Week 11

LUKE 5:17-19

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

SYNOPSIS

• Jesus was teaching a group of Pharisees
• Four men carried their paralyzed friend on a mat to see Jesus
• They brought the paralyzed man through the roof to avoid the crowds
• Jesus heals the paralytic

TALKING POINTS

• How do the four men get the paralytic there?
• Story takes place early in Jesus' ministry
• What does it mean to put someone in front of Jesus?
• How do I get you in front of Jesus?
• creativity
• conspiracy
• perseverance
• love
• selflessness
• humility 
• At no point do these four mean believe they have the power to heal the paralytic, but they know they can bring him to Jesus
• The power of the Lord is present when others believe (Mark 2)
• Luke is written to the Gentiles

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

Ingredients

• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 stick butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line and spray muffin tin. Mix together pecans, flour, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, butter and vanilla. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each tin 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes.

Week 10

PSALM 139:1-18

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

TALKING POINTS

• Do you love your best friend? Why?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you love yourself?
• Do you know God's love for you?
• How does this Psalm make you feel?
• Perhaps it's easy to think and know that God love you, but do you actually feel it?
• "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." What does that mean? Do you believe it?
• "Fearfully" is exchanged with "Divinely" in other versions of the Bible.
• You are a direct work of God
• You are made in God's image - God is both feared and loved
• Fear comes out of respect
• Why is it hard to love yourself?
• What walls do you keep up that prevent you from loving yourself?
• How do you love yourself?

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

PUMPKIN NUTELLA

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• nutella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line and spray muffin tins. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Fold wet ingredients in the dry. Using an ice cream scoop, fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Add a teaspoon of nutella and swirl into muffin batter with a knife. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Week 9

LUKE 19:1-10

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

SYNOPSIS

• Jesus entered Jericho
• Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, was eager to see Jesus
• Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see Jesus
• Jesus addresses Zacchaeus and asked to stay at his house
• Zacchaeus brought Jesus back to his home
• Zacchaeus gives away half of his possessions and vows to pay back those he has cheated

TALKING POINTS

• Jericho is a large city much like Atlanta; many wealthy folk
• Chief tax collector
• works for the Romans that are presently crucifying fellow countrymen
• not well liked - if Romans tax at $2, the tax collector typically asks for more and keeps the difference
• This passage occurs during in the last few weeks of Jesus' ministry; Jesus is on the way back to Jerusalem
• Why does Zacchaeus want to see Jesus?
• curiousity
• he's a celebrity
• desperate 
• What blocks your view of Jesus?
• "too damn busy"
• need others to point him out
• What was the state of Zacchaeus' house?
• Why do we think we need to have it all together before letting Jesus in?
• What happens as a result of walking together?
• What does it mean to come out of the tree?
• What does it mean to be a tree?
• To be lost means you originally had to belong!
• God made us in His image
• we have inherently good qualities - waiting to be uncovered
• What is salvation?
• being rescued
• freedom
• you have to accept it!

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

CRANBERRY ORANGE CHOCOLATE CHIP

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla.
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. Line and grease muffin tins. Put the cranberries and orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Allow the berries to absorb the juice. Remove the berries from the heat.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a mixer, cream together butter, zest, and sugar in another bowl. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Fold the flour into the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk in 2 parts, until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full using an ice cream scoop. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Week 8

MARK 3:1-6

3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

SYNOPSIS

• Jesus entered a synagogue to find a man with a shriveled hand
• Jesus instructs the man with the shriveled hand to stand up
• Jesus addresses the pharisees in anger
• Jesus heals the man on the Sabbath

TALKING POINTS

• Mark is the first Gospel written
• Mark is effectively Peter's adopted son
• How many people have a shriveled hand?
• likely ten out of ten people
• What is your shriveled hand?
• Why don't you show your shriveled hand?
• pride; it's all about an image
• waiting for others to be vulnerable and show his or hers
• where can you be open?
• Jesus reaches out to the man
• Half the battle is just showing up
• man with the shriveled hand merely showed up to the synagogue
• Did Jesus have scars when he rose from the dead?
• Yes. Why?
• you can live with your scars
• you can show your scars
• scars can serve as lessons and inspiration to others

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

MAPLE 

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup plus 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup plus 4 tbsp maple syrup 
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line and grease muffin tins. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, combine 3/4 cup milk, butter, 1/2 cup syrup, sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Using an ice cream scoop, fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk powdered sugar and remaining maple syrup. Continue to add milk until the glaze is smooth. The glaze should not be think or thin.

