Journal 3




1. What is the one key idea of this chapter

The Key idea of chapter three is being called to be more like Jesus. The gospel of Matthew contains the life of Jesus Christ himself. This allowed for many of the early Christian communities to find hope in Jesus. Matthew contains tons of stories of Jesus helping others, escaping temptation from the devil, and preaching the good news of God. Jesus is an idol Christian, but God did not just send Him to earth to be put up on a pedestal and admire. He was put on earth for so we could live like him. When I am around my friends, I have a mount that I could preach on, but I do not use it. When I am faced with someone in need, I need to help them. And when I am tempted with drugs, alcohol, and hurting others (devil), i need to deny it. I need to be more like Jesus.



2. Write about two major ideas you want to remember.

One major idea I want to remember is the temptation narrative. This gives a truely good characteristic of Jesus that I need to live after. In today's world there are so many evil temptations such as doing drugs are cool or putting the less fortunate down is funny. These things are taught through movies, magazines, advertisements, and more. I need to learn to take in the good and not be tempted by the bad. I need to reject society's evil temptations. For example, if I see a retarded kid, I may think of the movie called The Ringer, which makes fun of retarded people a little bit. In that situation I need to keep myself from laughing and realize that retarded people are not funny, but the actors in a certain movie just make me laugh. That is just one example. Jesus had a lot of courage to reject the devil's offer, and we, as Christians, need to have the same courage.

Another idea I want to remember is the judgement of nations. In this passage in Matthew, it makes it seem very difficult to get to heaven. This is a great reminder that if you want to be judged the right way in the end, you have to be like Jesus. Although, you may not have to be perfect and do all the things the judgement of nations passage says such as feeding the hungry and visiting the ill, you cannot just do one or two things. It is a reminder that you cannot just give money to the poor and do whatever the rest of your life. You need to continue to be like Jesus and truely ask for forgiveness for your wrongs. From now on, if I think I am doing something good and and being like Jesus, I need to remember this passage, for it might get me to do more.



3. One image that captures the chapter for you.





4. One significant question you have from this chapter.

What is the leeway on the necessities for getting into heaven in the judgement of nations.



5. Pick one organization working for social justice today. Describe the organization and what it does.

The National Coalition for the Homeless is a organinization that is on a mission to end homelessness. They were founded in 1982 and have been fighting for this social justice ever since. They do not only work with the currently homeless, but also with those who have been or are on the verge of becoming homeless. On top of different events such as the Street Soccer USA Organizing Conference and the National Homeless and Low Income Voter Registration Week, there is a National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, held November 11-17, 2007, amoung other things. This seems to be a great group for a great cause. Here is there site:National Coalition for the Homeless