Tag: Faith

Faithful in the Fury

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“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” ~ Captain Edward A. Murphy Jr. (Murphy’s law)

This Sunday we will continue our study of Matthew – 14:22-36 and we’ll be reading about things going very wrong for Jesus’ disciples, and the awe-inspiring revelation they get in the process.

I believe this is an account of something that really happened. I also believe this actual event can read as a parable – a metaphor for a life of following Jesus. Very few of us, if any, have been fully insulated from the storms we face in life. We’ll find some encouraging insights we can hold to when we face troubles as we face troubles along the way.

The disciples follow Jesus’ instructions to get in the boat and go. Obeying Jesus, they find themselves caught in a storm and being (literally) tormented by the waves. What metaphor can you see in that? How does this correspond with your own life of faith?

When Jesus shows up the disciples are terrified. They think he’s a ghost sent to welcome them into death – but in reality, he’s showing up just like the Spirit of God did in Genesis 1:2, bringing light, life and order to the chaos.

What do you think, was Peter right or wrong to ask Jesus to command him to walk on the water? Scholars seem to be divided about it. Do you think his lack of faith began when he had to have proof that it was really Jesus, or was it a bold move of faith to claim participation in the miracle?

When Peter is focused on the rising surf, he begins to sink. The lessons there are obvious. Something else to think about is: what was Jesus’ first response (not words, necessarily) to Peter’s predicament? How does his response encourage you when you remember times where you’ve had “little faith”?

Those are just some things we’ll be unpacking on Sunday. I really love this account, and I think we’ll have some fun but also be very encouraged by what we encounter in this text!

Hope to see you this Sunday!

The Parallels of Power

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Have you ever found yourself wondering where God is in the middle of a chaotic or painful moment? Many of us have been there. Plans fall apart, people are hurt in ways that seem needless, and violence can spread with unsettling speed. In moments like these it is natural to ask, Where is God in all of this and Does He care?

As we turn to the Scripture for this Sunday, those questions are not spoken aloud in the text, yet they seem to echo beneath the surface. This week we will read the account of John the Baptist’s beheading under Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee. In this section of Matthew’s Gospel, the narrative shifts from the parables Jesus has been teaching to a dramatic story that reveals the fragility of human power and the quiet persistence of God’s kingdom.

When you think about your own difficult seasons, what questions about God’s presence rise to the surface?

Matthew then moves from the darkness of Herod’s banquet to the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. The contrast is striking. One scene takes place in a palace where fear and manipulation dictate the outcome. The next unfolds in an open field where Jesus meets the needs of the crowd with compassion and abundance. As we read these stories together, we will look for the ways God’s power is at work among the powerless and how the kingship of Jesus challenges the self-serving rule of Herod.

Both stories invite us to reflect on the kind of kingdom Jesus brings into the world. Even in moments when God seems distant, Scripture reminds us that His work often unfolds quietly and faithfully, especially among those who feel overlooked or vulnerable.

We invite you to join us this Sunday at 10:00 AM as we read Matthew 14 together and consider how God’s presence meets us in both suffering and hope.

The Valuable Kingdom

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It seemed to me that my mom was on a perpetual hunt for some valuable antique that would somehow turn the tide of her fortunes. She wasn’t materialistic, per se, but just had this indefatigable hope that some day she would discover treasure. By and large, the stuff she had (either passed to her from her family, or found in some market) was of little value. Nevertheless, she persisted in hoping for that bountiful encounter.

Finding something of value is the theme for the passage we’ll be looking at this Sunday as we continue our study of Matthew, reading chapter 13:44-58.

The parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price carry on the prior theme of something hidden and unexpected (like that of the wheat and weeds, the mustard seed and the leaven), but now a new dimension is added: value. Jesus is trying to get across the great value of God’s in-breaking kingdom in comparison to all other things/religions/philosophies/pursuits of life. In what way do you understand God’s kingdom to be something of great value to you? What do you think it means to prioritize and value God’s kingdom more than anything else?

If you’re not too clear on how to understand what the Kingdom of God is – check out this helpful video from the Bible Project: Heaven and Earth

The parable of the dragnet leaves the world of agriculture and sets us out to sea. Once again, we have something hidden yet productive as our motif. Why do you think its important that Jesus describes the indiscriminate nature of the net in that it gathers all kinds of fish? When the net gets filled, it gets pulled to shore. There is a finite amount of time for gathering. How does that reality impact your valuation of God’s kingdom?

The parable of the old and new treasure seems to be making a closing point to the line of thought we’ve been on. What do you think the old and the new treasure represents in this story? How can something old shed light on something new, and visa versa? How did we see that being played out in Jesus’ ministry and later in that of the church?

I’m looking forward to exploring this series of parables together. Hope to see you on Sunday!

Identity Issues

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One thing about human society throughout history is, we love to label stuff…especially people. It’s usually born from a quest of trying to get a grasp of who our fellow human is by generalizing them. It’s easier to interact with someone if we can fit them neatly into our categories. But this is, of course, a broken way to relate to people. In our study of Matthew, we’re going to read a theme that is carried over from last week…that of people trying to get a handle on who Jesus is. We’ll be reading Matthew 12:38-50.

In the last section, Jesus challenged those who heard him to make a decision, one way or the other, and neutrality was not an option.  Carrying the theme through,  Jesus knew there were a lot of people wanting more proof that he was Messiah via some supernatural sign from heaven, so he did what any self-respecting Messiah would do; he called them all evil.  Kinda’ cool if you think about what terrible marketing that is.

Jesus mentions the “sign of Jonah”, which has had a lot of people theorizing about its meaning for the last 2,000 years.  There are some obvious parallels between Jonah and Jesus and his resurrection.  What do you think the “sign of Jonah” is?

Why would the people of Nineveh and the Queen of the South, both pagan, gentile peoples, have a place to condemn Jesus’ generation of chosen people?

How did Jesus identify who his family of chosen people are? What do we make of that when it comes to understanding our own identity as followers of Jesus?

There is some really profound insight about who Jesus is and who we are in this section – I hope you can join us as we explore this text together!

Choosing Sides

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We live in an extremely polarized society. Everyone seems to want to divide up into teams. Usually these divisions are along socio-philosophical lines. But some choices we are confronted with have big consequences.

We’ll be considering that in our study of the Gospel of Matthew this week.

In our text we’ll be reading this Sunday, Matthew 12:22-37, we are confronted with a choice between two worldviews. It’s a fairly uncomfortable passage, but it’s there, and we need to wrestle around with it and see how it will shape our lives.

As you read the text from v22-24 you see right away that Jesus has a polarizing effect on people. There are two very distinct opinions forming about him. Jesus will latch onto that and develop a picture of the world in stark contrasts between good and evil.

Jesus’ counter argument from v25-30 starts with a logical premise that brings to the surface the dualistic view of this world. There is a kingdom of our enemy, the devil, and there is a kingdom of God. He clearly portrays these at odds with each other and in conflict. His logic is pretty simple: why would the devil be working at cross purposes against himself? Which reveals something about the nature of Jesus’ mission. In fact, v29 pretty much describes what Jesus is up to. Who do you think the “strong man” is? What is the house and what is the plunder that is taken (put it in the context of what started this whole thing in v22 – the healing of the demon possessed man)?

V31-32 has had the effect of scaring some people, especially those new to the faith. They worry that Jesus is describing some partially identified way of sinning that can never be forgiven if committed. Have you ever worried about that? Just to put your mind at ease, that’s not what he’s trying to say. He’s talking about how the Pharisees were claiming that the devil was the source of Jesus’ work. If they reject Jesus and the salvation that’s offered, there’s no other way offered that provides forgiveness. We’ll unpack that more on Sunday.

V33-37 deals primarily with our use of language. The words we speak and the way we communicate reveals something about ourselves. How can we see to it that the words we communicate are in harmony with the purposes of God’s kingdom in this world?

Hope to see you this Sunday!

A Rest From Religion

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I remember back in high school hearing about the Exxon oil spill in Alaska and feeling so bad for all of the wildlife that was hurt as a result. In fact, I was so affected by what had happened that I decided I would never get gas from an Exxon gas station again.

One day, I came home bragging to my dad about how much I cared for the environment. I told him that, in my effort to avoid going to an Exxon station, I had driven around for almost an hour until I finally found a gas station I thought was good enough for my environmental convictions.

I remember my dad saying, “I want to make sure I understand this. You avoided Exxon and other gas stations because you care about the environment, right?”

I proudly responded, “Yep!”

To which my father said, “What about the harm you do to the environment by wasting an hour’s worth of gas to find a gas station that’s really not that different from the ones you were trying to avoid?”

Yeah… I hadn’t thought about that. In my effort to do the right thing, I had actually worked against my original goal. Today, I just use whatever station is closest, but I often think back on that moment as a reminder of how easy it is to get caught up in the details and lose sight of the bigger picture.

Why do you think it is so easy to focus on rules or appearances instead of the real purpose behind them?

This Sunday, we will be looking at some verses where Jesus is confronted by Pharisees who interpret the law of rest in a way that actually causes more work. Matthew presents a contrast between the heart of the law that Jesus shows us and the rigid religious structures the Pharisees worked so hard to keep in place.

As we read Matthew 12:1-21 together, think about what differences you notice between the Pharisees’ approach and Jesus’ teaching. What might it look like for us to live by the heart of God’s law rather than getting caught up in rigid structures?

I invite you to join us this Sunday at 10:00AM as we read and reflect together on how this passage might apply to us today.

Rejecting or Receiving God’s Wisdom

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We live in an unprecedented time where incredible amounts of information are readily at our fingertips, and at the same time we are starving for wisdom. We know that information is not the same as wisdom, but the keen observer will also recognize that human wisdom will only take us so far. In fact, the whole mess the human race is in, according to the Bible, stems from humanity grasping for knowledge and forsaking the wisdom of Creator God.

Still – God offers us his wisdom, again and again, all through the biblical narrative.

Our response to God’s wisdom will effect the way life plays out, and never more so than when it comes to the wisdom revealed in Christ. How we respond to God’s kingdom closing in on this world will have varying results in accordance with our response. That is something Jesus will highlight in the section of Matthew we’ll be reading this Sunday, Matthew 11:20-30.

Jesus gives some of his harshest rebukes outside of the religious leaders in v20-24. What is the repeated reason for their looming judgement? Do you think Jesus is angry with these people? What do you believe is motivating his words? What appears to be the result of rejecting God’s kingdom?

In v25-27 we see that everyone didn’t reject Jesus’ presentation of the kingdom. Who does it say it was revealed to? What do you think is significant in the contrast between the “childlike” and the “wise and clever” ones? What implicit attitudinal response seems necessary for recognizing and embracing God’s wisdom revealed in Christ?

Some of Jesus’ most beautiful words are spoken in v28-30. Here’s the thing – read them. Read them again. Read them from the Message version. Read those words out loud and hear them coming from Jesus to you, personally. Tell me how those words make you feel. What is the result of surrendering to Jesus and the wisdom of God?

I can’t wait to dig into this passage together! Hope to see you Sunday!

Mission Briefing

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Learning to drive is a rite of passage in our culture and I still remember it well. It’s one thing to be along for the ride as a care-free kid, it’s another when the keys are in your hands and steering that metal box that’s flying down the road is up to you. It can be daunting at first, and it certainly isn’t something done lightly. That responsibility requires a lot of instruction.

Jesus’ disciples will experience something like that in our text for this Sunday, Matthew 10:1-25. Jesus will essentially be handing the keys of his ministry to his 12 disciples and send them out to do what he has been doing. We’ll be reading Jesus’ instructions for the mission.

In v 1-4, Jesus sends them out as “apostles” – it’s the first time this designation is used. It basically means someone sent…by Jesus, in this case. When you look at the list of apostles, what stories about them come to mind? We wouldn’t necessarily call them a dream team of spirituality. Does this tell you anything about who Jesus is willing to send?

When you read the instructions of v5-8a, we discover the tone of the mission. This is something that will demonstrate what the Good News is like. I would summarize their mission as “doing good”. How can we continue that practice today, as representatives of Jesus?

Jesus talks about finding people who are willing to listen to the message (worthy) and staying with them. The NLT says to bring “blessing” to the household – but the literal Greek is a word that is often translated as “peace” – the word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament as “shalom”. Shalom is well-being and wholeness – that is what we are meant to bring into this world. If people reject the message, he instructs them to shake the dust from their feet. Why do you believe he gives that instruction instead of telling them to force the issue when the stakes are so high?

