Here are some ways into the text for Sunday, 23 January 2022 TEXT Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He
welcome Thank you for joining us on-line. Some of us at OCC are meeting in-person, some are meeting on-line. God calls all of us into his presence; calls us to be together with him and with one another; calls us to wait with and for him; calls us to serve & bless others – those who are part of God’s kingdom and those who have not yet responded to God’s
Here are some ways into the text for 16 January 2020 TEXT Mark 2:13-17 NIV Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s
welcome Thank you for joining us on-line. Some of us at OCC are meeting in-person, some are meeting on-line. God calls all of us into his presence; calls us to be together with him and with one another; calls us to wait with and for him; calls us to serve & bless others – those who are part of God’s kingdom and those who have not yet responded to God’s
Life is hard at the best of times. It is extra hard under Covid-19 restrictions. We need each other. We are not meant to live this life on our own. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his classic book on community, Life Together, points us away from human idealism and toward the divine reality of the community Jesus has actually made. It's not our place to make community. It's our place to see
Here are some ways into the text for Sunday, 9 January 2022 TEXT We are in Mark 1 this week. We will not be looking at the whole chapter, but focusing on vs 1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, vs 14-15 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of
E·PIPH·A·NY Manifestation or appearance A moment of sudden revelation or insight. Epiphany is a season of revelation—the manifestation of God’s presence in earthly form—God showing up in ordinary and unexpected places to ordinary and unexpected people. The story of Epiphany is the story of wise people, astrologers, magi, seeking after God by attending to his created order – looking to the stars to find the newborn King. It is the
PONDER: THE BRIGHT MORNING STAR! I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel… Numbers 24:17 We weren’t, you know, just wishing on a star when we laid the facts out before you regarding the powerful return of our Master, Jesus Christ. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our
PONDER: We are the Light of the World You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and
PONDER: JESUS is the Light of the World The people who are now living in darkness have seen a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light has shined on them. Matthew 4:16 (quoting Isaiah 9:1, 2) This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates
