This episode in Mark's gospel is at first sight uncomfortable: it sounds as though Jesus doesn't want to get involved in the woman's painful situation. So what is going on here?

It's been a difficult week in Manchester. Last Monday so many lives were changed for ever. How do you hold on to faith in the middle of events like that?

Mission is about more than talking about personal salvation. Sometimes you need to take a stand because things are not right.

Jesus went to his home town and couldn't do many miracles there. It appears that familiarity had bred contempt.

What does it take to become so desperate that you are willing to lose your reputation to find healing?

Jesus disrupted the status quo but in doing so, brought freedom and change to someone who had been written off by everyone else.

Jesus was clear how the kingdom would take hold in the world. It wouldn't be with a bang that could not be avoided - it would start small...

The parable of the sower is the first of many in Mark's gospel account, and there is an obvious application for us today.

Why did Jesus break the rules? Was he trying to be deliberately shocking, or was there something else going on?

Being offered forgiveness makes us feel vulnerable. But if we can admit our need, the future changes unrecognisably - for us and those around us.