Walking with Jesus - February 28

February 28 – Matthew 13 – 26
Focal Passage: Matthew 21:28-46

Working Titles: Jesus Gives Us the Kingdom or Jesus Trusts Us with Everything or What Will We Do with This? Or They’re Going to Kill Him for Including Us or You Ask for It. You Got It. Or Let’s Do Something Amazing with This!

Beginning Thoughts: Jesus replaced a functioning religion and a world power with a group of misfits who believed what he said. Dogma and Dominion are now Love and Service. It became clear to the leaders of his day that Jesus was not going to stay in the fold. They also saw that he was asking them to claim the covenant of Abraham as their own and be a blessing to everyone. Judaism and Caesar were not interested in letting Love replace law and service of others replace devotion to the ones in charge. We are invited to be the faithful ones who can see that we have been saying “no” and now wish to say “yes” to our loving Father who invites us into this new world order. It has a different set of values, vocabulary, and rewards. As we become secure in the Love that Jesus lived out of, we trust that a Cross is the sign of victory as tax collectors and prostitutes lead the way into the Embrace of God. Unless we understand this, we will be crushed by the world we create and miss the Kingdom banquet we were invited to.

Discussion topics: What would you like to do with the rest of your day if you could do anything? What dream is there in you that you think God/Jesus/Spirit put there? Is there a task you want to accomplish that will include giving God pleasure? What is it like to be rejected? How could you let someone know that their shame is a lie and their existence thrills the heart of God? Would you like to see religion replaced with something else? What would that look like? Who would benefit from that new reality? How could we replace religion?