All around us, the air we breathe, we often don’t think about it, just assume it will be there. The concept of the air we breathe parallels the idea of the values, that many in the West hold in common, and form the foundation of our society. But, take a quick holiday to a different country or read some history, and it’s apparent that many values we hold so dear, true and obvious; are actually WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic). What this shows is how it’s the Jesus story that has formed us in the West, and while Christians certainly also have a chequered history, their very failures are judged by Christian reasons and standards. The series shows that we don’t just believe in values with no foundation, but that the values are distinctively connected to Jesus’ story, and it was the embrace of this story that made them the air we breathe. Here is the series break down:
- The Power of the Cross, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, 2:1-10 (Sept 21)
- Air of Equality, Genesis 1:1-27; Phillipians 2:1-11; Psalm 115:16 (Sept 28)
- Air of Compassion, Mark 1:40-42; Matt 20:29-34; Luke 7:11-17; Matt 25:31-43; John 19:23-27 (Oct 5)
- Air of Consent, Matt 19:3-12; Ephesians 5:25-33; 1 Corinthians 6:18-7:5; Matt 18:5-7 (Oct 12)
- Air of Gentleness, Matt 16:21-28; Ephesians 6:17; Isaiah 53:7-8 (Oct 19)
- Air of Scientific Order, John 1:1-14; Genesis 1:1-8; John 14:1-7 (Oct 26)
- Air of Freedom, Genesis 1:24-31; Galatians 3:26-4:7; Luke 4:16-21 (Nov 2)
- Air of Progress, Isaiah 9:1-7; Revelation 21:1-8; Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 (Nov 9)
- The King of the Air, Genesis 2; Psalm 2; Psalm 130:3; Mark 2:17; Matthew 13:1-34 (Nov 16)
A book to read alongside this series that will be referred to is Glen Scrivener’s The Air We Breathe: How We All Came To Believe In Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality.
