Last Week at RHM: November 25, 2024

Marching Donations Till End of Year

As we are seeking to reach our ministry goals here at the end of 2024, we are excited to share that all donations to Renewed Heart Ministries for the remainder of year will be matched! Every dollar you give will have twice the impact, helping us further expand the work of Renewed Heart Ministries in 2025. Join us in making a difference—together, we can maximize our collective impact!

We want to take this moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our supporters for your invaluable role in the Renewed Heart Ministry community and for your dedication to our mission of fostering love, justice, compassion, and healing. Your support is the bedrock of our work. Your support empowers us to do what we do. At a time when ministries like ours are being asked to achieve more with fewer resources, your support is incredibly important, and we want to simply say thank you. Whether in our larger society or within our local faith communities, Renewed Heart Ministries remains committed to advocating for change, working towards a world that is inclusive, just, and safe for everyone, and being a source of love in our world. From all of us here at Renewed Heart Ministries, thank you for your generous support. We deeply appreciate each and every one of our supporters. If you’d like to join them in supporting our work, please go to renewedheartministries.com and click on “Donate.”

We are excited to announce the return of our annual Shared Table event! This year, we invite you to become one of our monthly sustaining partners for 2025. By selecting the “Check this box to make it a monthly recurring donation” option when you donate online, you’ll receive a special thank-you gift: a handmade Renewed Heart Ministries Shared Table Pottery Bowl crafted by Crystal and Herb. Becoming a monthly sustaining partner helps RHM plan and budget for our ministry projects throughout the year. To sign up, simply visit renewedheartministries.com/donate and choose an automated recurring monthly donation of any amount. If you prefer using PayPal, you can also select the “Make this a monthly donation” option. As a token of our appreciation, we’ll be sending out these beautiful pottery bowls to our all of monthly partners at the start of the new year. Our hope is that these bowls, whether displayed or used, will serve as a reminder of Jesus’ message of love, care, and shared table fellowship. They also make wonderful gifts or conversation starters! If you’re already a sustaining partner for 2024 and you would like to continue your support for 2025, we deeply appreciate your ongoing support and you will also receive one of our Shared Table Pottery Bowls as a thank-you gift, as well. Regardless of how you choose to support Renewed Heart Ministries at the end of this year, we are profoundly grateful for your partnership in furthering Jesus’ vision of a world rooted in compassion, love, and mutual care. Together, we strive to create a safer, more compassionate, and just world for today and for eternity.

November’s Recommended Reading Jesus and the Politics of Roman Palestine by Richard A. Horsley

This comprehensive critical analysis of the historical Jesus examines his mission and involvement in the conflicted politics of ancient Palestine. In Jesus and the Politics of Roman Palestine, Richard A. Horsley brings the context and implications of recent historical research to bear on our understanding of Jesus of Nazareth. Based on a critical reconsideration of the Gospels and contemporary sources for Roman imperial rule in Judea and Galilee, Horsley argues that Jesus was deeply concerned with the politics of his day. Drawing on anthropological studies of peasant politics, Horsley discerns how Jesus, as a Moses- and Elijah-like prophet, generated a movement of renewal in Israel that was focused on village communities. Following the traditional prophetic pattern, Jesus pronounced God’s judgment against the rulers in Jerusalem and their Roman patrons. This confrontation with the Jerusalem rulers and his martyrdom at the hands of the Roman governor, however, became the breakthrough that empowered the rapid expansion of his movement in the immediately ensuing decades. In the broader context of this comprehensive historical construction of Jesus’s mission, Horsley also presents a fresh new analysis of Jesus’s healings and exorcisms and his conflict with the Pharisees, topics that have been generally neglected in the last several decades.

Last Week’s Social Jesus Posts Articles posted each week at https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/

In Our World But Not of It (Part One of the Give Us Barabbas series) In the wake of recent events, I sincerely wish most Christians today were less involved in our world, not more. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2024/11/in-our-world-but-not-of-our-world/

What is Truth? (Part Two of the Give Us Barabbas series) It’s one thing to have differing political and economic views about what we as a society should do based on a shared truth. But how can democracy function or even survive when people have no shared reality? https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2024/11/what-is-truth/

Give Us Barabbas (Part Three of the Give Us Barabbas series) So much is here in the Barabbas story for us to painfully unpack and explore. So many lessons for our present moment. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2024/11/give-us-barabbas/

New Episode of “Just Talking Season 2, Episode 37: John 18.33-40. Lectionary B, Proper 29 Each week, we’ll be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend in the context of love, inclusion, and social justice. Our hope is that our talking will be “just” talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week we’ll be inspired to do more than just talking. If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out. Watch at:

The Social Jesus Podcast from RHM! A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice. Last week: Season 1 Episode 32: Give Us Barabbas John 18:33-37 “Again, this kind of language has led to some deeply problematic interpretations. Some Christians completely disregard the injustice, oppression, violence, and therefore concrete suffering people are experiencing now and focus solely on saving their “souls” for postmortem heaven later. Honestly, I’m struggling a bit this week. In the wake of the recent election, I sincerely wish Christians were less involved here and now. If Christians’ civic participation is going to result in harm for women, my LGBTQ and immigrant friends, and so many others, I would rather they do just focus on heaven. Please stay out of the affairs of our world! If Christians do engage this world, we must ensure our actions make our world a safe, more just, more compassionate place for everyone or we end up doing more harm than good. So much is here in this story for us to painfully unpack and explore. So many lessons for our present movement, and I’m not rushing to positivity and hope. Our work to shape our world into a safe, compassionate, just world for everyone just got a lot harder.” Available on all major podcast carriers and at: https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/give-us-barabbas

Upcoming Events December 21, 2024 Good News Fellowship (via Zoom) Toronto, Ontario Canada For info: 304.520.0030

Weekly Zoom HeartGroup on Wednesday Nights

Each Wednesday evening, Glendale City Church will be hosting a Zoom-HeartGroup led by Herb Montgomery. Our discussion each week will focus on the content in Renewed Heart Ministries’ weekly eSight articles, The Social Jesus podcast, and RHM’s Just Talking YouTube show. The time of each Zoom session will be on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Pacific/10:00 p.m. Eastern.

For more information and for the link to participate each week, contact RHM here.

Audiobook Available Now on Audible Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels (2nd Edition) by Herb Montgomery, Narrated by Jeff Moon In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity. Readers will journey through the Gospel narratives, discovering the ways in which the Jesus of these stories challenged the political and religious establishments of his time. Herb Montgomery draws parallels between the societal issues faced by the people of Jesus’ era and the challenges of the present day, sparking reflection on the role of faith in addressing contemporary political and social issues. Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society. Available now on Audible.

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