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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #005

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Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcasts are designed to provoke and stir the imagination to greater leadership capabilities. These podcasts are targeted toward non-profit leaders aim to Empower With Hope!

These inaugural podcast episodes are laying the foundation for everything that Shepherds Advantage will offer. “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell is being used because of it’s comprehensive list. There simply is no other list that covers the depth and breadth of foundational laws of leading. There is an affiliate link below to purchase the book and a companion workbook.

In this episode we will focus upon:

The Law of Intuition

  1. Leaders are readers of their situation
  2. Leaders are readers of trends
  3. Leaders are readers of their resources
  4. Leaders are readers of people
  5. Leaders are readers of themselves

The Law of Magnetism – 7 Criteria

  1. GENERATION – Most organizations reflect their key leaders and that includes their age.
  2. ATTITUDE – Rarely if ever will you see positive and negative people attracted to each other.
  3. BACKGROUND – People attract and are attracted to others of similar backgrounds.
  4. VALUES – People are attracted to other people whose values are similar. It does not matter whether these shared values are positive or negative.
  5. ENERGY – High energy people and low energy people can drive each other crazy. One believes the other is lazy and the other believes the one is insane.
  6. GIFTEDNESS – We are not in the business of looking for mediocrity people to join our team.
  7. LEADERSHIP ABILITY – We tend to bring people along side of us who are similar in their leadership styles. We do not usually go very far outside of our capabilities of performance and belief.

LINKS

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership WORKBOOK by John Maxwell

The complete show notes and slides are found on our YouTube Channel

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Premier Service – Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #004

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:26 — 24.2MB) | Embed

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcasts are designed to provoke and stir the imagination to greater leadership capabilities. These podcasts are targeted toward non-profit leaders aim to Empower With Hope!

These inaugural podcast episodes are laying the foundation for everything that Shepherds Advantage will offer. “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell is being used because of it’s comprehensive list. There simply is no other list that covers the depth and breadth of foundational laws of leading. There is an affiliate link below to purchase the book and a companion workbook.

In this episode we will focus upon:

The Law of Solid Ground – Trust is the foundation of leadership

  • How important is trust for a leader? It is the most important thing! TRUST is the foundation of leadership. It is the glue that holds organizations together. Leaders cannot repeatedly break trust with people and yet influence them at the same time.

3 Truths That Character Communicates 

  1. Character Communicates Consistency
  2. Character Communicates Potential
  3. Character Communicates Respect

The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a man. What a man is survives him and it cannot be buried – J.R. Miller

The Law of Respect – People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves

  • This is not a guessing game – people do not follow others by accident. People follow other leaders whom they respect. We simply tend to follow other leaders that are better than ourselves – that is the Law of Respect!
  • Dennis Peer states, “One measure of leadership is the caliber of people who choose to follow you.”. The second thing you should do is to see how your people respond when you ask for commitment or change.
  • When leaders are not respected and they ask for commitment or change, people will doubt and question the rationale and make excuses or simply walk away.

LINKS

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership WORKBOOK by John Maxwell

The complete show notes and slides are found on our YouTube Channel

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Premier Service – Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #003

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:03 — 24.8MB) | Embed

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcasts are designed to provoked and stir the imagination to greater leadership capabilities. These podcasts targeted toward non-profit leaders aim to Empower With Hope! 

These inaugural podcast episodes are laying the foundation for everything that Shepherds Advantage will offer. “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell is being used because of it’s comprehensive list. There simply is no other list that covers the depth and breadth of foundational laws of leading. There is an affiliate link below to purchase the book and a companion workbook.

This episode will focus upon:

The Law of Navigation: Anyone can steer a ship but it takes a leader to chart the course!

  • Leroy Eims suggests that a good leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther that others see, and sees before others do.
  • The larger the assignment the more clearly the leader has to be in order to see ahead. If there are mistakes in navigation, many lives are impacted by errors in poor leadership. The story of Titanic illustrates what happens when we cannot see far enough ahead.

4 Step Process 

  1. Navigators draw upon past experience
  2. Navigators examine the conditions before making commitments
  3. Navigators listen to what others have to say
  4. Navigators make sure their conclusions represent fact and faith

The Law of Addition – Leaders add value by serving others

  • “Are you making things better for the people who follow you?” If you cannot answer this question without hesitation and give evidence that backs this up – you are a SUBTRACTOR LEADER!
  • In contrast to the subtractors’, I would agree with John Maxwell that 90% of all people who add value to others do so intentionally. By nature humans are selfish! I am selfish! If I am going to add value to people around me then I must get out of my comfort zone every day.

