How Creation Shapes Our Understanding of Vocation In Lesson 1, we explored God creating us in His likeness and image. Today, we examine this again, but this time to understand how God’s creation of us shapes our vocations of service. Genesis 1:27-28: So God created mankind in his own image; in his own image God […]
The Parables of Jesus: Lesson 14: Two Parables in a Vineyard Setting
February 13, 2018 by
The Unusual Vineyard Owner: Matthew 19:30-20:16 Immediate Setting In Matthew 19:16, a man approached Jesus: “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus then brought up God’s Law (vs. 18-19), to which the man responded, “I have kept all these.” So, Jesus told him something He knew he couldn’t do, “Go, sell […]
Being Fully Human: Lesson 3
February 13, 2018 by
In His Body, Christ Redeemed Us, Bringing Us into His Body To save us, Jesus became incarnate, which means the eternal God also became fully human by His human birth. As both God and man, He considered it necessary to become a physical being to save us physical beings. In His human nature, He became […]
Mark 9:29-39: How to Understand our Bodies
February 13, 2018 by
With His new disciples, beginning their three-year course of instruction, Jesus teaches them, and us, on how to understand our bodies. Now, this isn’t judging your status by the morning mirror’s reflection. No, our Lord tutors us to gaze on our physical bodies through faith-filled eyes. From Him, we learn to judge our well-being and […]
The Parables of Jesus: Lesson 13: Two Parables on What Someone’s Prayer Reveals
February 13, 2018 by
The Parable of the Unjust Judge: Luke 18:1-8 Background in Luke Luke 17: 11-18: 8 is a significant unit focused on the “end times” with four major parts: Jesus heals the ten lepers: 17: 11-19, Jesus answers a question by some Pharisees about the coming of God’s Kingdom: 17:20-21, Jesus instructs His disciple on the […]
Being Fully Human: Lesson 2
February 13, 2018 by
Our Lord’s Physical Redemption Equals a Physical Salvation Last week, we learned the Hebrew term for “soul” [nephesh] or “spirit” [ruach] refers to the whole person as a living being. Human beings live as souls—we do not “have” souls. This association is so close we even find nephesh being used to refer to someone who […]
The Parables of Jesus: Lesson 12: Two Parables on Forgiveness
January 23, 2018 by
The Parable of the Two Debtors: Luke 7:36-50 Background in Luke Before Jesus tells this parable, we find an unnamed woman in the house of Simon the Pharisee. This is early in Jesus’ public ministry. She washes His feet with her tears and dries them with her hair, kissing His feet and anointing them. Though […]
The Baptism of Our Lord: Genesis 1:1-5: Creation Teaches Us About Re-Creation
January 23, 2018 by
To the first ticking of time, and before the creation of time, Moses takes us back to the beginning. From his words, he allows us to peek into those moments of prehistory when only God existed, and we find primordial chaos. One thing is evident—in the emptiness of the void, life is powerless to blossom […]
The Parables of Jesus: Lesson 11: The Parable of the Lamp
January 23, 2018 by
Intro Earlier, in both Mark 4 and Luke 8, Jesus told The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:9, Luke 8:5-8) and then explained it (Mark 4:10-20, Luke 8:9-15). He did this to prevent a misunderstanding about “the mystery [Greek, musterion, mystery; Latin, sacramentum] of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10). On the heels […]
