Bible Discussion — Luke 20

04/30/2008, 4:00 pm -- by Bweinh | 1 Comment

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 20.

Genesis: 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-22 | 23-26
27-29 | 30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50
Exodus: 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-18
19-22 | 23-26 | 27-30 | 31-34 | 35-40
Romans: Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 (I)
Ch. 8 (II) | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15-16
Luke: 1:1-38 | 1:39-2:40 | 2:41-3:38 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14-15 | 16-17 | 18 | 19

INTRODUCTION:
David:
Authority, and how we respond to it, is the main theme of this chapter. After the Jews ask Jesus where He got his authority, He traps them by promising an answer if they can answer a question of His: “Where did John\’s authority come from?”

Ah, but they could not answer because, in reality, they had no interest in whether Jesus — or John — had real authority; they just cared about how long they could avoid submission to it while not angering the crowds who believed. There is the crux in life: if you believe in God, live out that belief. If you don\’t, say so.

But not us; like hypocrites, we stay in the miserable middle ground, claiming to still search for an answer, waiting for the weather to change, while our opportunity to obey, or identify with God, disappears.

Connie:
These are a few different examples where Jesus was teaching the people and the religious teachers of the day threw Him questions to try to trip Him up and accuse Him of “crimes,” or perhaps make Him look foolish. It usually had the opposite effect.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Josh:
On at least one occasion, the chief priests and teachers of the law sent spies to ask Jesus one of their trick questions instead of doing it themselves (vv. 20-21). Good idea, guys! Make sure they preface the question with a compliment about His teaching to reel Him in. He\’ll never see through that one.

Connie:
In verse 39, after the seven brothers question (which I think the Broadway musical was based on), “some” of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” And it says they stopped asking questions after that. Could it be that those “some” were won over, not just tired of the game?

Steve:
Jesus doesn’t just say that God is the God of the living — He says that, to Him, “all are alive.” What does this suggest about our conception of the afterlife?

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh: Enemy Footstool
David: Lord of the Vineyard
Connie: Cornerstone
Steve: Empty Hand

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 19

04/23/2008, 1:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 19.

INTRODUCTION:
David:
Here, Jesus sensed the errant thoughts of the disciples concerning His rule on earth, and tried to let them down easy. “There was this guy, and he was going to receive a kingdom, but to do it he had to leave for a while and go to another country far, far, far away”¦”

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Josh:
Luke\’s telling of the parable of the ten minas is different than I realized. There were ten servants who received a mina, although only three report upon the master\’s return.

Chloe:
God likes short people better?!

Steve:
The people on the side of the road during Christ’s entry into Jerusalem were described as “the whole crowd of disciples.” I wonder how many people that included.

David:
Not this time, but another time, I noticed that this is actually the second time that Jesus cleansed the Temple. He did it at the beginning of his ministry too, the first time he ever visited Jerusalem.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Chloe: Muttering Sin
Josh: Five More; Stones Cry Out
Steve: Ten More Mina

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 18

04/16/2008, 1:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next two chapters of Luke, Luke 18.

INTRODUCTION:
David:
In this chapter God uses a story about an unjust judge to make two points. One, men ought always to pray and not faint. Two, there will be times in your life when the God who loves you so much will appear disinterested in you and your problems, but that is never true. When this happens, refer to point one.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Connie:
In John’s telling of the Bartimaeus story, he says he wants to regain his sight. Matthew reports that there were two blind men, and they asked Jesus to receive their sight. I keyed in on the word regain, because I think that sometimes we don’t appreciate what we have until we lose it. We need to stop that behavior, saints.

Chloe:
I never noticed that little phrase in verse 7 — “cry out to Him day and night.” Jesus isn\’t talking about any prayer. He\’s talking about prayers with depths of emotion and need. It\’s a promise, but not the promise we may like to interpret it as.

Steve:
Jesus made the blind man ask for his sight (as Josh mentions below in a great illustration).

David:
Infants were being blessed, but not baptized — something Protestants still do today.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Steve: Flog
Josh: Tax Men
Josh, Connie: Scourge[d]
David: How Hardly; Sorrowful Rich

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 16 and 17

04/9/2008, 1:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next two chapters of Luke, Luke 16-17.

INTRODUCTION:
David:
Chapter 16 starts with one of the more difficult parables, so let\’s simplify it. Parable comes from two Greek words: para (alongside) and ballew (to throw). In a parable, God throws something beyond our experience from His kingdom alongside something we do understand, for perspective. It\’s like photographing the latest microchip next to a dime as a reference point.

