Tim Helwege   Mark 4:26-29 (ESV) He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”    Reflection: Have you ever had a moment in life where you realized that your presence wasn’t [...]

Mark 12:1-12 Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. 5 [...]

Meghan Kazmann Luke 18: 1-8 NIV Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, [...]

Betty Owens Geary Luke 18:9-14; The Message He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’ “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face [...]

Mike Mosby, Children’s Ministries Matthew 18:23-35 23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of [...]

Peggy Roe, Longtime Member Matthew 13:45-46 (NSRV) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  Reflection: When my mother passed away, she left me her long, beautiful string of perfectly matched pearls – one of her most prized possessions.  Pearls are the jewel of June, and since I have a June birthday, these round, lustrous beads were precious to me even before I received my mother’s necklace.  I am not the only person to treasure [...]

Today we invite you to read through this parable 3 times — aloud, if possible. Use the questions at the end to reflect on the passage: Matthew 15:10-20 10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father [...]

Erin Campbell Naman Mark 4:30-34 (NRSV) He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he [...]

Cynthia Wier - Member of Gene Decker Study Class Scripture:  Luke 10: 29-37 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus,  "And who is my neighbor?"  Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him for dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, [...]

Rev. Katie Montgomery Mears Proverbs 14:29 NIV Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. Reflection: When someone tells me I’m going to have to wait on something, I go to a negative place pretty quickly. I hate inefficiency and slowness and, unfortunately, I’m a pretty awful version of myself at the DMV.  But here I am, 8 months pregnant, and pregnancy is all about waiting. At the beginning, it’s about waiting until the right time to tell people the good news. And then waiting for the sickness to pass. In my case, that [...]