Groundwork: Biblical Foundations for Life

Jesus often used parables to teach his followers about the kingdom of God. His stories and analogies sometimes confused his followers, but Jesus patiently but urgently described what God’s kingdom looks like, what its values are, and how the people of his kingdom should behave. Jesus’ kingdom parables still reveal aspects of God’s kingdom and point the way for his people today. 

When Jesus declared that God’s kingdom was near, his life embodied that truth. In our study of Jesus’ teachings, we’ll discover what it means for the kingdom to show up in real time through healing, justice, and welcome. We’ll talk about how God’s kingdom continues to come near in Jesus today, and how he calls us to participate in his kingdom here and now.

The concept of God’s kingdom is woven throughout the Bible. Jesus and the apostles taught and preached about the kingdom of God. Kingdom language arcs through the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, defining what God’s kingdom is, what it looks like, and the kind of King we have in Jesus. Studying God’s kingdom helps us recognize our place in it today. 

Amidst all of his judgment in Hosea, God reveals the tender ache of a father’s heart and gives the prophet powerful images of restoration for his people. Let’s study these messages together and discuss how this ancient prophecy still calls us back to God's heart and to restoration. 

Through much of Hosea, the prophet speaks directly against Israel’s spiritual betrayal. Chapter after chapter, God accuses Israel of idolatry, rampant injustice, and misplaced trust. We learn the consequences of their blatant rebellion. We also witness his longing for his people as he pleads for them to remember all he had done for them, to repent of their sins, and to return to him. Hosea’s prophetic message for Israel is a reflection of God’s heart. Together, we’ll discuss what we can learn from Israel’s story about our own hearts today.

God called the prophet Hosea to bring a message to his people, Israel. He wanted them to know they had strayed from their relationship with him; their pride and arrogance in following other gods were the causes of all their troubles. God famously instructed Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman and used his marriage to Gomer as a symbol of all that was wrong with Israel in their relationship with God. Yet, though his judgment was harsh, God offered Israel hope and restoration. Studying the prophetic relationship of Hosea and Gomer invites us as his people today into an honest reflection on our own relationship with God and our need for his grace. 

Jesus often taught in parables, simple stories that illustrated a spiritual truth. Some of Jesus’ most famous parables are unique to the Gospel of Luke. In what we call the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus describes for his followers who would be their neighbor and what it means to be a good neighbor. Telling the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector, he focuses on the condition of the heart and salvation by grace. Jesus’ parables highlight a major theme in Luke: our call to discipleship. Throughout the book, we repeatedly find the invitation to follow Jesus Christ. Together, let’s discover what Jesus teaches about the attitudes and hearts of his followers and discuss honestly what it costs to prioritize Jesus in our lives. 

As Christians, we celebrate God’s victory through Jesus Christ in worship every week. But in story after story in Luke, Jesus extends healing and victory to outsiders, individuals who experienced suffering, rejection, and isolation in the Jewish community. Join us as we study the recurring theme of God's victory for us and for all who are marginalized or far off, and think about what this means for how we live our faith today. 

Jubilee and joy are featured frequently in Luke’s gospel. People are constantly rejoicing. Why? Because they encountered Jesus and salvation. Trace the themes of jubilee and joy in the gospel of Luke with us. Together we’ll study Jesus’ parables and the famous story of Zacchaeus to recognize the importance of these themes, how they connect to and continue the tradition of the Old Testament’s Year of Jubilee, and what this means for how we faithfully respond to our own encounters with Jesus and salvation today. 

Prayer and dependence on God are the heartbeat of the Gospel of Luke. As we read about Jesus’ baptism, the start of his ministry, and his teaching of the Lord’s Prayer, Luke shows us how Jesus modeled a robust and intentional prayer life. Learn how following Jesus draws us into deeper intimacy with the Father, why prayer is key to a resilient faith, and what it means to be people of prayer.