The first passage we look at is one of the most confusing in the Bible. Jesus tells the story of a manager who is cheating his master. When he is told to come clean he does a bit more double dealing. But, instead of sacking him, his master praises him for being ‘streetwise’.

What are we to make of this? Based on the following passage I think it means we need to do everything we can to be right with God, even if it means being at odds with the world.

On this evening we look at one of the most familiar stories in the Bible - The Prodigal Son. In many ways these stories pose a problem for our Just Jesus evenings. What can we say that hasn’t been said hundreds of times before?

So, it is worth looking at the little story before this. The story of the ‘Lost coin’. I’ve done this myself. Maybe not a coin but something else that I want to find: a book or a painting. It becomes really important, even if I can easily replace it or find another.

But Jesus is not talking about a possession, that can be replaced. He is talking about a ‘lost soul turning to God’. Surely something that even angels would celebrate!

In this passage Jesus describes something that is familiar to us. He talks about undertaking building work and making sure there is enough money to complete the work. Rebuilding our house, 5 years ago, was an act of faith. We were going to lose a considerable sum of money. Would the results be worth it? Would it be everything we needed it to be?

I remember turning up at the building site (also known as ‘our house’) when the new foundations were being dug. It had been raining heavily and the deep holes were filled with water. On the surface it didn’t look promising but I had confidence that the foundations would hold. They would be what we needed to build the house on top.

This feels like the point we have reached with Just Jesus. We have dug the foundations but the building is still a plan, a dream. But I have confidence that the structure will hold.

I think this passage is a bit of a challenge to all of us. We fill our lives with all sorts of things and then we can’t make time for God. The parable of the dinner party is asking us to reorder our lives so there is room for Jesus.

Stepping out of our normal routine and doing something uncomfortable (like coming to a Just Jesus evening) can seem scary. What will people say? Will there be consequences if other tasks and commitments are not fulfilled? It seems like Jesus understands this. But there are consequences to not doing something. Are we going to be excluded from the Kingdom of God?

Jesus, by this time, is under threat. There is a plot to kill him. But, instead of going into hiding he calmly continues to do his work.

What is this work? Going to church you would have thought it was running a church and preaching on Sundays. But most of it consists of healing and casting out demons. Even when he is under threat he is still doing this.

In our churches healing is seen as a bit dubious. It is not encouraged. But this is not what Jesus would want. If you want to be healed, in mind or body, or want to learn how to heal, come on Sunday to find out.

There is often a sort of theatre to Jesus’ actions. In this little story, headed ‘Healing on the Sabbath’, he heals a woman bent over with arthritis. On the Sabbath the whole community will be present from the most important, the meeting place president, to the common people, even women! The ordinary people are delighted with the healing but the religious leaders are cross and the woman, who has been healed, is giving glory to God.

He then begins to preach about who will be saved. As is so often the case, the healing and preaching go together. Why should this be?

This evening will be a chance to learn how to heal, with Jesus. If you have anything (big or small) that needs healing or want to learn how to heal (or both!) please come.

Prepare yourself for trouble

If you ask people to describe an English church they might use the adjective ‘bland’ or ‘nice’. In fact people will go out of their way to reduce conflict in a church and often the price we pay is to keep our opinions to ourselves.

This is not the picture Jesus paints. He says there will be conflict, sometimes within families. My experience of church is that there is plenty of conflict but it is spoken quietly in corners and rumbles on, sometimes for years.

How do we get past this? Do we need to be braver? Come and talk about this, and anything else. I can’t promise we will all agree!

Our very first Just Jesus social evening! To be honest JJ evenings are pretty social anyway but we do try to be serious for an hour or so.

But this will be a chance to just come and have a chat and a drink. Rice bowl style food will be available.

So, what is the ‘Sketch’ part of the evening about? Well, I’ve been asked to do quick sketches for a church fair in November and I’d like to practice in a social setting. If you are prepared to sit for 1/2 an hour then let me know (on the night or in advance). You will be able to have the drawings once the fair is over.

don’t worry, be ready

Imagine not worrying about anything. It’s hard to do but that is the world Jesus is suggesting we step into. He responds to a question about an inheritance with a long talk about what is really important, and what is not. As he says:

What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving.

Easier said than done! But is it possible?

But one thing we should be aware of is the need to be ready for Jesus. Jesus will return at the end of the age but is that it? I don’t think so. We need to be ready for him to speak to us at all times.

rules, rules and more rules

In this passage Jesus really lays into the religious authorities of his day. He calls them hypocrites, frauds and bullies. There is something about religion which can bring out the worst in people and this hasn’t changed over the centuries. I often hear people complaining about church leaders.

So, what do we do about this? Should we fight back or walk away? Of course, many people have walked away, feeling they can live their lives better without church.

Come and have a discussion about this or any other questions you may have.

There is a very old political saying:

All it takes for Evil to succeed is for Good Men to do Nothing.

In this passage Jesus come up with his own version of this saying in verse 23:

This is war and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse (MSG)

In a war everyone has to get involved. Yet many Christians are sitting on the sidelines. You could even say we are encouraged to be like this by our church leadership. How do we engage? How do we encourage others to enter into this war.