Once the muffins have cooled, dip the top of each muffin in the glaze. Allow the glaze to harden. 

Week 7

MARK 1:1-7

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,[a] the Son of God,[b] 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way”[c]—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”[d]

4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentancefor the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

SYNOPSIS

• Introduction to the Gospel of Mark
• recalls stories of John the Baptist baptizing those in the desert region
• John foreshadows Jesus' coming

TALKING POINTS

• Up to this point, God has been silent for over 400 years
• Is God silent in your life? What are the voices you are hearing?
• Can I see God instead of listen to Him?
• student shared story about having dinner with God: speaking to God over dinner as if engaging in a conversation with a friend
• What does it mean to prepare the way for Christ?
• afford others grace and patience
• making yourself easily approachable
• listen, be still
• Do I get in the way of others finding Jesus?
• Do you expect Jesus to show up?
• if you do, it's usually not the way you thought He would
• it's an exercise in trust
• Verse 4 is a huge change in John's actions; initially very exclusive and would not have taken his preaching out to the far reaches
• Why is verse 6 relevant?
• cultural significance
• clothing indicates the particular sect of Judaism that John was a part of
• depicts John being out in the wild and further illustrates the point made in verse 4
• What is your message to others as a believer?
• "Prepare" is an active verb; not just verbal

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare muffin tin with liners and grease. In a large bowl, combine bananas, oil, egg, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder. Fold flour into banana mixture. Stir in white chocolate and half of semi-sweet chocolate. Using an ice cream scoop, fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Sprinkle remaining semi-sweet chocolate chips over the top of the muffins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Week 6

GENESIS 8:13-18

13 By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”

18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.

GENESIS 9:11-17

11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

SYNOPSIS

• Noah had been on the ark for many days
• After the earth is dry, God instructs Noah to step off the ark
• Noah is asked to bring out every creature on the ark in order to repopulate the earth
• God creates a covenant with Noah and all people that He will never again destroy the earth by flood
• The rainbow is a sign of this covenant 

TALKING POINTS

• Had never rained on the earth before
• What is is like first stepping off the boat?
• What does Noah do? What would you do?
• How do you feel about solitude?
• Flooding of the earth can be thought of as wiping the slate clean, new beginnings
• Are you in the rain or on dry land?
• You have to build your own boat for your rainy days
• How?
• Who's with you in the boat?
• What is your rainbow?
• What is your role when standing in the rain?
• What is your role when on dry land?
• CELEBRATE
• Serve as a light for those in the rain
• Stand with those in the rain, offer an umbrella
• God makes this promise to all people
• God keeps His promises
• Promised to those who don't even acknowledge him
• The rain will come but the rain will end

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

PINEAPPLE COCONUT BANANA

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped, drained, canned pineapple
• 2 bananas, mashed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare pan with paper muffin liners and grease. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Slowly stir butter mixture into flour. Fold in coconut, pineapple, and bananas. Using an ice cream scoop, fill muffin tin 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Week 5

1 KINGS 19:3-15

3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for theLord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

SYNOPSIS

• Elijah was afraid and ran for his life
• Elijah pleads with God to take his life
• Elijah lays down to sleep
• God wakes Elijah and instructs him to eat and drink
• Elijah falls asleep a second time and it again woken
• Elijah spends the night in a cave
• Elijah is scared and desperate
• God tells him to look for the Lord
• Lord presents Himself in a whisper

TALKING POINTS

• Scripture occurs just after Mount Carmel
• There is a time and place for comfort and crying
• Elijah hides in the cave
• God is patient the whole time
• Elijah displays feelings of loneliness and no longer wants to live
• God has the capacity to create something huge and disastrous (earthquakes), but recognizes the need to gently care for Elijah 

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

CINNAMON APPLE

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups apples, diced
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven 375F. Prepare muffin pan with paper liners and grease. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cream together butter and sugar in another bowl. Mix in egg and vanilla. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in apples. Using an ice cream scoop, fill until 3/4 full. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Mix together melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon. While muffins are still warm, dip the top of each muffin into the sugar mixture. Allow to cool.