The Surprising Stories of Jesus: Visions of the Inbreaking KingdomMatthew 13 gives us eight short stories, and each one is a vision of the kingdom of God. Many in Jesus’ day expected that kingdom to arrive through political upheaval and the overthrow of empire. Instead, Jesus told provocative stories that planted seeds and changed how people saw what God was doing.The first four, told to the crowds by the lake, show how the kingdom works. It is generously expansive, like seed scattered everywhere. It is patient and strategic, letting wheat and weeds grow together. And it starts small and hidden, like a mustard seed or a bit of yeast, before growing into something no one could have imagined.The next four, told to the disciples in the house, show how the kingdom reorients our lives. A net sorts good from bad. A merchant sells everything for one pearl. A man reorders his life for hidden treasure. A homeowner joyfully throws open his storehouse to all.The invitation is to sit with these stories, recognize the kingdom at work, and receive it.
4 Oct 2026
October 4, 2026: Surprising - Week 2
The Surprising Stories of Jesus: The SowerA farmer flings seed everywhere: on the road, among rocks, into thorns. No careful farmer works this way, and that's the point. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable at the heart of all his parables, picturing God's word scattered with abundant generosity into all the wrong places.For Jesus' first listeners, seed carried deep roots in the Hebrew scriptures, from God's promise to Abraham of countless descendants to Isaiah's faithful remnant. Jesus is announcing that everything Israel had been waiting for, justice, peace, healing, and renewal, is arriving in him. The seed is being sown now, and hearts respond in different ways. Some never let it in, some receive it with excitement but no roots, and some are choked by worry and wealth. But those who hear, see, and understand become good soil that yields a harvest a hundred times over.The invitation is to come to these parables with open eyes and receptive hearts, asking God to show us what his kingdom is like.
27 Sept 2026
September 27, 2026: Surprising - Week 1
The Surprising Stories of Jesus: Week 1Jesus could have explained his kingdom with a lecture. Instead, he told stories. This opening message sets the framework for the series: Jesus the one-of-a-kind king, the kingdom he brings, and the parables he told to describe it.In Luke 4, Jesus announces good news to the poor, echoing Israel's hope of Jubilee and declaring it has arrived because he is here. We see the same king at Zacchaeus' table and with the Samaritan woman, lives transformed after one encounter. His kingdom broke every expectation: the last become first, power shows up in sacrifice, and all are welcomed to the table. To stir people toward that reality, Jesus drew on the stuff of everyday life, much as Judges 9 used a parable of trees choosing a king to expose a ruler hungry for power.Over the coming weeks we'll explore parables of kingdom, grace, and judgment. They were never pep talks or children's stories. They were meant to provoke us and flip our assumptions about God. Come ready to be surprised.
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