For the session to be discussed on June 9, 2024

David Cassady

In the ancient world, family was the most basic and fundamental social organization. And in this passage Jesus seems to reject them in favor of caring for lepers, welcoming prostitutes, making his family the poor, the blind, bleeding women, even Gentiles. But Jesus says they are his family… “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother. Whoever does God’s will is my family.” We discuss the ways this difficult passage calls us and the church to welcome others into our family.

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For the session to be discussed on June 2, 2024

David Cassady

Jesus and the disciples run afoul of Sabbath laws as they care for others, including healing a man. We discuss the need for and meaning of sabbath for each of us, but also of the call to also free others to find peace and sabbath.

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For the session to be discussed on May 26, 2024

David Cassady

For this Trinity Sunday session, we discuss a passage from Romans. What does the Trinity show us about God’s nature? If we are heirs of God, what do we learn about our own nature?

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For the session to be discussed on May 19, 2024

David Cassady

For this Pentecost Sunday session, we discuss a passage from Romans. Paul was trying to help people cope with the suffering they were experiencing in the world. But that is a micro view, and Paul had a macro, albeit cosmic view. Paul is telling the church in Rome that while they’ve experienced the first fruits of the Spirit, at some point there will be a harvest. He was likening it to the Feast of Pentecost, where the first fruits of the field were offered to God in anticipation of the full harvest at the Feast of the Tabernacles. What they were experiencing now, through the Holy Spirit, was just a taste of what was to come.

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For the session to be discussed on May 12, 2024

David Cassady

We discuss what it means to do “ministry.” Whether we are pastors, counselors, homemakers, physicians, bankers, teachers, retirees, financial planners, nurses, librarians, volunteers, administrative assistants, graphic designers, teenagers, or students… we are ministers!

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For the session to be discussed on May 5, 2024

David Cassady

We continue our journey through the book of Acts, this time discussing Acts 10, where Peter orders the baptism of Gentiles, previously excluded from the waters. How does the movement of the Spirit lead us to respond? In what ways do we try to contain the Spirit?

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For the session to be discussed on April 28, 2024

David Cassady

In today’s story, Philip is driven by the Spirit of God to go south from Jerusalem to Gaza. Along the path, he comes across, and I’m quoting verse 27, an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians in charge of her entire treasury. This unnamed Ethiopian eunuch, whom many would consider a sexual minority, became the first Christian in Africa. And he is the patron saint of Ethiopia. All because Philip threw caution to the wind and crossed the boundaries others had placed in the way.

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For the session to be discussed on April 21, 2024

David Cassady

After the healing of a man in desperate need, John and Peter are hauled before the Sanhedrin to defend themselves. Daniel Glaze comments, “So much of the Book of Acts is about the Spirit of God that cannot be contained. An early Christian movement that is so filled by the power of God and unconstrained by human boundaries. A church so full of love, yet tired of rules and regulations about who’s in and who’s out. Peter’s response to his Inquisitors is yet another sermon.”

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For the session to be discussed on April 14, 2024

David Cassady

In the opening of Acts 3, we find Peter and John heading to afternoon prayer. Fresh off of Pentecost and the influx of the Holy Spirit, Peter encounters a lame man begging for alms – who is healed. The healing was proof that Jesus was still a living presence in his followers and could transform the world. We discuss what it means to encounter miracle in our lives.

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