This week we enter the fourth (and final?) installment in our current sermon series, “Jesus Said What?!” Our text remains the gospel of Mark — this time featuring quite possibly the most disturbing sentence Jesus ever uttered. That’s why Pastor Dave calls this week’s sermon, “Jesus Said What?! The Jerk!” 

Honestly, what are we supposed to make of Jesus flat out insulting this woman?

We know the bible is really, really old and thus much of what we read in it sounds gross, weird, or wrong.

Who is the actual protagonist of this vignette? Would it be truly scandalous if Jesus learned from and was changed by this brief encounter?

That’s some of what we’ll explore together in worship this Sunday, September 5th. 

Miss a Sunday of this series and want to catch up? Or want to revisit some or all of the series?

Click here for all three parts. 

Or click here for “Jesus Said What?!”

Click here for “Jesus Said What?! Again”

Click here for “Jesus Said What?!: Ritual Trashing” 

One takeaway we’ve uncovered in this series is Jesus’ call for we who would follow him to embody our faith. One way to do that is an Offering of Letters to Congress advocating for policies that will help end hunger locally and globally. 

This Sunday, September 5th, we continue to offer space, time, and materials for those wanting to hand-write their letters either after the worship service or at home. If you write your letters at home, be sure to bring them back and put them in the Offering of Letters Offering Plate!

 There is also on online option: Click here to email Congress.

If you chose this option, please let Pastor Dave ( ) know after you’ve sent your emails. 

As our partner, Bread for the World, reports, “Expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC) will do more to reduce hunger and poverty among our nation’s children than any single policy has in decades. Most children stand to benefit from the CTC expansion, but children from groups that have disproportionately high hunger rates will benefit most.” 

And expanding the CTC makes fiscal sense. “Poverty among children in the United States costs the economy between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion in lower productivity, higher healthcare costs, and the need to spend more on public safety, services for homeless people, incarceration, and care for survivors of child abuse.” [source] 

While poverty costs the economy, providing nutrition assistance is among the most cost-effective ways to save and improve lives around the world—with every $1 invested yielding up to $35 in economic returns. 

We cannot afford not to offer this help. 

To learn more about our partner organization in this effort, Bread for the World, click here. 

To learn more about Bread’s Offering of Letters, click here.