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Reraming Jesus
A Fresh Look Into a Familiar Face
2014 Rick Lawrence, Kur Johnson, and Jeff A. Sorm
group.com
simplyyouhminisry.com
All righs reserved. No par o his book may be reproduced in any manner
whasoever wihou prior writen permission rom he publisher, excep where
noed in he ex and in he case o brie quoaions embodied in criical aricles and
reviews. For inormaion, visi group.com/cusomer-suppor/permissions.
CREDITSAuhors: Rick Lawrence and Kur Johnson
Illusraion: Jeff A. SormChie Creaive Officer: Joani Schulz
Edior: Rob Cunningham
Cover Ar: Jeff A. Sorm and Veronica Preson
Projec Manager: Sephanie Krajec
Unless oherwise noed, Scripure quoaions are aken rom he New American
Standard Bible. Copyrigh 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by The Lockman Foundaion. Used by permission. All righs reserved.
Scripure quoaions marked (NIV) are aken rom he Holy Bible, New Inernaional Version ,NIV. Copyrigh 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission o Zondervan. All
righs reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New Inernaional Version
are rademarks regisered in he Unied Saes Paen and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Scripure quoaions marked THE MESSAGE rom THE MESSAGE.
Copyrigh by Eugene H. Peerson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001,
2002. Used by permission o NavPress Publishing Group.
ISBN: 978-1-4707-2071-1
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
Prined in he U.S.A.
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CONTENTS
02 An Acronym Gone Bad
04 Why All he Shoulds?
06 Whas he Big Deal Abou Jesus?
08 The Disappearing Jesus
10 Be he Pig
12 The Real Thing
14 Atachmen Trumps Talen
16 Paying Ridiculous Atenion
18 From Knowing Abou
o Knowing
20 Sheep-i-ness
22 Remembering o Remember
24 Why All This Useless Beauy?
26 Following he Beeline
28 The Truh Isel
30 The Firs Quesion Tha
Really Maters
32 The Second Quesion
Tha Really Maters
34 Sripped Naked
36 The Smell o Jesus
38 No More Funhouse Mirrors
40 The Too-Familiar Jesus
42 The Thicker Lie
44 I You Don Need Him,
You Won Know Him
46 Scaring Yoursel or Good
48 Where Would Jesus Be?
50 Anyhing Can Happen
52 The No-So-Nice Jesus
54 Can You Sand Jesus?
56 Sanding In Mud Puddles
58 Ask he Oprah Quesion
60 Jesus Did/Jesus Didn
62 Did, No Do
64 Oblieraing he Disance
66 Primary Pursui
68 Three Quesions
70 The Jesus Push-Back
72 Lesser Gods
74 Playing Sherlock
76 Bie, Don Balk
78 Pursuing Parables
80 Your True Name
IV Inroducion
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Reframing JesusA Fresh Look Into a Familiar Face
For more han wo millennia, Jesus
has been a he cener o prety much
everyhing. No one has had a big-
ger influence on your daily lie han
Jesus, wheher or no has obvious
o you.
Did you know
Unil Jesus, mos human
beings were slaves, condemned
o perpeual hard labor and
capive o he whims o heir
owners. Jesus upended
ha sysem o slavery
Unil Jesus, women had
no righs whasoever in
sociey. Jesus gave women
digniy and saus
Unil Jesus, many pagan
religions ried o appease
he gods wih humansacrificeofen children were
he mos popular sacrifices.
Jesus elevaed children as
reasures o be nurured
Unil Jesus, each culure and
sociey deermined he passage
o ime differenlymany
creaed calendars based on
when he curren monarch
assumed his office. Because
o Jesus, all o human hisory
is organized around his birh
and deahi eiher happened
beore him or afer him
Unil Jesus, becoming a
learned person was a goal
reserved only or he rich and
elie. Jesus called everybody,
no mater heir social saus,
o love God wih our whole
mind, and insiuions o
higher learning and libraries
sprang up as a resul
Unil Jesus, he mos common
orm o governmen was
oaliarian and despoic.
