Luke is clear in calling Jesus' three stories in chapter 15 a single parable. If his audience is all men, why did He include a story about a housewife?

By the way, the incident of Abraham and his three visitors mentioned in the podcast is found in Genesis 18!

OK, we took a detour this week ... but, it gives us a chance to 'flesh out' the context in which Luke 15 occurred.

I wish my knowledge of Bible references was better, but here are the Scripture references that I promised to give:

• Zachariah at the Temple: Luke 1:8-21
• Jesus leaves Nazareth for good: Matt. 4:12-13; Luke 4:16-31
• Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman: Luke 7:36-50
• The women who supported Jesus: Luke 8:1-3

I have also added bonus material from the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament's article in a pdf on the Priesthood! Enjoy!

We continue looking at the religious culture of first century Israel this week.

Based on Kenneth E. Bailey's book, Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15, we look at the division between the haberim (the religious elite) and the 'am ha-arez (the people of the land), and how Jesus fit in within these groups.

Next week, the parable of the Lost Sheep!

After a break of several weeks, we are back!

This podcast begins our new series, "Lost & Found in Luke 15". In this chapter of Luke's gospel, Jesus tells three parables including the beloved story of the Prodigal Son.

What were the circumstances in which Jesus taught in this chapter, who was His audience, and why do these stories still resonate today? Before we tackle these questions, let's pull back and look at the world of first century Israel as an introduction!

After a delay (because of Palm Sunday & Easter!), we are back!

We are continuing our examination of Matthew the Marginal! At his going away party (which Matt throws for himself), the Religious (aka the Pharisees) arrive to criticize! Are they wrong, are they unbiblical (we look at Psalms 15:4 ... check out this verse in The Message)?

Who is right? Jesus or the religious pros?

This week we look at the nature of Jesus' call on Matthew's life, why relationship is not optional (even for a despicable like Matt!), and Matt's resultant dinner party.

Since we had an almost complete turnover of folks from last week's class, this week is real close to a review of last week! But with new questions, new answers (sort of), and new observations!!

We conclude our look at the problem with patriarchy by examining the nature of the Trinity.

Next week ... we return to Faith's Hall of  Shame where we will look at Marginal Matt!

This week's class has a lively discussion not just about patriarchy but also matriarchy, complementarianism, and egalitartianism. From Adam and Eve to Steve Bannon!

In the GIFT class, we are striving to "agreeably disagree" as we desire to love each other even when we stand on opposite sides of important and passionate issues! Have a listen and determine if we succeeded or not!