Mark’s gospel contains several “sandwiches”—where he starts to tell one story, then interrupts himself with another story, then goes back to finish the first story. This week’s sandwich concerns the raising of Jairus’ dead daughter and the healing of a woman in the crowd who touched Jesus’ clothes. This is a familiar story, but perhaps it still has something to teach us. 

This Sunday, we are hearing the story of David and Goliath, which might be one of the top five most famous Bible stories that we have. I think that it is appealing even to people who would never darken the door of a church or a synagogue. Everyone loves the story of an underdog. There is also a depth to this story that popular culture might not appreciate, and I'm looking forward to exploring that with you.

It's a word most of us don't like to hear. (I can tell you from recent parenting experience that three-year-olds are particularly adverse to the word "no.") Whether or not "no" is a word we like to hear, sometimes it's a word we need to hear.

This Sunday, we're looking at a story in First Samuel when God's people demanded a king. It was a time of great political, economic, and military uncertainty, and sounds in many ways similar to our world today. I hope that you'll join us on Sunday as we explore God's Word (and God's lesser-known Word) together.