What Did You Hear...

...from this weekend's teaching on the parable of the generous vineyard owner (Mt. 20:1-16)?

Did God teach you anything new?

Remind you of something you alreday knew?

Raise questions?

Give answers?

Something else?

What's Your...

...favorite story or parable that Jesus told?

Which do you like the best and why?

Did you know...

...that we offer interpreting for the deaf at our 11:15 Sunday services?

Interpreters are stationed up front on the left side of the room.

If you have some friends in the Deaf community, feel free to pass the word!

What do you think...

about Jesus' words that Glen taught from this past weekend?:

The disciples asked him, “Why do you use stories as illustrations when you speak to people?”

Jesus answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you. But it has not been given to the crowd.
Those who understand these mysteries will be given more knowledge, and they will excel in understanding them.
However, some people don’t understand these mysteries. Even what they understand will be taken away from them.

This is why I speak to them this way.

Is this fair?
Does that matter?
What does Jesus mean by this?
What does it mean for you personally?

Please take a second and comment

Would You Have Stopped...

...to listen to a virtuoso violinist posing as a street musician in the middle of your morning commute?

Read more about the Washington Post's experiment with Joshua bell HERE.

Hindsight is 20/20

Ever wished you could have lived during Bible times and seen or heard Jesus in person? Although it might have been cool, we would have definitely missed out on a lot.

When we read the stories of Jesus' life, we are treated to the behind the scenes stuff he said and did with his closest friends.

If we were in the crowds during Jesus' day, we would have gotten just a glimpse of him. Reading the Bible 2000 years later we get a fuller (but still icomplete) picture.

For example, Jesus told the crowds simple stories that (on the surface) dealt with everyday situations- planting seeds, losing money, lighting candles, etc. Then after he told the stories, he offered NO explanation. It wasn't until later, when he was alone with his disciples, that he would decode the story and tell them it's meaning.

The disciples got the answer key. The crowds just got a test.

Test? You bet. Jesus taught in story form to test the desire of those who heard him.

For those who didn't really want to know, the stories meant little to nothing. I can almost hear many in the crowd disappointed that they walked so far or listened so long to stories about stuff they did everyday. Where were the nuggets of wisdom and insight they expected?

Jesus witheld them because their hearts weren't open to what he had to say.

"This is why I speak to them this way. They see, but they’re blind. They hear, but they don’t listen. They don’t even try to understand. So they make Isaiah’s prophecy come true:
‘You will hear clearly but never understand. You will see clearly but never comprehend. These people have become close-minded and hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that their eyes never see. Their ears never hear. Their minds never understand. And they never return to me for healing!’" (Matthew 13:13-15)

Others heard more than stories when Jesus taught. They heard a challenge. As Jesus said, "Let He who has ears, hear." they heard "How badly do you want to understand? Enough to think about it? Enough to turn my words over and over in your head until they make sense?"

Later, Jesus told his friends that the key to knowing God is desire. After telling a story about lighting a lamp, Jesus says:

"Let the person who has ears listen!”He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you’re listening to! Knowledge will be measured out to you by the measure of attention you give. This is the way knowledge increases." Mark 4:23-24

A couple of millenia later, we get the benefit of hindsight and of reading the whole book. But, Jesus still tests us- wondering how much we really want to know him.

If we don't, we won't. But if we do, the lights will come on for us.

When it comes to knowing Jesus, how would you describe your level of desire today?
How are you "paying attention" to him?
Is your heart open to his words?
Are the lights coming on?
Flickering?
Something else?

Who was...

...the best teacher you ever had?

What made them so good?

How did they help you learn?

Want a Second Look...

...at the scriptures Glen taught from this weekend? Here they are.

Read through them slowly. What words or passages speak to you today?

"Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10 (God’s Word Translation)

Revelation 7:16 “They will never be hungry or thirsty again.”

Amos 9:13 “The days are going to come, declares the LORD, when the one who plows will catch up to the one who harvests, and the one who stomps on grapes will catch up to the one who plants. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.”

Isaiah 2:4 says, "Then he will judge disputes between nations and settle arguments between many people. They will hammer their swords into plow blades and their spears into pruning shears. Nations will never fight against each other, and they will never train for war again."

Isaiah 11:6-8, "Wolves will live with lambs. Leopards will lie down with goats. Calves, young lions, and year-old lambs will be together, and little children will lead them. Cows and bears will eat together. Their young will lie down together. Lions will eat straw like oxen. Infants will play near cobras’ holes. Toddlers will put their hands into vipers’ nests.”

Revelation 21:25 “Its gates will be open all day. They will never close because there won't be any night there.”

Luke 1:17 " He will change parents' attitudes toward their children."

Revelation 21, “God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God."

Ezekiel 11:19 , "I will give them a single purpose and put a new spirit in them. I will remove their stubborn hearts and give them obedient hearts.”

Mark 1:14,15, "After John was put into prison, He said, "The time has come, and the kingdom of God is near. Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News."

Matthew 12:28, " But if I force demons out with the help of God's Spirit, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”

Much Ado About Nothing???

When I heard a couple of months ago that acclaimed director James Cameron (of Titanic fame) was producing a documentary about the lost tomb of Jesus I was prepared to see tons of press coverage and have numerous personal conversations about whether or not Jesus really rose from the dead.

Didn't happen in my world. Maybe I didn't watch the right news channels or don't currently have any seeking friends who wrestle with this issue. (Most of the coverage I did see/read on Cameron's work tore holes in its accuracy/credibility.)

How about you?
Did you watch "The Lost Tomb of Jesus"?
Have any conversations with friends about it?
If so, please use the comment feature and tell us about it.

On a related note, Glen sent me these comments by scholar N.T. Wright about the importance of the resurrection to those who follow Jesus. Enjoy.

"Jesus Lives or Christianity Dies”
If Jesus' bodily remains were found, then Christianity as it began and continued was based on a mistake, or (more strongly) a lie.

Christianity is about the creator God defeating the powers that corrupt, deface and overcome the good, wonderful, vibrant creation, not about this God (or some other) colluding with death and agreeing that what matters after all is some disembodied existence.

Christianity is about this creator God launching his project of new creation -- transformed, now, so that death itself and all that contributes to it can no longer touch it -- in and through the resurrection of Jesus, and continuing until the earth (not just heaven! THE EARTH) is filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

That began at Easter, continues in the life of faith, prayer and sacrament and the mission, in the widest and narrowest senses of the word, of the church, and will be complete when justice and mercy flood the whole creation.

Easter is the hinge on which all this turns, consequent upon the victory accomplished on the cross. Take Easter away, and we are at best like the first-century Jews, still hoping for redemption to happen but with no sign that it has just yet. And at worst we are back with some kind of paganism -- which is where, ultimately, the denial of resurrection will leave you.

Bodily resurrection is what you get at the intersection point between the lines of God as the good and wise creator and God as the judge who will set everything right at last.

Give up either, or both, and what you're left with isn't Christianity.

Wanna See & Hear More...

...of Julian Beever's amazing sidewalk art? Visit his website HERE.



...of Mute Math (the band in this weekend's opening video)? Find them online HERE

Here's A Question (or 2)...

Why did Jesus come to earth? What was his mission/message?

Explain in your own words as simply or as complex as you'd like.

If you need inspiration, imagine that a friend whose name you wrote on the stage or on an acoustic panel is asking you this question.

Do You Know Joe?

Many people have commented about how powerful the sand art presentation was this past weekend. What did you think? Were there any particular images that touched you?

The artist was Joe Castillo. He and his wife Cindy are a part of the Crossroads' community. Joe is a talented artist who works in different meduims.

To learn more about Joe's art or to contact him, visit his website: www.joecastillo.com.

Are We This Oblivious???