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Prayer does seem like a very complicated thing! Are we allowed to pray for ourselves? For what we need? Can we only pray for big things even if it’s the little things that bother us?

Jesus cuts through all of this with some very simple instructions. We have the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ here. This really should be called ‘Jesus’ prayer’. And Jesus tells us to be persistent. Why is this. In this evening we will explore why we need to keep on praying for things we want to happen.

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The story of the ‘Good Samaritan’ has entered popular culture. Yet what does it mean? In the last year I’ve often been in situations where I would have rather stepped back than stepped forward to help. Jesus is saying that everyone is our ‘neighbour’, even our enemies.

And we look at the story of ‘Mary and Martha’. In Jesus’ time women were not meant to be disciples yet Jesus invited both these women to learn from him.

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In this evening we look at two very familiar stories - The Good Samaritan and Martha and Mary. It is easy to simplify these stories but really they are both about different sorts of love. This is a complicated and difficult issue. Most of our life choices are made because of love but we all take different paths. Are some better than others? Religion sometimes seems set up to make us feel permanently guilty about what we are doing. Is this right? How do we take the right path?

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Once again Jesus is asked to heal someone who is mentally ill. And, once again, he does so by casting out the demon in him. So, what are demons? I suspect that there are a lot of them around even today. What should we do about them?

In the second part of this passage we have a bit of a snapshot into everyday life for Jesus and his disciples. The disciples seem very human, and a bit confused. I’m quite cheered by this. There is hope for us all!

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One of the things I am learning by running this group is that it can be hard to let Jesus be in charge. We all want a little bit of glory, that sense of being special. But I’ve learned that ignoring Jesus is a sure way to failure.

In this passage we hear what Jesus has to say about this and then we see him transformed into his glorified self. So who is he? And who are we?

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In this passage Jesus gives us a very clear model of evangelism. He tells his disciples to deal with demons, cure the sick and preach the news of God’s Kingdom. Yet in most churches the first two instructions are ignored. In this session we look at practical ways we can really be disciples of Jesus.

The second part of the study is one of the ‘Sunday School’ stories. I want to delve a bit deeper and think about what is really going on when food is created from nothing!

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In this short passage Jesus performs two of his most extraordinary acts. The first of these he does without even trying. How does this happen? What is the ‘power’ that is flowing out of him. Can we have this power? He then, without missing a step, raises a young girl from the dead.

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In our first meeting we talked about demons. We return again to this topic with this account of a madman possessed by a ‘mob’ of demons.

It is easy to say that Jesus had it wrong, that demons don’t really exist but I don’t think so. My own experience of demon possession suggests that this is very real. In this session I want to look at the flow of spiritual power in this account. What battles are being fought? Who are the real winners?

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This evening we look at a familiar story. We all know the story of the seeds falling in different places. Yet what does the ‘Good Earth’ look like? What can we do to make our communities a good place to grow?

We end the study with another demonstration of Jesus’ power as he calms the waves. How does this happen? Can we have this power?

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For many of us this would have been the worst party. You are invited by someone who, on the face of it, is your sworn enemy. Then someone else turns up who everyone disapproves of and makes a very public nuisance of herself. Many of us would have gone to the toilet then slipped out the front door. What on earth do you say? Well Jesus knew exactly what to say and, just before Easter, reminds us who is most likely to enter the kingdom of Heaven first.

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If someone asked you ‘Who are you?’ would you just leave them watching you for a few hours while you got on with your job? I think not but, when John’s disciples ask Jesus ‘Are you the One we’ve been expecting?’ this is just what he does. It tells us something about who we need to be to follow Jesus.

Again, he challenges the hierarchy of the day, praising ordinary people who stood in line to be baptised by John.

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Jesus talks about becoming a ‘good tree’ and building strong foundations. But how do we do this? In this evening we look at the practice of Christian Meditation which can help us to draw nearer to God.

We have the first encounter with the Roman occupation in this session but the centurion is not an enemy to the community he lives in. Jesus heals the centurion’s servant but does so without even seeing him. What can we learn from this? He also raises a young man from the dead. The first instance of this in the gospels story.

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Jesus preaches. But before he starts he heals those who are sick or disturbed by evil spirits.

He tells us how we are blessed when we have pain or difficulties in our lives. These act to bring the kingdom of God. He tells us to do many things we find difficult: To love our enemies and not to judge others. There is a lot to take in in this session.

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Jesus picks some wheat and heals a man with a crippled hand on the Sabbath. Again, he angers the Pharisees. Is Jesus deliberately stirring up trouble?

He spends all night in prayer and then choses his 12 disciples.

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Jesus heals a leper. He forgives the sins of a paraplegic but angers the religious authorities.

He asks a tax collector called Levi to be his disciple. Levi holds a party at his house for Jesus. Jesus talks about celebrating his presence like a wedding.

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Jesus heals Simon’s Mother in Law and a lot of other people. Demons recognise him as the Son of God.

His first disciples have a miraculous catch of fish. They leave their boats and follow him.

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Following his baptism, Jesus goes into the desert and battles with the Devil. Having resisted the temptations put in front of him he goes back to his own town to preach.

He gets a bit of mixed reaction to his preaching. Some people are amazed and some are angry. He casts a demon out of a man who is demonically disturbed.

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