4 Guidelines In Adding Value To Others 

  1. We add value to others when we truly value other
  2. We add value to others when we make ourselves more valuable to others
  3. We add value to others when we know and relate to what others value
  4. We add value to others when we do things that God values

LINKS

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership WORKBOOK by John Maxwell

The complete show notes and slides are our YouTube Channel

Shepherd Advantage Services & Resources

Executive Coaching – Private message for details on this Premier Service

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the gift icon at he bottom of the page

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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One and Only One

I am only one. That’s all I am. I am only one and I will always be only one. I was born as one, I will live as one, and on the day of my death I will die as one. In this journey that we all call life, I am and will always be completely restricted and wholly limited to being one and only one. And all of those daunting realities strike me as miserably pathetic and colossally discouraging. Sadly, I am only one. (Craig Lounsbrough)iam-onlyone11blogThink about the reality of being one and only one of a moment. In the span of this minute, hour, day, or lifetime, my existence will be largely unnoticed. Before you send me an email expressing your bewilderment, just think about what I have said. Keep in mind I am talking about the larger scope of life and human race. Does our existence matter? While your head explodes with this reality, consider some possibilities of thought.

My Unique Presence

I am unbelievably blessed to be who I am. “We are fearfully and wonderfully made.” While I was in the womb, I was being uniquely fashioned and shaped. Our creator took the time to fashion us, shape us, mold us into a unique “one.” Therefore, I have a privilege of impacting other “ones” around me.  I can be one person who impacts the world one person at a time. I am uniquely suited to impact “ones” in a unique way. That is impressive don’t you think?  So, I need to get busy as “one” impacting other “ones.” But I have fears about being “one.”

As One I Am Not Enough – Being just “one” is perceived as being insufficient and inadequate. Our world is not some massive mass of people. It is made up of individuals. Our world is made up of individuals just like me experiencing life the same way. Yet we fear that being one is insufficient.

As One I Fear Rejection – On the one hand we desire to be heard and yet on the other hand we fear that once we are heard we will be rejected or just blown off and being insignificant. Better yet, what if we are heard and then beat down with accusations of being irrelevant or not being politically correct. In faith initiatives, what if I am discovered to be some faith-moron that has not memorized the bible?

As One I May Not Be Loud Enough – While everyone else strives to be heard in a noisy world, I become concerned that I am not loud enough. Stephen Covey called it “White Water!”  You cannot scream loud enough and long enough in this noisy world to be heard. Our voice is drowned by the sound of white water. What we need to keep in mind is that I am screaming at the world to be heard by the world, I only need to be heard by another “one.” We speak to others around us and that is loud enough.

I am one in a sea of humanity. Yet I am one! I am part of a greater mosaic storyline in which all other “ones” are communicating and are part of the great story from the beginning of time. Because I am one, I have only one chance at it – I must make it count! In a world that has lost its mooring and values – step up and be that ONE who speaks and makes a difference. One stone in the middle of a lake creates a ripple effect of change.

Ministers – be the ONE who speaks a fresh word against all odds in a world spiraling out of control! Leave a comment – Start a conversation – Make some waves! Leave your comment below and I will do my best to interact with your thoughts.

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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #002

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Albert Einstein stated that you cannot change your circumstance with the same thinking that created it. You simply cannot lead anything past your own ability to think. When you factor in the socio-economic climate of our present time you realize the significant changes that are occurring daily. Technology has given us a unique way to connect and inter-connect with our world. This podcast series is about “Empowerment With Hope!”

The foundation of this podcast series is being built upon the foundation of leadership laws. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell is the context for building this podcast series. Laws can be ignored, but the consequences cannot. This episode will focus upon the Law of Influence and the Law of Process.

The 5 Myths of Leadership – Law of Influence

  1. The Management Myth – you manage programs, but you lead people
  2. The Entrepreneur Myth – Seeing before others and ahead of others does not automatically mean you possess great people skills
  3. The Knowledge Myth – Educational accomplishments does not equal social capabilities
  4. The Pioneer Myth – Staying ahead without influencing people to follow may lead to difficult trail-blazing
  5. The Position Myth – Title does not bring automatic social influencing skills

Phases of Leadership Growth – Law of Process

  1. I don’t know what I don’t know
  2. i know that I need to know
  3. I know what I don’t know
  4. I know and grow and it starts to show
  5. I simply go because of what I know

LINKS

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership WORKBOOK by John Maxwell

Full show notes with all slides are posted on YouTube

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Contact Shepherds Advantage for the pricing information on the Coaching and Birkman 360 Reports by private message on our Facebook Page.

