Category: Faith

The Slow and Secret Kingdom Growth

Rob Woodrum3 Comments

Well…how did/do you like the one service idea for the summer?  K said to me “It’s hot, it’s crowded, and I LOVE it!”  That made me happy.  D said “I was so hot it was almost distracting.”  That made me less happy, but concerned about people’s experiences.  We did have an issue with the air conditioners not coming on early enough…so lets hope this week is a little cooler.  Let me hear your thoughts if you have any on this subject.

sower_with_setting_sunThis Sunday we’ll be looking at the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8:1-15 .

It’s a story that Jesus tells which causes us to normally focus on the types of soil that the seed of God’s word gets planted into.  What type of soil am I, hard like pavement,  stony (as in covered with rocks, not being stoned…c’mon!) or full of weeds, or good soil that is receptive to God’s word.  That’s a legitimate way to consider this story…but this Sunday I want to look at an underlying message in this parable.   A message about HOW the kingdom of God is being advanced on this planet.

As you read this, what do you think is the all important factor to having a crop…that is, to having people accepting the rule of God over their lives and the difference that makes?  Why do you think Jesus doesn’t explain who the “sower” is?  What do we learn about the efforts of the sower, and the control he has over the situation?  Things to think about before we cram together this Sunday!

Honoring Christ (Without Being a Religious Jerk)

Rob Woodrum2 Comments

This Sunday we’ll be reading the rest of Luke 7, so, it will be v36-50.

The passage is the account of a dinner party thrown by a Pharisee named Simon.  It’s a party Jesus is invited to…maybe even as the guest of honor.  The cultural etiquette was different from our day.  In that culture, dinner parties were often held in courtyards or in rooms adjacent to courtyards.  The general public could stop by and observe, or listen to the guest of honor if he happened to be a rabbi or respected teacher.

The diners would recline on couches that surrounded a table called a  triclinium .

While the dining customs and etiquettes are vastly different from ours, the odd behavior of the woman and her crashing this party would have been just as awkward and weird as it would be today.  There are so many ways to look at this scene…we can view it from the Pharisee’s vantage point, and consider his rudeness and self righteousness.  We can see it from Jesus’ standpoint, the total grasp he had on the situation, and his willingness to associate with people who are marginalized.  Or we can consider it from the woman’s perspective…her lavish expression of love and devotion.

This Sunday, I’m going to focus on the woman’s expression of honor and love to Jesus.  We’ll consider the implications to our own lives as we seek to be people who honor and worship our Lord.  What do you notice about her, about Jesus’ reaction to her, about the Pharisee’s reaction to her.  How would we apply her expression of worship to our own?  Those are the things to think about and discuss for Sunday.  See yaz then!

Honest Doubt When We’re Disappointed

Rob Woodrum5 Comments

Me, myself and againThis Sunday, we’ll be returning to our study in the Gospel of Luke, and we’ll be reading vs 18-35.

John the Baptist reappears in our narrative.  We read back in Luke 3:19 that Herod, Rome’s puppet king over Palestine had put John in prison because he was publicly speaking against his marriage to his brother’s wife.  While he is sitting in jail, awaiting the rise of the Messiah/King/Conquerer…he hears stories about Jesus being nice to tax collectors, and healing servants of Roman officers…and he is suddenly and quite understandably, nagged by doubts about Jesus being the Messiah.

How does Jesus respond to John’s obvious doubt and concern?  Do John’s doubts influence Jesus’ summary of John’s ministry?  What is the basis for John’s doubts…why does  he begin to doubt Jesus?  What can we learn from that as we examine our own struggle with doubt?

Those are some of the things we’ll be looking at on Sunday.  Hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend, and please don’t forget to pray for the families of those who have been lost in our country’s wars.

Processions to Parades

Rob Woodrum9 Comments

Hey gang!  This Sunday we’ll be looking at Luke 7:11-17 . As you look at that passage, what are the characteristics you notice about this collision of two different groups?  What strikes you about Jesus in this passage?  If you were to take this story of a miracle and try to make a present and personal application of it…how and where would you see yourself in this story?

A few other things: Remember that we are having Burning House this Sunday (a week earlier than normal, because the following week is Memorial Day weekend, and Riley will be out of town)…so make a note of it!

Also, don’t know if you know Dave Lloyd, but he’s a writer/blogger who hangs with Eastgate, and I read this post he wrote about Tweeting in church…check it out please!  Here’s the thing, if you Tweet, I’m encouraging you to start following Dave’s example and Tweet while I teach.  His reasoning is really sound for doing this, and I love how interactive our exploration of the Bible becomes in this.

