The Difficult Words of Jesus by Amy Jill Levine will be the subject of a Sunday morning discussion group this summer. All adults are invited!

The group will meet at 9:30 in the Library and on Zoom 1. Pastor Phil will be the leader.

The book is available at Amazon. The description there says,

Jesus provided his disciples teachings for how to follow Torah, God’s word; he told them parables to help them discern questions of ethics and of human nature; he offered them beatitudes for comfort and encouragement. But sometimes Jesus spoke words that followers then and now have found difficult. He instructs disciples to hate members of their own families (Luke 14:26), to act as if they were slaves (Matthew 20:27), and to sell their belongings and give to the poor (Luke 18:22). He restricts his mission (Matthew 10:6); he speaks of damnation (Matthew 8:12); he calls Jews the devil’s children (John 8:44).

In The Difficult Words of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine shows how these difficult teachings would have sounded to the people who first heard them, how have they been understood over time, and how we might interpret them in the context of the Gospel of love and reconciliation.”

The book is available in paperback, for Kindle, and as an audiobook.

Read a preview of the book.

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, the author of the book, is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace and University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies Emerita, Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita, and Professor of New Testament Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University.

Enjoy challenging reading and thoughtful discussion this summer with your church family. New to the church? We’d love to have you join us.