When Jesus heals a leper for the first time, it gives us insight into how things are made "clean" in his ministry. Also, Dr. Seuss phones it in with the ending to one of his lesser known children's books.

Imagine turning off The Wizard of Oz in the first 20 minutes of the film - how much would you have missed? The transition to color film, the famous friends, the battle against the Wicked Witch of the West... Jesus's ministry has just started, and people are already forming opinions about who he is and what he's come to accomplish. But by looking at a particular theme in Mark's gospel, we see that Jesus doesn't want people to be so hasty with their assessments.

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Say Grace For Me by Derek Clegg is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and can be found at freemusicarchive.org.

Fredson Falls by Mr Smith is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License, and can be found at freemusicarchive.org.

As Jesus is baptized, the fabric of reality is torn, and we get a brief glimpse of God in three persons. How Mark's Gospel, C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, and new wave punk rocker Billy Idol help us understand the Trinity. Also: Pastor Bryan's first dance with a girl.

To learn more about Learning from the Lion, visit Epiphany's website.

To sign up for Learning from the Lion emails, join Epiphany's email list, and unsubscribe anytime.

Say Grace For Me by Derek Clegg is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and can be found at freemusicarchive.org.

Fredson Falls by Mr Smith is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License, and can be found at freemusicarchive.org.

To learn more about Learning from the Lion, visit Epiphany's website.

To sign up for Learning from the Lion emails, join Epiphany's email list, and unsubscribe anytime.

Say Grace For Me by Derek Clegg is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and can be found at freemusicarchive.org.

To learn more about Learning from the Lion, visit Epiphany's website.

To sign up for Learning from the Lion emails, join Epiphany's email list, and unsubscribe anytime.

Say Grace For Me by Derek Clegg is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and can be found at freemusicarchive.org.

Fredson Falls by Mr Smith is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License, and can be found at freemusicarchive.org.

The ink on the paper has barely dried, but Israel does the unthinkable and breaks their contract with God. The stakes could not be higher. Also: the relationship between disobedience and fear.

Israel and God sign on the dotted line: He is their God, they are his people. Time to feast! It turns out lots of great contracts are celebrated with feasts. but in today's reading, Israel sits down to feast with God himself.

The Tzars of Russia adored their decorative Easter eggs made by the House of Faberge. In the same way, God counts the people he rescued from Egypt to be his treasured people. Also: Pastor Bryan accidentally invades CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. True story.

Moses reunites with his father-in-law Jethro after the people escaped from Egypt. When this archbishop of paganism hears the story of God's saving work, he ditches his idols and worships the one true God. The story of the Bible's first convert, a joyous Dreamworks film, and evidence that God cares about mission in both Old and New Testaments.

Moses and Israel learn that God can provide food and water - but what about safety? A word about prayer and leadership and the saving work of two men whose arms, as Creed sang back in 1999, are indeed wide open.