2022
Scratching the Surface 6
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
What do you realise?
So as we listen to this week’s reading think about What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you realise?
Luke 9:28-43a
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (He did not know what he was saying.)
While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.’ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A man in the crowd called out, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.’
‘You unbelieving and perverse generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.’
Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you realise? I’ll post my answers in the comments. I hope that you’ll be curious about the passage and that you’ll post your answers to the three questions in the comments too.
2022
Luke 6:27-38 – Scratching the Surface 5
To help us to Scratch the Surface we are going to think about 3 questions:
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
What do you realise?
So as we listen to this week’s reading think about What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you realise?
Luke 6:27-38
‘But to you who are listening I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’
What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you realise? I’ll post my answers in the comments. I hope that you’ll be curious about the passage and that you’ll post your answers to the three questions in the comments too.
If you want to dig deeper then join us for our bible study on Thursdays on zoom!
2022
Scratching the Surface 4
What do you notice?
I notice that Jesus seems to be dishing out blessings to those who never feel blessed and are never told that they are worth anything.
What do you wonder?
I wonder what those people felt when Jesus told them they were blessed? Were they grateful? Cynical? Inspired? Many of them had been healed in some way so I wonder if that made them more likely to feel blessed?
What do you realise?
I realise that we don’t treat each other like people who are loved and valued by God as much as we should. We fall into the trap of valuing the things Jesus warns against. We look up to people who are rich or successful rather than people who are kind and honest. I realise that I probably need to get some new role models.
What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you realise? And what do you think of what I noticed, wondered and realised?
I hope that you’ll be curious about the passage too and that you’ll post your answers to the three questions in the comments.
2022
Scratching the Surface episode 3
Our reading today is from Luke 5:1-11
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding round him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’
Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
What do you notice?
I notice that when Simon tells Jesus to go aways from him because Simon recognises his own failings Jesus tells Simon not to be afraid.
What do you wonder?
I wonder why Jesus said that? I wonder if he knew Simon was afraid? And what he was afraid of? Perhaps Simon was afraid of following Jesus. Perhaps he was afraid of being left behind.
What do you realise?
I realise that I spent a long time being afraid of following Jesus to where he was calling me to go. I realise that mostly that fear was unfounded but there are days when I’m still afraid. Simon Peter didn’t get over his fear that moment he followed Jesus. Far from it. He does loads wrong and messes up. But he changes. He learns as he follows. I hope I can do that too.
What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you realise? And what do you think of what I noticed, wondered and realised? Let me know in the comments below!
2022
Scratching the Surface ep2
This week in Scratching the Surface we focus on Luke 4:21-30.
What do you notice?
I notice that the people are impressed. I notice that Jesus is the one who starts the argument!
What do you wonder?
I wonder why he did that? I wonder what he was trying to help them to understand? I wonder why they got so angry and wanted to throw him off a cliff?
What do you realise?
I realise that we all like to think we’re on the inside, that we have special access, and that we can all get pretty angry when we realise that’s not the case.
We can’t keep God in a box or write a list for God of who we think deserves help or attention. It seems like God’s list is made up of people who aren’t on the inside or on anyone’s list.
What do you notice? What do you wonder? What do you realise? And what do you think of what I noticed, wondered and realised?
I can’t wait to read what you’re thinking so leave your 3 answers in the comments and remember to check back to see how the conversation is going!
2022
Scratching the Surface
Scratching The Surface is our brand new video and podcast series where we will ask 3 simple questions of our reading from this week’s worship –
What do I notice?
What do I wonder?
What do I realise?
Join me on Tuesdays on st-ninians-stonehouse.org.uk/ or our Facebook Group to join in the conversation and share what you notice, wonder and realise.