Hearing the word "Repentance"-  what comes to mind?  
An angry, judgmental person holding a megaphone screaming "Turn or Burn" while wearing a sandwich board with"Repent" in big red bold letters?  Unfortunately some have had something like that experience.  
Or, maybe you think of  "Repentance" as outdated and narrow-minded and out of place in today's multicultural, pluralistic culture. May you hear "repentance" as Jesus taught and demonstrated in Scripture accounts. His message resonated when interacting with the people of His day. 

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Jesus uses a questioner's request to form a teachable moment with one of his stories ("parables") to show how He desires to order the lives of followers, aligning with His Kingdom values. Second only among his most taught subjects is material wealth. Why? Perhaps because it is the single greatest danger to living in faithful relationship with Him. When pursuit of success and material resources dominates one's attention and efforts, the loss is spiritually devastating. 
So Jesus cautions by illustrating the folly of giving our best to material security when we have so little control over the circumstances and fragile nature of human existence. 
In this vein, scholar Dallas Willard diagnoses the current era of Christianity's "practical irrelevance" of actual obedience to Christ as the most significant factor in both the weak influence of our faith in the world, and the internal church's failure to produce individual character development. 
Only actual obedience to Christ as revealed in scripture can transform our own cultural tendency toward the mission drift of religious consumerism into a culture of discipleship. The main text: Luke 12:13-21.

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"Shameless Persistence" is Jesus' description of desperate neighbor knocking at a friend's door late at night. He persists to prevent shame on himself and his household from not fulfilling the required hospitality of food for a visiting guest. Jesus teaches his disciples from this motivation to continually approach the Heavenly Father in prayer. They had asked him to teach them to pray (like him). He elaborates with a second example of flawed fathers loving their children well enough to meet their needs and not do them harm. 
What do we learn from Jesus about apprentices in faith desiring to grow in Christ-likeness of heart and life?
Prayer is a primary means - a normative practice of continually connecting with our Heavenly Father because of love and growing closeness in relationship - not about outcomes. How does this image affect your thinking about the purpose and posture of prayer? How do you approach and think of God when asking for help or guidance? Have you ever asked to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit - the indwelling presence of God?

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     Our real problem is not the practical one weighing on us - it just seems like it because of our overwhelming attention given it day to day. Our deeper issue is our vision of God's character of love toward us, and the scope of eternal life we have already begun living.
     My persistence in returning my focus again and again to the Heavenly Father in prayer and reading receptively and learning from the scriptures is the difference maker. It separates me through having Kingdom life with underlying confidence and joy. Otherwise I am left with a wishful life of underlying fear and stress that manifests in worry.
     Considering myself a disciple of Jesus means I approach the relationship as an apprentice to Him. What kind of apprentice would I be if I did not regularly converse with him (prayer) or learn what he teaches, says to others, acts in various situations, carries out his purposes (the gospel writings and rest of the Bible)? I would be an incompetent apprentice, right? I would not be putting much effort or intention into my part. It is no wonder I would fail then to navigate life effectively and mature in spirit and character. 
     What about you? Do you see yourself as an apprentice of Jesus Christ- a disciple? How is this evident in your practices of daily living? What would life possibly be like if you applied yourself - did your part in the relationship? You can get help with this. It is why we pastors are available to you when you connect with a group known as a church.

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A new series begins: disciples of Jesus find behaviors flow from the inner transformation of character in process as we faithfully follow Christ. We begin with the action of love toward others. What kind of love? to what degree? Jesus turns a public challenge into a teaching moment with those around him. He reveals another dimension of His Kingdom order of life that so contrasts with the norms of society - even contented religious society.
In making up a teaching story Jesus immediately chooses to provoke all who heard him: he makes a "despised Samaritan" the hero of his parable! Why? He casts divine light on his purpose of rescuing all of humanity who choose his offer of grace and restored relationship. None in society are beyond the reach of his life-transforming mercy. 
Yet for his call to action in living out vital faith, Jesus might seem strangely unwilling to protest, to rally political followings for change in the civic arena - despite an occupying military power dominating his country. He resists the zealot movement's call to fight against Roman oppression. He deals with individual hearts responding to his powerful love and truth. Kingdom of God shaped individuals impact their immediate social order. Societal change follows personal heart and mind change.

