“‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to let the oppressed go free to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’”
“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
“Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’”
Neil Thorogood (British b. 1960s Australia), Jesus and the Woman at the Well (In the Heat of the Day), 2008, oil on canvas.
Bible Passage: John 4:3-42
My Big Story Bible: Pages 168
“A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Lord, Lord, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.”
Ivan Aivazovsky (Russian, 1817 - 1900), The Wrath of the Seas, 1886, oil on canvas.
Bible Passage: Luke 8:22-25
My Big Story Bible: Pages 172
“‘Send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.’ But [Jesus] answered them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ … And all ate and were filled…”
Paul Cox (1974) & Micha Bradshaw (1989) founders of Nottz Garden Project, Gamble Street Corner, 2023.
“Pointing towards a stretch of grassy land beside a busy road in Nottingham, Paul Cox says ‘We want to bring forgotten green spaces like these back to life.’
‘We took over Gamble Street as it was near the food bank and was left in a state - full of rubbish and syringes. These areas of the city are often overlooked - but we saw this as potential to grow produce on and host gardening workshops for people.’
They now grow fruits and vegetables on the land all year round, including non-native vegetables like callaloo, for both the food bank and community to use for free.” Miya Chahal, BBC News, Nottingham
Bible Passage: Mark 6:30-44
My Big Story Bible: Pages 170
Momma used to say
That when Jesus turned the
Loaves and fish
Into a picnic
For those hungry folks
In the wilderness
The God blessed victuals
Tasted like mouth watering
Mississippi catfish
Deep fried in the best store bought meal
Served with a healthy side helping
Of iron skillet cornbread—
Bread so fine that
No one asked for butter or honey
And nary a crumb hit the ground.
She grew up an orphan
In the Great Depression,
Where low cotton prices
And bad weather
Killed farms and families—
Times, she remembered, so hard
That sometimes even dinner
Was a miracle
And prayers offered
At the evening meal
Wafted in the air
Thick as coal oil smoke
In the fragrance of gratefulness.
This poem by Tom Darin Liskey was originally published June 16, 2019, on Kelly Belmonte’s All Nine blog.
“But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.”
Bible Passage: Luke 15:11-32
My Big Story Bible: Pages 186
“‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. …
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.”
Soichi Watanabe (Japanese, 1949–), You Shall Laugh, 2011, oil on canvas. Kwansei Gakuin University Chapel, Kobe, Japan.
Bible Passage: Matthew 16:13 - 17:13
My Big Story Bible: Pages 174 - 176
