College News Directory

• Colossians

  Feb 01 2012

  This spring we are studying throught the book of Colossians together in our Sunday morning PCM time. Christ is supreme. Christ is sufficient.

  

• Relationships

  Aug 11 2011

  This fall we are doing a study on Relationships. Manhood. Womanhood. Marrige. Dating. Sex. Check out the schedule here.

  

• Summer Time Events

  Jun 16 2011

  

• Easter Reader

  Apr 27 2011

  Hey there y’all. Hope you had a great Easter weekend. I know that a ton of you had a the opportunity to hang out with family for Easter yesterday....Hope that included a great service wherever you where and some good food.

  We had an great time in college class yesterday. We put together an Easter Reader for us all to go through. One of the quotes that we read yesterday was SO moving. Its by Russell Moore from a book called Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ. Hope you all find it as encouraging as I did.

  “Part of the curse Jesus would bear for us on Golgotha was the taunting and testing by God’s enemies. As he drowned in his own blood, the spectators yelled words quite similar to those of Satan in the desert: “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32). But he didn’t jump down. He didn’t ascend to the skies. He just writhed there. And, after it all, the bloated corpse of Jesus hit the ground as he was pulled off the stake, spattering warm blood and water on the faces of the crowd.

  That night the religious leaders probably read Deuteronomy 21 to their families, warning them about the curse of God on those who are “hanged on a tree.” Fathers probably told their sons, “Watch out that you don’t ever wind up like him.” Those Roman soldiers probably went home and washed the blood of Jesus from under their fingernails and played with their children in front of the fire before dozing off. This was just one more insurrectionist they had pulled off a cross, one in a line of them dotting the roadside. And this one (what was his name? Joshua?) was just decaying meat now, no threat to the empire at all.

  That corpse of Jesus just lay there in the silences of that cave. By all appearances it had been tested and tried, and found wanting. If you’d been there to pull open his bruised eyelids, matted together with mottled blood, you would have looked into blank holes. If you’d lifted his arm, you would have felt no resistance. You would have heard only the thud as it hit the table when you let it go. You might have walked away from that morbid scene muttering to yourself, “The wages of sin is death.”

  But sometime before dawn on a Sunday morning, a spike-torn hand twitched. A blood-crusted eyelid opened. The breath of God came blowing into that cave, and a new creation flashed into reality….”

  See ya next Sunday.
  daniel

• How You Can Pray for the Boston Team

  Mar 01 2011

  Good Tuesday to you all. As most of you know the Boston team will be leaving this coming Saturday to spend a week with Charles River Church. CRC is a 2 year old church plant headed up by Josh Wyatt. I thought it would be cool to give you a few ways that you could be praying for the Boston team while we’re away.

  1. Pray that God would give us opportunities to share the gospel.
     
  2. Pray that we would serve the Pastor, his family and the people of CRC well.
     
  3. Pray that God would keep our team from an arguing or complaining spirit.
     
  4. Pray that we would have safety as we travel to and around the city.
     
  5. Pray that God would use this opportunity to call out some of our team to serve in on a church plant in a large city one day.
     
  6. Pray that I wouldn’t have an envious heart as we visit all the cool coffee shops in Boston...hahaha. Totally kidding.
     
  7. Pray that God would be gracious and hold back the rain as we walk around the city.

  
  

  

  
  
  

  

• Yesterday at PCM (2-20-11)

  Feb 23 2011

  

  Hey all- hope your week is going well. We had a great time of corporate worship here at Providence this past Sunday. Here are a few highlights.
  

  1. I, Daniel, and the some of the team from the college ministry got to lead musical worship for the whole congregation at all three services. Here are the songs we say....if you’re interested. How Great Is Your Faithfulness, Sweetly Broken, The Power of the Cross, Worthy Is The Lamb and How Deep The Father’s Love For Us.
  2. Tyler and some of the team got to lead the college class in the DLC. Here’s a picture of them practicing. I didn’t hear them play, but I’m sure it was really good.
     
