"While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 'A farmer went out to sow his seed.'" (Luke 8:4-5a) Reading the parable of the soils in Luke's gospel, I'm surprised by the final sentence of Jesus' explanation of that parable to the disciples: "As …
The Significance of Incidental Healing
Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48) The woman with the issue of blood is an incidental healing; a healing on the way from one miracle to another. In the flow of Jesus' life and ministry, however, she is significant. While it appears as if Jesus' …
Jesus, Jairus’ Daughter, and the Eyes of Faith
Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. 'Stop wailing,' Jesus said. 'She is not dead but asleep.' (Luke 8:52) This story is familiar for many of us. Jairus approaches Jesus about his sick daughter, and Jesus agrees to accompany Jairus to his home. On the way, someone meets Jairus from the house …
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Compassion (discussion questions)
Here are the discussion questions that accompany my message, "Compassion," from this past weekend at Eastbrook Church. This is part of our series, "Jesus on the Move." The text for this week are from Luke 8:40-56 and 9:37-43. Discussion Questions: When did you experience compassion from someone directly or observe it in someone else? We …
Compassion
This weekend at Eastbrook Church I continued our series, "Jesus on the Move," with a messaged entitled, "Compassion" from Luke 8:40-56 and 9:37-43. These three stories from two chapters in Luke show us the wonder-working power of Jesus, but that wasn't the focus of my message. Instead, I called us to step back and see the …
Matthew Erickson 