•Lazarus is Sleeping•
Background @ John 11:1-3
A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”
Story @ John 11:1-44

•The Ten Lepers•
Background @ Luke 17:11
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.
Story @ Luke 17:11-19

•The Coming of the Kingdom•
Background @ Luke 17:20
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Story @ Luke 17:20-37

•The Story of the Persistent Widow•
Background @ Luke 18:1
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
Story @ Luke 18:1-8

•The Story of the Pharisee and Tax Collector•
Background @ Luke 18:9
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else.
Story @ Luke 18:9-14

•Discussion About Divorce and Marriage•
Background Mark 10:1
Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them.
Story @ Mark 10:1-12 || Matthew 19:1-12

•Jesus Blesses the Children•
Background @ Mark 10:13a
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them.
Story @ Mark 10:13-16 || @ Matthew 19:13-15 || Luke 18:15-17

•The Story of the Rich Young Ruler•
MUSIC & HYMNS: “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,”  “Redeemed!”
PSALMS Responsive Reading @ Psalm 50:1-6 (NIV)
SCRIPTURE @ Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: I believe the phrase, “a camel to go through the eye of a needle,” is a beautiful Hebrew hyperbole.
The Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God on 2 stone tablets @ Exodus 31:18
NARRATE the BACKGROUND @ Mark 10:13-17 (NIV)
And they brought young children to Jesus, for such is the kingdom of God. And as Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
NARRATE the STORY @ Mark 10:17-27 (NIV) || Matthew 19:16-30 || Luke 18:18-30

•The Story of the Workers in the Vineyard•
MUSIC & HYMNS:
PSALMS Responsive Reading @ Psalm 112:1-10 (NIV)
SCRIPTURE @ Isaiah 27:1-6 (NIV)
NARRATE the BACKGROUND @ Matthew 20:1-2 (NIV)
“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.”
NARRATE the STORY @ Matthew 20:1-16 (NIV)

•Jesus Again Predicts His Death•
Background @ Mark 9:30-32 || @ Matthew 17:22-23 || @ Luke 9:43b-45 (Jesus predicts his death)
Mark 10:32
They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear.
Story @ Mark 10:32-34 || @ Matthew 20:17-19 || @ Luke 18:31-34

•Jesus Teaches About Serving Others•
Background @ Mark 10:32a,35
They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”
Story @ Mark 10:35-45 || Matthew 20:20-28

•Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus•
Background @ Mark 10:46
Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road.
Story @ Matthew 20:29-34 || Mark 10:46-52 || @ Luke 18:35-43

•The Story of Zacchaeus•
Background @ Luke 19:1-2
Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich.
Story @ Luke 19:1-10

•The Story of the Ten Servants•
Background @ Luke 19:11
The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.
Story @ Luke 19:11-27

•Jesus Anointed at Bethany•
Background @ John 12:1-2
Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus – the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor.
Story @ Mark 14:3-9 || @ Matthew 26:6-13 || @ John 12:1-11
~ §tacy §weeney