A Gentle Ramble Through the Bible - Chronologically

Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a poor man and what happens to them after death. It’s an old familiar story drawn from the culture of the Ancient Near East, but Jesus gives it a new punchline.

Then he talks about how serious it is when we lay traps for other people and for ourselves. This is apparently a VERY big deal to God, with roots all the way back in the Hebrew Bible. Jesus ties it all to the importance of forgiving each other.

We talk some more about life after death vs. life now. There’s a lot of meat in here.

We cover

• Matthew (5:17-20 reprise); 18:6-9, 21-35
• Mark 9:42-50
• Luke 16:16-31, 17:1-4

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

Each and every one of us is known by God. We are seen and we are cherished. When the scribes and Pharisees deride Jesus for hanging out with unworthy people, Jesus tells them three parables demonstrating the prodigal love of God (“prodigal” means wasteful, reckless extravagance)!

The most famous of these is the story of the prodigal son. As with most parables, there’s more to it than you might remember from childhood stories. Jesus follows this with a really crazy parable directed at the disciples, where he tells them to be more like a dishonest manager. Say, what?!?

We cover

• Matthew 18:10-14; (6:19-24 reprise)
• Luke 15; 16:1-15

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

Jesus is very careful never to call himself Christos, the Messiah. In public, he always refers to himself as the “Son of Man.” The Jews understand this is a Messianic title, but the Romans do not, so the religious leaders keep pressing Jesus to be plain--to call himself “Messiah.”

What he says in reply nearly gets him stoned. Again.

Jesus is the guest of honor at a hoity-toity Sabbath meal with high-ranking lawyers and Pharisees. I bet you can guess that Jesus says some pretty uncomfortable things to them, and he does it with parables.

Jesus is down to his last few months. He’s got to get his points across in a way these folks will remember.

We cover

• Matthew 22:1-14
• Luke 14
• John 1:9-18; 10:22-42

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

The religious leaders are pulling out all the stops to trap Jesus, bring him up on charges (probably heresy or inciting violence or both), and then sentence him to death.

First they try to get him to choose between compassion or the very clear Law requiring death for adulterers. They catch a woman in the act of adultery, drag her to Jesus and force him to choose. What do you think he chooses?

Jesus completely loses patience with them. The whole rest of the chapter is an “in your face” argument in which Jesus tells the religious leaders that they do not even know God! He winds up telling them, “Before Abraham was born, I AM!”

Those are definitely fighting words. They pick up stones to kill him immediately.

We cover John 8.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

Jesus reaches back into the Sermon on the Mount to talk about going in through the narrow door--but is he really talking about the same thing this time? Once again there are people who miss the path. Jesus says some interesting things about what will happen to them.

Jesus’ life is in serious danger. He’s got to go to Jerusalem for Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, but he must play it smart. He needs to stick to the big crowds, but his brothers (mocking him) urge him to show himself to the world!

We catch up with him when he finally does surface in Jerusalem. He’s causing all sorts of confusion. Is this the Messiah? It can’t be--he’s just an uneducated country bumpkin from Galilee.

We cover

• Luke 13:10-30
• John 7

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

Discipleship 102 gets very explicit and more than a little scary at this point. Some of the disciples may be rethinking their positions. Do they really want to sell all their possessions, be given the responsibility of sharing God’s love to the people, get arrested, get tried, and probably get beaten or killed? Do they really want to be the ones from whom more is expected? J

esus teaches them what to do when they hurt each other. And he tells a parable to help them remember that when bad things happen to someone it’s not because the people involved are worse than anyone else. Good to know.

We cover

• Matthew (5:21-26 reprise); 10:19-21,26-34; 18:15-20
• Luke 12:1-59; 13:1-9

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

Discipleship 102 looks a lot like Discipleship 101. Shocking. Jesus clearly teaches the same thing over and over to the disciples. We focus especially on the new material Luke adds here. The sisters Mary and Martha make their first appearance, but the shocker is when one of the most highly placed Pharisees in Jerusalem sneaks out to find Jesus at night.

He’s worried that the religious leaders are getting it wrong. He thinks there’s a good chance Jesus is exactly who he says he is. Jesus talks to him of being born a second time, wind that cannot be seen, the judgment and verdict of God, and…snakes?

We cover

• Matthew (6:22, 25-34 reprise); 10:29; 12:43
• Luke 10:29-42; (11:1-13 reprise); 11:24-28, 33-36; 12:22-34

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

Jesus and his disciples travel from Galilee through Samaria and on to Jerusalem, so it makes sense that Samaritans figure prominently in today’s stories. They were religious, political and social enemies of the Jews. Lots of bad blood between them.

The disciples are proud of their accomplishments after they do some serious flexing in the neighboring villages. Jesus warns them to be sure they’re proud they are known by God rather than proud of the things God does thru them. I don’t think the disciples quite get that memo.

A big-shot lawyer asks Jesus a trick question about what it takes to get eternal life. The answer is what we call “the Greatest Commandment,” and Jesus illustrates it with a story about a Samaritan--a Samaritan who has compassion on a Jew.

We cover

• Matthew 8:18-22; 11:20-30; 18:1-5; 22:34-40
• Mark 9:33-41; 12:28-34
• Luke 9:46-62; 10:1-28

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

Things start to get real. Jesus gets explicit with the disciples. Who do you think that I am? Really? What if I tell you I am going to be arrested, tried, tortured, killed, and then after three days, rise again? If you want to follow me, you’ll have to take up your cross and give up your life.

Uh, nope. The disciples aren’t ready to hear that. Jesus is the Messiah king who’s going to crush Israel’s enemies, right? Is that what “rise again” means?

Jesus tries twice to convince the disciples he’s about to die. Doesn’t work.

Peter, James, and John see Jesus start to glow. They see Elijah and Moses talk to him. They hear God say, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him!” Still, they do not understand.

We cover

• Matthew 10:32,37; 16:21-28; 17:1-23
• Mark 8:31-38; 9:1-32
• Luke 9:22-45

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

Click here for an index of all classes.

More info at PastorintheWild.org.

Jesus heals a deaf-mute by spitting. We remember we heard this weird technique just a few verses ago. Then he feeds 4000 people with a few loaves. Wait a minute. Are we having deja vu? Could this be a chiasm? We follow Jesus and the disciples to Caesarea Philippi and knock down a popular but faulty myth.

We also examine the “sign of Jonah” from a little different angle. It is in this passage that Jesus first uses the word “ekklesia”--later translated as “church.”

We cover

• Matthew 12:38-45; 15:29-39; 16:1-20
• Mark 7:31-37; 8:1-30
• Luke 9:18-21; 11:29-32; 12:1-3

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

Click here for an index of all classes.

More info at PastorintheWild.org.