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Pastor David Moenning shares his own experiences of recent humbling from a few difficult days. He goes on to share the historical example found in 2 Kings 5, where the proud accomplished Aramean military commander, Naaman, learns the impact of humility as well as its cost.
Why is it we are more willing it seems to take on a hard challenge, rather than do the simple but humble action? The power of pride, the root of all sin and brokenness, can only be tamed by simple obedience of a worthy authority, accessing power to receive healing if humble enough to accept it. 
How have you dealt with your pride and self-importance when confronting the challenges of life and relationships? What has been your journey of discovery or disappointment?
Jesus has your answer in his call to discipleship - to begin with honest admission we are broken and bring to him only an impoverished spirit. The twelve step movement has captured this process beautifully, with related results for individuals unable to manage their lives due to addictions and other forms of dependency.

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No one wants to be "rebuked." There is no way to soften the message: you are wrong. Seriously off base. But, we find whenever Jesus corrects to strongly he is responding from both passion for his loving mission, and love for his apprentices - in this case, two of his three inner circle, brothers James and John. So what did they do to receive such a strong reaction from Jesus? They simply suggested Jesus approve of their exercising divinely gifted power to call down fire to instantly incinerate an entire village of unwelcoming Samaritans! The insight comes in appreciating why the "sons of thunder" would even conceive such a suggestion: it is straight from their well-known heritage. 800 years earlier the great prophet Elijah had done just that in response to the spiritually unfaithful Samarian-based northern Israelite King's soldiers when confronted and his message rejected. Elijah burned a large group of soldiers twice. Only the humility of the third commander sent to arrest him spared another divinely violent outcome.
But Jesus responses differently. Why? Because he ushers in the new, fulfilling covenant: he brings the fire down on his own head! Listen and see where you - as a fully devoted follower of Christ - fit in this arrangement. The main text: Luke 9:51-62.

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Pastor Steven Dorsey shares a special communion message with us, looking to the event of the two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the day of Jesus' resurrection - having no awareness of its reality. In their dejection and loss of purpose, they are greeted by the risen Jesus. They are unable at first to recognize him and he chose to spend time revealing in the scriptures how the Messiah is Jesus, the One crucified and allegedly raised from death. Then when they had been encouraged by his teaching and sat to eat in fellowship with him, the two suddenly realized who he was. At that moment Jesus chooses to leave their presence in an instant. The text is from Luke 24.
Everyone can relate to dejection from life events. What can the two disciples walking with Jesus reveal to impact your journey of life? 

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     We disciples need to learn from the example of the former demon-possessed Gentile responding to Jesus' "no" to his plea. Strangely, Jesus says no to the changed man's desire to go with him as the new chapter in his life. Instead the man is directed to go back to his family and remain in the community in which he suffered and even tormented others. 
     In Luke 8:26-39 we find this unusual event. It is provocative for us in part because we can see in the reactions of multiple parties that Jesus' show of supernatural power causes them to react in terror and awe. 
     This reaction does not align very well with the common approach of our time: casually expecting little to nothing from the spiritual realm. We might even wonder if we really want to find out what could happen if we genuinely submitted to the relationship Jesus offers us. Despite our desire to conveniently fit such a relationship into our self-directed lives, we find Jesus intervenes...in every part of it. Even when our dreams and requests are declined or at least unfulfilled, we discover his way is truly our best.

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Leaders do not get much worse in character than King Ahab and Queen Jezebel (yes, that is where that undesirable name comes from) of ancient Israel. They led the ten northern tribes which broke away from the two southern tribes after King Solomon's rule. 
More importantly, Ahab and Jezebel received God's righteous judgment in all its severity, following the message delivered by the faithful prophet Elijah. Like Naboth's tragic murder, many scenarios may appear beyond the scope of justice or kept secret. But ultimately we know there is One who knows all supposedly hidden things.
Our proper position as disciples - as the Church - is to focus on our role as sharers of the Good News of grace offered to all through the saving action of Jesus Christ. This means we do more than offer words - we do the hard work of building bridges of relationship with persons others cannot tolerate. It means we risk getting treated unfairly and even harmed despite our intentions. Yet only in fulfilling our role will we experience the power of the Holy Spirit to work in and through us to accomplish incredible works of deliverance for others who are lost and hopeless in their separation from the love of God.

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