Luke 7 | Jesus is invited to a fancy banquet at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. All seemed to be going well when one of the great unwashed entered the scene. It is very inconvenient for Simon the Pharisee when Jesus knows what he is thinking.

Luke 7 | John the Baptizer hears about all the things that Jesus is doing. He is confused. Seems John had a preconceived notion as to what the Messiah was going to be. Jesus isn't fitting his vision of how this all works. I don't think John is alone in his confusion.

Matthew 5 | This chapter of Matthew begins the Sermon on the Mount -- a collection of teachings about the Kingdom of God that Jesus presents as He is traveling around. This is a view of the Kingdom of God that is really the opposite of how the Jews of the day taught about the Kingdom. Seriously, it is revolutionary to their thinking! And, it should be for us today as well. This might sound outrageous to you and it might push you around a little. It should!

Matthew 16 | Seriously, Jesus' disciples forget the bread again! Oh, and the Pharisees ask for another sign. Don't they have enough yet?

Matthew 25 | As Jesus is preparing His followers for the dark days ahead, He gives them three parables. The first parable is about a familiar scene of 10 bridesmaids waiting for the groom to arrive for the wedding. 2000 years ago in ancient Israel, weddings were week-long affairs. The events start whenever the groom arrives at the party with his entourage. When is that? Good question.

Matthew 25 | The second of three parables Jesus tell is about an employer going away on a long journey. He leaves his own substantial money with three of his employees to invest and grow. He will be gone a long time and will be coming back at an unknown time. Today we talk about the implications of stewardship of the Kingdom of God!

Matthew 25 | Jesus finishes up with a third parable of the Kingdom of God. As dark as these parables have been, this one is the worst. It talks of a king that will separate those who are in and those who are out of his Kingdom. It would be good to know what criteria we will be judged by, right?

At the Passover Meal, Jesus once again predicts His death on a Roman cross. The thing is, even though the disciples had no idea what to think, it kept bumming them all out.

The Jewish Sanhedrin sentences Jesus to death. Their only problem? Well, Israel is a conquered state. They can't execute anyone. So Jesus is brought before Pilate, the Roman governor. But, now Pilate has a problem of his own!