To start, follow Dave on Twitter. (you don’t HAVE to do this step, but since he started this, I thought it would be cool to sort of rally around his tweets)

Next, during the teaching time on Sunday mornings, have your Twitter app open, and copy the main bullet points you see on the screen.  Then, as you are listening and thinking about what the text is saying, add your OWN thoughts about it, and use the #eastgate hashtag Dave started.  That way, we can all look at the various insights the Holy Spirit has provided during our examination of the passage.  Personally, the whole thing sounds like so much fun!!! PLEASE give it a try! (Howbeit, if your first question is “what is a tweet?”, this may not be for you…but if it IS for you, do it!)

See you Sunday!

The Counterculture Ethic (2) – Mercy and Commitment

Rob Woodrum2 Comments

Before we get to the verse we’re studying this Sunday (Mother’s Day, in case you forgot)…I want to run something by you.

I was talking with my friend Allen Newton, the pastor of Woodlawn UMC, and he told me he felt God laid it on his heart to ask local Christians to join in on a specific time for prayer, concerning our community…the oil spill, the economy…the whole thing.  Instead of this being a big, organized, publicized deal, his thought was “let’s just tell Christians to go to the beach, whatever one they like or frequent, at 5pm on Sunday afternoon, and pray for our beach.”  I love the idea…it sounds like a move of the Spirit to me.  No program or huge organizational arrangement…just something organic and honest.  Just knowing that at 5pm, Sunday afternoon, Christians will gather all along the beach to ask God for His mercy on our community and His help in our lives…quietly, but confidently…just gets me stoked.

So, to recap: This is not an organized outreach or publicity deal…there is NO rally point…just go to the beach at 5pm on Sunday, May 9th, and pray. How long you stay is up to you.  Ask God for His mercy, ask Him to help stem the flow of the oil spill, ask Him to meet the needs of our community….ask that His kingdom comes, and His will be done, here and now like it’s done in His realm.  Who knows what the Lord may do if we ask Him.

Also, if you read this before 6pm on Thursday May 6th, there is a prayer meeting concerning the oil spill being rallied by West Bay Advent Christian Church (soon to be named Salt Life Church), at the City Pier out by Pier Park.

This Sunday we’ll be reading Luke 6:37-49

We’re going to consider Jesus’ counterculture ethic which calls us to avoid a critical spirit, be forgiving and generous…and also challenges us to a radical commitment to what he’s taught us about life.

Lets be honest…these are hard sayings by Christ.  Of all these things he mentions…which is the hardest to swallow?  Is it easy for you to forgive?  Do you feel like you apply the same standard to yourself that you apply to others?

The Counterculture Ethic – A Radical Love

Rob Woodrum4 Comments

Hey Ever’body!

This Sunday we’re going to look at the teachings of Jesus that I warned you about last Sunday.  My warning was only tongue in cheek, but what we will read is definitely something believers have struggled with since Jesus first uttered it.  We’re going to look at Luke 6:27-36.

Jesus makes some powerful and profound statements about God’s definition of love.  It is all very familiar stuff, and could easily be read past as a nice reminder to follow the “golden rule”…unless we make it personal.  Imagine someone in your life who’s hurt you.  Whether they cheated you or told a lie about you or abandoned you…whatever it may be.  Imagine that person, and then read all that Jesus says here about how love thinks and acts, and imagine doing what he says for the person who wronged you.  For that person.  It certainly isn’t the easiest of things to do, is it?

It would have been one thing if he just told us not to retaliate…we can usually find the nerve to grit our teeth and not fight back.  But he pushes the boundaries so far out…he tells us to be active in showing love to difficult people.  Jesus gives us a few reasons why we would do this, and a bit of an idea what it will result in.  What are those things?

How do you see this part of Jesus’ teachings effecting your own life?  Is this something you struggle with or ignore (I don’t offer the option of it being something you do well because I don’t want to tempt you into lying, … no one does this well).

What are your thoughts on this passage?  Do we take it literally, or is it just a nice thought, or something for the future, or an ideal couched in hyperbole?  What is your take?

See you Sunday.

A Change of Priorities

Rob Woodrum2 Comments

Hey everyone! Hope your week is going well.  This Sunday we’re going to be looking at Luke 6:12-26.

The narrative transitions from the conflicts Jesus had with the Pharisees to the choosing of the 12 apostles and the establishing of the Kingdom ethic.  As we explore this passage this week, I’m going to try and focus on the change in priorities that Jesus introduces us to.  A change from the standard priorities of this broken world to the values and priorities of Jesus’ kingdom project (to use a phrase coined by N.T. Wright).

v 12-16 we have the account of Jesus selecting his 12 apostles.  This occurs after an all night prayer session that Jesus has.  As I look at that list of names, something occurred to me as I considered Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot both being included on the team.  Considering the differences between the values these two men may have embraced, what, if anything, does it speak to you about our priorities and purposes in the community of Christ’s followers?

v 17-19 describes Jesus ministering to the multitudes.  If you were to try and summarize with one word the priorities revealed in these verses, what would it be?

v 20-26 begin what is referred to as “the sermon on the plain“, where Jesus teaches many of the same things, with a few variations, as he taught in the “sermon on the mount”.  With this opening salvo of “beatitudes”, or blessings, and the contrasting “woes”…what kind of picture do we see emerging about the values of the kingdom project?  Where does personal comfort place in these values?  Do these verses comfort or disturb you (or both)?

This should be a very interesting study…you never know, it may even get me into trouble.

See yer’ Sunday!

Against the Grain of Legalism

Rob Woodrum9 Comments

Hey…you know what?  15 years ago today, we had our very first Sunday meeting under the moniker of Eastgate Christian Fellowship.  A handful of broken misfits sitting around in a converted dress shop in the Promenade Mall, which has grown into a larger gathering of broken misfits sitting around in a converted gym.  I can remember the trepidation I felt that morning…concerned that I didn’t really know what I was doing.  After 15 years, I’m still waiting for that feeling to subside.  Nevertheless, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Eastgate…I think some good things have come of this experiment, in spite of us!

This Sunday we’ll be reading Luke 6:1-11.

In this passage, Jesus is confronted about the keeping of the Sabbath in two different stories.  V 5 and V9 seem to be the bottom line to each of the encounters.  What do you take from these vignettes?  What is Jesus trying to convey to the religious leaders about the law, Himself and what it means to please God?

When we  think about the Pharisees’ application of the law, what warning can we take to ourselves in our own application of the Gospel?

It should be an interesting study, hope you can make it!

One Touch Cleaning

Rob Woodrum3 Comments

Hey all…sorry this is late.  This Sunday we’ll be reading Luke 5:12-16, the story of how a man with leprosy got healed.  Jewish law forbade anyone to get too close to a person with leprosy, obviously to curb the spread of contamination.  A person would be considered ceremonially unclean if he were to actually touch a person who had leprosy.

What does Jesus do when a person with this disease approaches him?

What do we learn about ourselves from this…both how Jesus treats us, and how we should treat others?

The graphic novel is coming along nicely.  I’m inking page 25 (out of 28) today while Robbie is flatting pages 23-24,—and should only miss the first deadline by a few days.  I’ve been given until the first part of April to get my part done.  Thanks for all the kind words and prayers for this project.  Below are a few examples of inked and colored pages.  Ben Avery is doing the lettering.

Fishing For Disciples

Rob Woodrum2 Comments

Normally “fishing stories” are associated with exaggerations and misrepresentations…but in our study in Luke 5:1-11, we will see another kind of fish story.

“Fishin’ With Jesus” could have been a cool show for early morning local TV.  Better yet, Discovery could have done a new reality series called “Heaviest Catch”… except it might have gotten a little monotonous after a while.  You’d do interviews and back-stories on the local fishermen shot on location at the local pub, get tours of their fishing vessels and quick instructions on how they go about deciding where and when to fish and what equipment they use.

Then the big moment when Jesus is introduced to them and he goes out on a fishing run with them.  Each show would have a predictable ending, where everything looks like they’re going to get skunked…and then the hand-held cameras start shaking around and you hear shouting and when the lense finally finds it’s stable focus…you see the fishing nets filled to beyond capacity and the boat is listing and Jesus is laughing telling the greenhorn that he has a sister who could pull the net faster than him. Cut to theme song and teaser for next week’s episode.

The thing is, in the story about Jesus and the big catch of fish, we find that miracle is actually only the platform being used to tell another story.  A story that teaches us something about what it means to follow Jesus.  The reason we know this is because in v10, Jesus merges the act of literal fishing with his call on Peter’s life to advance the message of the Kingdom of God, revealing to us that the whole story is a living metaphor.  As best we can make out, a metaphor about following Jesus…being a disciple.

As you read the story, break it up into four parts.  Read v1-3 and think about Simon’s (Peter’s) role.  What Did Jesus ask of him, what did he do…and how can you translate that to YOUR life?

Then read v4-7 and consider the same things concerning Peter and Jesus.  Again, read v8-10 considering the same questions.  Finally, read v11 and re-read it and then read it again, and ask yourself, what does this mean about ME?

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.  See yaz Sunday.