JESUS DIRECTLY AFFIRMED SAME-SEX LOVE.
… but many English translations try to hide it.

In Matthew 8:5-13, a Roman Centurion pleads for Jesus to come heal a “young servant,” who is sick in his home.

But this was A GAY LOVER, not just a “young servant.”

The details 👇🏼🧵

 ROMAN CENTURIONS could not marry or have children until retirement, but here a Centurion is housing another male in his home!

The Bible uses the Greek word “pais” to describe this second male.

“Pais” could mean BOY, SON, SLAVE, or SERVANT depending on context.

The 4 Options:

QUICK TIPS FROM JESUS for DEALING WITH YOUR FAMILY 🧵

1. PRETEND YOU DON'T KNOW THEM
MARK 3:31-32 — “Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out & talk with them... Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

1/7 2. HIDE and SPEND TIME WITH OTHER PEOPLE

LK 2:42-32 — "When Jesus was 12, they attended the festival as usual... they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem... Three days later they discovered him in the Temple, talking with the religious leaders."

2/7

YOU are the Gospel of Jesus.

YOU ARE THE GOOD NEWS of hope's hands and feet in a wandering and wondering world.

YOU ARE THE GOOD NEWS of a Micah 6:8 "on Earth as it is in Heaven."

YOU ARE THE GOOD NEWS of a death where "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." "What does the Lord ask of you but to do what is fair and to love kindness, and to walk without pride with your God?"

— MICAH 6:8

People in my comments every day saying the church in USAmerica is growing.

WRONG. Set aside Barna, y’all…. and your pride.

And if you want to know why it’s contracting, here are few places to look: 🧵

https://twitter.com/profsamperry/status/1693726864810901954

https://twitter.com/profsamperry/status/1692483876235424104

Christians say: "LOVE THE SINNER, HATE THE SIN."

Yet the Christian response to COVID, closings, masking, and the vaccine was this generation's greatest test of whether or not the church really "loves the sinner" or "loves their neighbor."

The church failed. In a time of global fear and need, the world expected selflessness from the church.

Instead, the church practiced inexplicable selfishness.

Saint Dolly Parton donated millions to develop a vaccine, but the church, by and large, turned its back on its communities

The *I* in LGBTQI+ destroys the idea that God creates and mandates 2 genders only. 🧵

I = INTERSEX

"Intersex" is the term used for those who do not fit into standard medical descriptions of male or female.

1/8 There are at least NINE DIFFERENT WAYS that intersex (not fully/clearly binary male or female) can manifest itself.

The intersex are not especially rare, but we are often unaware of their existence and prevalence because of our cultural tendency to hide differences.

2/8

JESUS FOILED AN INSURRECTION WITH FOOD

The Feeding of the 5,000 was almost certainly an insurrection attempt. 🧵

1. Jesus & the disciples go to the desolate side of the Sea of Galilee before Passover Week, a known MUSTER POINT FOR REBELLION PLANNING outside Rome's gaze.

1/7 2. The crowd saw the "signs" he was doing with the sick, making him the LIKELY MESSIAH to overthrow non-Jewish rule & set up the Throne of David.

So thinking there is a rebellion afoot, men come from everywhere to join. Josephus indicates these musterings happened yearly.

2/7

Today, at my nieces’ graduation, my 93-yr-old grandmother told me I am going to hell.

She told me that my dead grandfather, my hero, would be disappointed and ashamed of me, as would my long-passed pastoral mentor and giant of the faith.

That I’d turned my back on them…

1/ She told me that she believes that I have a mental illness and that I know that I am wrong and just need to admit it.

She said that I need to repent and that she believes that I am leading a cult because of the type of ministry (non-brick&mortar) that I primarily do.

2/

JESUS HAD A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS MOTHER, TOO:
🧵

1. SHE WASN’T COMPLETELY CERTAIN AT FIRST WHO HIS FATHER WAS.

“…Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant…” Matt.1:18

1/6 2. AS A KID, SHE LEFT HIM PLACES AND HAD NO IDEA.

“When they could not find him with their relatives and friends, they went back to Jerusalem and started looking for him there. Three days later they found Jesus…” Lk.2:45-46

2/6

This weekend, we elevate WOMEN IN THE CHURCH,

… a church which regularly demotes those very women the other 51 weeks of the year.

But that was NOT the practice of the Early Church, who saw women pastors, apostles, prophets, and teachers as the norm.

Here are a few: 🧵

1/7 JUNIA, served alongside Paul, and was said in Romans 16:7 to be “notable AMONG the Apostles” … noted as one of them.

The Early Church accepted her as an Apostle, until the Middle Ages tried to diminish her role, even attempting to alter her name to a masculine form.

2/7

"DID GOD REALLY SAY?"

This line from the Snake of Eden in Genesis 3:1 is regularly quoted in my comments by those who feel I am questioning God (or interpretations they hold as sacred as God).

