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!

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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?

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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!

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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?

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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!

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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?

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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?

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box

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.

If you would like a soup and bread supper please fill in the form below. Please put any dietary requirements in the comments box