Duck or rabbit?... considering perspective

          Proverbs 21:2 (nasb)

          Proverbs 18:17 (nasb)

          James 1:19

          Matthew 7:3-5

          Proverbs 17:17

          Ephesians 4:15

     Wrestling with ‘wedges’… seeing both duck & rabbit

          Ephesians 6:1-3

          James 1:20

          Romans 12:21

          II Samuel 11-12

     The individual, the heart and the ‘content of character’

          II Samuel 16:7

          John 4:20-24

          Galatians 3:8

"We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society

that can live with its conscience. That will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man.

That will be a day of man as man."

                                                                        Martin Luther King  

      Race Relations—“A Spiritual Starter Kit”— Part 1

   Racial Wound… The Long Road In

“Have a little understanding”

          Proverbs 20:5

          Matthew 7:3-5

          Colossians 3:12

Into the mess… a historical survey

          Joshua 4:9, 21-22

          Matthew 23:35-36

   “There are no accidents… the past is the cause of the present,

     and the present will be the cause of the future.”

                                                                      -- Abraham Lincoln  

          John 4:4-9ff

Out of the mess… grace & mercy

          Romans 3:23-24Sources & further reading…

     History of African American challenges:

The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, by Richard Wormser

Slavery by Another Name… The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, by Douglas A. Blackmon

The Warmth of Other Suns… The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson

     For an exploration of starkly contrasting political

     approaches read both:

Color Blind… The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the

              Retreat From Racial Equity, by Tim Wise

White Guilt… How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era, by Shelby Steele

     For a distinctly Christian relational perspective:

Gracism… The Art of Inclusion, by Pastor David Anderson

• You Are Valuable....  I John 3:1 / Luke 15:1-7

• You Are Loved.... Romans 5:6-11

• ReFrame Your Adventure.... Matthew 6:22-23

• Failure is Part of the Adventure.... Acts 9:10-19

•  The Blessing of the Adventure....

- Jesus.... Matthew 5:10-11

Paradox - The Call to Adventure!

Follow - Matthew 16:24-27

3 Keys . . .

1. Deny
   
2. Take up
3. Follow

2 Big Questions

1 Incredible Promise

Darkness <> Light - John 8:12

Shame ? - Romans 10:9-11

Risk Involves Goals . . .

Jesus' goal - Luke 19:10

Jesus' goal for us Mark 1:17

Goal 1 - Follow Him

Goal 2 - Fish for lost people

Wrong goals - Matthew 6:19-21

Don't accumulate possessions  . . . Accumulate experiences

Success <> Failure

Greatest Risk is Taking No Risks At All

> Risk - Reflect - Do