Read Luke 5 & 6 and meet in your Good Soil Group by Sun, Jan 29.

Remember: Formation, not information. Luke and Acts invite us to live differently than the world around us. Focus on the seeds of trust, hope, and compassion God is planting.

Reading

As you read, here are a few things to notice, in addition to everything you notice naturally.

Luke has more to say than Mark about Jesus calling Simon. In fact, no other gospel tells this story of the miraculous catch. You might notice Jesus continues his ministry of release as he calls Simon. What was Simon freed from as with Jesus he started fishing for people? What has Jesus freed you from in your life as Jesus’ follower?

Remember these verses from chapters 1 and 2? John will “guide our feet into the way of peace.” The angels sing, “on earth peace among those whom he favors!” Simeon rejoices, “You are dismissing your servant in peace.”

After all that peace, came the violence in Nazareth, and now these chapters, which are full of conflict. Notice this ominous verse: “But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” The shadow of the cross falls across the series of sermons and healings and invitations to follow in this chapter. And yet, Jesus whispers a promise during the argument about appropriate sabbath behavior: no matter what humans do to God and each other, God’s law is life. God saves life.

Trusting in God’s power and intention for life, Jesus withdraws to pray, even as the shadow of conflict darkens. Then Jesus preaches a nearly whole-chapter-long sermon that is full of invitations to us to trust God’s life. It includes this invitation to strive toward a Jesus-like trust God: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

Meeting

Getting to Know Each Other (10 min): You might ask each other, “In the past week, when was there conflict? How did you rely on God, and how did God support you?” Or you could tell each other stories, inspired by Simon’s experience of Jesus, about your most powerful God-moments.

Talking about Luke (20 min): Here’s some good starting questions for any week, “What did God do in these chapters? What did people do?” You also might ask each other, “What in these chapters did I welcome? What did I resist? How was Jesus freeing me as I read?”

Praying (15 min): Start this time by asking, “Who or what do we have to pray about today?” Don’t censor yourself. Nothing is too big or too small to pray about. And no one is beyond God’s care. If nothing else, pray for each other and for all of the other Good Soil groups that God will open us to the seed of God’s Word.

After Reading & Meeting

Check back on this website, for art and more. Ask Pastor a question. Leave a comment and let us know how the Spirit is moving with you!