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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SA Leadership Podcast Episode #001

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:57 — 26.5MB) | Embed

Thank-you for being part of this inaugural beginning of Shepherd Advantage’s podcast series on Non-profit Leadership. The aim of this series is to give “Empowerment With Hope!” When you factor in the pressure of this economy in terms of raising support and funding for your dreams, factor in the social climate that has an anti-faith bias, you are faced with daunting task. Not impossible however!

This inaugural program focuses upon the foundational building blocks of leadership. The 21 Irrefutable Law of Leadership by John Maxwell will be the foundation on which all of the discussion of this podcast series will be built. This material is the most comprehensive of all the materials available.

Albert Einstein stated that you cannot change your circumstance the same thinking that created it. Learning is required as a leader. This process of learning begins with a review of the laws that govern what we call leadership. In fact “Servant Leadership” is to be preferred stylistically. This is the premium model of influencing others.

Links:

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership WORKBOOK by John Maxwell

Full show notes with all slides are posted on YouTube

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

9 Natural Laws of Leadership by Warren Blank

3 Laws of Peak Performance in Leadership by Brian Tracey

5 Laws of Leadership Survival by Kevin Berchelmann

8 Universal Laws of Leadership by Dr. William Cohan

Birkman Coaching Report

Birkman 360

Contact Shepherds Advantage for the pricing information on the Coaching and Birkman 360 Reports by private message on our Facebook Page.

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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Crucial Conversations

Not all conversations are created equal. There are conversations that drain the brain of vital energy and creativity. Then there are conversations that stimulate energy and creativity.FD2659C3209C01E345DE0A88ED638FBA  It is funny at how we avoid certain topics and embrace others. In the faith landscape of America there are conversations that must occur in 2015. In a blog post Carey Nieuwhof suggested a similar discussion that really got me to thinking about conversations that I may not be engaging in and really could be hurting my leadership ability. I would offer 5 crucial conversations that we should engage in ASAP!

  • Are our leaders healthy – really? In the book “The Advantage” Patrick Lencioni suggests that organizational health trumps everything else in the market place. That health presumes healthy leaders. In my opinion this is the most crucial topic of our times and the most ignored. We focus on healthy models of production instead of the health of the practionner.
  • Why are young adults walking from churches? There is a beginning trend and far too early to  declare a cultural shift – people desire to engage the actual mission work of the Kingdom instead of hearing sermons and songs. Don’t get me wrong, this is not to suggest these are insignificant. Rather it is to say that if we are not missional engaged in our community then we are not serving our attendee’s very well. Give them a purpose for belonging and a challenge that is bigger than their ability to write the check.
  • What cultural shifts are we ignoring? The culture is changing faster than the church. I do not believe this is healthy. It is not to suggest that we should go through a season of rapid change for the sake of it. We should however, change to demonstrate the relevance of the gospel message in any culture, race, gender, and location.
  • How do we respond to people who attend church less often? As we continue to shift to hyper post-modernity, people feel less guilty in participating in church and they are less likely to offer loyalty to your cause. The rise of online options and other various ways to engage faith, people feel more likely to take charge of their time and use how they see fit. Occasional is the new normal. The non church attender hates hypocrisy and loves transparency. How are we responding?
  • What are we really willing to change? Change does not come easy. We are willing to die on the matte for the sake of tradition even if it is wrong – after all we have to save face! We can swear and curse all of the changes in social media and technology or we can embrace these changes and adapt our thinking. If our belief system is truly true, then we have nothing to fear. That which is true is true through the ages, places, and spaces of the time continuum. We need only contextualize our methods to meet a new day. YES we will grieve over what we have lost, but we must press forward or lose relevance!

Leave a comment – I would be greatly interested in engaging the conversation with you. I am one to hear other conversations that you feel should be included in this article. Leave a voice message. I will attempt to respond to your comments.

