Cringe

CRINGE
Have you ever been offended in your life? Have you ever squirmed in your seat when someone said something to you and you didn’t know how to respond? Being in the crowd in Jesus’ day had lots of those moments, when the listeners couldn’t believe what he was saying. Jesus challenged many of the “sacred cows” in his day, and he is still doing so in our world. Jesus didn’t come to pacify us and tell us only things that make us feel good, but to speak the truth of God and let the chips fall where they may. Some of the words Jesus spoke are hard to hear, and often even harder to put into practice. Jesus was not afraid to offend his listeners, but he did it for all the right reasons. In this series we dive deep into some of the harder sayings of Jesus. The Gospel is offensive in the same way that surgery is invasive. It cuts into us, not to hurt, not to damage—but to heal, to extract that sinful tumor that may be distorting our thinking and our vision.

Key Tag: Mark 4:9, “Then Jesus said, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear’” (NIV).