“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:2 Jesus’ welcome was way too wide for the spiritual experts of his time. They didn’t like the people he welcomed, how they looked, where they were from, or how they worshipped. The Pharisees, Judaism’s self-appointed Inner Circle in Jesus’ day, weren’t interested in reaching Outer …
Outer Circle Christians (Part 1 of 6)
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:2 When I was a kid I had a semi-harmless addiction to merry-go-rounds. It was always the first thing I ran to when unleashed on a playground. “Faster!” I shouted to whoever was willing to push as my face turned blue and my stomach queased. For …
Jesus – A Middle-Class Messiah? (He begins at the bottom) Part 3 of 3
[I recommend that you read Parts 1 and 2 before proceeding...] “OK, well, this isn’t going like we’d hoped,” the envoys whispered among themselves. “This may not be our guy. His agenda is definitely not the same as ours and he doesn’t seem to care at all about our American Dream. He’s so concerned about …
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Jesus – A Middle-Class Messiah? (He begins at the bottom) Part 2 of 3
[I recommend that you read Part 1 first...] “That’s just fine with us, go ahead and keep helping poor people if it makes you happy,” they argued, “but don’t you think it’s a little short sighted? Couldn’t you flex a little of your muscle to lift us back up to the top of the global …
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Jesus – A Middle-Class Messiah? (He begins at the bottom) Part 1 of 3
The Baptizer paced the perimeter of his cell pondering over what Jesus was up to. “This is a waste of time,” he said to his two visitors. “What am I doing here when there’s so much more work to be done? I don’t understand; if he’s the Messiah that I’ve been saying he is, why …
Continue reading "Jesus – A Middle-Class Messiah? (He begins at the bottom) Part 1 of 3"
barney wiget 