b>different<\/i><\/b>.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
I believe our God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
That means you can\u2019t say anything about God that you can\u2019t also say about Jesus Christ.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
So unless it makes sense to you to say \u2018Jesus hates sinners; Jesus doesn\u2019t want you to serve that person; Jesus wants you to treat that person like they\u2019re not a person; unless it makes sense to you to say that\u00a0<\/i><\/b>about<\/i><\/b>\u00a0Jesus, then you should just shut blanking your mouth.\u2019\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I said, in love.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 But he didn\u2019t follow.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 He just squinted at me and said:\u00a0\u2018Maybe you should talk this over with your pastor. Maybe he could help you understand.\u2019\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u2018Yeah, maybe. I\u2019ll ask him about it.\u2019\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
\"pastedGraphic.png\"<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I\u2019ve been a pastor long enough to know that\u00a0when it comes to the Trinity, our belief that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, most of you think it\u2019s a hustle.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 You think it\u2019s\u00a0some philosophical shell game that couldn\u2019t have less to do with your everyday life.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 But pay attention-<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 That\u2019s not how Paul speaks of the Trinity here.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Paul\u2019s not interested in philosophy or abstraction.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Paul\u2019s concerned with your mindset. With your attitude. With your love.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 The Philippians weren\u2019t locked in any doctrinal disputes or theological debates.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 They were just at every day odds with each other.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And so Paul sends them these words about the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 For Paul, the Trinity isn\u2019t about intellectual games.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 For Paul, the Trinity\u2019s more like grammar that governs our God-talk.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Trinity keeps us from saying whatever\u00a0we<\/i>\u00a0like about God, doing whatever\u00a0we<\/i>\u00a0want in the name of God, believing whatever\u00a0we<\/i>\u00a0wish under the umbrella of a generic god.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Trinity is Paul\u2019s way of making sure that we can\u2019t say \u2018God\u2019 without also saying \u2018Jesus\u2019<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I mean, think about it-<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Think about how many people you\u2019ve heard, after a natural disaster or a tragic death or the diagnosis of disease, say something like: \u2018It\u2019s God\u2019s will.\u2019<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Trinity means that for that to be a true statement you have to be able to remove \u2018God\u2019 and replace it with \u2018Jesus.\u2019<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Trinity means that it\u2019s not a true statement unless you\u2019re able to say:<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u2018My mom\u2019s cancer was Jesus\u2019 will.\u2019<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u2018Hurricane Katrina was Jesus\u2019 will.\u2019<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u20189\/11 was Jesus\u2019 will.\u2019<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 For Paul, Trinity functions not as a philosophical concept but as a grammatical rule. Trinity binds us to the character and story of Jesus.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 We can\u2019t say or think or act like God hates \u2018sinners\u2019 because we know Jesus didn\u2019t.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 We can\u2019t say or think or act like God doesn\u2019t care about the poor because we know Jesus did.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 We can\u2019t say or think or act as if God is against our enemies because we know Jesus loved them.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 We can\u2019t scratch our heads and wonder if we need to forgive that person in our lives because know what Jesus said about it.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And the doctrine of the Trinity refuses to let you forget that his words aren\u2019t the words of any ordinary human teacher.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Teachers can be dismissed.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 But his words are 100%, 3-in-1, the Word of God.<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 When Jesus says to the woman about to be stoned for adultery \u2018I don\u2019t condemn you\u2019 that\u2019s\u00a0God\u00a0speaking.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And when Jesus offers living water to the woman at the well, who has about 5 too many men in her life, that\u2019s\u00a0God\u2019s\u00a0grace.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And when Jesus says to Zaccheus, a villain and a traitor and a sinner, \u2018Tonight I\u2019m eating at your house\u2019 Trinity makes sure we remember that that\u2019s an invitation stamped with the seal of heaven.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 For Paul, the fact that this God couldn\u2019t be\u00a0more<\/i>\u00a0different- it couldn\u2019t be\u00a0more<\/i>\u00a0practical.<\/div>\n
\"pastedGraphic.png\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 I don\u2019t freak out on people all that often.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 But that\u2019s not to say that I don\u2019t run into people every day whose behavior doesn\u2019t square with their beliefs, whose opinions are dearer to them than the mind of Christ, who are so set in their ways they refuse to conform to the Way.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And so if you want to make me less cranky.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 If you want to make your pastor happy.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 If you want to make my joy complete.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Give don\u2019t grasp.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Serve don\u2019t single out.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Don\u2019t puff yourselves up with conceit.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Don\u2019t fill yourselves up with ambition.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Don\u2019t act out of selfishness.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Empty yourselves of the need to be right.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Regard anyone as better than yourself.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Pour yourselves out overtime for others.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Stay faithful to the Son\u2019s words because that Son\u2019s the fullness of the Father, and his name is inseparable from the name that is above every name.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 And if\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0true then the way up in this world is by stooping down.<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If You Can\u2019t Say It About Jesus, Don\u2019t Say It About God \u2013 Phillipians 2.1-11 By Jason Micheli, pastor at Aldersgate UMC in Alexandria VA. This is classic Jason. Classic. \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 It might surprise some of you to hear that, as gentle and considerate as I appear to be, I have a tendency to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIf You Can't Say it about Jesus, Don't Say it about God (Jason Micheli)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If You Can\u2019t Say It About Jesus, Don\u2019t Say It About God - Phillipians 2.1-11 By Jason Micheli, pastor at Aldersgate UMC in Alexandria VA. 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