Discipling Life

1 1:53 When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees became hostile to him and began to interrogate him about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. 12:1 Meanwhile, when the crowd had gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops. Luke 11:53-12:3 (NRSVue) Have you thought about (or struggled with) the difference between pleasing God and pleasing people? Most of us know that temptation. We want others to think well of us, and sometimes we can focus more on appearances than on what is happening in our hearts. In Luke 11:53-12:3, Jesus faces intense opposition from...

Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all of the dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth . — 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Every spring, I’m struck by how quickly things change. One day the trees look bare and tired, and the next day tiny green buds appear followed by an explosion of pollen! It’s almost as though creation itself can’t wait to burst into new life. Easter carries that same energy. It’s the season when the church leans forward, expecting transformation, trusting that resurrection is not just a story about Jesus long ago but a promise for us right now. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6). He’s u...