The Hungry Messiah | You are a staffer for the catering firm, Foretaste. Some advance people for the Messiah’s return are working with your firm because the Father wants to throw a really big party when the Son returns to earth. (True, "about that day and hour, no one knows" [Matthew 24:36] but your firm will know at least when the kiwi fruit should be ripe.) Your job is to do some background work on Jesus as a party animal. When he was here before, who did he eat with, what happened at the parties he attended, who hosted him and whom did he host? Reading the four canonical gospels, research the guest of honor for the party your company will be catering. Compose a memo documenting what we can expect from Jesus based on his former eating habits. Cite your sources. Be aware of how Matthew, Mark, Luke and John each document Jesus the party animal a bit differently. Read more….

"Church" in Matthew and Paul |St. Matthew's Lutheran Church and St. Paul's Lutheran Church are small neighboring congregations both celebrating their centennial this summer. For the anniversary booklet, they have commissioned you to write a short piece comparing how Matthew's gospel and Paul's letters speak about the church. Your essay should be 500 to 1000 words.

Worship Postures | Who kneels in Matthew's gospel and why? What does it mean? Even if you do not read Greek, do your research using Greek words. Check out the word study resource pages for how to do this.