     
  3. Nick taught from James chapter 3. I didn’t get to hear him teach because we were in the main building all morning, but I heard it was great.
  4. This has nothing to do with Sunday am but I am currently reading two books that have been SO good for my soul Let The Nations Be Glad by John Piper, and The Praying Life by Paul Miller. If you’re looking for a good book to get into right now I would HIGHLY recommend either of these.
     

  
  Hope you all have a great week. See ya Sunday.
  
  daniel

   

   

• Cafe Carolina

  Feb 18 2011

  Hey there y’all. Wanted to show you a picture of the café carolina group that meets on Friday mornings at 7.

  

  Nothing else to share...just wanted to say hello.

  Hope you all have a good weekend.

  D

• Yesterday at PCM (1-30-11)

  Jan 31 2011

  

  
  Good Monday morning PCMers.  Hope you all had a great weekend....except for you NCSU fans out there.....rough weekend...haha.
  
  So Sunday was a great day. We had the HUGE privilege of hearing from one of our former students who is now living in Central Asia. He asked us to pray for him as he heads back that he would be diligent in language studies, and he also asked us to pray for Al and Mitch. Lets try to remember this week to lift them up in prayer and ask that God would graciously save them. 

  I (daniel) preached yesterday from James 1:18-27...continuing our series in James, Wisdom From Above.  Because of time I had to rush through most of the morning, but I wanted to point out a few things for y’all...and point you to a couple of good resources. First and most importantly though here is the clip for the me monster by Brian Regan. Here are the places in James where we can see his commands are to the church and not only the individual christians....1:2, 16, 19, 2:1, 5, 14, 15, 3:1, 10, 12, 4:11, 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 16, 19. 

  Also my application (which I ZOOMED through...sorry) was drawn from 1:25. Here are the three things that I said:

   

  1. Look at the Word of God- Spend time daily reading/meditating on and memorizing the word of God.
  2. Fight daily battles against sin – James says that perseverance is a KEY for anyone that would be a doer and not just a hearer.
  3. Be a doer who acts –  Don’t be a person who forgets what they look like when they look in the mirror.....act in accordance with the Perfect Law of Liberty.

  We ended by singing Glory to God Forever...one of my all time favorite songs. Louis and the team KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK.

  You can listen to the sermon here. Have a great week. See ya next Sunday.
  
  daniel

• Yesterday at PCM (1-23-11)

  Jan 25 2011

  

  
  Hey there y’all.  Hope you’re all having a great day so far. 
  
  We had a great time in college class yesterday. We’re still in chapter 1 in our study of the book of James.  We learned that temptation to sin comes from desires inside...not from God. And that the way we fight that temptation is by not being deceived by ourselves....and also by remembering that we have a good father that delights to provide for us. Here’s an AMAZING quote that Nick gave yesterday.

  “To the degree that we see of the love of God, so much shall we delight in Him, and no more. Every other discovery of God, without this, will but make the soul fly from Him. But if the heart is taken up with the Father’s love, it cannot choose but to be overpowered, conquered, and endeared to Him. If the love of a father will not make a child delight in him, what will? Exercise your thoughts upon this very thing: the eternal, free, and fruitful love of God the Father for you, and see if your hearts are not changed to delight in Him.”   --John Owen 
  

  We ended our time by singing 3 of my most favorite songs EVER. You Alone Can Rescue, Here Is Love and All I Have Is Christ.

  You can listen to the sermon here. Hope you have a great week.  
  
  daniel

• Yesterday at PCM (1-9-11)

  Jan 10 2011

  

  
  Good Monday morning to you all. Hope you had a great Christmas break.  
  
  Yesterday was our first Sunday in our new series in the book of James. We’re calling the study James: Wisdom From Above.  
  
  Nick gave us 7 things that we will learn from the book of James as a preview of where we’ll be going this semester. Here are those 7:

  1-In chapter 1, James provides one of the most detailed understandings of suffering in Scripture.
  2-In chapter 1, James describes in detail the path of temptation and how to avoid sin.
  3-In chapter 2, James shows us what authentic, saving, living faith in Christ looks like.
  4-In chapter 3, James describes the power and the danger of the tongue.
  5-In chapter 4, James unpacks for his readers the causes of quarrelling in the Christian community.
  6-In chapter 5, James shows us how to think and live in view of the future.
  7-In chapter 5, James gives us a brief theology of prayer in view of Christ’s return.
  
