Now that we’ve gotten our minds around what the Old and New Testament writers would have been seeing as far as same-sex behavior goes, we need to turn our attention to a couple of passages that don’t address same-sex behavior directly but are used to exclude LGBTQ+ people and to condemn their relationships as wrong, right from the start.

We’ve been talking in our last few episodes, about how Jesus breaks down boundaries that have been used to exclude people, and extends an all-inclusive, unconditional invitation to his table. Now that we’ve gotten our minds around what the Old Testament writers would have been seeing as far as same-sex behavior goes, we need to fast forward a few hundred years to Jesus, and the writings of the first century New Testament authors.

This week, we take a look at the Old Testament passages that traditionally have been cited as justification for excluding sexual minorities—those in the LGBTQ+ community.

This week, we begin our look at how patriarchy and nationalism, along with the holiness and purity codes of ancient Israel, not only affected people of differing races and ethnicities, but also sexual minorities in the ancient world as well, and how those themes worked together to form boundaries that marginalized and excluded them from their communities and from approaching God, boundaries that are still used to exclude LGBTQ+ people to this day.

Jesus set the trajectory of Scripture toward radical inclusion. In his embrace and elevation of women, he showed us that patriarchy and gender hierarchy are not his way. Women not only have a place at Jesus’ table, but they also have a vitally important role in his church today. They have a voice that needs to be heard.

Have you ever wondered why the setting of so many of the gospel stories is around the eating of a meal? What was it about sharing a meal together at the table that demonstrated such a powerful message for Jesus and yet angered so many of the religious leaders? Join us as we begin our series looking at who Jesus welcomed to his table.

In the religious world, “the word” usually refers to what is thought to be a divine word—"the word of God”. It denotes the sacred scriptures of a particular religion; revered writings that have been set apart by that religion as divinely inspired. Only Christianity makes the claim that Jesus of Nazareth was The Word of God in the flesh. Christians acknowledge our Bible as the word of God, but we are also called to believe Jesus when he says he is the Living Word, that he is The Word of God to us above all other words.

The resurrected Jesus says his kingdom has been launched. He says it’s growing here and now and that all are invited to come and be a part of it. The question is, will we allow his love to realign our thinking? Will we allow Jesus to lead us in a new way of being human?

Value, love, trust, and commitment are all a part of the relational bond Jesus invites us to be a part of—a bond the biblical writers call “covenant”.

Jesus invites us to see "family" in a new way. This new way of seeing is illustrated beautifully in one of Jesus’ most well-known parables—the story of a father and his family—The Parable of the Prodigal Son.