In this episode, we push on to Luke 15:11-32, where we read the parable of the prodigal son. As we work through the parable we identify the different individuals within the story, the repentant son, the reckless father, and the resentful son, and talk through how each of them resonate with us. As we discuss the older son, we identify our propensity to reflect him rather than the father in our willingness to forgive and seek restoration with those around us. Our invitation and challenge is to forgive and restore extravagantly, just as the father of the parable does, just as Jesus does.

In today’s episode, we continue our journey through Luke 15:1–10, where Jesus shares two more parables with the crowds. Together, we explore the consistent response of both the shepherd and the woman: in the face of loss, they set everything else aside to pursue what is missing. And when the lost sheep and coin are found, their response is one of abundant celebration. As people invited to participate in the Kingdom of God, we are likewise called to recognize the immense value of every person around us. These parables challenge us to pursue the lost with intentionality and to celebrate joyfully whenever someone experiences the grace and life of God’s kingdom.

In this episode we turn to Luke 14:25-35, shifting from the sabbath encounters, to an interaction that Jesus has with the crowds surrounding Him. From this passage we talk about honestly evaluating the cost of following Jesus, from relationships, to security, and identity. When we follow Jesus, we are invited to bid farewell to all those things that we often cling to.

In this episode, we continue on with Luke 14:15-24, still at the prominent Pharisees house for the Sabbath meal, we drop in on another parable of Jesus’. From this passage we talk about misplaced priorities in life: possessions, time/productivity, and relationships/social status, and how we are often tempted to allow these things to distract us from responding to the invitation to participate in God’s Kingdom now.

In this episode we move into Luke 14:1-14 where Jesus heads over to a prominent Pharisees house for a Sabbath meal, while here, Jesus heals a man, and shares another parable. Together we discuss our propensity to pursue prominence, and the invitation that Jesus issues to surrender our position to Him, trusting that He sees us.

In this episode we work through Luke 13:22-35. In this passage we hear Jesus speak on the narrow door in response to a question from the crowd and then we hear Jesus’ lament of Jerusalem. Throughout our conversation we discuss feasts in first century Israel and identified Jesus’ conversation on the narrow door as a metaphor for the opportunity and expectation of relationship with God to enter the feast of the Kingdom of Heaven. Too often, the temptation is to allow proximity to Jesus to substitute for personal relationship with Jesus.

In this episode we continue on with Luke 13:10-21. In this passage we see Jesus heal a woman on the sabbath and also hear two short parables on the Kingdom of Heaven. What does it really mean to be set free—and are we sometimes more bound than we realize? As we explore this passage, three key themes emerge: 1) Jesus’ power and willingness to set us free from what binds us, 2) our tendency to rely on religious structures rather than relationship, and His invitation to live fully in the Kingdom of Heaven here and now, and 3) we also reflect on the nature of this “upside-down” Kingdom—starting small, yet steadily growing, persistent, and transformative.

In this episode we move on into Luke 13:1-9. Within this set of verses we hear Jesus’ call to repentance and the parable of the fig tree. From this passage we talk about who God is, how God acts, and how we are invited to act in the world. God is loving, patient, and active. We are called to respond urgently to His action in our lives. By extension, we are subsequently invited into pointing out where and how God is active in the lives of others so that the God who loves us and pursues us can come into clear focus for the world.

In this episode we move on to Luke 12:49-59 where we hear Jesus continuing to speak to the crowds about the worldly weight/cost of what it looks like to live within His Kingdom. From this passage we address: the mission of refinement and revival that Jesus is on, Jesus’ distress over the baptism of death that He must endure, the division that results as we recognize Jesus as our Lord and Messiah, the importance of recognizing the Kingdom of God here and now, and the urgency of our response to that very Kingdom.

In this episode, we move into the 10th season of the Living Vertizontal Podcast, and returning to our journey through Luke together. Today, we will be working through Luke 12:35-48 where Jesus speaks of the importance of readiness at any hour. Together, we talk about the what, when, and who of readiness in the Kingdom of God. As servants within our masters’ kingdom, we are each individually called to be ready at all times, serving within His kingdom, in expectation of His imminent return.