  At the end of our time we sang 2 songs about the goodness of God’s provision.  How Great is Your Faithfulness by Matt Redman (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/how-great-is-your-faithfulness/id377576295?i=377576332) and The Power of the Cross by the Getty’s (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-power-of-the-cross/id329224110?i=3292245140).
  
  You can listen to the sermon here. Hope you have a great week.  
  
  daniel
  

• Payback

  Dec 14 2010

  Thought you would all love to see this. This is Ben's office here at Providence. I think most of you know that Ben spends a large part of his day picking on/at other people. Well it seems like he messed with the wrong person this time....hahah.

  

• Yesterday at PCM (12-12-10)

  Dec 13 2010

  

  
  Hope that this has been a good exam week for all of you. We had a great time in college class on Sunday. Nick taught an Advent devotional from the book of 2 Timothy.

  We sang a few of my favorite Christmas Hymns - Angels We Have Heard On High, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, What Child Is This, and O Come O Come Emanuel.

  Have a great Christmas Break we'll see you back in a few weeks.
  
  daniel
  

• Yesterday at PCM (11-21-10)

  Nov 22 2010

  

  Good Monday Morning to you all. Hope you had a great weekend. Just a few days until THANKSGIVING. Woohoo. 
  
  Yesterday at PCM I (Daniel) taught the parable of the Wicked Renters in Luke 20:9-19.  You can listen to it here.
  
  We sang "Before the Throne of God Above" http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/before-the-throne-of-god-above/id268695583?i=268695699 , "Mighty To Save" http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mighty-to-save/id275878616?i=275878620 and "Nothing But the Blood" http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nothing-but-the-blood/id19389291?i=19389243.
  
  Have a great week.
  
  daniel

• Yesterday at PCM (11-7-10)

  Nov 08 2010

  

  Hello there, hope you all had a great weekend. Saturday was a sad sad day for NCSU football fans....there's always next year..haha.
  
  Anyways, we had a great time in college class yesterday. We are still in our parables series called "Hand Grenades From Heaven". Yesterday we studied Luke 13:10-21. It's the story of the cripple lady that was healed by Jesus on the Sabbath day. One interesting thing about this text is that Jesus says that Satan was behind her illness...which provides a really helpful category for understanding the parables that follow. The parables that follow are about the Kingdom of God. Jesus says that the Kingdom is like a small mustard seed that grows big, or like some leaven that leavens a bunch of flour. 

  You can listen to the sermon here.

  Tyler Parker lead our time of musical worship. We also noted that Brentice played a Guitjo yesterday, you can click here for more info about the Guitjo. We sang "Marvelous Light" by Charlie Hall (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/marvelous-light/id118713202?i=118713103), "Jesus What A Friend For Sinners" by John Chapman (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/e/jesuswaf.htm) and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" by Robert Robinson (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/come-thou-fount/id46050835?i=46050727).
  
  Hope you all have a great week. See you Sunday.
  
  daniel
   

• Fall Retreat Recap

  Nov 04 2010

  I did a little facebook stalking and found some pictures from Rugged Retreat. The fist picture is of Ben trying to spit game on my little girl. I've already talked to his parents....hahah.
  
  The rest are pretty self explanatory. Hope you enjoy the pics.

  daniel

   

  

  

  

  

  

• Yesterday at PCM (10-31-10)

  Nov 01 2010

  

  Good Monday morning to you all. Hope you had a wonderful Halloween Reformation Day yesterday.
  
  We continued in our parables study, "Hand Grenades From Heaven". Dave O. taught on Luke 18:9-14, the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. For those of us that grew up in the church this parable exposes a self righteous and self justifying spirit that can kill our keep us from seeing our justification in Christ alone.

  Here are Dave's application points from yesterday:

  1. Marvel at God’s Mercy shown to us in all He has done in Christ.
  2. Be careful to not believe that when you do something for God you earn favor with God.
  3. Realize the reality that there is nothing you can do today that will cause God to love you more or less.

  You can listen to the sermon here.
  