Jesus sripped rulers o heir
sel-proclaimed deiy, paving
he way or common law
and limied governmen
Unil Jesus, he sick, infirm,
and disabled were considered
disposable. Because Jesus
emphasized he digniy o
he person and elevaed he
pligh o he poor, mercy or
intro
IV
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hose who are huring became
a socieal norm, leading o
he building o hospials and
social service organizaions
Unil Jesus, orgiveness was a
disgusing sign o weakness.Jesus old us o orgive
seveny imes seven, and
made he love o our enemies
he marker or rue love
Yale hisorian Jaroslav Pelikan
says his: Regardless o wha anyone
may personally hink or believe abouhim, Jesus o Nazareh has been he
dominan figure in he hisory o
Wesern Culure or almos weny
cenuries. I i were possible, wih
some sor o super magne, o pull up
ou o he hisory every scrap o meal
bearing a leas a race o his name,
how much would be lef?
Everyhing seems o orbi around
he hings Jesus said and did. So youd
hink ha someone whose influence
is so widespread, whose name is so
well-known, and whose impac is so
lasing would be he mos understood
person in he world.But hes not.
Mos o us hink we have a prety
good handle on who Jesus is and
wha he did. Bu we don. Hes he
mos-known, leas-known person in
hisory. Is like hissomeimes he
people we know he leas are he peo-
ple were around he mos. We ake or
graned ha we know who hey really
are, because heyve always been par
o he wallpaper o our lie. So we
need o be re-inroduced o he people
and hings we hink we already know,
because we don really know hem as
well as we hink we do.And has he poin o his book
o rerame wha you hink you
already know abou Jesus, so you
can grow in your relaionship wih
him. The hree o us are no differen
han you in hiswere very aware o
how much weve missed who Jesus
really is, and were hungry o know
him beter.
Thanks or going on his journey
wih us We believe i will change
your lie he way is changed our
lives
Kurt Johnston, Rick Lawrence,
and Storm
V
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Ever heard o he Wha Would
Jesus Do? movemen? Someyears ago i was really bighe
cenral quesion people were
asking hemselves was simple:
I Chrisians are supposed o be
ollowing Jesus, why aren hey
making more o an impac in heir
daily lives? The movemens an-swer was o imagine wha every-
day lie migh be like i all o us
simply alked and aced more like
Jesus. Well, ha would change
everyhingespecially i we ook
a Taco Bell burrio, blessed i,
and ed a sadium ull o people
wih i. Bu, by any measure, he
WWJD movemen didn change
everyhing.
Maybe he Chrisian lives we
hink were living are acuallydisconneced rom who Jesus re-
ally is. Is fine o imagine wha
we hink Jesus migh do when a
riend berays us or he es comes
back wih a D on i or we break
our finger in a fluke acciden righ
beore he big game, bu really hewhole hing desperaely depends
on how well we really know he
rue Jesus, doesn i? Heres
somehing proound: We can
miss Jesus enirely by arroganly
assuming ha our imagined re-
sponses o a parially undersood
Jesus mean ha were really ol-
lowing Jesus.
Q:Inonesentence,whatdoes
followingJesusmeantoyou,anyway?
START
2
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As you work through
this book, come back to
this first exercise from
time to time to see how
your picture of Jesus
is changing, maturing,
morphing, and, best of
all, how its beginning to
change you along the way!
Quick, go find a pencil...
Well wait for you to get back.
Since this little book is all about reframing Jesus,
its a good idea to discover how you currently framehimhow you view him, imagine him, and describe him.
In the frame above, write down a bunch of stuff
about Jesus; anything you want. One-word descriptions,
things you know he said, miracles he performed,
whatever comes to mind. Fill that thing up, as quickly
as you can. You might even want to write your answer
to todays question, What does following Jesus mean
to you?
Re-Frame-able
3
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4
Wy All theWed like o apologize or somehing were pretysure has happened o yousomewhere along he
way, someone in a church has probably old you ha
you shouldlove Jesus because, well, youre supposed
toJesus doesn wan a supposed-o relaionshipwih us; he wans o be known and loved or who he
isand he only way has going o happen is or us
o slow down and ge o know his hear.
Have we really soaked in he personaliy o Je-
suspursued him as he mos ascinaing, magne-
ic, lighning-bol person who ever lived? And i hes
really all ha incredible, why are supposed-oseven necessary? People who are caugh up in a ro-
manic relaionship don have o be old o ocus on
he person o heir affecion; is hard o sop hink-
ing abou hem, acually. No mater wha were doing
or who were wih, our houghs sray o he objec o
our passion. And has no because we should be
zoned in on he objec o our affecionwe simply
can help ourselves, because were mesmerized byso much beauy. Jesus wants to capture our hearts,
no orce our obedience.
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5
Shoulds?If youre reading this
book, were guessing
youd likely say that you
love Jesus. But why?
