Our passage this week is Luke 13:31–35 where Christ talks about foxes and hens. The fox is understood as Herod, and the hen is Jesus. Instead of the hen running away from the fox, the hen runs to the fox. Jesus continues on to Jerusalem. And while it seems the fox kills the hen, in the end true strength comes from the weakness and vulnerability of the hen. Sacrificial love always wins over power. We are called to that same love, that same attitude, that same humble service and willingness to knowingly lay down our lives. That calls for commitment.
Resources by Bethany Besteman
Having the Identity of a Servant: First Sunday of Lent
December 9, 2024
Our faith journeys include high and low points. If that was true for the Israelites and true for Christ, why should we expect anything different? Let’s not be surprised by the wilderness, but embrace it as a time of preparation for service, a time in which we are formed as Christ’s servants and our callings clarified. This Lent, let’s embrace the wilderness—the uncertain aspects of our lives and our faith journeys—and wait expectantly for God’s call.
Having the Identity of a Servant: Ash Wednesday
December 9, 2024
The season of Lent traditionally begins with a service of repentance. Attendees are invited to receive on their foreheads the mark of the cross, made from ashes. We often think of these ashes as a mark of our penitence, but they also mark us as people who live in the way of the cross. What would it mean if we wore ashes on our foreheads every day? When we don’t wear ashes, do the people around us know that we are Christ followers?
Jesus of the Unexpected Kingdom
Kingdom of God
Lord's Prayer
Parable of the Growing Seed
Parable of the Hidden Treasure
Parable of the Leaven
July 24, 2023
A prayer based on Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52, the gospel reading for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost that can be adapted into a prayer of confession, intercession, illumination or application.
Jesus of unexpected judgment and mercy
July 18, 2023
A prayer based on Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43 the gospel reading for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost that can be adapted into a prayer of confession, intercession, illumination or application.
Jesus of Unexpected Opportunity
July 11, 2023
A prayer based on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, the gospel reading for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost that can be adapted into a prayer of confession, intercession, illumination or application.
A prayer based on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, the gospel reading for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost that can be adapted into a prayer of confession, intercession, illumination or application.
