Any cursory reading of the four Gospels would show that Jesus asks a lot of questions. Once I counted how many. In the Gospel of Mark, 63. In the Gospel of John, 51. In the three chapters of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asks 19 questions. He asks questions of those who follow and those who don’t. Jesus is constantly asking questions.
Jesus asks questions to excavate faith, hope, and love within people so they might be restored, reconciled, and returned to God and themselves. They are a way to help people own not only what they believe but how they believe. His questions challenge individuals and structures to the point of decision and change. And his questions are perceptive. They crack the veneer of pretense and penetrate to the heart of who we are and what we need.
Diving into the questions Jesus asks is a worthy endeavor. But there are other questions — questions to (or about) Jesus from followers, doubters, skeptics, and testers: 40 questions in the Gospel of Mark and 88 in John. Not only is Jesus the master of a good question, but he welcomes honest questions of the heart from imperfect seekers and followers looking to move beyond the mediocrity of religion to an open and honest life-changing journey with God. These are some of the questions I will focus on in a new Fall series beginning this Sunday called Questions of the Heart.
What questions — soul questions, spiritual questions, human questions — are you asking? I hope you’ll come on this journey with me and bring the questions of your heart.
Also on Sunday, we will be blessing students, teachers, and school administrators who are now back in school. Come be a part of praying with and for them. And don’t forget that immediately following the service (after a very brief break), we will start our Church Leadership Board quarterly town hall in the sanctuary. I hope you’ll stay for 25 minutes to hear about Park’s strategic plan for 2024-2026.
Looking forward to seeing you Sunday!
Much love, my friends,
Pastor Gregg
