Jesus provided his disciples teachings for how to follow Torah, God’s word; he told them parables to help them discern questions of ethics and of human nature; he offered them beatitudes for comfort and encouragement. But sometimes Jesus spoke words that followers then and now have found difficult. He instructs disciples to hate members of their own families (Luke 14:26), to act as if they were slaves (Matthew 20:27), and to sell their belongings and give to the poor (Luke 18:22). He restricts his mission (Matthew 10:6); he speaks of damnation (Matthew 8:12); he calls Jews the devil’s children (John 8:44).
In The Difficult Words of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine shows how these difficult teachings would have sounded to the people who first heard them, how have they been understood over time, and how we might interpret them in the context of the Gospel of love and reconciliation.[1]
Join Pastor Andrew as his Sunday School class reads and discusses Amy-Jill Levine’s The Difficult Words of Jesus: a beginners guide to his most perplexing teachings. Participants should pick up a copy The Difficult Words of Jesus. If you would like the church to order a copy of the book for you, please contact the church office. The cost of the book is $13.50. If the cost of the book will be a problem, please talk to Pastor Andrew. If you would like to order through the church, please let us know by Sunday, December 29th.
Schedule
- January 19 – Introduction and Chapter One (Sell What You Own)
- January 26 – No Class
- February 2 – Chapter Two (Hate Father and Mother)
- February 9 – Chapter Three (Slave of All)
- February 16 – Chapter Four (Nowhere Among the Gentiles)
- February 23 – Chapter Five (Outer Darkness)
- March 2 – Chapter Six (Your Father the Devil)
Contact the church office for Zoom information or to order a copy of the book
[1] From book’s promotional materials