What is being compared here? In v. 9: how the wicked know enough to use wealth to furnish themselves with a comfortable future, a lesson we need to learn. Jesus goes on to stress that dishonesty (vv. 10-12) is undesirable in a Christian and thus is not the point of the story. Instead, He illustrates it in vv. 19-30, where a rich man passes up an opportunity to use his wealth to assure himself a better place in eternity, and is punished for it.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Connie:
In v. 5, the apostles begin a request to Jesus with the words, “Increase our faith.”

Reaaalllly?

Oh no they di’in’t!

But they did. I wouldn’t have had the nerve. I just would’ve shut up and hoped to have increased my own faith.

David:
That the dishonest steward is called a “rascal” in the NLT.

Steve:
The Pharisees, described as lovers of money, “sneered” at Jesus after he spoke of its incompatibility as a dual master with God. What does He know?, they probably thought. What could a poor itinerant teaching carpenter understand of the blessings God has entrusted to us? And then, just as now, Christ put the lie to their implicit boast that wealth and success were signs of God’s favor.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Steve: Roof
Josh: One or The Other
Connie: One Tittle
David: Rascal

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 14 and 15

04/2/2008, 12:30 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next two chapters of Luke, Luke 14-15.

INTRODUCTION:
David:
The contrast between these two chapters is noteworthy. In ch. 14, Jesus addresses scribes and Pharisees during a social event at a chief Pharisee’s house, and rebukes the guests (v. 7), the host (v. 12), and the entire nation of Israel (vv. 16-24), while challenging their commitment to follow Him.

In ch. 15, He addresses publicans and sinners, and it\’s all about how anxious God is to have them saved, how happy that salvation makes heaven (v. 10), and how happy it should make the rest of us (v. 32).

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Connie:
After the man finds his lost sheep, he calls together his friends AND neighbors, and has a party to celebrate. I know it’s a metaphor for the lost sinner, but it made me wonder what all those people will eat during this party? Hopefully not all of his other sheep, hmm?

Chloe:
The father gives the lost son the best robe, a ring, and a party with a fattened calf for the meal. But what never occurred to me before is that since the lost son took his inheritance, the father is using what is rightfully the good son\’s to supply this party. I can see why he\’s sore about it.

Erin:
Peace is always an option instead of war, even when two armies are getting ready to fight (14:31-33).

Josh:
Jesus preempts the Pharisaical protests to healing on the Sabbath by asking them if it’s okay in advance (14:3).

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh: The Other Son
Chloe: Famine
David: Lost Coin
Steve: Dropsy; Pig Pods
Connie: Bread Enough
Erin: Five Yoke of Oxen

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 13

03/26/2008, 1:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 13.

INTRODUCTION:
Connie:
The red words continue to abound in this chapter, although this time they include some warnings we should heed…

David:
This section starts with two narratives showing the wrong and right attitudes about judgment. In the first one, people gloated about God\’s judgment falling on others, and Jesus rebuked them. He followed that up with a story about a man interposing himself to save a tree from judgment, saying, “Wait! Give me some more time! Maybe I can turn this around!”

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Connie:
Galilean blood was shed as a sacrifice by Pilate (v. 1). Was that to get back at Jesus through His countrymen?

Steve:
Pharisees came and warned Jesus that Herod wanted him dead.

David:
Many will seek to enter by the straight gate, but won’t be able to.

Josh:
In this passage, the synagogue ruler does not directly rebuke Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, but rather the people, for coming to be healed on that day.

At any rate, based on the description provided here — merely a touch and a word — it\’s hard to fathom how anyone could consider this healing “work.”

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh: Fallen Tower; Gathering Brood
David: DIG IT/DUNG IT
Steve: Ox or Donkey
Connie: Fruit on the Fig
Chloe: Third Day (shhh, don’t tell anyone, but it really is one!)

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 12

03/20/2008, 12:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 12.

INTRODUCTION:
Connie:
Luke 12 is a somewhat long discourse covering many of the pitfalls that we face as we walk out the journey of our faith as Christians. It provides encouragement — some of it from common sense, some from warnings of what’s to come.

David:
Luke uses the majority of this chapter to present some of Jesus’ teachings on priorities in a disciple’s life. Who should you fear? The one that can kill you and send you to hell. What should you be thinking about? His Kingdom, because He can take care of our business for us, if we are about his business for Him, and when He returns, He\’s going to be very interested in what we were doing for Him.

Erin:
This chapter is narrow in narration — it is mostly just Jesus talking — but broad in content. Warnings to be watchful, to be frugal, to share, to be peaceable, and not to worry, all vie for the readers attention.

