The amount of times that Jesus uses gardening and agriculture for teaching purposes does make me nerd out a little. But the truth is that this is what the people he was teaching would understand. He spoke their language. Farmers, fisherman, and a culture that wasn't using a grocery store. They could relate to his stories because Jesus spoke to them like this. Read:[...]
Today's parable is squished into a larger story so I'd actually encourage you to read the whole section Matthew 12:22-32. Jesus heals a man that's not only blind and mute, but also demon-oppressed. The Pharisees are trying to speak out against Jesus so they claim he's from Beelzebul. This name is translated as lord of the flies and flies were usually found on manure. Beel[...]
The context here is that Jesus is giving the disciples a warning. A warning of being aware of people that make look like them but are actually spreading false truth. Jesus gave them multiple warnings about false teachers. Multiple times he compares teachers to trees bearing fruit. Good fruit means good teachings. This fruit is not something that we should look at as gain.[...]
Often a parable that is twisted because it's about judging. Judging is a topic that both believers and non-believers struggle with as you'll often hear things like "only God can judge me" or "who am I to judge?" This parable is more about hypocrisy than we like to think about. Why are we worried about someone else's sins, when we are still living in sin? Shouldn't we focu[...]
Salt and Light might be my personal favorite parable. Or at least one of my favorites. There's a Mama & Littles Bible Study on the parable also. But it's one that is easily explained to all ages. Salt adds flavor and preserves, while light dispels darkness. Read: Matthew 5:13 Notes: Salt is added flavorSalt is a preservativeSalt can also kill in quantitie[...]
The break between studies was good for my brain. But I can't wait for you to dive into the Parables of Jesus with your littles. Such fun conversations can happen. The Parables will be a five week study of 24 of Jesus' parable teachings. There's more than 24 but for the sake of time and appropriate conversations for little ears and minds, we're going to look at 24 o[...]
Last day in Luke is today. I honestly went back and forth between ending it on the last day of the month versus the last day of the week. And even more honestly, I don't want to drag it out. Let's wrap Luke up! Read: Luke 24:36-53 Notes: Jesus appears to all the disciples!They weren't jumping for joy at first. Nope, they were scared. The disciples didn't rea[...]