  We ended our time together by singing "Sweetly Broken" written by Jeremy Riddle (one of my MOST FAVORITEST WRITERS EVER) you can find that song here. "In Christ Alone" written by Stewart Townend and Keith Getty. The version we did was by Matt Papa and you can find it here. "There is a Fountain" written by William Cowper. You can find a really cool version of this song here.
  
  Thanks for reading. See y'all next Sunday.
  
  Daniel
   

• Christians and Culture Questions

  Oct 27 2010

  Hey there y'all. Chip and I both found this post by Justin Taylor helpful in thinking about some the D-Groups topics from this year. Hope you find it helpful too.
  
  http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/10/26/two-essential-gospel-impulses-the-indigenizing-principle-and-the-pilgrim-principle/

• Yesterday at PCM (10-24-10)

  Oct 25 2010

  

  Good Monday morning to you all.  I'm sorry that we haven't had the Yesterday at PCM blog post up the last few weeks...i've gotten all your e-mails clamoring for its return, so here goes.
  
  What an amazing time in the Word we had yesterday. We are still in our Parables series and yesterday was Luke 18:1-8, which Chip called the Parable of the Feisty Widow...a clever and appropriate title. We learned about why we should not lose heart in prayer, because our Father is not like the unrighteous Judge. He is righteous AND He hears us. These truths should make us bold in prayer.  Here are Chip's four points from yesterday:

  1. Jesus knows that persevering faith will not be easy
  2. Persevering faith is evidenced by persevering prayer
  3. Persevering prayer is sustained by knowing the character of God
  4. Our prayers for vindication will be answered at the return of Jesus Christ

  You can listen to the sermon here.
  
  We ended our time by singing 3 songs together. How Great is Your Faithfulness by Matt Redman (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/how-great-is-your-faithfulness/id377576295?i=377576332) - we introduced this song a few weeks ago. Thy Mercy, the version we do is by Sandra McCracken (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/thy-mercy-my-god/id178319264?i=178319275) - this is such a BEAUTIFUL song, and Taylor KILLED it yesterday. This is my Father's World, by Malt bie D. Babcock. The version we play is basically the original melody with just a few changes. We've also written and rearranged a few of the lines, here are the lyrics that we sing to This is My Father's World.
  
  This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
  All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres
  This is my Father’s world; I rest me in the thought
  Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas
  His hand the wonders wrought
  
  This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise
  The morning light, the lily white, declares their Maker’s praise
  This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair
  In rustling grass I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere
  
  This is my Father’s world and though marred by sin it stays
  A gracious guide to all mankind, to worship and obey
  This is my Father’s world, creation sings His praise
  The cursed ground waits the final day, when Christ shall come and reign
  
  This is my Father’s world O let me not forget
  That though the wrong seems often strong God is the ruler yet
  This is my Father’s world, why should my heart be sad
  The Lord is King let heaven ring, God reigns let earth be glad
  

  Have a great week.
  
  daniel 

• D-Group Articles

  Oct 06 2010

  Hey everyone - Chip here.
  
  Last night at Big-D we considered some biblical books and how they shape our understanding of Christ and culture. You can download the notes and listen to the audio here.
  
  The article and sermon I mentioned that were helpful on these issues are below.
  
  Jesus Paid Taxes by Mark Dever from Capitol Hill Baptist Church
  
  Andy Pettitte and My Confession of Sin
  
  Daniel asked a great question at the end of our time about how far is too far in our submission to the state. He brought up the example of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I thought this was a helpful article from John Piper on that specific issue.

  Was Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrong to plot against Hitler's life?

  Submission does have its limits. There are biblical examples of faithful believers who did not
  yield to the authorities (Acts 4, Daniel). I think the best place to go would be to seek God in prayer for wisdom and search the Scriptures to shape our mindset on this issue.
  
  Hope these articles help us discern what being other-worldly in the world means in our time.
  

• Yesterday at PCM (10-3-10)

  Oct 04 2010

  

  Good Monday to you all. This is a post that we try to put up ever Monday morning recapping what we learned and sang yesterday.
  
  Yesterday we continued in our study of the Parables of Jesus from the book of Luke.  We've titled this study Hand Grenades from Heaven...we talked here about why we named it HGFH.
  