Hopefully, its not simply
because you feel like
you shouldlike youre
supposed to! So what is
it about Jesus that hasdrawn you to him; what
about him has made you
want to love him? Never
really thought about that?
Thats OK; most people
havent. So heres your
chance! Theres some
space to jot down some
of the things you love
about Jesusthings about
him that have drawn you
toward him, not because
you should, but because
you want to!
Re-Frame-able
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7
him (John 6:53). That freaks them out, so they abandon him.
And Jesus asks his remaining disciples this vulnerable ques-
tion: You do not want to go away also, do you? (v. 67). Peter
responds with this equally vulnerable declaration: Lord, to
whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have
believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of
God (v. 6869). In effect, hes saying: I dont know what
eat my body and drink my blood really means, and a lot of
what you do and say is a mystery to me, but youve ruined me
for you. The ultimate reason we put other things, instead of
Jesus, at the center of our life is that we can. Were not yet
ruined for him.
Yet many contemporary followers of Jesus have painted a picture that following
him is supposed to be easy, fun, and full of sunshine. Maybe you need to reframe
Jesus? Maybe following him is, in some ways, more like a bunch of other stuff in
your lifenot easy, but so worth it!
Heres an idea! Jot down your top not easy part of being a teenager who is
trying to follow Jesus. Then, under it, write down why, even though its not easy,
its SO WORTH IT!
About Jesus?
why its so worth it
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THE JESUS-CENTERED SUITEfor Every Youth Ministry!
1 2
JESUS-CENTERED
SUITE
$39.99
3 4
INCLUDED IN THE SUITE:1.Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry
2.Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry: Guide for Volunteers
3.Reframing Jesus DVD Curriculum
4. Reframing Jesus Devotional
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To learn more and purchase this essential suite for your ministry, go to
simplyyouthministry.com
SHIFT THE FOCUS OF YOUR MINISTRY
Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry
Moving From Jesus-Plus to Jesus-Only
By Rick Lawrence
DRAW YOUR TEAM CLOSER TO JESUS
Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry: Guide for Volunteers
Moving From Jesus-Plus to Jesus-Only
By Rick Lawrence
REINTRODUCE TEENAGERS TO THE REAL JESUS
Reframing Jesus DVD Curriculum
A Fresh Look Into a Familiar Face
4-Week Small Group Video Curriculum
By Kurt Johnston(with 6 Bonus Training Videos for Leaders by Rick Lawrence)
HELP STUDENTS LIVE A JESUS-CENTERED LIFE
Reframing Jesus Devotional
A Fresh Look Into a Familiar Face
By Rick Lawrence and Kurt Johnston;
Illustration by Storm
GUIDE YOUR ENTIRE MINISTRY TO
A JESUS-CENTEREDFOCUS WITH
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JESUS-
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Guide your entire ministrytoward a passionate
Jesus-centered focus withthis series of innovative
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around Jesus.
8/10/2019 Reframing Jesus
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ISBN 978-1-4707-2071-1
ThinkyouknowJesus?Think
again.
Foraround2,000years,Jesush
asbeenatthecenter
ofprettymucheverything,andn
oonehashadabigger
influenceonourdailylivesthan
Jesus.Mostofusthink
wehaveaprettygoodideaofwhoJesusi
sandwhat
hedid.
Butwedont.
Sometimesthepeopleweknowt
heleastarethepeople
werearoundthemost.Isntthat
weird?Wereconvinced
thatwereallyknowthem,becaus
etheyvealwaysbeen
partofourlives.Butweneedto
getre-introducedto
them,becausewedontreallyknowthe
maswellaswe
thinkwedo.
Thishighlyinteractive,chunk-siz
edevotionalwillhelp
youreframewhatyouthinkyou
alreadyknowabout
Jesus,soyoucangrowyourfrien
dshipwithhim.
Getreadyforanexciting,life-changing
adventure!
RICK LAWRENCEis the longtime editor of Group Magazinehe lovesleading teenagers into close encounters with Jesus.
KURT JOHNSTONis a youth pastor whos spent his entire life helpingteenagers understand how much Jesus loves them.
STORMis the art director for Group Magazine and author/designer forStripped Clean. He is also the father of two teenagers.
JESUS-
CENTERED
Guide your entire ministry
toward a passionateJesus-centered focus withthis series of innovative
resources. Harness the powerof these dynamic tools that
will help you draw teenagersand leaders into a closer orbit
around Jesus.