It can be easy to get bogged down in all of these instructions in just the way that Jesus did not intend. The people to whom he spoke were familiar with Jewish legalism, and so this itemizing of ways to “live out the new Covenant” would have made sense to them. What is easy to ignore, however, is that these are simply outward expressions of a life lived with every thought captive to the large purpose of devotion and service to the Kingdom of God.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
MC-B:
These people are trampling on each other to hear what Jesus has to say. Devotion, selfishness, or both?

Steve:
In the parable about watchfulness, Jesus refers to “one who does not know and does things deserving punishment,” and says that such people will be “beaten with few blows.” What does this mean concerning those who die without hearing the Gospel?

Erin:
Peter asks whether or not the parable Jesus is telling was intended for more than just the 12. Seriously, Peter?

(Herein I show my own Christianese background — I already know Jesus\’ answer, and struggle to put myself in Peter\’s clueless, and very familiar, shoes).

Connie:
One of my favorite scriptures, Matthew 6:33, is also here as 12:31 — “But seek the kingdom of God, and all of these things shall be added to you.”

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh: Rich Fool
David: Girded Loins
Erin: This Very Night
MC-B: Many Sparrows
Steve: The Ravens; Last Penny

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 11

03/12/2008, 12:30 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 11.

INTRODUCTION:
Connie:
This is a great passage for the Spitzer scandal backdrop this week, because Jesus begins by emphasizing our need for daily dependence upon God — through prayer for our every need: physical, mental and spiritual. He goes on to show that although hypocrisy may be effective for a time to succeed in the natural world, it cannot bring lasting reward in the Kingdom of God. The outside must match the inside.

David:
Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in this chapter, to persevere in prayer, to understand where their authority comes from in prayer (binding the strongman), and to avoid the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.

Mike:
A rollicking adventure of a chapter where Jesus teaches about prayer, unclean spirits, and then denounces some lawyers!

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Mike:
v. 52–Jesus’ charge that the lawyers “have taken away the key of knowledge.” He seems to accuse those who know the law the best of misinterpreting it, and thus barring themselves and others from the rich life the law could provide.

David:
In verse 42, Jesus compared the Pharisees to hidden graves that men walk over without noticing. This action would render them unclean, in their theology. I believe that unknowingly accepting hypocritical and false teaching does the same to us now.

Steve:
Luke says Jesus drove out a mute demon, and that when it left, the possessed man could speak, amazing the crowd. Interesting.

Josh:
In this passage the entire “woe”Â segment is sparked by a Pharisee who was taken aback that Jesus did not wash up before a meal. I wish I’d known that when I was younger and Mom was on me about washing up.

Chloe:
Abel is counted among the prophets.

Connie:
The scribes, Pharisees and men of law grew angry, despising and blaspheming the words of Jesus; then a woman spoke up and admired Him and the wisdom and power with which He spoke.

At first I dismissed His rebuke to her as one to those whose would later idolize Mary, but really it was much more than that. Jesus led the woman to a higher consideration. Though it’s a great privilege to hear the word of God, the ones who are truly blessed — that is, blessed of the Lord — are those who hear it, keep it in memory, and keep to it as their way and rule. Look at how many heard the same things she did that day, yet used them to scheme against Him.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh, Mike: Queen of the South
Chloe: Sign of Jonah
Steve: Lamplight
David: woeuntoyou
Connie: Best Seats in the Synagogue

Continued here!

Best of Bweinh! — Romans 8 Discussion

03/5/2008, 12:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

Read Part One here, and Part Two here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 10

02/27/2008, 1:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 10.

We also welcome a few visitors from David’s home Bible study — and work with a joint entry from Chloerin!

INTRODUCTION:
David:
In this chapter, Jesus says some things that never make it into the world’s conception of the all-loving gentle teacher from Galilee, while sending his followers out to extend His power to the lost.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Chloe/Erin:
Even though Jesus sent the 72 out with instructions to preach, perform miracles, etc., they were surprised to find that they could drive out demons in Jesus’ name. What more (or less) did they expect, I wonder?

Rachel Clancy:
We always preach a balance in spiritual things, but Jesus seems to disagree when Martha asks for help from Mary. When Jesus is here, forget everything but Him!

Steve:
I don’t ever remember reading verses 23 and 24. Jesus references men like Socrates, Job, and David, who had longed to know the fullness of reason and religion, to reason with God as a man speaks to a friend, and tells these fishermen and tax collectors from backwater Israel that they had been given the ultimate honor — to see the things so many had longed, and would long, to experience.

David:
After the disciples are rejected, they are to tell the people, “Be ye sure of this, the kingdom of God has come near you!”

