Jesus taught primarily in parables. Short pithy stories that surprise us with Jesus' unique perspective on life. These parables centre around three main concepts. Kingdom, Grace and, wait  for it... Judgment. Over the last few years we have developed series to focus on the stories of kingdom, and of grace, and in this series we intend to face into the hardest parables, those that give us Jesus' unique perspective on judgment.

In this exploration of 1 Samuel 9-12, we delve into the intriguing story of Saul's ascension to kingship and Samuel's complex reaction. We're reminded of our human tendency to judge by appearances, as Saul is initially described as tall and handsome. Yet, the narrative subtly warns us against such superficial assessments.

This week, we discuss joy as a shared communal practice. We examine what informs the theology of the Psalms (using Psalm 33:1-5 as our pimary text) and how the Psalms, in their intent and art form, can instruct us in our search for and practice of joy.

Here we ask our whys, and remember that God spared nothing to make all things new. That Jesus gave himself over to death to lead us into life. That in his final words Jesus revealed how God knows the language of our doubt and fear. Showing us the road to resurrection, dark as it may be. And we that we don’t have to walk it alone.

This week we wrap up the Picking Up and Letting Go series by looking at another Epiphany text and reflecting on ways that picking up looked like for Jesus and what we can pick up in the new year.

This week, we begin our new series on the gospel of Mark. In his message on Sunday, Scott invited us to see how the synoptic gospels help us to “see together” without demanding that we all see the same. Scott talked about how Mark frames his gospel as a new beginning, how the term “good news" was heard as a political statement, and how Mark’s use of “time” encourages us also to step into time.