TwelveTwelve: The Leader Blog of North Wake Church

A New Chapter Before reading this passage, please review with me some key background facts. The people of God in the time of Jesus would have been very familiar with these details. Background Fact 1: God brought his people out of slavery in Egypt in what we call the  "Exodus" (Greek: "The Departure"). Background Fact 2: Little shelter huts, or "tents," made of leafy branches were a festive part of the Jewish tradition. They were a way to camp outside. Every year (even today), many Jews still make and live in outdoor huts to remember their time in the

Living in Caesarea America 18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”  19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” 20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”  21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and

Read:  Luke 9:1-17 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter 40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up

You Cannot Serve God and Safety Luke 8:22-39  One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.”  So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”  And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.  He said to them, “Where

On Seeds, Sheep, and Fears Read: Luke 8: 4-21 It was a simple farm story.  Jesus’s listeners, in a highly-agrarian society, would have understood the set-up easily.  A farmer throws out seed.  Some of it gets eaten by birds.  Some of it gets choked by thorns that grow up.  Some of it falls on rocky ground.  Some of it manages to grow into a healthy crop.  Simple. But Jesus’s disciples knew better.  Jesus was given to speaking in parables, and this story clearly seemed to have a deeper meaning. “Fill us in, Jesus,” they asked.  His interpretation went something

Your Life Tells Everyone What You Think of Jesus Read:  Luke 7:36-8:3 A Sinful Woman Forgiven 36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his

Read: Luke 7:18-35 18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen