The Gathering

How do we respond when someone gives us hard truths? Do we retaliate? Do we make excuses? Amos calls out God's people but he also tells them to turn around. Amos goes on to offer hope amid the uncomfortable truth telling and calls to repentance. Learn what practical ways we can respond when confronted with an uncomfortable truth.

Mary Magdalene is perhaps the most misunderstood and most forgotten of Jesus’ disciples. But she was a follower of Jesus, a close confidant, present at Jesus’ death, and the first disciple to witness and share the resurrection. Whatever their relationship, Mary was close to Jesus and is the first witness to the good news of his resurrection. No matter what, in life, in suffering, and in death - Mary never left Jesus’ side. She is the model of commitment and discipleship. In this last week, we will talk about Mary’s story, what we don’t know about her, and what she teaches us about what it means to be committed to Jesus.

Before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he predicted his suffering and death to his disciples. But they didn’t want to hear it or believe it. Peter famously makes a declaration of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. But immediately after getting Jesus’ identity right, he fails to understand just HOW Jesus will fulfill his mission. Peter goes on to repeat this pattern, being simultaneously Jesus’ closest friend, and denying that he knows him. It is easy to criticize or poke fun at Peter – but in a way he is all of us. Desiring to love Jesus, but regularly misunderstanding or outright denying his role in our lives. This week we will talk about the paradox of Jesus being the Son of God and yet fulfilling this mission in unexpected ways in our lives as well.

As Jesus is being led to his crucifixion, we hear the brief story of Simon of Cyrene who helped Jesus carry his cross to the place of his execution. In the wake of his death another disciple named Joseph asked the authorities for Jesus’ body, prepared it for burial, and offered Jesus his own new tomb (at considerable personal expense). Both of these little known characters make important sacrificial contributions to Jesus. They both come alongside to serve Jesus even in his death. Sacrifice is a complicated concept to many of us, and not something many of us desire to take on. And yet sacrifice is at the heart of the story of crucifixion. This week we will talk about what this legacy of sacrifice means (and doesn’t mean) for our own discipleship. (Even Nicodemus in John 19.39 is yet another little-known cameo character highlighting sacrifice)

Judas is the most notorious of all the disciples, and maybe the most mysterious. He is known as the one who betrayed Jesus. This led to Jesus’ arrest, Judas’ isolation from the disciples, and his eventual decision to take his own life. However, Christians for centuries have debated what happened to Judas. Did the guilt and shame lead to repentance and if it did, would God ever forgive this kind of betrayal. In this message we will talk about betrayal, the ways we betray God, and what Jesus’ death means for our rebellion and sin.

In Luke 9 Jesus “turns his face towards Jerusalem” and begins the journey towards the cross. One of the first stops he makes on this journey is to his good friends Mary and Martha. In this short story, we see two ways of receiving and responding to Jesus. Martha receives and responds to Jesus through service. Mary does so through listening and contemplation. We often pit these two women (and these models) against each other. Though Jesus uses the story to remind Martha to slow down, the story leaves us wondering if perhaps both of these are important responses. Today we begin our Lenten journey towards the cross and part of that preparation may include both acts of service/doing and acts of listening/contemplation.