Before Passion I had never heard Francis Chan speak. Holy cow, if you're in that boat, jump ship & listen to him. He's so passionate (fittingly punny) and unintentionally funny while being super poignant. His "sermons" aren't really sermons - it's more like he's grabbing coffee with his friend and is stringing together a bunch of random biblical stories that tie into his main point.
He talked about whether or not we actually believe what the Bible says. He kept saying "just do it," meaning just obey what the Bible says and don't sugar coat commands or re-interpret them.
One of the examples he used came from these verses:
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” - Luke 12-14
He (sarcastically) told us what it meant in Greek: When you give a banquet, invite the poor, crippled, lame and blind. Although it seems super straightforward, we totally do this in the church - circumvent commands, sensationalize Bible stories, and selectively ignore Scripture. I was so challenged by his teaching because I definitely do this in my own life. I know Scripture in my head but don't always allow it to impact my heart and change my actions. May we allow Scripture, the whole of it, to seep into the deepest crevices of our hearts and truly believe and accept it, and out of that allow it to mold our actions.
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