Barnabas – The Son of Encouragement

• Encouragement vs. Criticism
• Signs & Wonders
• Kingdom Culture

Psalms 127 "I Don't Know" (Idiotes)

• Anxious Toil vs. Divine Architecture
• Children as Arrows (Psalm 127)
• The Meaning of Church (Ecclesia)
• Community as Protection

• Salvation restores relationship with God AND with others
• You can be a Christian alone, but you cannot be a church alone
• Jesus is the chief architect and shepherd of His church
• The goal isn't building stone structures, but building people into "arrows" for the next generation

Bible Scripture: John 15: 1-17

• Abide in Me, Abide in my Love
• Obey my Commandments
• How can I love Jesus?

1. Spend time with Him
2. Listen & Obey
3. Gift Him the precious
4. Talk about Him all the time

Who is my neighbor? and How can I love them?

John 14:15-31

1. Why do we need this relationship?
2. How do we enter this relationship?
3. How does this relationship affect us?

•  The story of the prodigal son: reframed as "Two Lost Sons"—one lost through rebellion, the other through self-righteous religion.
• The Younger Son's Journey: Demands inheritance early (culturally wishing father dead), squanders it, hits rock bottom feeding pigs, and prepares to ask for servant status—but is embraced before finishing his speech.
• The Father's Response: Waits daily, runs undignified toward his son to cover his shame, and restores him with robe (honor), ring (authority), and sandals (sonship), celebrating his return.
• The Older Brother's Perspective: Represents religious pride—obedient but resentful, refuses celebration, calls him "your son" not "my brother," revealing his disconnection.

 Both sons are lost—one in sin, one in pride. The father's love is neither earned by performance nor withheld due to failure.

Mark 16:1-8

• The Significance of Sunday
• Why the Cross Was Necessary
• What Awaits Believers
• The Holy Spirit's Role

"Sunday people in a Friday world": Death isn't the end—it's the doorway to eternity.

Scripture from Mark 11:

• Jesus' Entry Into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
• Misaligned Expectations
• The Fig Tree Incident 
• Temple Cleansing

Main Applications:

• Don't construct Jesus based on personal/political views
• Avoid adding requirements to faith that Jesus never required ("yeast of the Pharisees")
• Jesus wants fruit, not just leaves (genuine faith vs. religious appearance)
• Surrender our agenda to God rather than telling Him what to do
• Life with Jesus is unpredictable, not planned with safety nets

Passage: Mark 8:27 - 9:1

• Jesus leads disciples from Bethsaida to Caesarea Philippi (3-day uphill journey)
• Key question posed: "Who do you say I am?"
• Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ
• Jesus predicts his suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection
• Peter rebukes Jesus; Jesus responds "Get behind me, Satan"
• Teaching on self-denial, taking up the cross, and following Jesus
• The Transfiguration on a high mountain (likely Mount Hermon)

Scripture: Mark 8:22-26

Main Themes

1. Stories matter — Familiarity shouldn't diminish the wonder of Scripture
2. Jesus healed in varied ways — Spitting, mud, spoken word, touch, etc.
3. Two-stage healing is unique — Only miracle in Scripture done progressively
4. Spiritual clarity develops gradually — Like the blind man, faith can be partial before becoming clear
5. Honesty with God — The man spoke truthfully about what he saw; Jesus welcomed this

Bible scripture: Luke 17

• Honesty Meets Grace David's Example & Jesus in Gethsemane
• Counting It All Joy
• Spiritual Maturity
• Divine Proximity