  The text for Sunday was Luke 12:13-21. The Parable of the Rich Fool. Here were Chip's Application questions for us:
  

  1. You don’t need barns because you have God (12:22-24)
  2. You don’t need to worry because worrying is pointless (12:25-26)
  3. You don’t need to seek provision because God is your Father who provides for you (12:29-31)
  4. You don’t need to be afraid God will abandon you because He gladly gave you the kingdom (12:32)

  The sermon will be posted soon here for you to listen online or download.
  
  The 3 songs that we sang at the end were chosen to highlight the faithfulness of God towards us and our longing to trust Him. We sang "How Great is Your Faithfulness" by Matt Redman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1-8Kt-mq7k ), "Here is Love" written by William Rees Music by Matt Redman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhYxJdz4Ut8 ) and "Jesus I am Resting Resting" words by Jean Pigott (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/jesus-i-am-resting-resting/id304836598?i=304836609 ).
  
  Have a great week.
  
  daniel 

• Follow Up from D-Groups

  Sep 24 2010

  Hello there y'all. At Big-D I said that I would post a few things on this here blog as follow up material.
  
  Here is the article on porn that I talked about - http://www.challies.com/articles/sex-isnt-selling
  
  Here is an article by Kevin DeYoung on worldliness - http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2010/09/21/tormented-souls/
  
  For D-Group leaders I might spend some time talking about what to put off and put on from Colossians 3:1-17 and Ephesians 4:17-32.
  
  Here is a video of my daughter singing "Before the Throne of God Above" - http://www.youtube.com/dprenstrom#p/u/13/thtg1k76Jpg - hahahah.
  
  Hope you have a great week. See you on Sunday.
  
  daniel

• Yesterday at PCM (9-19-10)

  Sep 21 2010

  Good Monday Morning to you all.  Hope you had a great weekend. I (Daniel) was in Kentucky for Ben's wedding this weekend...so i wasn't at PCM yesterday. So, if you're like me and you didn't get to hear Dave O. preach about the parable of the Prodigal God from Luke 15 then you can download it here.
  
  And, BIG BIG thank you to the Campus Crusade Band lead by Adam Kingsmore for leading music yesterday. Holding Nothing Back by Tim Hughes, How Deep the Father's Love for Us by Stewart Townend and It is Well by Horatio Spafford.
  
  See y'all next week.

• Parenting Conference Volunteers Needed

  Sep 16 2010

  Providence is in need of volunteers to watch children while their parents attend the Parenting Conference. This conference is an outreach opportunity to the community and we want to make sure we are staffed to take care of the potential kids that might be coming.

  The ages of the children are birth-5th grade. We need volunteers for:

  Sunday, September 27 from 4:45–7:45 p.m.
  Monday, September 28 from 6-8 p.m.

  E-mail Kelly Zargo - kelly@pray.org - and tell her you want to volunteer for childcare for the parenting conference. Include which day(s) you can come and if you have an age preference. Guys and gals are both welcome! 

• D-Group Article

  Sep 08 2010

  Here is the article that Chip referenced at D-Groups the other night.

  NY Times Article: What Is It About 20-Somethings?

  If you missed D-Groups you can listed to the audio and download the notes here. 

• Parables Study Guide

  Sep 07 2010

  Here is a brief study guide with keys to help you unlock the meaning of the parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.

  Download the PDF

• Grenades from Heaven Intro

  Sep 07 2010

  This semester we hope to study several of the parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Here are seven reasons why we think this will be helpful for us.

  Download the PDF

• Yesterday at PCM (8-29-10)

  Sep 03 2010

  Welcome to our weekly recap of Providence College Ministry. Our hope is that this weekly post will help you remember what we studied and sang yesterday, and then that would provide encouragement and nourishment for the week ahead.
  
  During the announcements Dave O. told us about three ways you can get involved with PCM. Here are they are again with the registration links:
  
  Fall Retreat - ONLY 30 BUCKS!!! Register here
  
  D-Groups - Teaching from Bug and Nick....it's Omazing - Register here
  
  Moore Square Middle Mentoring Program, also known as MSMMP - Register here
  
  We started the morning off by singing "You alone can Rescue" one of our favorite Matt Redman songs. This song is a wonderful confession about our saving God..."when our hearts were far away, His love went further still."
  
