Love

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We call it the golden rule.

 Jesus identifies two laws which are the most important in answer to a question from a lawyer out to stump him. Love God and love your neigbour. He says every other rule or law in life hangs off of these two principles.

While Jesus' words seem to be common sense, they are actually very radical. This Sunday we will spend some time considering just how radical they are, how life changing they can be.

Join us at 9:30 as we worship at the Lucknow Presbyterian Church

Is it About Authourity?

Jewish rabbis have a long history of debate. They were really good at it. They will often counter questions with another question to draw their opponents out before establishing their own position on an issue. In this week's Gospel reading (Matthew 21:23-32) Jesus uses this technique as he in drawn into a debate about where his authourity comes from. He really turns the question around and leaves the chief priests and elders scrambling to cover themselves.

The whole interaction reveals the type of God followers these folks really are and the way they look at other people. Through this interaction, Jesus shows us again how the kingdom of heaven is surprising and unexpected. He says something about how we act as members of the kingdom.

Come out this Sunday as we unpack this debate and the short parable that is part of it.

Forgiving

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How often to I need to forgive that person who keeps messing with my life? There must be a line, a limit, to my patience. There must be a point where I can walk away, turn my back, and refuse to forgive, refuse to try to maintain a relationship.

Peter thought there should be, and quite extravagantly suggests that forgiving someone seven times should be enough. Jesus, in typical Jesus fashion, is much more extravagant, much more generous and uses a story about a king and a couple of servants to illustrate his point.

Join us for worship this week. We continue to meet at the Presbyterian Church in Lucknow at 9:30 as our church is repaired following a fire in the sanctuary.

Get Behind Me

If there was ever a good week to have our service at the park, this is it. We've had a small fire in the church, and there is smoke and soot everywhere. We had already planned to meet at the barn at Point Farms Provincial Park for our worship service as part of our annual church camping, so for this week anyway, no change will be needed.

This week we will be looking at a passage that demands a change, a change in attitude, a change in understanding. Peter, who had, in the previous passage given his profession of faith, naming Jesus as the Messiah, the son of the living God, now tries to change Jesus' path. He responds negatively to Jesus' explanation of what will happen in the next few weeks. Jesus turns to Peter with the word's "Get behind me Satan!"

Is Peter really demon possessed, or is there something more here? A call to discipleship maybe?
Our service will begin at 10:30, at the barn

Feeding 5000

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the enormity of suffering in the world? You may not even need to have such a large scope to feel overwhelmed. What about the suffering in your own community, your own family?

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In the story of Jesus feeding 5000 people in a desolate, empty place, we see the disciples overwhelmed. They have little enough for their own supper and the only thing they can think to do is to send the crowd away, send them home, hungry.

Jesus, of course, has another solution, another course of action. This Sunday, we will look at Jesus response to the needs of these people, under the shadow of the murder of John the Baptist. (Matthew 14:13-21) We will wonder at his compassion, and recognize that "send them away" is not an acceptable response to overwhelming problems, then or now.

What is the Kingdom of Heaven Like?

Jesus must have had this question from his disciples. These men had followed him, listened to him speak, recognized that he was special, bringing a new message, but, they weren't really clear on what this kingdom was really like. Matthew relates a series of parables that all start in much the same way: : The kingdom of heaven is like.....

Courtesy http://kingdomnewtestament.wordpress.com/

Jesus uses surprising, and unusual, metaphors for the kingdom. The mustard seed, yeast, a treasure lost in a field, a pearl, and finally a huge net. It's hard to see the relationship between some of these examples but it is clear that the kingdom of heaven is not at all what we might expect it to be. It is not big and brash and pushy and yet it does have a large effect. It is not readily visible, but when it is found, it brings so much joy  the finder will give up everything to have it. It is all encompassing, all powerful, and yet, inconspicuous.

This week we will examine what the kingdom of heaven means to us, in our time and place as we examine the parables of Matthew 13.

Weird Animals

Weird Animals are everywhere!

We are in the middle of VBS and we are learning about how God loves you even if you are different. We are learning about how much Jesus loves us from Axl, Fern, Iggy, Shred,  and Milton. There have been lots of new songs, crafts, and new friends.

This Sunday we will celebrate the kids and the things they have learned in our worship service. We'll look at the key verse for day two as our text for Sunday morning. Its Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus.

Join us this Sunday morning, for fun, fellowship, and a wonderful end to an exciting week.

Oh, did I mention the lunch afterward?