They hope to squash any questioning of God.

Their problem, though, is the Bible. 🧵 The Bible is filled with people who question God, disagree with God, challenge God, misquote God, & play fast-and-loose with the words of the Almighty.

What is incredible is that THE BIBLE HIDES NONE OF IT.

It draws attention to the drama, normalizing what the snake started. /2

HOW I BECAME LGBTQ+ AFFIRMING without sacrificing the authority of the Bible, 🧵:

1. SODOM & GOMORRAH (Gen.19)
No one in the story is gay; this is ancient gang rape for power & domination. Bible never says the sin was homosexuality. Eze.16 & Jesus say it was pride/inhospitality. 2. LEVITICUS (18:22 & 20:13)

Leviticus = manual for ancient priests, not us (i.e. not binding). "To'evah (abomination)" ≠ sin/wrong/evil, but crossing cultural mores: taboo. There are 2 different words for male used: so it is about sex for power/domination. No mention of LBTQ!

900 WORKOUTS.
5 years. -95lbs.

I hit a milestone today, and happy as I am to have hit another mile marker, I hesitate to post these pictures. I flinched, tbh. These photos push me into uncomfortably vulnerable space.

Pastors learn early to avoid vulnerability…

🧵 1/7 … Congre-terrorists seek out chinks in pastors’ armor and exploit them. Harm them.

For pastors, wounds come fast and furious, so you learn to hide your true self behind layers of teflon. It’s safe, but it is a recipe for moral, mental, or spiritual failure.

2/7

JESUS DIDN’T TELL HIS FOLLOWERS TO OBEY THE BIBLE:

Great Commission➡️“…Teach new disciples to obey all the commands I've given you…”

"all the commands" ≠ Mosaic Law, NT, or Bible (centuries away)

Jesus is being cheeky; "all the commands" = ONE

“Love One Another” Jn13:34-35 If Jesus had *meant* the Bible, Thomas (the best disciple) would have shot his hand up and said: "We have no bloody idea what you are talking about."

The Bible didn't exist, even as an idea.

Jesus knew they knew, off the top of their heads, what he meant by "ALL my commands."

"GOD NEVER CHANGES HIS MIND."

My dude, God changes his mind as often as you change your underwear... which is to say, occasionally.

But we are all grateful when it occurs.

The Great Paradox:
God is changeless.
God changes his mind.

🧵 GENESIS: God changes the number of righteous people needed to save Sodom, multiple times. This happens all because of the badgering of Abraham, who got God to change. [18:16-33]

7 TIPS FOR THOSE MAKING BIBLE READING RESOLUTIONS for 2023: 🧵

1. DON’T MAKE A BIBLE READING RESOLUTION:
… use the time instead to practice your faith. Serve the marginalized, defend the oppressed, and fight injustice. Meet your neighbors. Be the Good Samaritan. Micah 6:8. 2. IF YOU STILL DECIDE TO READ THE BIBLE:
… for the love of God, do NOT start in the beginning. It’s not meant to be read that way & you will die—or wish you were dead—around Leviticus or Numbers.

3. CONSIDER STARTING IN ONE OF THESE:
… Mark, Esther, Ruth, Philippians, Jonah

CHRISTMAS TRIVIA TO WOW (and ANNOY) THE FAMILY: 🧵

1. MARY IS NEVER SAID TO HAVE RIDDEN A DONKEY... only that they traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

2. THERE IS NO INN/INNKEEPER... the text says that the "lodging space" in the house was full. 3. THERE WAS PROBABLY NO BARN/CAVE... animals were kept in a first-floor room under the family's second-level lodging space.

3. NO ANIMALS ARE SAID TO BE PRESENT AT THE BIRTH... only a manger is mentioned.

4. THE ANGELS NEVER SING TO THE SHEPHERDS... they speak their message.

SUICIDE:

— IS NOT self-murder
— IS NOT the unforgivable sin
— IS NOT breaking the 6th Commandment
— IS NOT going to keep you from God’s love
— IS NOT the fault of “suicide survivors”

If you’ve been taught these things, please seek a Mental Health Professional for better advice. There are many wonderful books and resources for “suicide survivors” (those left behind after a suicide), but this one was most helpful to me in my own journey as a survivor.

This book AND professional counseling (EMDR).

amzn.to/3gCYmG6

QUICK TIPS FROM JESUS for DEALING WITH YOUR FAMILY 🧵

1. PRETEND YOU DON'T KNOW THEM
MARK 3:31-32 — “Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out & talk with them... Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

1/7 2. HIDE and SPEND TIME WITH OTHER PEOPLE

LK 2:42-32 — "When Jesus was 12, they attended the festival as usual... they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem... Three days later they discovered him in the Temple, talking with the religious leaders."

2/7