This past weekend Glen taught from the story in Luke 24:13-35 where Jesus appears to two of His followers as they walk from Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus. (Take a moment and read it for yourself.)

The funny thing is that these two guys' whole lives had been focused on Jesus for the past few days as he was arrested, tortured, murdered and his body had disappeared. This was the kind of news that would have dominated every tv network for weeks in our day and time. (Like the Anna Nicole saga.) The rest of life had ceased to exist as they debated, wondered and cried about what had happened to their teacher.

Yet the risen Jesus walks and talks with them for several hours and they are oblivious to who he really is.

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been so focused on Jesus that you actually missed the fact that he was present with you? Been so busy talking about, studying or serving God that you neglected to be with him and let him be with you?

Can you identify with these guys at all? Are we this oblivious to Jesus in our lives? Less so? More so?

How Did You Celebrate?

What did your Easter festivities look like this weekend? We caught the Saturday night service, had an egg hunt and a Sunday family dinner complete with bunny cake. All while welcoming a new family member- our four day old son.

What did you do this past weekend?

Also, do you still get an Easter basket? All time favorite Easter candies?

Forsaken...

Maybe for the first time on the cross, Jesus' words reveal that He is feeling OUR pain.

Forsaken...
Abandoned...
Deserted...
Isolated...
Rejected...
Alone...


When have you felt forsaken by others?
By God?

Someone Else's Prayers

Last weekend Missy read a prayer by Ted Loder from his book Guerillas of Grace. The full version of the prayer is below.

But before you get there, a couple of questions to comment on:
1. Do you ever use other people's prayers as a part of your life with God?
2. If so, what do they mean to you? How do they help you? Any books of prayers you'd recommend to the rest of us?
3. Do you ever write your own prayers out? Why? In what format?

There is Something I Wanted to Tell You by Ted Loder

Holy One, there is something I wanted to tell you, but there have been errands to run, bills to pay, arrangements to make, meetings to attend, friends to entertain, washing to do...and I forget what it is I wanted to say to you, and mostly I forget what I'm about, or why. O God, don't forget me please, for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Eternal One, there is something I wanted to tell you, but my mind races with worrying and watching, with weighing and planning, with rutted slights and pothole grievances, with leaky dreams and leaky plumbing and leaky relationships I keep trying to plug up; and my attention is preoccupied with loneliness, with doubt, and with things I covet; and I forget what it is I wanted to say to you, and how to say it honestly or how to do much of anything. O God, don't forget me please, for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Almighty One, there is something I wanted to ask you, but I stumble along the edge of a nameless rage, haunted by a hundred floating fears of nuclear war, of losing my job, of failing, of getting sick and old, of having loved ones die, of dying...of having no one love me, not even myself, and of not being sure who I am or that I am worth very much, and...I forget what the real question is that I wanted to ask, and
I forget to listen anyway because you seem unreal and far away, and I forget what I have forgotten. O God, don't forget me please, for the sake of Jesus Christ.

O Father in Heaven, perhaps you've already heard what I wanted to tell you. What I wanted to ask is, forgive me, heal me, increase my courage, please. Renew in me a little of love and faith, and a sense of confidence, and a vision of what it might mean to live as though you were real, and I mattered, and everyone was sister and brother.

What I wanted to ask in my blundering way is don't give up on me...don't become too sad about me, but laugh with me, and try again with me, and I will with you too. What I wanted to ask is for peace enough to want and work for more, for joy enough to share, and for awareness that is keen enough to sense your presence...here, now, there, then, always.

Father Forgive These People...

It is amazing that Jesus had the strength to say much of anything from the cross after what he had endured. It is practically unbelievable that the first words he utters are words of forgiveness.

Jesus forgives IN THE MIDDLE of being tortured. This pardon isn't offered after a time of grieving or processing, but during the crime itself.

And Jesus offers clemency right up front- maybe just in case he doesn't get the chance to say anything else?

How about you? What do these words of Jesus mean to you?