The fashioning of the whip and the driving out of the moneychangers is an act that happens at a temple. But the temple to which this event refers has a long, varied history and identity, all the way to modern expressions of Christianity. May we heed Jesus' words again, to not turn this house into an emporium.

Due to technical difficulties, the messages from May 1 and May 8 were not recorded. Here we provide an extremely brief summary of main points that we hope are helpful for our Spark community.

"In the beginning was the word." These words mark the opening of the Gospel According to John, a piece of writing that has incredible diversity and profundity in its depiction of Jesus and what the Christian story means as a result.

[Unfortunately the first part of this message was not recorded.]

Palm Sunday commemorates the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, a declaration of peace with tears of sadness for so many expectations of war.

In summation and reflection, we consider the journey we've been on through Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs.

The Song of Songs has long been understood as a theological metaphor for God's love of God's people, and as such is included in our canon. But while the traditional interpretation is valuable, perhaps there is more to be discovered and celebrated in this beautiful poetic song.

How might we revisit Ecclesiastes in light of the gospel accounts, Jesus, and Israel's story? What is the relationship between wisdom literature and Jesus? What about Qohelet—the teacher of Ecclesiastes—and Jesus?

The author of Ecclesiastes provides an important last word. He says we are to "Fear God and keep the commandments." How are you interpreting the commandments and living them out in our particular place and time?

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes offers many hot takes and dark reflections on the way the world works, repeatedly chanting that "everything is meaningless"... right from the start! How do we make sense of the apparent senselessness? How do we think of the Teacher's tirades as wisdom? Despite the controversy, God's people have canonized Ecclesiastes and found enduring value in it over the centuries.