We all have times in our lives when we don't feel connected. We have times when something we have done has broken ties with those we've loved. We have experiences of being outcast from community. This week, we'll meet an outcast from Biblical times and we'll think about times when we've felt like an outcast or when others might feel like outcasts. We'll see if there are lessons to be learned from the experience of being outside of community.

We'll also encounter Jesus trying to get away from the crowds, but instead running into a Gentile who has been banished from living in community. We'll consider the outcast from Jesus' perspective. When we are inconvenienced by meeting someone who is in our way when we are trying to do something we want to do, we have our ways of dealing with them. We'll see what Jesus does when he encounters the outcast. Read Luke 8:26-39 to prepare.