From Pastor Marc:
“What on earth are you saying, Pastor Marc?! Jesus didn’t wreck my life! That’s… that’s blasphemy or something!” Hey, I hear you! There’s something deeply disturbing about saying something like this, much less naming a worship series after it. Why don’t I just talk about how Jesus came into Jolene’s life and made her a straight-A student, or how Lucas found Jesus and cured his hemorrhoids? Surely, that would be a better use of our time, showing how Jesus comes and improves our lives, right?
But have you read the bible? And in particular, have you looked at what happens to people in the Gospels, in the stories of Jesus? Have you ever seen Jesus come along and say, “Hey, you seem to be having a decent life? Here’s a little somethin’ to make it better. Bippity-boppity-boo”? I can’t think of any times like that. Instead, it seems like Jesus confuses and destabilizes our sense of what’s normal. He messes with people’s heads. He messes with people’s hearts. Jesus doesn’t seem to be satisfied with just enhancing life, adding some decorations and bobbles to make people smile a bit. Jesus comes and turns people’s lives upside down. And, if I know Jesus even a little bit, he’s still up to his old tricks today. You’ve seen it, haven’t you? You’ve noticed how Jesus turns around our expected life and leads us into something entirely different, right?
Throughout September, we’re going to hear some interesting people in the Gospels tell things from their point of view – how they discovered Jesus and how he messed things up for them. And you won’t want to miss what happens next!
Sunday, September 6 – “Night Visitor” (John 3:1-10) **
Sunday, September 13 – “Messiah’s Cousin” (Matthew 11:2-11)
Sunday, September 20 – “Demoniac” (Mark 5:1-20)
Sunday, September 27 – “Moneychanger” (Matthew 21:12-17)
**Drive In Worship in the church parking lot!