The last part of this section, v 16-25, is pretty dark. Jesus is realistic about how this world may respond to the news that Jesus is KING. Take some time to contemplate what it means to be a sheep in the midst of wolves, or a dove as opposed to a venomous snake. What should characterize our mission, even in the face of hostility and rejection.

These are some heavy ideas the think about – we’ll work through them as best we can. Hope to see you this Sunday!

Compassion For the Desperate

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One thing we as humans all have in common is that at one time or another, we have all felt desperate. Certainly, times of desperation come in varying degrees – but none of us escape moments where things seem so hopeless they seem impossible to deal with. In our times desperation, we will usually go all over the place looking for something or someone who can give us a glimmer of hope. That’s just the nature of desperation…and it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. One thing the Bible reveals, over and over again, is that God is fond of desperate people.

This Sunday we’ll be reading Matthew 9:18-38 and we’ll discover some desperate people who go to the right place in their time of crisis. As we read about these people, we’ll be looking at what it was that moved them to seek help from Jesus. We’ll look at the compassion Jesus had on them, and we’ll observe the faith that they expressed in Jesus’ compassionate power.

The synagogue ruler, the hemorrhaging woman and the two blind men all have their stories told in succession. Their expressions of faith are risky, scandalous and bold, but they are also desperate. How does Jesus respond to their desperation? Does Jesus demand anything but trust from those who approach him? It’s important to remember that God’s compassion comes before our need is ever known.

When Jesus casts out a demon and a man was able to communicate when he hadn’t been able to before – what are the two reactions recorded? If both groups of people saw the same miracle, what kept the Pharisees from believing Jesus’ power was from God?

The chapter culminates with a summary of what Jesus is up to with the Kingdom Project – and then we see his compassion for the multitudes who are oppressed by religion and not cared for by a Shepherd. He clearly is inviting us into the activity of harvesting a ripened field…but what does that metaphor mean to you? How do you believe we can be used in this “harvesting” activity?

I hope you can join us this Sunday as we dig deeply into these fascinating accounts of Christ’s power!

Trusting in Christ’s Authority

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How difficult or easy is it for you to trust someone? For many people, trust is a hard commodity to come by. A lot of factors go into that – past experiences and a host of other reasons can make us reticent with our trust…and those are people we can SEE and examine and evaluate on a regular basis.  What about a God who we can’t see and who sometimes feels like he’s hiding himself?

Still, that’s the whole thing when it comes to Scripture. We are continually called on to trust God – and in the Good News of the Gospel, to trust in the authority of Jesus.

This Sunday we’ll be reading chapter 8:23 through chapter 9:8  as we journey through the gospel of Matthew. The chapter break really shouldn’t be there, because this whole section belongs in a single grouping. Three areas where Jesus demonstrates his authority to encourage our trust in him, even as we follow him into potential hardships. They link us back to the creation story in Genesis as well as the Exodus; God bringing order to the chaotic waters, subduing spiritual evil and reconciling us to God.

In chapter 8:23-27 we have the famous account of Jesus calming the storm. Have you ever felt like Jesus was sleeping while you were going through severe and stressful times? What does he ask his disciples? In our own storms of life, how can asking ourselves the question “why are you afraid?” help to orient our thinking and perspective?

In v28-34 Jesus heals two men who were demon possessed. How comfortable are you with the idea that there are demons on the loose in this world, taking possession of people sometimes? Our western culture mostly dismisses that notion as primitivism – but I think we need to be cautious about adopting the hubris of our rationalistic culture and leave room for mystery. Jesus demonstrates his authority over evil. How does that develop our understanding of his words in the Lord’s Prayer “deliver us from evil” – and in what way can that inspire our trust? What should our response to evil be, in light of his authority over it?

Chapter 9:1-8 tells the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man. Before he heals him, he forgives his sin. Then he demonstrates his authority to forgive sins by healing the man’s physical body. What does his authority to forgive sins inspire you to trust Him with? What did the paralyzed man do to deserve that declaration of forgiveness?

Troubles from without, in the natural world and the spiritual one, and troubles from within in the form of our own failures – Jesus has authority over them all. What will you trust Him with?

Hope to see you this Sunday!