Mennonite Weekly Review

Articles : Sunday School

Feb. 8 issue

• 

  Mountaintop vision

  Have you ever been a witness in a court case? I have not, nor have I even attended a trial of any kind, though some years ago my husband was called as a witness in a traffic fatality trial. Eyewitness testimony in any court case can be key in swaying the decision one way or the other.

  “Who do you say that I am?” was the question Jesus asked the disciples in last week’s lesson. With the mountaintop transfiguration experience, evidence mounts as to Jesus’ identity. And Jesus has not one, but three earthly witnesses here to whom he chooses to reveal this truth.

Feb. 1 issue

• A solid rock

  “Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?”

Jan. 25 issue

• Crumbs for dogs

  Does this story from Matthew seem a bit shocking? If we view Jesus as compassionate, loving and accepting of all people, his behavior in this encounter with the Canaanite woman seems out of character.

Jan. 18 issue

• Hometown rejection

  There’s an old saying: “You can’t go home again.” For anyone who has left his or her hometown, coming back can be an interesting experience. Sometimes it’s rewarding, and sometimes it’s disappointing.

Jan. 11 issue

• Easing the burden

  Although it seems hard to believe now, there was a time when most people did not have access to luggage with wheels. That luxury was only for people in the airline industry. I remember being in airports and seeing the pilots and flight attendants coming off the plane wheeling their flight bags and thinking, “A suitcase on wheels — what a nifty idea!” No, the rest of us had to carry our suitcases, no matter how heavy, through airports and in train stations. On a trip to Europe, I remember lugging my suitcase several blocks between train station and hotel and feeling tired and weighed down when I got to my destination, especially if I had to run to catch a train.

Jan. 4 issue

• Seeing, believing

  Last week’s lesson showed Jesus being tested in the desert; this week finds Jesus well into his ministry. At this point we might think of him as “Dr. Jesus,” with all the cases of physical healing that come his way. In chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew, thus far Jesus has healed a leper, Peter’s mother-in-law, the centurion’s servant, a paralytic, demon-possessed men, a hemorrhaging woman and brought back a young girl to life. Now he is approached by two blind men.

Dec. 28, 2009 issue

• Beating temptation

  Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, Matthew says, the Spirit leads him into the desert to be tempted. There’s no time to bask in the glory of the moment of baptism; there is work to be done.

Dec. 21, 2009 issue

• John and Jesus

  There is a man in our city who seems very John-the-Baptist-like.

Dec. 14, 2009 issue

• The Magi’s visit

  This week we consider those mysterious visitors from the East who grace our Nativity crèches and Christmas cards. Matthew indicates they did not arrive until some time after Jesus’ birth. The word Magi, or magoi in Greek, refers to a priestly caste of Medes and Persians who exercised special religious or divining powers. It would not be unusual to find them studying the heavens to find meaning in the stars.

Dec. 7, 2009 issue

• Pregnancy test

  “I’m pregnant.” Those words always have a way of turning lives upside down. For a young married couple eager to start or expand a family, the words can bring wonder, joy, anticipation, gratitude. But for an unmarried teenager, the words can bring fear, shame, anxiety and dread.

Nov. 30, 2009 issue

• God’s messengers

  This week we consider two kinds of messengers, the prophet in the Book of Isaiah, and the angel in the Book of Luke. Both bring news of the coming Messiah.

Nov. 23, 2009 issue

• Family tree

  The next time you feel unimportant, consider how many people it took to get you here. Each of us has two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents, 32 great-great-great-grandparents, and so on, exponentially increasing with every generation we go back. Each one of those ancestors, most of whose names or life stories we do not know, is equally important and necessary in our personal history.

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