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Why Leadership Matters – 3 Keys

Let’s agree from the opening statements – “We need good leaders!”  CLIstudentsIn order to obtain good leaders there are some underlying assumptions to be considered. Well- resourced development materials and strategies should underpin leadership development. So why is this being overlooked and in fact outright ignored? Could it be that we have been oversaturated with quotes from Jim Collins, Warren Bennis, and John Maxwell? Perhaps our need for immediate gratification has caused us to short-circuit leadership comprehensions to the greater pay-off of accomplishment. If that is so, then we must accept that we are motivated more by events than long-term legacy building. Jesus’ illustration of investing into a rag-tag group of 12 men to win the world should at least stir within us a greater need for authentic discipleship strategy versus immediate payoff’s.

So that we do not miss the obvious and reach a crisis moment that reveals our unpreparedness consider 3 keys on what leadership development consists.

Leadership Is Biblical

When you read through the Bible about the great moves of God, we generally read about a great leader that God used in that event. God uses his leaders to accomplish his purposes is consistent throughout the Biblical narrative. Consider Paul’s words regarding those who aspire to the role of Overseer and he declared it to be noble. That nobility is further highlighted in 1 Timothy 3 where the qualifications of the Pastor is discussed.

Scripture is filled with examples of great leaders and we all know their names and their accomplishments. However, scriptures also give us the not-so-good leaders to learn from their failures so that we do not repeat them. Scriptures describes and prescribes leadership therefore, making it a practice and principle at the same time.

Leadership Is Theological

There are things that Biblical leaders are to do and there are things that Biblical leaders are to be. 1 Timothy 3 gives us a great insight on the life and doctrine of the Pastor. Biblical leadership development is not just about memorizing passages of scripture and adequately arguing theological themes. Rather it is about leading correctly!

Romans 12:8 suggests that our leadership responsibility is to be taken seriously. Ephesians 4:11 gives clear roles and responsibility in Biblical leadership. Mark 7:8-9 Jesus gives the religious leaders a clear warning about catering to the traditions of men as opposed to scriptural preparation. In just a few scripture references we see the theological dimension to leadership. For further insight on developing this construct I would reference Tony Morgans ebook, Developing A Theology of Leadership.

Leadership Is Contextual

Because of the theological aspect of leadership, this plays directly into this third key – leadership is set within a context, not a vacuum. Why is contextualization important? Simply stated, what works in one place will not necessarily work in another. Our theology is what drives our contextualization. Otherwise we may convince ourselves that we are called to be “culture crashers” instead of Kingdom Builders!

The fact of the variety of contexts speaks to God’s creativity and purposes. Beyond corner-stone pieces of theology that remains true from place to place and from time to time, leadership contextualization must be taken seriously. The mantra of “Do what I do and get what I got” is simply a leadership cop-out. Agonizing seasons of prayer, solitude, and learning the culture is the only way to truly contextualize your efforts as a leader. Cookie-cutter models are a thing of the past. Customizations within a context will produce long-term legacy versus short term payoff. Without a sensitivity to the context of our leadership, barriers will be erected, difficulty becomes the norm, and distrust is born. WHY? We have not connected to the people we are called to lead.

The Biblical and theological aspects of leadership are unchanging and remain fixed. However, the contextualization of our leading varies from place to place. Our leadership development strategy should encompass all three keys to Biblical leadership. Be careful about becoming trapped in the cookie-cutter, get busy, action over substance treadmill that leaves leaders disillusioned and discouraged. Leadership matters because it is Biblical, Theological, and Contextual.

Leave a comment or call to leave a message. I would love to dialogue with you on your thoughts for 2015.

 

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5 Things I Am Praying For In 2015

2014-2015-calendar-hero

As we prepare to say good-bye to 2014 and hello to 2015, let us review some of the key take away’s in 2014. According Bible Gateway the #1 Bible verse is John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave is only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” The #1 word searched in the Bible (both English and Spanish) is “Love.” Google Search Engine states we searched trillions of subjects. We searched “hope” instead of fiction, we searched for “belief” and for “cure” instead of fantasy. A search of various 2014 in review opinions reveals that we started the year out celebrating Colorado’s right to recreational marajuana  and Affordable Health Care Act and it would seem that we are ending the year celebrating transgenderism while searching for a missing Asian Airliner. Somehow between the smoke and celebrating our interpretation of human design we manage to land a space probe on a comet deep into outer space. Go figure! In fact Dave Barry’s 2014 in review is entitled, “There’s Just No Explaining 2014.” The bizarre nature of 2014 caused Rush Limbaugh to declare in a December 2014 broadcast that “the truth is inadequate to persuade people from what they want to believe.”

