Monday, October 28, 2019

Luke 19:28-39 “Lessons from the Land: Mt. Olivet”



The Mount of Olives plays a significant role in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, God departed the temple and rested upon the Mt. of Olives before leaving Israel. In the New Testament, God returns, in the person of Jesus, coming back by way of the Mt. of Olives and returning to the city. But God’s people don’t recognize his return, and Jesus weeps over the city as it looks upon it from the famous Mount. God is constantly coming to us. Do we recognize his visitations?

Monday, October 21, 2019

Luke 10:38-42 “Lessons from the Land: Bethany”



-There are many things we must do in life, but what is the most important human task? There are a lot of opinions about this matter, but Jesus resoundingly and definitively answers it when he tells Martha that ‘Mary has chosen what is better.’ But what is most shocking about this passage isn’t that Mary left her sister to do the work of hospitality. Are you engaged in the most important task of life?  

Monday, October 14, 2019

Luke 18:35-19:10 “Lessons from the Land: Jericho”



As Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem for the events that will lead up to his crucifixion, he stops over in Jericho. It is here that he answers the call of a blind beggar who cries out to him and also saves a rich man from an empty way of life. God desires to restore all who call out to him, from the least to the greatest, because all humanity is in equal need of restoration.

Monday, October 7, 2019

Matthew 16:13-20 “Lessons from the Land: Caesarea Philippi”



Jesus takes the disciples to Caesarea Philippi, the capital of Gaulanitus. It was here that the world believed the gates of Hell were to be found. Standing nearby the ancient pagan shrine to Pan and the underworld, Jesus asks the disciples who they say he is. Each of us must come to know and recognize God in an intimate way. If we believe Christ is the center, then this confession will re-center our lives.