The prodigal son… a story about forgiveness, grace and even resurrection… isn’t it?  Well, maybe… but perhaps it’s about something more immediate?  Perhaps it’s about the people who are right in front of us that we have lost but we just don’t know it yet.

Anne Thompson explore Luke 13:1-9 and wonders why bad things happen to good people and what should our response be?

When threatened, Jesus talks about himself as a mother hen protecting her chicks from a fox. I wonder how we would describe ourselves? What is our identity?

When Jesus is led out into the wilderness he faces temptations. But why? What is the tempter trying to prove? And how does Jesus pass the tests?

There on the mountain top Jesus is revealed in all his glory. He is seen for who he really is, God’s son. This is a moment where the whole story comes together. A turning point. This is the moment where everything changes.

Turn the other cheek.  Love your enemies.  Pray for those who treat you badly.

You can imagine the people listening.  What?  What did he say?  Doesn’t he know that not how the world works?

Yes.  Yes he knows exactly how much that’s not the way the world works and that’s why he wants to change it… but perhaps not in the way you think!

What should we make of a list of people we’d rather not be on being blessed and the list of people we all strive to be being warned that they should be very, very careful? It’s a question I don’t think we spend nearly enough time thinking about because it seems like we have settled for an answer that is far from what Jesus spells out for us. That’s what we’re tackling in our time together today.

I wonder if you know the story of how Jesus calls his first disciples? My memory of the story is Jesus walking along the shore and he sees Simon and Andrew mending their nets and he says to them, ‘follow me’. And they do. And a little further along they meet James and John and he says the same to them. And they leave their nets and their father, Zebedee, in the boat.

But that’s not quite what happens in Luke’s version. There’s more to it than that. But isn’t there always?

So, let’s dive in and see what we can discover together!

What happens when you realise that this whole thing isn’t going to be how you expected? That thing you have waited for and dreamed of for so long turns out to be… hard.

That’s the challenge of today’s passage where we find out what the people of Nazareth think about what Jesus has to say to them about God’s priorities.

When Jesus stands up to read the scriptures in his hometown you could hear a pin drop.  Breath is held… eyes are focussed and everyone is waiting to hear what he will say.

I wonder if that’s how we feel when we read the bible?  Exited… full of anticipation of what we might hear and learn?  I hope so… but I’m not sure it is.

Today in our time together I want to explore why reading the bible together is important and maybe discover some of the reasons why we don’t do it as much as we should.