We all have presuppositions that shape our worldview that is manifested by our behavior. My worldview is biblio-centric. The bible allows me to believe in God sending his Son Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, raised on a cross, buried in a tomb, raised from the dead on the 3rd day, and is now ascended and seated at the right of the heavenly Father. Therefore, there are 5 things I am praying for in 2015.

  1. A Greater Prayer Emphasis – Prayer is not for ceremonialism that adds a touch of class to pomp and circumstance of life. Prayer is the heart-beat of the believing community of Christ-followers. Perhaps 2015 is a year that we live out 2 Chronicles 7:14; “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
  2. Stand Up For Biblical Truth – We are living in a country that grants the freedom to believe and express our belief’s. However, that freedom does not preclude the right to annihilate another’s right to believe in an eternal God. I am praying for strength of conviction by those in the pulpits of our nation to speak truth with passion and a freshness that energizes conviction. Multiculturalism is leading our nation to moral rot. By definition “every person’s truth cannot be true at the same time and in all places.” The Law of Noncontradiction states that something cannot be true and not true at the same time when dealing with the same context. Focus groups and polling data does not instill moral absolutes that you can build your life upon.
  3. Intentional Evangelism – Ed Stetzer’s article, “Why Pentecostal’s Are Growing In Number” suggests this growth to be sociological and not so theological. His reasoning suggests a “shared conviction of urgency” is what contributes to this growth. Pentecostal’s believe their message is significant and urgent enough that the whole world needs to hear. Therefore, evangelism becomes a primary concern and not an ancillary after-thought. If our message is compelling, then our voice should be passionate – “Go into all of the world…” is still mandated by scripture. Non-christians are waiting on an invitation to go to church – invite them.
  4. A Strong Mission Agenda – A mission agenda is more than holiday good-will. It is a deliberate agenda that challenges people to pray for the nations, participate in short-term missions projects at home and abroad, an action plan that keeps missional needs in front of people throughout the entire year.
  5. Deliberate Discipleship – The Great Commission of the church is still disciple-making of the converts so that more converts can be discipled. This requires intentionality of the subjects offered coupled with missional activity. Learning that does not have a practical outlet carries only minimal value. When linked to practical hands-on application truth becomes alive. These twin realities also lend themselves to positive church membership expectations. People want to learn, but they also want to participate.

These are my thoughts for the New Year. I would love to hear what you are praying for in 2015. Share your thoughts below or leave a voice message and I will do my best to respond to you.

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3 Things You Missed In The Nativity

It is time to take another look at the nativity. One more look at the nativity will reveal three things that are easily overlooked.

the_nativity_story_08

  1. Look At The Star – It Says, “God Wants Me To Find Him” – Matthew 2:9-10
    1. “ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold the star that they had seen when it rose went before them and came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
    2. God is not playing the childhood game of “hide and seek!”
      1. “…Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and we have come to worship him.” V.2
    3. Where would I have been if I had not found the star? When you follow God you do not need a crowbar to be pried loose or a cattle-prod to be motivated!
      1. When you find God you will find your purpose
      2. God has provided a travel guide for you – your star of Bethlehem!
    4. God wants you to be a star for others – you are to be a star to lead others to Jesus. Your void and emptiness will never be filled without God!
  2. Look At The Stable – It Says, “God Wants Me To Know Him” – Luke 2:1-7
    1. Men of nobility found him. Shepherds found him. God wants us to find him. He provides celestial phenomena or angels singing in the heavens for the shepherds – bottom line – God want us to find him.
    2. When you stop long enough to think about it, the only people that had a difficult time in finding Jesus were religious people. They gave Him a lot of difficulty!
      1. Religious people always know how the church is to be run and how the preacher is to perform.
      2. Until we become broken over fruitless church activity, we should not talk about how the church is to function.
    3. Look at God – He passed up good people to get to bad people. He passed up well people to get to crippled people.
      1. His love is a “HESED” unconditional love for us.
    4. God says; “I do not want to do thrones – I want to do ‘cow-sheds!’”
  3. Look At The Manger – It Says, “God Wants Me To Be Blessed By Him” Luke 2:7
    1. The manger was most likely hewn out of stone and not wood. This represents longevity, free from rot and serious erosion, a symbol of blessing because food is provided there.
    2. Jesus is the Bread of Life and Living Water
      1. Here is the real meaning: God takes the extraordinary and places it in the ordinary because He wants to be accessible.
        1. We will never surprise God by our behavior.
        2. Religious people are always disappointed in God’s unconditional love.
    3. This is an IQ TEST: “Why would you not want a God who wants you to find Him, know Him, and bless you?”