Casas Church Casas Church

In this last week of Parables, we looked at Matthew 18:21 and the question put to Jesus is how many times we should forgive? When we feel like we’ve been wronged there are two options in front of us: the path of bitterness and the path of forgiveness. We hope to choose the path of forgiveness as it reflects the heart of God. It reflects it for us and for the people in our lives. 

In this fourth week of our Parables series, we read through the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard from Matthew 20:1-16. All the workers get paid the same no matter how long they’ve worked. Jesus uses this illustration to show that our illusions of fairness can trap us into comparison and make us lose trust in God. If we focus on fairness we miss what we’ve already been given. The all-day worker and one-hour worker get paid the same, which reflects the heart of God more? 

We celebrated the ministry year looking to Jesus as true north as we move forward in the acceptance, love, and freedom of Him together! We also rejoiced with 40 people who were baptized. Thank you for joining us as we thank God for working through us and with us to keep sharing our mission.

Parables are stories that paint a picture that becomes a mirror that becomes a window through which we can look and have a deeper understanding of who God is. This week we looked at a parable from Luke 18:9-14 with a tax collector and a Pharisee. In learning more about this story, we were challenged to be honest to who we are, where we are, as we are, and have an open and vulnerable heart with God that is anchored in His love, power, and grace.

In this second week of our Parables series, we dove into the story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10. We learned that in parables we’re supposed to see ourselves in the story and through that then see the heart of God. Sometimes religion gets to a space where it protects its own sense of righteousness rather than loving people. Understanding parables can bring us back to what really matters to God and what should matter to each of us.

Is the story you’re telling with your life bigger than just you? We began our Parables series looking at Luke 12:16 - 21 and how it captures the idea that we should be less self-focused and more outwardly focused. We can connect to the larger picture if we change our mindset and begin from a place of gratefulness. We were challenged to think about what we invest in as a community and how we can further connect to the bigger story God is writing with us and through us, leading to a deeper, more meaningful life with Jesus.