What is Jesus doing HERE?

 When Jesus entered an 'unclean' place, he encountered a man besieged by a legion of demons (Luke 8). These spirits controlled him and they could not be constrained, but Christ was able to name the man's afflictions and channel them out of his life. Can you think of a surprising place you have met Jesus? Can you name the underlying afflictions you carry and can you give yourself permission to let them go?

BigGuy Hank and the heart

 The single virtue of love, specifically, our love for others, defines our relationship with God (1 John 4). Our love of others not only demonstrates our true relationship with God but also alleviates our fears and insecurities. What if our love for others was so sacrificial it kept us from accusing and vilifying each other? How could you demonstrate your redemption by loving those around you?

Laying down your life...one cookie at a time

 1 John 3:16 defines love in the strongest terms possible. The verse tells us that God loved us enough to die for us, and we should do the same for each other. We might do well to consider how we do this in our everyday lives. As we give our time and treasure to others, are we slowly, bit by bit laying down our lives for others or are we hording our rights and privileges for our own?  

Where do you go when you are disoriented

 Psalm 4 reminds us that times of confusion or disorientation are likely to take us to places of fear and closing off. Can you think of times that you closed yourself off from God and others out of fear for what might happen next?

Be Afraid, be very afraid

 Many Christians deem certain actions or beliefs as necessary and then use fear to scare others into obeying those actions. When Christ appears to His disciples, He tells them NOT to be afraid (John 20:19-31). He even reassures the group by offering to let them touch His wounds. How do you dispel fear from those you encounter? Do you show them a God who reassures them?

NOW He's gone too far!

 

Jesus's ministry demonstrated radical rule-breaking, specifically to help those abused by the systems and rulers of the day. When Jesus actually broke death, by raising a young girl and his own friend, Lazarus, Jesus had good too far. The religious leaders could not explain the miracles, but decided that Jesus must not be allowed to continue to bring this kind of healing (John 11). What kinds of healing do you oppose?

Where did you say Jesus was?

 Mark 16:1-8 relates the story of three women who tried to attend to the body of Jesus, but were surprised to find He was not in the tomb where they last saw him. Jesus had risen from the dead and had left the tomb. Like the people of His day, we often assume that we know where Jesus is, but He never seems to be where we expect Him to be. Where do you think Jesus is right now? Could you be wrong?