Has someone ever taken something that belonged to you – or at least you felt belonged to you? How did that make you feel?

Have you ever been in charge of something and someone else starts stepping all over your authority? What feelings does that incur? What do you want to do? We’re going to be thinking about things like that This Sunday as we continue our study in Matthew, reading chapter 21:33-46.

Jesus tells a parable that traditionally is referred to as “the parable of the wicked tenants”…but it could be more accurately called “the story of the renters from hell”.

Read the parable over.  Who do the vinedressers who are renting the property represent?  Who would they represent as we try to understand this parable for our own lives?

Who does the Landowner represent?  What do we learn from about Him from His responses to the growing tensions?

What was the last straw in this stand-off?  What drove the Landowner to action?  What can we learn from this story about our own lives and the choices and responses we have?

It will be a challenging, yet encouraging study, I think.

Back in the 1970’s there was a Broadway musical that was quite controversial while it piqued the spiritual interests of the culture. It was the rock opera Jesus Christ, Superstar. I was enamored with that body of work as a young kid. I tried my adolescent best to pull off the same screams that Ian Gillian could emit. Never worked.

Anyway, the controversy centered around Tim Rice’s portrayal of Jesus through the lyrics of  the songs, as well as the omission of the resurrection from the story (albeit, I still insist the movie version has a subtle resurrection implication…but honestly, who cares?) The complaints weren’t really without some merit.

The title song, however, posed a question that got the nation talking. I think that’s a good thing.

Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ

who are you what have you sacrificed?

Jesus Christ, Superstar

Do you think you are what they say you are?

That’s such an important question to pose to Jesus. Who are you? That’s going to be the main subject we’ll be covering in portion of the narrative we’ll be reading this Sunday, Matthew 16:13-28.

Who do people of our day and age say that Jesus is? What differences can you detect between churches and who they see Jesus as being?

More importantly, who do you understand Jesus to be? Peter gives his great confession and Jesus validates both him and his words. In fact, I believe it’s this very confession that Jesus says he’ll build his church on. How does that inform you about what the church is?

As the narrative goes on, Jesus outlines his mission as Messiah. How do you think this fit with what the disciples expected Messiah to come and do? When Peter resists, Jesus begins a rebuke that mirrors his blessing from the previous verses, but goes the opposite way. How does that help us understand the distinction between the ways we pursue victory in this broken world over against the way God’s kingdom operates?

Worse yet, Jesus tells his disciples (that would be us, too) that our calling is to follow in his steps and take up our cross. The challenge is huge, but the stakes are high. To give up the advancement of our own will and ego in order to be conformed to Christ’s self-sacrificial love. What aspects of self-will are the most difficult for you to imagine releasing? On the other hand, what would be more important than finding wholeness in life God’s way?

I really love Eugene Peterson’s version of this section – I’ll leave you with that:

“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? “Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift.”

Research psychologists have found there are at least three situations when we are not ourselves. First, the average person puts on airs when she/he visits the lobby of a fancy hotel. Next, the average person will try to hide their emotions and impress the salesman when entering a new car showroom. Can you guess what the third environment is where we are not ourselves? According to this same psychological study, it’s when we enter into a church.

Does that strike you as odd? It does me, though it isn’t foreign to me…just odd.

It is a common human dynamic to place a great emphasis on outward appearances. Sadly, the church has not been immune to this propensity throughout its history. There has always been, and will always be, an imperative for us as God’s people to get real when it comes to our journey into life.

We’re going to be looking at 1 John 1:8-2:2 this Sunday – and I believe John is urging us as the church to get real.

Everything about what John is encouraging in this section is emphasizing honesty. In what ways can we as Christians end up acting as though we have “no sin”? How can projecting an image of perfection lead to self-deception?

In what ways do you consider confession to be cleansing in your relationship with God?

Based on chapter 2, v 1-2, why should we have no fear in being honest and open before God and everyone else, for that matter? What can fear end up doing to us relationally?

Should be a provocative study – hope to see you Sunday!

Have you ever heard an audible voice from heaven giving you direction? I never have – though I know people who have had that experience. I used to think that if I could just hear God shouting out of the clouds letting me know he was there that I would never doubt again.

We’re going to see from our passage this Sunday that its really not that simple. Well be reading John 12:27-43. This passage includes a supernatural event like I described above, but it certainly doesn’t have the result one would expect.

As we read this passage let’s consider the reactions of the people towards Jesus. I believe there are some pitfalls we can observe and try to sidestep in our own journey to discover more of God and his ways.

For one thing – there were three distinct reactions to the voice from heaven. One, of course, was John who obviously heard the voice of God clearly enough to record for us what the voice said. What were the other two reactions? What do you suppose made the difference in what people heard in that noise? I find it interesting that there is often so much ambiguity when we encounter the divine. I think if a person is determined to do so, he or she can always find a way to rationalize what others perceive as a supernatural event. God seems intent on moving in such a way that he’s easily hidden if someone doesn’t want to see him. I also think there’s a bit of heart-testing in that ambiguity. How open minded are you when it comes to God encounters?

The other thing that I notice in v34-36 is a doctrinal barrier. In v34, the people don’t actually say “the Law says“…what do they say instead? How would you explain their problem with Jesus and the law? How well do you know the doctrines that you hold to absolutely? What are your doctrinal convictions based on – what is written, or what you’ve learned? In what ways could God get obscured by our doctrines. How can we be faithful to our convictions and still be open minded?

Finally, the last verse of this section (v43) is very telling. How can loving the praise or glory that comes from men (that is, the validation and affirmation that we crave so deeply) end up interfering with our loyalty to God? What measures can we take to prevent that from happening in our own experiences?

Should be an interesting study – hope to see you then!

It’s hard to fully grasp the events that took place that morning that Jesus walked into the temple grounds in Jerusalem and started throwing people out. But that’s what we’ll be tackling this Sunday as we explore John 2:13-25.

It’s easy for us to immediately assign the guilt in this scene to the people who are crassly selling the accouterments of worship at the temple. How dare they sell sacrificial animals like a commercial enterprise…and yet…there was a legitimate purpose that these vendors served. Imagine living a long ways from Jerusalem and hauling the required sacrifice with you. Imagine that a dog nips at it’s heel along the way, or worse, a wolf takes a bite out of it’s ear. The sacrifice won’t be accepted and the expenditure of time and food for the trip would be for naught. It actually makes sense to provide a place right at the temple to buy a pre-approved animal to sacrifice.

There was actually something else going on that morning. A disruption and a replacement was being made.

If Jesus was replacing the temple – what are the implications of that as you read it? What can it mean to us today, as his followers in 21st century America?

This should prove to be a compelling study – hope you can make it!