Christ Church Studies

We live in an age of contempt, and we’re not the first society to feel such for those around us. Contempt was a common attitude in Jesus’ own day, and in Luke 18, he tells a story that directly addresses this attitude. In this session, we’ll explore what this story has to teach us about the gospel and our own feelings of self-righteous superiority.

In this well-known and beloved parable, Jesus describes two types of people: those who flee from God in a misguided quest for personal freedom and those whose attempts to obey God result in self-righteous resentment. Between them stands a father who loves them both with reckless abandon and who joyfully welcomes them home.

In this well-known and beloved parable, Jesus describes two types of people: those who flee from God in a misguided quest for personal freedom and those whose attempts to obey God result in self-righteous resentment. Between them stands a father who loves them both with reckless abandon and who joyfully welcomes them home.

We begin with a discussion of the first of Jesus's parables in the Gospel of Mark: the seed and the soil. This story holds a truth of perennial importance about the powerful and productive word of God and the different ways that people respond, or fail to respond, to this word.

We begin with a discussion of the first of Jesus’s parables in the Gospel of Mark: the seed and the soil. This story holds a truth of perennial importance about the powerful and productive word of God and the different ways that people respond, or fail to respond, to this word.

Genesis ends with a familiar theme: the relationship between fathers and sons, handing down faith from one generation to the next. As Joseph blesses the sons of Joseph, we see this blessing isn't just for them, but for those that will follow--a reminder that they are a family whose lives are defined by hope in the future promises of God.

Genesis ends with a familiar theme: the relationship between fathers and sons, handing down faith from one generation to the next. As Joseph blesses the sons of Joseph, we see this blessing isn’t just for them, but for those that will follow–a reminder that they are a family whose lives are defined by hope in the future promises of God.

Joseph's brothers do something terrible to him, and yet, years later, Joseph believes their actions were guided by God's own hand--that what they intended for evil, God intended for good. Providential care is not unique to Joseph. The same God who worked through Joseph's hardships also works all things together for our good.

Joseph’s brothers do something terrible to him, and yet, years later, Joseph believes their actions were guided by God’s own hand–that what they intended for evil, God intended for good. Providential care is not unique to Joseph. The same God who worked through Joseph’s hardships also works all things together for our good.

Joseph, a victim of slander and the abuse of others, is often thought of as morally innocent, a man who does nothing to merit mistreatment. But Joseph has his own faults, and a closer reading of Genesis shows this. In this session, we explore what we can learn from Joseph's righteousness and failings.