Pursuing Jesus

 What could be the consequences of our learning to see people the way Jesus sees them?

 An investigation into the Christian view of what it means to be human

 There's a "big story," a large narrative, that connects the Bible from beginning to end. God invites us to be willing and active participants in this story.

 John Wesley found prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace in his sermon on Ephesians 2. The Methodist tradition has followed him on this. That understanding of grace reflects what we see in scripture, but is not the full picture of what we see there. Attention to the whole of Ephesians 2 shows us the communal dimensions of grace as well.

 The Samaritan woman Jesus talks with at a well proves to be the key to reaching her community. Who might be the key to reaching our community?

 In Acts 9 we see God calling Ananias and giving him an important task - without consulting him at all. Sometimes God volunteers us without consulting us.

 In Acts 9 we find some clues to how we can discern God's work in our lives and in the world.

 Paul ran into Jesus on the Road to Damascus. From his experience we can learn to tell our own stories of running into Jesus.

 If we listen to Jesus (and the rest of the New Testament), we can see that love is an indispensable marker of a healthy church. I John 4:7-21 is the core text

 In John 3 some people come to provoke John the Baptist to play the comparison game with Jesus. John's response? "He must become greater, I must become less." How can we learn from John to find the peace that comes from not playing the comparison game?