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Ian Clancy: The Very Dust
Steve: Trample
Rachel: Two Pence (none the richer); Lambs Among Wolves
David: Babes
Erin/Chloe: twoBYtwo

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 9

02/20/2008, 1:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 9.

INTRODUCTION:
Connie:
This is a lot of material — sending out the disciples on a missions trip, feeding the 5,000, deliverance ministry issues, prophetic proclamations of his death and the transfiguration. There was a lot going on here, and I cannot imagine trying to keep up with Jesus in these days.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Josh:
Before Jesus fed the 5,000, he instructed the disciples to divide the people into groups of 50. I guess even miracles need a little organization.

Chloe:
I wonder if the feeding of the 5,000 happened directly after the disciples got back from preaching and healing for a reason. If it were me, I would be thinking I was pretty talented by now: “Yeah, I cast out at least a hundred demons, and this kid with this huge tumor on his leg is playing football now, and…”

But then Jesus told the disciples to feed the 5,000, and they couldn’t. Jesus had to do it. I can hear the disciples thinking, “Oh, yeah. He’s the one who made it possible for me to do that, not me.”

Steve:
John, perhaps Jesus’ closest disciple, and one whose later writings showed the deep and abiding work of love in his heart, is the same guy who follows up Jesus’ object lesson about welcoming children and the least being greatest with a parochial boast about fighting an ally! Verse 50 is another that should be committed to the minds of all Christians, especially those with tendencies to believe that they have hit on the one ‘best way.’

Connie:
I never noticed that when word started spreading of Jesus’ fame and works, everyone began to put it into a box, or form, that they could understand. Elijah they had heard of; John they had seen, or at least knew someone who had. So they saw Jesus as another Elijah or John. They didn’t have the faith — or didn’t want to have the faith — to seek Him out for who He really was. Especially Herod — I imagine he was just getting his pot ready to wash his hands of the whole matter.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh: The Twelve
Connie: Five Loaves and Two Fishes
Steve: Tetrarch; Keep it to Yourself

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 8

02/13/2008, 12:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 8.

INTRODUCTION:
David:
Jesus teaches a wonderful parable about the types of soil we offer God to work with in our life, heals a demoniac and a woman plagued with a life-long infirmity, and then raises the dead again.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Erin:
The people of the Gerasenes were overcome with fear, and that’s why they asked Jesus to leave them. Even after he’d performed a miracle, the people’s fear was what drove Jesus away.

Josh:
One of the women who supported Jesus was the wife of Herod’s steward.

Steve:
Jesus kept the true meaning of the parable of the soils from the crowd, then urged His disciples not to light a lamp and hide it under a jar or a bed. I don’t think this is contradictory, though; Jesus simply knew the same secret that TV producers, secret societies and women use to their benefit: a little mystery is attractive.

Soon what was concealed would be brought into the open, but making the people work a little, to use their minds to discover the Truth, had numerous benefits to the Kingdom and its future followers. Our Lord isn’t into brainwashing.

Connie:
On His way to visit Jairus’ daughter, Jesus has the encounter with the woman with the issue of blood. I couldn’t help but wonder, if she hadn’t come forward and identified herself, would He have taken back the healing? Otherwise, why was He asking? He goes on to say the answer — her answer — was the reason for the healing. But was it the answer, the mere stated words, or the declared faith in those words?

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh: Hidden Light
Chloe: Broken Chains
David: Came Down A Storm
Connie: Gadarenes
Steve: Drowning Pigs; Abyss

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 7

02/6/2008, 12:00 pm -- by Bweinh | 1 Comment

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 7.

INTRODUCTION:
Steve:
Who does Jesus touch in this chapter? A servant. The only son of a widow. Tax collectors. A harlot. It is a perversion of Christ’s example and the Gospel when we do not extend His love to them, and when we preach that material success is the singular sign of his blessing.

David:
In chapter 4, Jesus pointed out that God performed miracles for a Gentile widow and Naaman during the time of Elijah and Elisha. Here, Jesus does something similar in healing the servant of a Gentile who exhibited a faith unseen in any of the Jews Jesus had encountered. Luke, a Gentile himself, captures many such touches in Jesus’ ministry.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Erin:
Jesus doesn’t answer the questions that John’s messengers bring to him: he just tells them to go back and tell John of the evidence of Jesus’ ministry, and let the Spirit of God that inspires John to prophesy reveal to him who Jesus really is.

Josh:
I’d never before noticed the timeline presented in this book, and it’s a little confusing. John the Baptist essentially asks Jesus in this chapter if He is the One (7:19), but four chapters ago, JB baptized Jesus. The whole dove and voice from heaven thing would have seemed to have established that (3:21,22). Perhaps John was unable to see these signs or recognize Jesus for who He was, but considering he recognized Him when they were both still in the womb (1:39-45), that seems a bit odd.

