We compare an odd story (the feeding of the 5000) about Jesus with an odd story (beheading of John the Baptist) about Herod. We have two different rulers, two different kinds of strangeness. One desperately insecure, and one doesn’t need security at all.
We look at the parables of the mustard seed, the yeast, the buried treasure, the pearl of great worth, and the dragnet. We focus on the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast, noticing their scrappiness and their need for “death” or “emptying” in order for growth.
We look at the parable of the wheat and the weeds and talk about perseverance and patience as the children of God.
We look at the parable of the sower, and what it means to be “good soil”.
After an interaction with John the Baptist’s messengers, Jesus decries the apathy of Israel who have largely ignored the prophetic presence and speech of both John or Jesus.
We continue looking at the “Missionary Discourse” from Matthew 10, where we Jesus encouraging the disciples, who have been sent out to depend upon the hospitality of others, by letting them know that God is with them.
This week, we jump back into the middle of Matthew and find Jesus sending his disciples out to depend upon the hospitality of a people he expects to be inhospitable. We find our mission in this same calling at Living Water.
We jump back into Matthew this week, looking at the very last passage in the book. The disciples encounter the risen Christ, responding with both worship and doubt, and Jesus leaves them (and us) with what is often called “the great commission.”
When Mary and Mary find the tomb empty, they hear and spread the good news that Jesus is risen and everything has changed! Warning – we had this year’s Easter service at Fault Line Park, and it was quite windy, which you can hear in our low-budget recording. Apologies! But wind doesn’t change the good news…
We look at Jesus’ fasting and temptations out in the wilderness, and the significance of him resisting these particular temptations. Dostoevsky’s “The Grand Inquisitor” chapter of The Brothers Karamazov helps us out a bit.