In this we want to take a closer look at the teachings of Jesus. Who is my neighbor? When Jesus says the two greatest commands are to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor, who exactly is my neighbor?

We always talk about this parable as a story about the sower when it is a story about the soil and the Kingdom of God. Over the years we have had large vegetable gardens and can personally testify to the value of good dirt. One time we planted jalapeño peppers in my father in-law's garden. Everything grew well in his garden but these had NO heat to them at all. Was it a bad set of plants or was it something in his dirt that affected them? Scientifically I have no proof but the following year were able to plant them in our own garden and we had hot jalapeños! Good soil can affect everything.

In this episode we look at Matthew 7 where Jesus talks about good and bad trees. What does that look like and how can we know if someone is a bad tree? And then on to John 15 where Jesus encourages to remain in him, where we will bear much fruit.

In this episode, we take a look at the ancient empires and how they compare to today. How did the prophets feel about the oppressed? What was the culture like at the time of Jesus and how is his teaching counter to the surrounding culture?

In this episode we take a look at what it looks like to be a shepherd in Israel and how this relates to hearing the voice of Jesus. Go to my blogpost The Sheep Know the Voice, to see the photos of a shepherd leading her sheep in the Judean Desert.

In this episode, Jesus evades a trap, forgives a woman and heals a blind man on the Sabbath!