Crosses are Uncomfortable

This week our scripture reading from Mark (8:27-38) runs a gamut of emotions. We go from Peter's confident, maybe even triumphant, statement that Jesus is the Messiah Jesus talting about his death and calling Peter satan to a call for disciples to pick up their crosses, to give up their lives and follow.

There's a lot wrapped up here, a lot to digest, a lot of lessons that could be drawn out of these texts.

We've been focused over the past weeks on the broad theme of discipleship and this passage in its last verses, in particular, have something to say about what the life of a disciple looks like. Jesus doesn't make it look easy either. Crosses are uncomfortable things, deadly things. It seems that being a disciple involves giving something pretty important up to gain something even better.

Join us Sunday at 9:30 as we dig into Jesus words to us.

Caring for the Poor

James has witnessed something in the church that bothers him. He has seen prejudice in the church, a deference to the rich at the expense of the poor. He raises this as an example a contradiction between faith and life. He likely could have found another example, but he chooses this one because he knows that in God's kingdom there is no room for prejudice. 

This Sunday we to look at what it means to be a disciple. We move to the book of James.

James also introduces a difficult paradox that we will consider, a difficult question: Does what we do affect our salvation or are we saved by faith alone?

We'll spend time with James this Sunday, time with this question, time thinking even more specifically about our treatment of the poor as we pledge our allegiance to our God.