  C. Bug finished his 2 part series on the ironies of the cross. He spent yesterday unpacking the idea that Jesus' accusers lied to stop him, yet their lie unleashed his influence throughout the world. Then he walked us through ways that the early church was obviously changed by the reality of the Resurrection....and ways that we should be changed as well.
  
  You can listen online or download it here.
  
  We ended our time by singing "The Power of the Cross" by the Getty's and "Nothing But the Blood" by Matt Redman...two of my FAVORITE SONGS.
  
  Hope you all have a great week. See you next Sunday.

• Get Involved with Student Ministries

  Sep 03 2010

  Last night Blake Hickman from the Student Ministries at Providence came and told us about an opportunity to serve with high school students at Providence. Here's the website that explains more www.refineryrules.com.
  
  If you're interested please come out to a info meeting tonight at the Delta Lake Center at 7 p.m.  They're serving TONS of dessert....WOOOT.

  

• Yesterday at PCM (8-22-10)

  Sep 03 2010

  Welcome to our weekly recap of Providence College Ministry. We hope to continue this post theme through the year so please check back each Monday.
  
  Yesterday was the first Sunday back for most of the NCSU Students so we celebrated by having a Pig Pickin'. The Servant team guys did an AMAZING job of cooking the pig, cutting it up and getting everything else ready to go for the meal. Thanks guys.
  
  We started the morning off by singing "Come Ye Sinners" to both quiet our hearts before God and also to remind us of the riches found in Christ.
  
  C. Bug taught from Luke 23 on three ironies from the cross. The three ironies were 1- Jesus is seen as a crucified man, yet he is the crowned Messiah. 2- Jesus refuses to save himself, which enables him to save others. 3- Jesus is condemned as guilty, yet proven innocent. God used this message to blow the dust off of my heart yesterday and I know that listening to this message would help you so much. You can listen or download it here.
  
  At the end we sang "Sweet Substitution" by Daniel Renstrom and "Glory to God" by Steve Fee.
  
  Have a great week.

• 20 Books to Read in Your Twenties

  Aug 16 2010

  Most books are not worth reading. So we’ve done the work for you by putting together a book list of epic quality. Check them out here. Happy reading.

• Leadership Retreat

  Aug 15 2010

  Last weekend Providence College Ministry went on its Leadership Retreat. We took 80 or so students to Wilmington for a weekend of training/learning and praying.
  
  Thanks to Seth Wachtel and his family we were able to use an amazing facility. I (Daniel Renstrom) definitely got worked over by some people in the Fast and the Furious racing game....hahaha.
  
  We (Dave O, C BUG, Daniel R) are so, so thankful to God for the leaders that He has supplied in the College Ministry. We're Looking forward to a great year.
  
  Here's a Pic from the weekend.

  

• Grenades from Heaven

  Aug 14 2010

  This semester we hope to study several of the parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. These parables are more than just ‘earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.’ They are intended by Jesus both to reveal and to conceal (cf. Luke 8:9-10). They both disclose and disguise. Jesus hides the secrets of the kingdom of God in plain sight, in stories that children understand and scholars stumble over. They appeal and they provoke. They engage and they shock. They restore and they shatter. The parables of Jesus are grenades from heaven.
   
  As we uncover Christ’s message in the parables we will see that the most scandalous reality of all is His mission itself: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (19:10). The guiltless King came to suffer and die on the cross for guilty rebels (23:3-4). We will see that Jesus does not call His followers to mere religious morality but rather to radical repentance, persevering faith, and cross-bearing discipleship.
   
  So take care how you listen this semester. Remember how differently people responded to these stories in Luke’s Gospel. Some heard and were amazed. Others heard and were confused. Some heard and left rejoicing. Others heard and left depressed. Some heard and believed. Others heard and plotted an assassination (20:19-20). Pray for ears to hear and eyes to see and hearts to receive patiently and faithfully the words of Jesus (8:15).