When someone wants to get their message out, they go “on the road.”  Authors do book tours. Musicians play concerts in every town.  Politicians give speeches across their jurisdiction.  Advertisers canvas the airways and social media with their message.  These movements aid in the spread of the message.

In the first century during His earthly ministry, Jesus did not stay in one location.  He traveled from town to town to get His message out.  Though the exact distance Jesus traveled is uncertain, a very conservative estimate of distance walked during His 3 years of public ministry is over 3,000 miles … and this was in a country that was only 8,500 square miles total!  Why did Jesus travel this much in such a short time?  He had a message that needed to be heard, so He “toured” with His disciples making stops in many villages.

From Luke 8:1-9:17 we see several stops on Jesus’ Galilean Tour.  In these verses Jesus shares the famous “parable of the sower,” calms a raging storm on the sea, heals a man filled with a “legion” of demons, raises a young girl from the dead, heals a woman with a chronic disease, and feeds 5,000!  Jesus was no “one hit wonder”!  He had a pantheon of platinum records, and He sung many of them on this tour.  Over the next two months at Wildwood Community Church in our Sunday services, we will be studying them.

In the midst of it all, though, Jesus was also training His committed core to join the mission spreading the Good News worldwide.  In this Sunday’s message (part 1 of the new sermon series “Feeding the Flock”), we will see a remarkable group of women who were a part of Jesus’ Galilean Tour, and we will see an interaction between Jesus and His earthly family.  Along the way, you and I will see our invitation to join His mission, but also to join His family! Join us in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 service on September 20 as we look at Luke 8:1-3, 19-21.  See you Sunday … and bring friends!