Chloe:
The elders tell Jesus that the centurion deserves to have Jesus heal his servant for what he’s done for Israel. And yet the centurion says the exact opposite — “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.”

Steve:
All the times I have read this passage, I never before noticed that the centurion, by Jewish testimony, loved the nation of Israel. I suppose it makes sense that he would have heard of Jesus then. I wonder what that meant in his life and his religious devotion.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Steve: Dirge
Erin, Chloe: Marketplace Children
David: Go in Peace
Josh: Dead Man Speaks

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 6

01/30/2008, 12:30 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 6.

INTRODUCTION:
Steve:
Jesus’ sermon in this chapter will never cease to be countercultural, because at every turn it challenges the default setting of humanity, to seek selfishness and success.

David:
In the last chapter, Jesus scolded the people for trying to mix New Covenant and Old Covenant concepts in their question about fasting, likening it to placing new wine in old skins. Now He begins to use His teaching to turn the Jewish religion upside down, overturning their ideas about the Sabbath, wealth, popularity, judgment, mercy and what constitutes real righteousness.

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
David:
After leaving the guy with the splinter alone, and pulling the beam out of my own eye, I am actually allowed to go back and say “OK, now about that splinter:”

Erin:
Before Jesus chose the twelve disciples, He spent an entire night praying. Talk about careful consideration! And yet, all of these men were flawed, said and did things that were less-than-upbuilding to Jesus or His ministry (Peter, etc.), and often seemed so dense when Jesus spoke to them that it is hard to understand why He chose them to be His “inner circle” of followers.

Chloe:
Jesus is talking to people from Judea and Jerusalem, which means He’s talking mostly to Jews. And yet He says, “For that is how their fathers treated the prophets,” ‘their’ referring to the ones who persecute ‘you.’ Already the believers have been set apart from the rest of the Jewish nation.

Steve:
I hadn’t noticed what Chloe just said until I read this discussion, so I’m going with that.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh: Blind Guide
David: Plankeye
Erin: Simon Called Peter
Chloe: False Prophets
Steve: Bramble Bush

Continued here!

Bible Discussion — Luke 5

01/23/2008, 12:00 pm -- by Bweinh | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 5.

INTRODUCTION:
Steve:
Miracles are on display in this fast-moving chapter. Jesus’ ministry is getting started, and woe to the demons, paralysis, or fish that get in His way!

Connie:
Jesus continues His new ministry by choosing disciples and irritating the local religious leaders with unorthodox and amazing healings.

David:
Peter is called and forsakes his fishing business to follow Jesus, but this is not the first time for Peter (Matthew 4:18) nor the last (John 21:16). Peter always manages to end up back in his boat, fishing again. Peter and I (and perhaps you too) have had to deal with this issue more than once. It’s interesting that in the famous water-walking text, Jesus is again urging Peter to get out of the boat. “Do you love me? Then feed my sheep.”

Erin:
This chapter is just one of the many that make up Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry. I am both interested and frustrated at Jesus’ willingness to heal (in some instances), His intentionally vague parables, and His choice of disciples. But that’s why many have called our faith a “mystery”!

SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Josh:
Just before Jesus forgives the paralytic, it says that Jesus “saw their faith.” Not his faith, but their faith. I know that ultimately we all have to make faith decisions for ourselves, but I also believe strongly that there are times when we just have to have enough faith to carry our friends through to that point.

Erin:
After the leper is healed (v. 13), people start flocking to Jesus, and the need for Him to be alone with His Father seemed to increase — it seems to me a sign of Jesus’ humanity that as the pressure of his ministry increased, communing in prayer with God became even more important.

Steve:
I never noticed the reaction of those who witnessed Jesus forgiving and healing the paralytic — “We have seen strange things today!” I can tell you — I’ve left some meetings with that same testimony.

Connie:
Verse 17 — “…and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.”

Chloe:
Luke points out an important aspect of Jesus’ character in verse 6: “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” This made me think about what I do when I’m emotionally drained, as I’m sure Jesus was (and much more than I) throughout His ministry. Typically, I read a book, or turn on some music and play a game online. I don’t pray. Prayer sounds exhausting to me, and I need to relax. Prayer as an emotional refresher is something that never really occurred to me.

BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Chloe: Water’s Edge
David: Whither Thou Wouldest Not (WTWN)
Steve: A Certain City
Connie: Follow Me
Erin: Sons of Zebedee
Josh: Through the Roof; Dinner with Sinners

Continued here!

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